By Yohann DeSabrais
a.k.a. Technuma Saturn
CYCLES OF LIFE: EPISODE 12
THINGS LEFT UNSAID
Words are like wild birds; once unleashed, you just can`t catch
them again.
* * *
Over two years ago...
Nephryte brought his red sports car to a halt in front of his small
cabin in the woods. For some reason, this part of the forest was
permanently shrouded in deep fog. He entered the cabin and looked
up at the very high ceiling; what little light there was inside the
empty house seemed to curl away in horror at the sight of the dark
kingdom warrior.
He had another one of his energy gathering ploys proceeding at that
very moment; he needed to witness how his plan was proceeding.
"The stars know everything..." he said, looking at the scale map of
the galaxy forming in the air around him. "Show me my latest victim,
the ice sculptor Brandon Pierson."
By pretending to be interested in ice sculpture, Nephryte had
borrowed Brandon`s chainsaw for a moment and marked it with a dark
kingdom symbol that greatly increased his creative energy, as well
as corrupting his behavior beyond recognition. The young man had
turned from a friendly teenager into a cold hearted jerk driven by
his craft. Brandon was mean and insulted all those who spoke to him
and his employers at the ski resort where he worked considered
firing him.
In short, all was going as planned.
* * *
By yet another one of those strange coincidences that drove their
lives, the three sailor scouts were spending the day at the very
resort where Brandon worked; Luna could feel the evil emanating from
within the sculptor, she was certain something was wrong with him.
Rei, Ami and Usagi thus found themselves going through a small patch
of woods leading to the mountainside where he had a workplace set
up. The north side of this particular mountain was covered with ice,
his primary source of raw material, with a wide plateau looming over
a deep chasm. All over the plateau, ice sculptures stood silently,
their shapes inspired by Brandon`s hideously warped psyche. Each one
of them was frighteningly realistic in its details.
There he was, working frantically on a huge ice colossus, his face
distorted by the dark kingdom`s influence; he looked totally crazed
with creative ecstasy.
"Maybe we should come back later? He looks busy right now..."
suggested Usagi.
"I`m sure Mamoru would be happy to see us return to the lodge so
soon." said Rei.
"It`s bad enough he had to come here with us, I`m not going back if
that creep is there!" protested Usagi, throwing her fists in the
air. Rei knew that just mentionning his name would be enough to
pump up Usagi.
Alerted by their bickering, the sculptor turned around and took
notice of the three intruders; he switched off his chainsaw.
"What do we have here? A public to behold my greatest work, my
masterpiece!" he said, pointing to the huge ice colossus he`d just
finished.
"Brandon, we`re all very concerned for you!" said Ami.
"No need to be, love. I`ve never been so creative, I`m really
cooking now- this statue I made, it`s almost... ALIVE!!!" he replied,
laughing menacingly. His statue effectively started to move, heading
towards the girls with the ground shaking under the stomping of its
large feet. An evil blue glow of energy bathed the young ice
sculptor.
The girls transformed immediately, ready to fight. Sailor Mars` fire
soul attack quickly melted the forzen menace.
From his house in the woods, Nephryte felt the sudden surge of
energy from his victim and knew it was time to strike.
"His power has reached its zenith. Now, Mimick, take his energy for
the glory of the dark kingdom!" he screamed as he brought in view
the scene through the power of the stars.
The blade of Brandon`s chainsaw glowed intensely from the evil dark
kingdom sign Nephryte placed there. A faceless, feminine looking
humanoid being made of a thick blue liquid emerged from the surging
light, draining all of Brandon`s energy.
"I am the Mimick- all you do and all you are- that I am and more."
she said in a sordid haiku. To show off her power, Mimick molded
herself into an exact replica of Sailor Mars, though she remained
entirely blue of color. This, however, did not stop her from copying
her template`s powers. "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, jin, retsu, sai, zen.
Akuryou taisan!" she said, duplicating exactly Mars` mantra for
using magic charms; she threw one to Sailor Mercury who was
paralyzed instantly.
"Can`t... move..." she was barely able to utter.
The other two scouts tried to use their own powers, but were stopped
by a screeching fireball sent in their direction by Mimick.
"This is fun!" said the blue Sailor Mars look-alike, changing into a
cobalt blue version of Sailor Moon. She was preparing to finish the
job, reaching for her tiara to shred her helpless opponents. "MOON
TIARA..."
Just before her blue tiara could turn into a glowing disk, Mimick`s
hand was slashed by a flying projectile, a red rose. Tuxedo Kamen,
standing atop a tall ice sculpture, had arrived with his usual
perfect timing.
"Ice is the beauty of winter, it is not meant to be the tool of
monsters such as yourself." he said. His work done, he leapt away
and vanished.
Having recovered from the previous assault, Sailor Moon and Mars
were now ready to strike back with a combined attack.
"FIRE SOUL!"
"MOON TIARA MAGIC!"
The fireball engulfed the soaring golden disk, turning it into a
burning projectile of fiery doom. Mimick jumped aside, barely
avoiding it.
"You missed me!" she taunted, though she did not see the disk hit
the mountainside head-on, melting a large amount of the ice that
Brandon used as his working material supply; the resulting avalanche
came crashing onto Mimick, scooping her up and dragging her down the
nearby crevasse. "NOOOOO!!! " she screamed as she fell deep in the
chasm to her dreadful end.
"Good riddance!" said Sailor Mars as she removed the charm that
held Mercury stiffer than a marble statue.
"Serves her right for trying to steal our faces." said Sailor Moon
who burned her fingers as she tried to pick up her red hot tiara.
She looked at Brandon; he was lying unconscious in the snow, but
he`d be all right in a day or two. The battle was won once again.
* * *
Today...
Summer`s end drew near as august prepared to say goodbye to Japan,
returning again in a year as it always did. This particular year had
been very emotional for a group of very special girls known as the
sailor scouts, facing a horde of new enemies as old ones vanished
into oblivion, coming to term with their supressed feelings,
learning more about their past and gaining some new allies in their
battle against all things evil.
Speaking of their new enemy, it had been over two months now since
their last battle against the vicious ruler of the Changraloor
stormlands of the tenth sphere, Lady Daemonfang; the defeat she`d
been inflicted had been a heavy one indeed. The only other instance
of a monster attack was a pair of powerful ninjas breaking in at
Osa-P jewelry, but there`d been no follow-up of any kind since
then. This period of much deserved peace gave the girls plenty of
time to study for their college entry exam, the most important one
in any japanese student`s life.
Needless to say, Usagi`s parents were VERY nervous. Study sessions
went by, then the test.
Results were finally in; the girls did good, especially Ami whose
result went through the roof. Even Usagi got a grade slightly above
average which, although not extraordinary, would ensure her a good
education at a respectable college. This certainly required some
major celebrating from the girl whose future was less than certain
just a year before.
Usagi was at a small cafe with Rei and Makoto, enjoying a milkshake
to help down the large meal she just ate and wondering what to do
with the afternoon when she`d be done shopping with Makoto.
"You did really well, Usagi." complimented Rei.
"I had good motivation to." she said, showing her engagement ring.
"I don`t want to embarass my future husband by being a drop-out."
Dragging her fork through her plate, the silent Makoto felt her
heart shake as if a huge fist crushed it mercilessly. For months
now, she had dreaded this moment would come. "I`ll just have to go
to the bathroom before we leave." said Usagi as she went to the
women`s room.
Rei guessed what Makoto was thinking and went right to the point.
"Don`t chicken out on us, Makoto, you know it must be done better
than any of us. Must I remind you it was YOUR idea?" she whispered.
