Note: This crosses over with chapter 18 of my Yamibo fanfic, Ever After. It should, however, be understandable as a stand alone.
Sailor Venus and the Quest for Power-ups
My Next Life as a Villainness, All Routes Lead to Doom! Two
Venus moved to chase the boy when Katarina grabbed her arm and demanded, "Wait, what is going on?"
"He's surrounded by dark magic," Venus quickly explained, "though I guess ordinary people can't see it."
Katarina nodded, looking unhappy. "Maybe that relates to the secret route Icchan talked about..." she muttered to herself.
Venus had no idea what THAT meant. She moved to chase after the redhead, then watched as he seemingly zapped a crowd of people. "Oh not that again..." she muttered, remembering how often baddies did that in the old days.
"GET THE INTRUDERS!" the crowd suddenly roared in eerie synchronization as they charged a group of young women.
Venus blinked as one woman used a sheathed sword as a club, and the other two started using MAGIC. They all looked weirdly familiar too...
Katarina rushed by her, moving to defend the blonde girl as she cried, "Maria!"
Venus hurried up to where they were fighting, looking around as she assessed the situation.
"VENUS!" the busty woman dressed in a witch outfit growled.
'Yup, we've met,' Venus thought as she willed her disguise to disperse. "Venus love me CHAIN!" she yelled, firing off a slim golden chain that tied up several of the rioters.
"Sailor Venus?" the cool, black haired girl with a sword blinked.
"We've met?" Venus asked as she casually clubbed another attacker.
"You crashed into my library!" Lilith said as she also slugged someone.
Venus looked questioningly at the other woman. "Uhm, long story," Hazuki said.
"Well, that was a thing," the third woman noted as they subdued the last crazed student.
Once the fight was over, Venus was introduced to Lilith, Hazuki and Quill, along with Katarina's friend Maria.
"Is anyone hurt? I can heal them," Maria asked anxiously.
Hazuki returned her sword to her side as she flatly asked, "Who was that guy and why did those people attack us?"
"That's... sort of my fault, actually," Venus admitted, and described running into Sirius and sensing the dark magic surging around him.
"So he panicked, bolted, and assumed you were with us," Katarina noted. "Then enchanted the students to delay us all."
"We have to catch up with him," Venus added flatly, her long blonde hair swirling around her like a cape, "you don't get that kind of dark power without killing something... or someone."
"We?" Lilith looked dubious, clearly not seeing why they should get involved.
"He might know something about the Eve of this universe," Hazuki pointed out. She added, "And I don't feel comfortable leaving him running around."
"She has a point," Quill told Lilith.
"Oh all right," Lilith pouted.
"I'm coming with you!" Katarina said firmly.
Before Hazuki could protest Maria added, "I, as well!"
Venus studied them a moment, then sort of slided up to Hazuki as she murmured, "You're not going to talk them out of it." She shrugged, "I know the type."
"Ok, he headed that way," Hazuki pointed and asked Maria and Katarina, "is there anything out towards the woods, there?"
"There's an old storage shed," Katarina replied, and everyone pretty much agreed that was a likely place as any to start...
The group reached the shed, which appeared to be full of the usual stuff a shed had. There was no visible sign of the boy.
"Let me scan the area," Quill raised her device and switched it to staff mode.
"Oooh, neat!" Katarina admired.
'Huh,' Venus recognized it. It was the sort of device Nanoha and her friends used. 'So does she know the people I do, or alternates?' she wondered.
Quill smiled faintly, then nodded, "There's a concealed door, with at least two chambers under ground. Dead ahead."
"So we just have to find the door," Maria started.
"CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!" Venus yelled as she fired off an energy beam, blowing a hole in the wall and revealing a hidden hallway.
"Or you could do that," Katarina said with a sigh.
"AND WRECK ANY CHANCE OF SURPRISING HIM!" Hazuki growled.
"Oooops," Venus looked sheepish. Yeah, that possibly wasn't the best impulse.
"Come on, what's done is done. Let's find him before he can do anything," Maria made peace while urging them on.
The group descended a cramped stairwell, and Venus could feel a eerie chill even through her costume. It reminded her of the times she and the Senshi had snuck into enemy bases... a deep and fundamental feeling of wrongness.
The red haired boy sat in one corner, the darkness kind of writhing around him. He looked up as they entered, scowling... then blinked. "Who are all of you?" he asked.
Venus realized that she, Hazuki, Lilith and Quill were all complete strangers to him. Only Katarina and Maria were even familiar. Oh well...
"All right, Sirius," Venus started, then felt a hand on her arm.
Katarina quietly asked, "Let us talk to him, first."
"What." Venus blinked.
Maria added, "He has always been very kind, Miss Venus. Please, let us try."
Venus was amusingly reminded of Usagi. She looked over at the other women, "Hazuki?"
"Well, why not," Hazuki agreed. She looked over at Lilith.
"I'm just tagging along anyway," Lilith shrugged casually.
"Look at these READINGS!" Quill seemed engrossed in her data.
Hazuki shrugged apologetically to Venus.
"Go ahead," Venus told the two girls, "but if he tries to hurt either of you, he's going down."
Interestingly, Sirius seemed less hostile to both girls, especially Maria. Venus saw his 'darkness' flare up a few times, then it seemed to disappear entirely.
Quill noted excitedly, "The Dark Magic appears to be a seperate entity! He's rejecting it!"
The darkness swirled in midair, almost like it was looking for a new host...
"Venus Love Me Chain," Venus yelled as she launched her attack. Like a buzz saw the chain links tore the remaining shadows into bits.
"Nicely done," Hazuki said, though it looked like she had been planning to use her sword for a similar purpose.
Venus vaguely felt like a 'kill stealer' in a video game... oh well.
"Thank you, both," the formerly cursed young man bowed.
Apparently, he was actually Raphael Walt, who had been the half brother of the real Sirius. Sirius' actual Mom kidnapped him, and tried to use Dark Magic to put Sirius into Raphael's body. It failed, but left Raph possessed by a Dark Magic Ghost and Sirius' memories. So he posed as Sirius while plotting his revenge against the nobles who did all of it to him.
Hazuki and her friends talked to Maria, as she apparently had something to do with their quest. At the same time Venus was saying goodbye, as she was also planning to go.
"Thank you for your help, Venus-sama," Katarina beamed.
"You're welcome," Venus answered, It was a bit disappointing she hadn't found anything interesting, magic wise.
With that Venus raised the time key... and was gone.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Arisugawa's Locket AGAIN?" Doc yelped.
The various incarnations of Sailor Pluto had followed Venus into the Locket a few times It was getting annoying.
"I think my TARDIS is picking up the various visits all the other versions of Venus have made here," Doctor Pluto noted.
Magi Pluto suggested, "Could we grab some food while we're here? I'm hungry. And tired."
Sailor Pluto sighed, "Oh very well..."
The various Pluto incarnations didn't see a Sailor Venus slip out the back through the kitchens. "That was close," Venus noted as she teleported out.
To be continued...
Notes: I kinda wrote myself into a corner, as any of the 'visiting' characters could have resolved things themselves easily. Thankfully Lilith doesn't actually care... And YES I yanked a fair bit from the 'Ever After' chapter. Sorry.