WE DIDN'T START THE FIRE
Haruka sat on the window ledge, looking down at the city bathed in the mid morning sun. From her vantage point she could just make out the black scar on the landscape that had once been the shrine. Haruka leaned back, allowing her head to lean against the cool wall behind her. She thought back to the night before, battling the fire as it consumed the shrine, chasing the so-called Fire Lord away, and seeing in the darkness of the forest the dark queen bent on destroying the Earth.
The dark queen. Kami.
Haruka's hand clenched into a fist. Kami was so close to Usagi, yet the princess could not see the danger. The inner scouts were all blind and naïve, which left only Haruka and Michiru to protect them. How could they make the others see Kami for who she really is?
Haruka felt a gentle hand on her fist. She looked up in surprise to see Michiru.
"They will be destroyed, the trusting fools," Haruka muttered as Michiru sat beside her.
"We will not let them," Michiru replied. "It is our duty as outer scouts to protect the Earth from invaders from outside our solar system. We will find the queen and destroy her."
Haruka looked out the window again. "But while we are doing that, will Kami destroy Usagi?"
Usagi and Kami ran to school. They had both missed morning classes and knew that if they missed the afternoon they would be in big trouble. They arrived at the Crossroads school as the bell for lunch was sounding. Not even pausing for breath, they headed to the tree where they would meet Makoto and Ami for lunch.
"Glad you could make it," Makoto said.
Usagi grinned and helped herself to one of Ami's fried shrimp. "It's not my fault for once," she said.
Ami raised an eyebrow to Kami. "Really?"
Kami smiled and blushed slightly. "I overslept. I was up late last night and didn't hear the alarm go off this morning."
"That's not like you, Kami-chan," Makoto chided. "Usually you're a morning person and up with the sun, right?"
Kami nodded. "I used to be like that, but lately I've found the night to be a more peaceful atmosphere to work in."
"I agree," Ami said. "Working when it's dark makes it easier to concentrate on your work."
"I should try that!" Usagi declared.
"Somehow I think you'd fall asleep before you got anything done, Usagi-chan," Makoto said.
Usagi was about to answer when the bell rang to return to class. Usagi made a face as she stood and walked beside Kami.
"Sometimes I wish school would disappear," Usagi whispered to her friend.
Kami raised an eyebrow. "Disappear? That would be something to see."
Michiru and Haruka sped through Crossroads, both determined to discover the truth. Haruka's mouth was set in a grim line and Michiru stared straight ahead. Neither of them spoke, but their previous conversation was running through both of their heads.
"Where did she come from?" Haruka had asked.
Michiru had said nothing. Haruka began to pace around the room. Michiru remained on the window sill, her eyes following her partner around.
"Usagi said she had moved back here from North America with her mother," Haruka continued.
"She was a scout before we met them," Michiru added. "Sailor Sun — very powerful."
"But where did she come from?" Haruka had demanded. "Have you seen her mother?"
Michiru shook her head. "What are you thinking?"
Haruka had smiled to her partner. "I'm thinking we discover the truth about this girl."
Minute later Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus were standing outside the balcony of Kami's apartment. The night was black and the sky devoid of moon and stars. Like shadows the two scouts slid into the darkened apartment and began to look around.
At first glance it seemed like a normal residence. Neptune and Uranus found themselves in the television room complete with a family portrait of Kami and her mother. Neptune stepped closer to Uranus and leaned towards her.
"I sense an evil presence," Neptune whispered, her voice barely audible.
Uranus nodded, indicating that she felt it as well. Silently, the scouts crept down the hall toward the bedrooms. They found a bathroom and a closet before locating Kami's bedroom and sneaking in.
Kami was asleep in her bed as the scouts looked around. Nothing seemed unusual about the room — Kami had shelves of books and stuffed animals, a neat desk with completed homework to one side, pictures of friends from home stuck in her mirror frame, and a teddy bear tucked under her arm as she slept. Neptune looked at Uranus, who shrugged. They left the room as quietly as they had entered.
Across the hall was the room they assumed belonged to Kami's mother. As they walked past, Neptune stopped short and slowly turned to the closed door. Uranus watched, her expression one of worry and curiousity as Neptune reached out to turn the door knob. The hinges squeaked as the door swung open.
The room was not a room. The door opened from the hall of Kami's apartment into nothingness. Neptune gasped and stepped backwards as the floor dropped away before her.
"What is it?" Uranus gasped.
"A pathway," a voice said behind them.
Neptune and Uranus turned to see Kami standing behind them, wearing a long night gown. She smiled almost gently as her hair darkened to black and her pajamas transformed into the flowing purple dress of the dark queen. The sailor scouts assumed a fighter's stance. The queen ignored them and looked into the portal.
"This path," the dark queen continued, "is not like the paths of this universe. Here, a path will take you from point A to B with no worries or problems. This path has no point B; it is endless."
Uranus drew her sword. The dark queen clucked her teeth at the scout.
"Foolish sailor scouts. I offered you your lives once before. I don't believe I'll be so generous now. I have important business to attend to and I can't have you stopping me."
Before either scout could move, the dark queen raised her hands and an unseen forced shoved them through the doorway. Neptune managed a cry of alarm before they disappeared. The blackness of the dark queen melted away as Kami closed the door and returned to bed.