"I wish there was another way to deal with this..." she replied.
"It`s been months now and she`s done nothing about it. She`s even
gotten worse, I think. There IS no other way; we all took a vote and
it was unanimous: now that she`s engaged to Mamoru, there`s no
turning back."
"I`m afraid you`re right." said Makoto, resigned. "I`ll call to
check if everything is ready over there." said Makoto who went to
the restaurant`s phone booth and dialed her appartment`s number.
A woman answered.
"It`s me." said Makoto. "I`m calling to ask if you`re ready for
her."
"Everything`s set, you can bring her here. By the way, your knives
were way too dull! How do you expect anyone to cut through bones
with these butter knives you dare to call meat cleavers? I had to
sharpen them up something fierce." said the woman.
"Right, I trust your judgement on that. I`ll bring her now." Makoto
said, hanging up.
How could she do something like this to her friend? Let`s face it,
she had no choice. Usagi never learned by herself... all those
opportunities she wasted over the years... someone had to MAKE her
learn. Usagi knocked on the booth`s door, smiling happily like a
lamb walking to slaughter. She obviously didn`t have a clue of what
was waiting for her.
"So, ready to go?" asked Usagi.
"Yeah." she said, leaving the booth and faking a smile. "Do you
mind if we stop by my place first, I need to pick up my other purse."
"No problem, it`s close by."
Rei watched Usagi leave with Makoto and thought that the scouts
should have done this a long time ago. Suddenly, she burped loudly;
she took a quick glance at her empty dishes and realized she`d eaten
as much as Usagi, wich was no small task. And let`s not forget the
three ice cream cones Usagi talked her into slurping down the other
evening... no wonder she`d been waking up sick so often lately. She
would have to be careful, otherwise she`d turn into a meatball head
herself.
* * *
"Okay, fire up those charges!" ordered the foreman through his
megaphone.
A mighty blast of dynamite shook the ice covered stone of the rocky
cliff where a tunnel was scheduled for construction; it had to be
ready for the following year, so speedy work was critical. This
new road built that would go through the mountain would surely
attract more people to the dying ski ressort on the other side.
Pebbles and dust flew all over as well as a multitude of ice pellets.
The first blast did the job perfectly, clearing away most of the
thick ice cover that buried the mountainside.
"Nicely done, guys, let`s clear up this rubble and get ready for the
next blast." said the foreman.
One of the workers noticed that one of the larger ice chunks
contained a body, feminine looking, though not much more could be
seen clearly through the rough ice surface. Unsure whether this was
an ancient corpse from a civilisation long forgotten, an accident
or even a murder, they called the police.
"How old could it be?" asked one of the workers.
"Part of the ice here melts every summer and most of it has been
here for who knows how long. It`ll take a scientist to tell us for
sure." said another.
* * *
With her hand trembling ever so slightly, Makoto turned the key in
her appartment`s door lock and invited in Usagi who was amazed as
always by the spotless sparkle of the floor, furniture and walls.
How much time did Makoto spend cleaning anyway?
"I have some cookies I made last night in the kitchen." said Makoto,
pausing to make sure her voice wasn`t going to let Usagi know of
the anguish she felt at the moment. "You`re welcome to help
yourself to some."
"Thanks, I think I will." said Usagi, already imagining her friend`s
sweet cookies melting in her mouth.
Hook, line and sinker. Poor Usagi... how could she do this to her
best friend, Makoto wondered. After all, wasn`t Usagi the only girl
at school who wasn`t scared of her reputation as a fighting bully,
who gave her a chance in the first place? No, this had to be done.
For the sake of all those involved, Makoto couldn`t turn back. Not
now.
The unsuspecting Usagi entered the kitchen and saw a tall woman
standing there, staring at her, holding a very sharp knife in her
hand. Her heart stopped beating for a second, her muscles frozen
in silent terror.
"So there you are, little Usagi! When I`m done with you, not even
your own mother will recognize you!" she said, skillfully spinning
the knife around with her hands.
Barely able to think, Usagi backed off slowly only to bump into
Makoto who towered over her. The tall brunette grabbed Usagi by
both arms, easily holding her in place. "This is for your own good,
Usagi. The others all agree this MUST be done, you know it too."
she said in a firm voice.
"NOOO! I`m begging you, you can`t let this happen!" pleaded Usagi
who just realized what the two women had planned for her.
"For the next few hours, Cassidy Carter will teach you how to cook
properly!" said Cassidy, handing over the knife to Usagi. "First of
all, you`ll learn to cut vegetables the right way, so get chopping,
girl!"
Usagi began to cry, for she knew for sure that she was in hell. The
blonde girl who was famous for burning water, ruining cereal and
forgetting the recipe for ice cubes was about to receive a private
cooking lesson from the most demanding chef in town. To make a long
story short, the gates of hell were about to open in Makoto`s
kitchen.
* * *
Carving meticulously through the thick ice block, the doctors and
and scientists were finally able to uncover something so bizarre
that it could rival with hangar 54 in Roswell, Texas. A strange
female humanoid with no defined features rested on their examination
table, her entire body made from some sort of very thick, viscous,
cobalt blue liquid.
"It`s alien, it has to be." said the doctor leading this
investigation.
"I`m not quite sure if there`s even a single trace of water in this
creature; do you see how fast it`s warming up to room temperature
so soon after we carved it out of the ice block?" observed another
doctor.
"Whatever it is, we can`t let the media find out about it, just
imagine the panic this would create among the public!" commented a
paleontologist. The other scientists present all agreed.
"There are a few people who know about this discovery, but they`ll
be easy to convince that it`s just some old mannequin who simply got
in this ice by accident. In a few days, no one will even remember
about this incident." reassured the doctor who was eager to study
the strange being.
"We absolutely MUST extract samples as soon as possible. I want to
see its DNA structure, assuming it even has one..." concluded a
biologist.
She was alien all right. Her mind slowly arose out of the coma that
had been induced by the freezing cold over two years ago and began
to think of escape. Mimick would have to wait a while longer before
she could move again, but she`d be ready to resume her mission: to
destroy the three girls who gave her masters so many problems, the
sailor scouts.
* * *
Makoto walked down the street in shock; she couldn`t believe how
much Usagi was messing up her kitchen. After a while, Cassidy had
decided to spare her friend the trauma of being subjected to this
terrible spectacle and sent her out of her appartment until dinner
was finished and Usagi had cleaned up the mess.
Trying to forget about the unimaginable amount of cleaning her place
would need after this cooking lesson, Makoto was on her to Minako`s
home. She was bringing her back the brooch she borrowed the week
before; anything to stay away from the disaster area.
Makoto rang the doorbell and Minako`s mother answered, smiling as
always. "Hello, Makoto, it`s nice to see you." she said. "Minako is
in her room with Ami, I think they`re watching some french movies.
It`s a nice change from all that studying they did for their
entrance exam."
"They do work great together." observed Makoto as she came in.
French movies? Not very surprising, thought Makoto. Minako already
spoke great french in addition to her very good english. Living in
Europe all these years had helped learn many languages. Ami had a
natural talent for learning languages as well... was there anything
this girl couldn`t learn?
She walked up the stairs and heard incomprehensible babble coming out
of Minako`s room- the french language sounded like gibberish to her.
Hoping that this movie had subtitles, Makoto opened the door and
said hello. Well, she didn`t really say hello. She was too stunned to
speak the whole word through, although what she did say reflected
perfectly her state of mind when she saw Ami and Minako sitting on
the bed, hugging and kissing passionately. Obviously, they hadn`t
heard Makoto walking over the corridor to Minako`s bedroom.
"What are you two doing?!?" she screamed.
The lovebirds suddenly snapped out of it and noticed someone was
watching; they stopped immediately and Ami rushed to remove traces
of Minako`s pink lipstick from her cheeks and neck.
"Hum... you see..." mumbled Minako, trying desperately to find an
explanation.
"You were making out?!" asked Makoto.
"You don`t understand, let me explain..." said Ami who blushed more
than she ever did before in her entire life.
The bewildered Makoto felt her stomach twist and her head spin in
revulsion; this was simply too weird for her. She dropped the golden
brooch on the floor and left without a word. Minako ran after her
while Ami just stayed there, crying in silence. A minute or two
later, she followed them, though at a much slower speed. She had
feared this from the start and it had begun: their friends would
turn away from them, branding them as freaks.
"Ami, what happened? Minako and her friend just left in a hurry."
said Miss Aino.
"It`s a bit hard to explain right now, but I promise I`ll come back
later with Minako and all will be clear then." replied Ami as she
left.
* * *
Carefully examining the strange body of Mimick, the team of
specialist was especially amazed at the liquid body wich seemed to
maintain its preset basic humanoid form. It had now reached a stable
temperature somewhat lower than the human body though it was higher
than room temperature.
"I think there could be some source of heat in this alien`s body;
that would certainly explain a lot." observed a doctor.
Then, to everyone`s surprise, Mimick opened her eyes. She sat up
and looked around at the four scientists, searching for any useful
abilities she could copy. They had none, but that didn`t matter.
She geeted them with her usual haiku:
I am the Mimick
All you do and all you are
That I am and more
Her hands, delicate and small, morphed into lethal claws; this was
one of the rare things she could do without a model to copy it from
and was more than enough to ensure four swift kills. No one could
stop the youma from achieving her mission for her master Nephryte.
* * *
Laurella and Rei set up the table as they awaited the dinner which
was being prepared by the sweating Usagi. Cassidy was running the
girl with a vengence like a vicious drill sergeant.
"I can`t wait until she`s done, I`m famished!" said Rei, her
stomach growling.
"I hope her cooking has improved, I heard stories of her earlier
attempts at making food..." observed the concerned Laurella.
"I`m sure she`s much better, it smells delicious." said Rei.
"Shouldn`t Makoto be here by now? It`s almost six o`clock." noticed
Laurella after taking a look at her watch.
"She probably went to see Minako and Ami to make sure they`d be here
too."
As if on cue, Makoto blasted in and sat down at the table with her
friends without as much as a simple hello. Her face spoke of untold
anger and betrayal.
"Whoa, what happened? You look like you`ve just been dumped, but
you don`t even have a boyfriend..." commented Rei.
Minako came in a few seconds later, peeking in cautiously before
entering Makoto`s appartment; she seemed very embarassed. "Makoto,
we really have to talk about... you know what." she whispered.
Without looking at her, Makoto went to her room and slammed the
door shut with all her might, making the walls tremble.
"Did we miss something?" asked Laurella.
"We had a misunderstanding." Minako answered. While Rei and Usagi
argued quite often, Makoto and Minako compensated numbers with sheer
intensity; their fights, tough few and far between, were powerful
enough to shake whole cities and flatten mountains.
"You`ll work it out quickly enough, you always do." said Rei.
"This time, it`s a lot more complicated." replied Minako, barely
holding herself from crying.
Ami entered the appartment in pursuit of her two friends and looked
very embarassed as well. "Did you speak with her?" she asked.
"No, she won`t listen." replied Minako.
"What`s this all about?" asked Usagi as she brought in warm dishes
from the kitchen to the table.
"Since Makoto knows already, maybe we should just get it out in the
open, be finally rid of this secrecy once and for all." suggested
Ami.
"I don`t know, maybe we should wait longer." said Minako.
"I`m tired of hiding! Can`t we just let everybody know and let THEM
deal with it? We`re not the ones with the problem, after all..."
said Ami with conviction.
"Yes, I guess you`re right..." said Minako. She turned to Rei, Usagi
and Laurella and made the hardest confession of her life. "Makoto
caught me making out with Ami. We`re deeply in love." she said,
looking Ami straight in her eyes.
"That`s right. We found in each other the missing part of
ourselves." added Ami.
These words stunned everyone.
"Oh." blurted out Rei.
"Did I hear this right?" asked Laurella.
"You did." answered Minako, taking Ami`s hand in hers. An
uncomfortable silence floated in the dining room while this
heartfelt declaration of love made its way through everyone`s mind.
Usagi was the first one to speak, asking Minako a question that had
been nagging her for a while.
"So, Minako, is Ami a good kisser?" she asked, getting a few burning
stares in her direction. "What? We all wanted to know and Ami`s only
known boyfriend wouldn`t say!" she said in self-defense.
"Let`s discuss this over dinner, Usagi`s meal is getting cold. I
think I can talk Makoto out of her room." said Cassidy, bringing
more dishes to the table.
And so she did. Makoto and the other girls enjoyed very much the
delicious meal prepared by the now talented Usagi. The cook herself,
however, was so tired she could barely hold her head up above her
plate. Although the meal itself was fine, the conversation was
strikingly cold. Makoto refused to talk to either Minako or Ami,
avoiding their gazes whenever possible. The others tried to get
her to listen, but she wouldn`t hear of it. In the end, they all
left hoping that a good night sleep might put her thoughts back
into place.
Before leaving, Cassidy left her friends with a few words of wisdom.
"You should be careful how you treat your friends, you know. Are
they any different than before you discovered their secret? Think
about it." she said, picking up her jacket and purse. She thought
of something and whispered a last comment in Makoto`s ear. "Usagi
was a cooking disaster before you left her in my care, you owe me
big, girl."
Left alone in her empty appartment, Makoto sulked in her own sorrow.
She couldn`t believe this! She always felt comfort in the fact that
she wasn`t alone searching for a nice guy, that her friends were
coming along for the ride. Now that they`d given up on men, she felt
betrayed and lonely.
She stormed out of her appartment, deeply confused.
* * *
Back at Minako`s home, the loving couple wondered what would the
world`s reaction to their relationship.
"I knew that this would happen the instant we would speak up." said
Minako. "I can`t wait until our own families regard us as lepers."
"That`s just the shock from surprising us earlier in your room, just
give her some time." said Ami, putting her arm around Minako`s waist
and leaning her head on her girlfriend`s shoulder, letting the silky
golden hair caress her skin.
"You think so?"
"I know so. We`ve been through so much together, she won`t turn her
back on us so easily."
Ami`s words were reassuring to Minako.
"You`re probably right. This is going to be a real test of
friendship, you know. All the people who just pretend to be our
friends will be the first ones pointing fingers." observed Minako.
"Those who will point fingers will only reveal themselves as the
shallow people that they are. Such people don`t deserve to be
called friends at all." replied Ami.
The front door unlocked and Miss Aino came in along with Miss
Mizuno. They had met through their daughters and became good
friends as well.
"Hello girls, we didn`t know you`d be back in time to watch this
movie we rented, you`re both welcome to join us." said Minako`s
mother.
Minako looked in her lover`s eyes, her face showing worry and
hesitation; Ami`s face, however, was showing resolve and confidance.
She nodded in approval.
"Mom, Miss Mizuno, Ami and I have something important to talk about
with you..."
* * *
Panic stricken people on the street stared at the cobalt blue youma,
confused and amazed at the faceless being.
"Where are they? Where are the SAILOR SCOUTS?" she screamed.
No one seemed to know what to do about her until she began tearing
up cars, breaking store windows with torn car doors and ripping up
parking meters. By then, they figured escape was their best option.