Usagi entered Crown's café in a hurry and ran to where her friends waited, nearly tripping a waitress trying to serve a customer. Rei, Ami, Makoto, and Minako were already there, along with Luna and Artemis. They looked up expectantly as Usagi slid into the booth next to Rei and Ami.
"Well?" Minako asked.
Usagi shook her head. "There was no sign of them at their apartment."
The scouts sighed. Haruka and Michiru had disappeared again without any warning to the other scouts. It had been nearly two days since anyone had seen them and Usagi was beginning to worry.
"Where could they have gone?" Ami wondered.
"Maybe they just left again," Makoto said. "It wouldn't be the first time they've vanished without telling us."
"That was before," Usagi insisted. "They're on our side now; fighting with us."
"Maybe not, Usagi," Luna said.
"Face it," Artemis added. "We can't trust them."
Makoto nodded. "We need to stick together. Haruka-san and Michiru-san can take care of themselves. We need to worry about what the dark queen will do next."
The other scouts nodded in agreement. Usagi sighed.
"Okay, let's get started."
The dark queen sat on her throne, absently tapping her fingers on the arm of the chair. Before her stood Lord Cano, his eyes fixed on the ground. He waited patiently for his punishment, knowing it would come and be fierce. His queen was not one to take failure lightly.
"I still remember," she said suddenly.
Cano raised his eyes in confusion. "Remember, Majesty?"
"That day," she continued, ignoring him. "The day everything was taken from me. The day my peaceful kingdom was torn apart. The day the Moon queen and her Earth allies destroyed my world."
Cano said nothing. He had been there and had fought for his queen during those long wars. He and his three companions were all that remained of the army that had defended their planet. He, too, could remember the joyous days before the enemy invasion.
The queen sighed and her eyes abruptly shifted to meet Cano's. "What did we do, Cano? Why was our planet chosen for destruction?"
Cano shook his head. "I don't know, Majesty. All I know is that we did nothing to them, and they attacked us. We are not to blame."
The queen's eyes flashed. "Of course not. We were innocents, content to live our lives without ever knowing about the Moon Kingdom. They took our lives away from us. We must be avenged."
The queen shifted in her throne, sitting more upright. She held out her right hand and a small, crystal sphere descended from above her to float gently above her palm. Inside the sphere was a black substance that almost seemed to be churning within its confinement. The queen smiled at it.
"We will end the history of our planet and theirs," she promised. "The universe will know Queen Olivine as the one who fought for her planet's vengeance and did not rest until it had been won."
Queen Olivine looked over the sphere to Cano.
"Go," she ordered. "You know what is to be done."
Lord Cano bowed, grateful to have escaped punishment, and disappeared.
Usagi walked to school alone. She had gone to Kami's house as usual, but her friend had told her she was not feeling well and had decided to stay at home for the day. Usagi could tell from Kami's pale face and red nose that she was sick and had graciously offered to bring over the day's assignments after school. Now, Usagi was quite earlier than usual and was wondering what to do with her extra time.
She rounded the last corner to the school and was nearly crushed by a stampede of terrified students. Usagi managed to push against the wall as the hoard rushed past before looking where they had come to see what had happened. From her vantage point, she could see a cloud of dark smoke billowing out of the school and could hear scared screams coming from inside the building. Without thinking about the consequences, Usagi ran to the school.
She dashed through the main gates and saw the majority of the building up in flames. There were fire trucks on the scene, but none of the firemen could reach the building because of a large monster blocking their path. The monster looked like a dragon from Usagi's fairy tale books and held a student in each of its two hands. It roared and a burst of flame erupted from its mouth while it's tail swung around to destroy a nearby fire truck.
"Usagi!"
She turned and saw Ami and Makoto standing behind her. Usagi looked at their grim faces and nodded.
"Moon Crystal Power, Make-Up!" Usagi cried.
"Jupiter Star Power, Make-Up!" Makoto added.
"Mercury Star Power, Make-Up!" Ami yelled.
Soon, the three sailor scouts were standing between the firemen and the dragon monster. The creature looked down at them and dropped its two victims. Fortunately, the firemen were able to catch both of them in safety nets and no one was hurt.
"Stop right there!" Sailor Moon cried. "School is a place of learning and even though it may not be enjoyable most of the time, it is a place where every kid must go. I can't forgive you destroying it! In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"
The dragon roared and prepared to shoot fire at the scouts.
"Sparkling Wide Pressure!" Jupiter yelled.
The electric bolt hit the dragon in the snout and knocked his head back, sending the flame harmlessly into the sky.
"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Mercury called.
Her winter storm gusted over the dragon and into its mouth. In anger, the beast swung it's head back and opened its mouth to blast the scouts. To its surprise, no fire came out.
"I must have extinguished its fire," Mercury mused.
Sailor Moon smiled at her. "Good job, Mercury!"
"Quickly, Sailor Moon!" Jupiter reminded her.
Sailor Moon drew out her scepter. "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"
A giant heart struck the dragon. It cried out in terror once and disappeared. In its place appeared the figure of a man.
"Cano!" Jupiter spat.
"Well done, scouts," he applauded, "but what happened to your friends? I hope you think you can defeat us alone; that would be one battle I wouldn't miss for the world."
He laughed and disappeared. As the firemen rushed past to rescue the trapped students and put out the fire, the Sailor Scouts looked at each other.
"I wonder what he meant by that?" Mercury asked.
Sailor Moon stared at the spot where Cano had stood moments before. "Haruka-san, Michiru-san. Was he talking about you?"