That, and dodging to avoid the heavy projectiles as well.
* * *
"Leave me alone!" yelled Usagi in terror. She was surrounded by
hordes of evil carrots, potatoes and tomatoes wielding forks and
spoons. Her only weapons to defend herself were a potato peeler and
a tiny fruit knife. "Stay away, I`m not afraid to use these!" she
screamed to the angry mob of vegetables.
Luna and Chibi-Usa pulled the sleeping Usagi out of her comatose
sleep, forcing her to sit up straight on the sofa where she
collapsed half an hour earlier when she came home.
"I`ll make supper with the lot of you yet." she mumbled through her
half-asleep state.
"Wake up, meatball-head! It says on television that there`s trouble
a couple of blocks away from here!" said the pink-haired girl,
dragging Usagi to the front door.
"Yes, we need the sailor scouts!" added Luna.
"Gotta call the others quickly..." mumbled Usagi who hoped this
would be taken care of fast. She couldn`t remember the last time
she`d been so tired... she was so sleepy, she couldn`t remember much
of anything else, for that matter.
Even though Usagi hadn`t pushed the button on her comm-watch yet, her
friend Makoto was already in the thick of things. Her frustrated walk
had led her to a trail of wrecked cars and trashed storefronts which
she followed in a hurry. A quick trip in a dark alley allowed her to
change into the powerful Sailor Jupiter. Frustration fueled her
aggressivity tenfold; she was thrilled to have a target to vent her
pent-up anger on at last.
A big raging monster trashing the city was just what the doctor
ordered. Running down the ravaged streets, some people recognized
Jupiter and cheered; the scouts had undeniably gained popularity
over the years. It wasn`t too hard to find the culprit of this
rampage; a female humanoid thing made of blue jello isn`t something
you see every day. A youma, obviously; her form was that of a generic
humanoid female though it was bland and totally uncharacteristic.
"WHERE ARE THEY?!?" screamed the monster as it tossed a station
wagon into a drugstore.
"Stop this right now, one of us is right here!" yelled Jupiter,
stricking a heroic pose. Mimick turned around slowly and recognized
the uniform, but not the girl.
"And who might you be?" asked the youma.
"I am Sailor Jupiter, I fight for justice everywhere, I strive for
peace and order everywhere unlike slime like you!" said Jupiter
under the cheers of the people around.
"Not quite slime, actually, I`m made of proteoplasm to be exact."
"Doesn`t matter what you`re made of. Who are you? How dare you
destroy my city?"
"I am the Mimick, all you do and all you are, that I am and more."
said Mimick in a theatrical fashion.
"Huh?"
"Just watch, you`ll understand fast enough." said the youma, staring
coldly at Sailor Jupiter. Her viscous body morphed into an exact
replica of Jupiter, although it kept its blue color.
"How the hell did you do that?" asked the bewildered Jupiter.
"It`s insultingly easy when you know how!" replied Mimick. "Since
you enjoy fighting so much, let`s see how well you do against...
YOURSELF!"
* * *
"Yes, Usagi, we`ll be right there, we`re already tracking down the
path of destruction." said Ami through her comm-watch wich she
conceiled from public view with Minako`s help. "There`s something
familiar about the description of the monster Usagi just gave me,
I can`t quite put my finger on it, though."
"Don`t worry about it, we`ll trash that monster like all the others
before!" said Minako with enthusiasm.
After a quickchange and a few hundred meters run, they reached the
battle scene. Things were looking pretty ugly as Mimick was
obviously keeping on top of Sailor Jupiter who barely remained
conscious. Thrown left and right, punched needlessly and kicked
without any end in sight, she was bleeding a lot and silently
praying for help. Mercury immediately remembered the blue
shapeshifter.
"MIMICK! I thought we destroyed her years ago!" she said.
"What do you know of her?" asked Venus.
"She needs a model to keep her shape, if she can`t see us, she can`t
do much... also, we need to attack all at once because she can best
any one of us individually, like she did to Jupiter."
"Then let`s go!" said Venus, jumping boldly into the fray to take
the creature by surprise. Blindsided, mimick took a couple of hits
from Venus before she could change shape to match her new attacker`s.
Taking advantage of Mimick`s distraction, Sailor Mercury went to
Jupiter`s help. "Can you stand up?" she asked.
"Just gimme a second..." uttered Jupiter. Her karate teacher`s first
lesson was that any man could easily be neutralized with a swift
kick between his legs; he forgot to mention, however, that a knee
kick to the pelvis can do the same to any woman as Jupiter was
painfully discovering.
Venus, fighting Mimick alone, was starting to have trouble of her
own; Mimick, now looking exactly like her, was giving her a beating
like she never had before. The youma was quite surprised that there
were more scouts than she remembered, but it didn`t matter. She`d
kill them all like her master Nephryte commanded. Before she could
give the final blow to Venus, however, a bolt of lightning crackled
through the air and struck her squarely in the back. Losing her
concentration, she reverted to her generic form. She turned around
to face the battered but unbowed Sailor Jupiter.
"That was NOT smart." said the youma.
"That`s what YOU think." said Mercury from another side. "MERCURY
BUBBLE BLAST!"
The bubbles collided with Mimick, creating a thick shroud around her.
Unable to maintain visual contact with anyone, she was stuck in her
basic form. She extended her claws and ran to a spot where she saw a
human form peering through the fog; slashing furiously, she shredded
to bits an ice statue improvised by Mercury to draw away her
attention "WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS?" she screamed when she realized
she`d been fooled.
"We must use all our powers in a single blast!" said Mercury.
"Right!" agreed the two others.
"SHINING AQUA ILLUSION!"
"VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!"
"SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!"
Venus`s golden energy chain connected with Jupiter`s thunder ball
and Mercury`s ice blast, resulting in one of the most lethal
combination attacks the scouts had created yet.
"COLD THUNDER SPEAR!" screamed the three scouts as the ice harpoon
charged with the power of lightning soared towards Mimick, tearing
through her chest. As life seeped out of its frozen body, the youma
fell to dust on the ground. A sudden gust of wind blew away both the
dust and the fog.
"Moondusted!" said Venus. The others looked at her with a weird gaze.
"Sailor Moon wasn`t here to say it, someone had to!" she argued.
With the thrill of battle slowly fading away Makoto began to feel
ashamed for her conduct with her friends earlier that evening. "I`d
like to... appologize for what I said at the dinner, I guess I
ruined it for everyone. I think it`s fabulous that the two of you
finally found love; seeing you together just reminded me how lonely
I am myself. I`m really sorry." she explained.
"Don`t beat yourself up for that, we couldn`t possibly be mad at
you." said minako.
"I admit it was a shock. Our mothers were surprised as well when we
told them, but they took it well. All you needed was a little time
to get used to the idea. Besides, the real test of friendship will
come from other people when they learn about us." added Ami.
"It`s not going to be easy for anyone." said Minako.
"I`ll be there for you, girls." said Makoto. She then remembered
that she had taken a shower with the two of them at the public pool
the week before. "HACK! Were you two checking me out in the
showers?!?"
"Don`t be ridiculous, you`re our friend!" answered Ami.
"Yeah, we`d never look at you in that way." said Minako.
"That`s reassuring." said Makoto. She then saw the other three
scouts running their way, unaware that the fight was already over,
so she went their way to tell them of their victory using a new
combo attack.
"I`m glad we didn`t lose any friends among the sailor scouts, it
would have been really sad if you consider all we`ve been through
together. I`m happy Makoto finally accepted us." said Ami.
"You know..." whispered Minako to Ami, "...she does look great naked,
don`t you think?"
"That`s true, but I don`t think we should tell her that!" replied
Ami, giggling uncontrollably.
* * *
EPILOGUE
Thunderstorms are nothing to be afraid of, unless you live in the
tenth sphere where they can lay waste to entire countries. This is
why the fortress of the ruling family of Changraloor was built so
strong; over the past three millenia, it withstood assaults from
natural and unnatural forces sufficient to wipe out Japan in a
single night.
In the heart of the black fortress, inside one of the many secret
rooms, a seductively wicked figure completed the last operation in
her ritual to create a new demonic life. Starting from shapeless
biomass and a few hairs from a template, she created the being to
her own taste. A demon who would be her husband. As soon as it had
been large enough, she had begun subconscious education so that he
would have an adult intelligence and behavior right out of his
magical womb.
Lady Daemonfang was a natural when it came to magic. Creating a
complete demon in little more than three weeks as she did was
nothing short of an exploit. An unholy birth was about to take
place.
Cracking and opening, the womb released the most beautiful demon
ever born by the tenth sphere`s standards. His leathery wings were
smooth and not slimy, his feet were well proportionned like a
human`s, his armored second skin`s color complemented his primary
skin color to perfection. As he stepped into the light, his face
showed its delicate beauty; his jaw was not disproportionately large
like all other male demons, neither were his small fangs that did
not hinder his evil smile. His bright eyes flared malevolent wits.
His face was identical to Mamoru`s.
"Come to me, my husband to be..." said Daemonfang. "Come to me, my
AKUMA KAMEN!"
The End
a.k.a. Technuma Saturn
CYCLES OF LIFE: EPISODE 12
THINGS LEFT UNSAID
Words are like wild birds; once unleashed, you just can`t catch
them again.
* * *
Over two years ago...
Nephryte brought his red sports car to a halt in front of his small
cabin in the woods. For some reason, this part of the forest was
permanently shrouded in deep fog. He entered the cabin and looked
up at the very high ceiling; what little light there was inside the
empty house seemed to curl away in horror at the sight of the dark
kingdom warrior.
He had another one of his energy gathering ploys proceeding at that
very moment; he needed to witness how his plan was proceeding.
"The stars know everything..." he said, looking at the scale map of
the galaxy forming in the air around him. "Show me my latest victim,
the ice sculptor Brandon Pierson."
By pretending to be interested in ice sculpture, Nephryte had
borrowed Brandon`s chainsaw for a moment and marked it with a dark
kingdom symbol that greatly increased his creative energy, as well
as corrupting his behavior beyond recognition. The young man had
turned from a friendly teenager into a cold hearted jerk driven by
his craft. Brandon was mean and insulted all those who spoke to him
and his employers at the ski resort where he worked considered
firing him.
In short, all was going as planned.
* * *
By yet another one of those strange coincidences that drove their
lives, the three sailor scouts were spending the day at the very
resort where Brandon worked; Luna could feel the evil emanating from
within the sculptor, she was certain something was wrong with him.
Rei, Ami and Usagi thus found themselves going through a small patch
of woods leading to the mountainside where he had a workplace set
up. The north side of this particular mountain was covered with ice,
his primary source of raw material, with a wide plateau looming over
a deep chasm. All over the plateau, ice sculptures stood silently,
their shapes inspired by Brandon`s hideously warped psyche. Each one
of them was frighteningly realistic in its details.
There he was, working frantically on a huge ice colossus, his face
distorted by the dark kingdom`s influence; he looked totally crazed
with creative ecstasy.
"Maybe we should come back later? He looks busy right now..."
suggested Usagi.
"I`m sure Mamoru would be happy to see us return to the lodge so
soon." said Rei.
"It`s bad enough he had to come here with us, I`m not going back if
that creep is there!" protested Usagi, throwing her fists in the
air. Rei knew that just mentionning his name would be enough to
pump up Usagi.
Alerted by their bickering, the sculptor turned around and took
notice of the three intruders; he switched off his chainsaw.
"What do we have here? A public to behold my greatest work, my
masterpiece!" he said, pointing to the huge ice colossus he`d just
finished.
"Brandon, we`re all very concerned for you!" said Ami.
"No need to be, love. I`ve never been so creative, I`m really
cooking now- this statue I made, it`s almost... ALIVE!!!" he replied,
laughing menacingly. His statue effectively started to move, heading
towards the girls with the ground shaking under the stomping of its
large feet. An evil blue glow of energy bathed the young ice
sculptor.
The girls transformed immediately, ready to fight. Sailor Mars` fire
soul attack quickly melted the forzen menace.
From his house in the woods, Nephryte felt the sudden surge of
energy from his victim and knew it was time to strike.
"His power has reached its zenith. Now, Mimick, take his energy for
the glory of the dark kingdom!" he screamed as he brought in view
the scene through the power of the stars.
The blade of Brandon`s chainsaw glowed intensely from the evil dark
kingdom sign Nephryte placed there. A faceless, feminine looking
humanoid being made of a thick blue liquid emerged from the surging
light, draining all of Brandon`s energy.
"I am the Mimick- all you do and all you are- that I am and more."
she said in a sordid haiku. To show off her power, Mimick molded
herself into an exact replica of Sailor Mars, though she remained
entirely blue of color. This, however, did not stop her from copying
her template`s powers. "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, jin, retsu, sai, zen.
Akuryou taisan!" she said, duplicating exactly Mars` mantra for
using magic charms; she threw one to Sailor Mercury who was
paralyzed instantly.
"Can`t... move..." she was barely able to utter.
The other two scouts tried to use their own powers, but were stopped
by a screeching fireball sent in their direction by Mimick.
"This is fun!" said the blue Sailor Mars look-alike, changing into a
cobalt blue version of Sailor Moon. She was preparing to finish the
job, reaching for her tiara to shred her helpless opponents. "MOON
TIARA..."
Just before her blue tiara could turn into a glowing disk, Mimick`s
hand was slashed by a flying projectile, a red rose. Tuxedo Kamen,
standing atop a tall ice sculpture, had arrived with his usual
perfect timing.
"Ice is the beauty of winter, it is not meant to be the tool of
monsters such as yourself." he said. His work done, he leapt away
and vanished.
Having recovered from the previous assault, Sailor Moon and Mars
were now ready to strike back with a combined attack.
"FIRE SOUL!"
"MOON TIARA MAGIC!"
The fireball engulfed the soaring golden disk, turning it into a
burning projectile of fiery doom. Mimick jumped aside, barely
avoiding it.
"You missed me!" she taunted, though she did not see the disk hit
the mountainside head-on, melting a large amount of the ice that
Brandon used as his working material supply; the resulting avalanche
came crashing onto Mimick, scooping her up and dragging her down the
nearby crevasse. "NOOOOO!!! " she screamed as she fell deep in the
chasm to her dreadful end.
"Good riddance!" said Sailor Mars as she removed the charm that
held Mercury stiffer than a marble statue.
"Serves her right for trying to steal our faces." said Sailor Moon
who burned her fingers as she tried to pick up her red hot tiara.
She looked at Brandon; he was lying unconscious in the snow, but
he`d be all right in a day or two. The battle was won once again.
* * *
Today...
Summer`s end drew near as august prepared to say goodbye to Japan,
returning again in a year as it always did. This particular year had
been very emotional for a group of very special girls known as the
sailor scouts, facing a horde of new enemies as old ones vanished
into oblivion, coming to term with their supressed feelings,
learning more about their past and gaining some new allies in their
battle against all things evil.
Speaking of their new enemy, it had been over two months now since
their last battle against the vicious ruler of the Changraloor
stormlands of the tenth sphere, Lady Daemonfang; the defeat she`d
been inflicted had been a heavy one indeed. The only other instance
of a monster attack was a pair of powerful ninjas breaking in at
Osa-P jewelry, but there`d been no follow-up of any kind since
then. This period of much deserved peace gave the girls plenty of
time to study for their college entry exam, the most important one
in any japanese student`s life.
Needless to say, Usagi`s parents were VERY nervous. Study sessions
went by, then the test.
Results were finally in; the girls did good, especially Ami whose
result went through the roof. Even Usagi got a grade slightly above
average which, although not extraordinary, would ensure her a good
education at a respectable college. This certainly required some
major celebrating from the girl whose future was less than certain
just a year before.
Usagi was at a small cafe with Rei and Makoto, enjoying a milkshake
to help down the large meal she just ate and wondering what to do
with the afternoon when she`d be done shopping with Makoto.
"You did really well, Usagi." complimented Rei.
"I had good motivation to." she said, showing her engagement ring.
"I don`t want to embarass my future husband by being a drop-out."
Dragging her fork through her plate, the silent Makoto felt her
heart shake as if a huge fist crushed it mercilessly. For months
now, she had dreaded this moment would come. "I`ll just have to go
to the bathroom before we leave." said Usagi as she went to the
women`s room.
Rei guessed what Makoto was thinking and went right to the point.
"Don`t chicken out on us, Makoto, you know it must be done better
than any of us. Must I remind you it was YOUR idea?" she whispered.
"I wish there was another way to deal with this..." she replied.
"It`s been months now and she`s done nothing about it. She`s even
gotten worse, I think. There IS no other way; we all took a vote and
it was unanimous: now that she`s engaged to Mamoru, there`s no
turning back."
"I`m afraid you`re right." said Makoto, resigned. "I`ll call to
check if everything is ready over there." said Makoto who went to
the restaurant`s phone booth and dialed her appartment`s number.
A woman answered.
"It`s me." said Makoto. "I`m calling to ask if you`re ready for
her."
"Everything`s set, you can bring her here. By the way, your knives
were way too dull! How do you expect anyone to cut through bones
with these butter knives you dare to call meat cleavers? I had to
sharpen them up something fierce." said the woman.
"Right, I trust your judgement on that. I`ll bring her now." Makoto
said, hanging up.
How could she do something like this to her friend? Let`s face it,
she had no choice. Usagi never learned by herself... all those
opportunities she wasted over the years... someone had to MAKE her
learn. Usagi knocked on the booth`s door, smiling happily like a
lamb walking to slaughter. She obviously didn`t have a clue of what
was waiting for her.
"So, ready to go?" asked Usagi.
"Yeah." she said, leaving the booth and faking a smile. "Do you
mind if we stop by my place first, I need to pick up my other purse."
"No problem, it`s close by."
Rei watched Usagi leave with Makoto and thought that the scouts
should have done this a long time ago. Suddenly, she burped loudly;
she took a quick glance at her empty dishes and realized she`d eaten
as much as Usagi, wich was no small task. And let`s not forget the
three ice cream cones Usagi talked her into slurping down the other
evening... no wonder she`d been waking up sick so often lately. She
would have to be careful, otherwise she`d turn into a meatball head
herself.
* * *
"Okay, fire up those charges!" ordered the foreman through his
megaphone.
A mighty blast of dynamite shook the ice covered stone of the rocky
cliff where a tunnel was scheduled for construction; it had to be
ready for the following year, so speedy work was critical. This
new road built that would go through the mountain would surely
attract more people to the dying ski ressort on the other side.
Pebbles and dust flew all over as well as a multitude of ice pellets.
The first blast did the job perfectly, clearing away most of the
thick ice cover that buried the mountainside.
"Nicely done, guys, let`s clear up this rubble and get ready for the
next blast." said the foreman.
One of the workers noticed that one of the larger ice chunks
contained a body, feminine looking, though not much more could be
seen clearly through the rough ice surface. Unsure whether this was
an ancient corpse from a civilisation long forgotten, an accident
or even a murder, they called the police.
"How old could it be?" asked one of the workers.
"Part of the ice here melts every summer and most of it has been
here for who knows how long. It`ll take a scientist to tell us for
sure." said another.
* * *
With her hand trembling ever so slightly, Makoto turned the key in
her appartment`s door lock and invited in Usagi who was amazed as
always by the spotless sparkle of the floor, furniture and walls.
How much time did Makoto spend cleaning anyway?
"I have some cookies I made last night in the kitchen." said Makoto,
pausing to make sure her voice wasn`t going to let Usagi know of
the anguish she felt at the moment. "You`re welcome to help
yourself to some."
"Thanks, I think I will." said Usagi, already imagining her friend`s
sweet cookies melting in her mouth.
Hook, line and sinker. Poor Usagi... how could she do this to her
best friend, Makoto wondered. After all, wasn`t Usagi the only girl
at school who wasn`t scared of her reputation as a fighting bully,
who gave her a chance in the first place? No, this had to be done.
For the sake of all those involved, Makoto couldn`t turn back. Not
now.
The unsuspecting Usagi entered the kitchen and saw a tall woman
standing there, staring at her, holding a very sharp knife in her
hand. Her heart stopped beating for a second, her muscles frozen
in silent terror.
"So there you are, little Usagi! When I`m done with you, not even
your own mother will recognize you!" she said, skillfully spinning
the knife around with her hands.
Barely able to think, Usagi backed off slowly only to bump into
Makoto who towered over her. The tall brunette grabbed Usagi by
both arms, easily holding her in place. "This is for your own good,
Usagi. The others all agree this MUST be done, you know it too."
she said in a firm voice.
"NOOO! I`m begging you, you can`t let this happen!" pleaded Usagi
who just realized what the two women had planned for her.
"For the next few hours, Cassidy Carter will teach you how to cook
properly!" said Cassidy, handing over the knife to Usagi. "First of
all, you`ll learn to cut vegetables the right way, so get chopping,
girl!"
Usagi began to cry, for she knew for sure that she was in hell. The
blonde girl who was famous for burning water, ruining cereal and
forgetting the recipe for ice cubes was about to receive a private
cooking lesson from the most demanding chef in town. To make a long
story short, the gates of hell were about to open in Makoto`s
kitchen.
* * *
Carving meticulously through the thick ice block, the doctors and
and scientists were finally able to uncover something so bizarre
that it could rival with hangar 54 in Roswell, Texas. A strange
female humanoid with no defined features rested on their examination
table, her entire body made from some sort of very thick, viscous,
cobalt blue liquid.
"It`s alien, it has to be." said the doctor leading this
investigation.
"I`m not quite sure if there`s even a single trace of water in this
creature; do you see how fast it`s warming up to room temperature
so soon after we carved it out of the ice block?" observed another
doctor.
"Whatever it is, we can`t let the media find out about it, just
imagine the panic this would create among the public!" commented a
paleontologist. The other scientists present all agreed.
"There are a few people who know about this discovery, but they`ll
be easy to convince that it`s just some old mannequin who simply got
in this ice by accident. In a few days, no one will even remember
about this incident." reassured the doctor who was eager to study
the strange being.
"We absolutely MUST extract samples as soon as possible. I want to
see its DNA structure, assuming it even has one..." concluded a
biologist.
She was alien all right. Her mind slowly arose out of the coma that
had been induced by the freezing cold over two years ago and began
to think of escape. Mimick would have to wait a while longer before
she could move again, but she`d be ready to resume her mission: to
destroy the three girls who gave her masters so many problems, the
sailor scouts.
* * *
Makoto walked down the street in shock; she couldn`t believe how
much Usagi was messing up her kitchen. After a while, Cassidy had
decided to spare her friend the trauma of being subjected to this
terrible spectacle and sent her out of her appartment until dinner
was finished and Usagi had cleaned up the mess.
Trying to forget about the unimaginable amount of cleaning her place
would need after this cooking lesson, Makoto was on her to Minako`s
home. She was bringing her back the brooch she borrowed the week
before; anything to stay away from the disaster area.
Makoto rang the doorbell and Minako`s mother answered, smiling as
always. "Hello, Makoto, it`s nice to see you." she said. "Minako is
in her room with Ami, I think they`re watching some french movies.
It`s a nice change from all that studying they did for their
entrance exam."
"They do work great together." observed Makoto as she came in.
French movies? Not very surprising, thought Makoto. Minako already
spoke great french in addition to her very good english. Living in
Europe all these years had helped learn many languages. Ami had a
natural talent for learning languages as well... was there anything
this girl couldn`t learn?
She walked up the stairs and heard incomprehensible babble coming out
of Minako`s room- the french language sounded like gibberish to her.
Hoping that this movie had subtitles, Makoto opened the door and
said hello. Well, she didn`t really say hello. She was too stunned to
speak the whole word through, although what she did say reflected
perfectly her state of mind when she saw Ami and Minako sitting on
the bed, hugging and kissing passionately. Obviously, they hadn`t
heard Makoto walking over the corridor to Minako`s bedroom.
"What are you two doing?!?" she screamed.
The lovebirds suddenly snapped out of it and noticed someone was
watching; they stopped immediately and Ami rushed to remove traces
of Minako`s pink lipstick from her cheeks and neck.
"Hum... you see..." mumbled Minako, trying desperately to find an
explanation.
"You were making out?!" asked Makoto.
"You don`t understand, let me explain..." said Ami who blushed more
than she ever did before in her entire life.
The bewildered Makoto felt her stomach twist and her head spin in
revulsion; this was simply too weird for her. She dropped the golden
brooch on the floor and left without a word. Minako ran after her
while Ami just stayed there, crying in silence. A minute or two
later, she followed them, though at a much slower speed. She had
feared this from the start and it had begun: their friends would
turn away from them, branding them as freaks.
"Ami, what happened? Minako and her friend just left in a hurry."
said Miss Aino.
"It`s a bit hard to explain right now, but I promise I`ll come back
later with Minako and all will be clear then." replied Ami as she
left.
* * *
Carefully examining the strange body of Mimick, the team of
specialist was especially amazed at the liquid body wich seemed to
maintain its preset basic humanoid form. It had now reached a stable
temperature somewhat lower than the human body though it was higher
than room temperature.
"I think there could be some source of heat in this alien`s body;
that would certainly explain a lot." observed a doctor.
Then, to everyone`s surprise, Mimick opened her eyes. She sat up
and looked around at the four scientists, searching for any useful
abilities she could copy. They had none, but that didn`t matter.
She geeted them with her usual haiku:
I am the Mimick
All you do and all you are
That I am and more
Her hands, delicate and small, morphed into lethal claws; this was
one of the rare things she could do without a model to copy it from
and was more than enough to ensure four swift kills. No one could
stop the youma from achieving her mission for her master Nephryte.
* * *
Laurella and Rei set up the table as they awaited the dinner which
was being prepared by the sweating Usagi. Cassidy was running the
girl with a vengence like a vicious drill sergeant.
"I can`t wait until she`s done, I`m famished!" said Rei, her
stomach growling.
"I hope her cooking has improved, I heard stories of her earlier
attempts at making food..." observed the concerned Laurella.
"I`m sure she`s much better, it smells delicious." said Rei.
"Shouldn`t Makoto be here by now? It`s almost six o`clock." noticed
Laurella after taking a look at her watch.
"She probably went to see Minako and Ami to make sure they`d be here
too."
As if on cue, Makoto blasted in and sat down at the table with her
friends without as much as a simple hello. Her face spoke of untold
anger and betrayal.
"Whoa, what happened? You look like you`ve just been dumped, but
you don`t even have a boyfriend..." commented Rei.
Minako came in a few seconds later, peeking in cautiously before
entering Makoto`s appartment; she seemed very embarassed. "Makoto,
we really have to talk about... you know what." she whispered.
Without looking at her, Makoto went to her room and slammed the
door shut with all her might, making the walls tremble.
"Did we miss something?" asked Laurella.
"We had a misunderstanding." Minako answered. While Rei and Usagi
argued quite often, Makoto and Minako compensated numbers with sheer
intensity; their fights, tough few and far between, were powerful
enough to shake whole cities and flatten mountains.
"You`ll work it out quickly enough, you always do." said Rei.
"This time, it`s a lot more complicated." replied Minako, barely
holding herself from crying.
Ami entered the appartment in pursuit of her two friends and looked
very embarassed as well. "Did you speak with her?" she asked.
"No, she won`t listen." replied Minako.
"What`s this all about?" asked Usagi as she brought in warm dishes
from the kitchen to the table.
"Since Makoto knows already, maybe we should just get it out in the
open, be finally rid of this secrecy once and for all." suggested
Ami.
"I don`t know, maybe we should wait longer." said Minako.
"I`m tired of hiding! Can`t we just let everybody know and let THEM
deal with it? We`re not the ones with the problem, after all..."
said Ami with conviction.
"Yes, I guess you`re right..." said Minako. She turned to Rei, Usagi
and Laurella and made the hardest confession of her life. "Makoto
caught me making out with Ami. We`re deeply in love." she said,
looking Ami straight in her eyes.
"That`s right. We found in each other the missing part of
ourselves." added Ami.
These words stunned everyone.
"Oh." blurted out Rei.
"Did I hear this right?" asked Laurella.
"You did." answered Minako, taking Ami`s hand in hers. An
uncomfortable silence floated in the dining room while this
heartfelt declaration of love made its way through everyone`s mind.
Usagi was the first one to speak, asking Minako a question that had
been nagging her for a while.
"So, Minako, is Ami a good kisser?" she asked, getting a few burning
stares in her direction. "What? We all wanted to know and Ami`s only
known boyfriend wouldn`t say!" she said in self-defense.
"Let`s discuss this over dinner, Usagi`s meal is getting cold. I
think I can talk Makoto out of her room." said Cassidy, bringing
more dishes to the table.
And so she did. Makoto and the other girls enjoyed very much the
delicious meal prepared by the now talented Usagi. The cook herself,
however, was so tired she could barely hold her head up above her
plate. Although the meal itself was fine, the conversation was
strikingly cold. Makoto refused to talk to either Minako or Ami,
avoiding their gazes whenever possible. The others tried to get
her to listen, but she wouldn`t hear of it. In the end, they all
left hoping that a good night sleep might put her thoughts back
into place.
Before leaving, Cassidy left her friends with a few words of wisdom.
"You should be careful how you treat your friends, you know. Are
they any different than before you discovered their secret? Think
about it." she said, picking up her jacket and purse. She thought
of something and whispered a last comment in Makoto`s ear. "Usagi
was a cooking disaster before you left her in my care, you owe me
big, girl."
Left alone in her empty appartment, Makoto sulked in her own sorrow.
She couldn`t believe this! She always felt comfort in the fact that
she wasn`t alone searching for a nice guy, that her friends were
coming along for the ride. Now that they`d given up on men, she felt
betrayed and lonely.
She stormed out of her appartment, deeply confused.
* * *
Back at Minako`s home, the loving couple wondered what would the
world`s reaction to their relationship.
"I knew that this would happen the instant we would speak up." said
Minako. "I can`t wait until our own families regard us as lepers."
"That`s just the shock from surprising us earlier in your room, just
give her some time." said Ami, putting her arm around Minako`s waist
and leaning her head on her girlfriend`s shoulder, letting the silky
golden hair caress her skin.
"You think so?"
"I know so. We`ve been through so much together, she won`t turn her
back on us so easily."
Ami`s words were reassuring to Minako.
"You`re probably right. This is going to be a real test of
friendship, you know. All the people who just pretend to be our
friends will be the first ones pointing fingers." observed Minako.
"Those who will point fingers will only reveal themselves as the
shallow people that they are. Such people don`t deserve to be
called friends at all." replied Ami.
The front door unlocked and Miss Aino came in along with Miss
Mizuno. They had met through their daughters and became good
friends as well.
"Hello girls, we didn`t know you`d be back in time to watch this
movie we rented, you`re both welcome to join us." said Minako`s
mother.
Minako looked in her lover`s eyes, her face showing worry and
hesitation; Ami`s face, however, was showing resolve and confidance.
She nodded in approval.
"Mom, Miss Mizuno, Ami and I have something important to talk about
with you..."
* * *
Panic stricken people on the street stared at the cobalt blue youma,
confused and amazed at the faceless being.
"Where are they? Where are the SAILOR SCOUTS?" she screamed.
No one seemed to know what to do about her until she began tearing
up cars, breaking store windows with torn car doors and ripping up
parking meters. By then, they figured escape was their best option.
That, and dodging to avoid the heavy projectiles as well.
* * *
"Leave me alone!" yelled Usagi in terror. She was surrounded by
hordes of evil carrots, potatoes and tomatoes wielding forks and
spoons. Her only weapons to defend herself were a potato peeler and
a tiny fruit knife. "Stay away, I`m not afraid to use these!" she
screamed to the angry mob of vegetables.
Luna and Chibi-Usa pulled the sleeping Usagi out of her comatose
sleep, forcing her to sit up straight on the sofa where she
collapsed half an hour earlier when she came home.
"I`ll make supper with the lot of you yet." she mumbled through her
half-asleep state.
"Wake up, meatball-head! It says on television that there`s trouble
a couple of blocks away from here!" said the pink-haired girl,
dragging Usagi to the front door.
"Yes, we need the sailor scouts!" added Luna.
"Gotta call the others quickly..." mumbled Usagi who hoped this
would be taken care of fast. She couldn`t remember the last time
she`d been so tired... she was so sleepy, she couldn`t remember much
of anything else, for that matter.
Even though Usagi hadn`t pushed the button on her comm-watch yet, her
friend Makoto was already in the thick of things. Her frustrated walk
had led her to a trail of wrecked cars and trashed storefronts which
she followed in a hurry. A quick trip in a dark alley allowed her to
change into the powerful Sailor Jupiter. Frustration fueled her
aggressivity tenfold; she was thrilled to have a target to vent her
pent-up anger on at last.
A big raging monster trashing the city was just what the doctor
ordered. Running down the ravaged streets, some people recognized
Jupiter and cheered; the scouts had undeniably gained popularity
over the years. It wasn`t too hard to find the culprit of this
rampage; a female humanoid thing made of blue jello isn`t something
you see every day. A youma, obviously; her form was that of a generic
humanoid female though it was bland and totally uncharacteristic.
"WHERE ARE THEY?!?" screamed the monster as it tossed a station
wagon into a drugstore.
"Stop this right now, one of us is right here!" yelled Jupiter,
stricking a heroic pose. Mimick turned around slowly and recognized
the uniform, but not the girl.
"And who might you be?" asked the youma.
"I am Sailor Jupiter, I fight for justice everywhere, I strive for
peace and order everywhere unlike slime like you!" said Jupiter
under the cheers of the people around.
"Not quite slime, actually, I`m made of proteoplasm to be exact."
"Doesn`t matter what you`re made of. Who are you? How dare you
destroy my city?"
"I am the Mimick, all you do and all you are, that I am and more."
said Mimick in a theatrical fashion.
"Huh?"
"Just watch, you`ll understand fast enough." said the youma, staring
coldly at Sailor Jupiter. Her viscous body morphed into an exact
replica of Jupiter, although it kept its blue color.
"How the hell did you do that?" asked the bewildered Jupiter.
"It`s insultingly easy when you know how!" replied Mimick. "Since
you enjoy fighting so much, let`s see how well you do against...
YOURSELF!"
* * *
"Yes, Usagi, we`ll be right there, we`re already tracking down the
path of destruction." said Ami through her comm-watch wich she
conceiled from public view with Minako`s help. "There`s something
familiar about the description of the monster Usagi just gave me,
I can`t quite put my finger on it, though."
"Don`t worry about it, we`ll trash that monster like all the others
before!" said Minako with enthusiasm.
After a quickchange and a few hundred meters run, they reached the
battle scene. Things were looking pretty ugly as Mimick was
obviously keeping on top of Sailor Jupiter who barely remained
conscious. Thrown left and right, punched needlessly and kicked
without any end in sight, she was bleeding a lot and silently
praying for help. Mercury immediately remembered the blue
shapeshifter.
"MIMICK! I thought we destroyed her years ago!" she said.
"What do you know of her?" asked Venus.
"She needs a model to keep her shape, if she can`t see us, she can`t
do much... also, we need to attack all at once because she can best
any one of us individually, like she did to Jupiter."
"Then let`s go!" said Venus, jumping boldly into the fray to take
the creature by surprise. Blindsided, mimick took a couple of hits
from Venus before she could change shape to match her new attacker`s.
Taking advantage of Mimick`s distraction, Sailor Mercury went to
Jupiter`s help. "Can you stand up?" she asked.
"Just gimme a second..." uttered Jupiter. Her karate teacher`s first
lesson was that any man could easily be neutralized with a swift
kick between his legs; he forgot to mention, however, that a knee
kick to the pelvis can do the same to any woman as Jupiter was
painfully discovering.
Venus, fighting Mimick alone, was starting to have trouble of her
own; Mimick, now looking exactly like her, was giving her a beating
like she never had before. The youma was quite surprised that there
were more scouts than she remembered, but it didn`t matter. She`d
kill them all like her master Nephryte commanded. Before she could
give the final blow to Venus, however, a bolt of lightning crackled
through the air and struck her squarely in the back. Losing her
concentration, she reverted to her generic form. She turned around
to face the battered but unbowed Sailor Jupiter.
"That was NOT smart." said the youma.
"That`s what YOU think." said Mercury from another side. "MERCURY
BUBBLE BLAST!"
The bubbles collided with Mimick, creating a thick shroud around her.
Unable to maintain visual contact with anyone, she was stuck in her
basic form. She extended her claws and ran to a spot where she saw a
human form peering through the fog; slashing furiously, she shredded
to bits an ice statue improvised by Mercury to draw away her
attention "WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS?" she screamed when she realized
she`d been fooled.
"We must use all our powers in a single blast!" said Mercury.
"Right!" agreed the two others.
"SHINING AQUA ILLUSION!"
"VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!"
"SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!"
Venus`s golden energy chain connected with Jupiter`s thunder ball
and Mercury`s ice blast, resulting in one of the most lethal
combination attacks the scouts had created yet.
"COLD THUNDER SPEAR!" screamed the three scouts as the ice harpoon
charged with the power of lightning soared towards Mimick, tearing
through her chest. As life seeped out of its frozen body, the youma
fell to dust on the ground. A sudden gust of wind blew away both the
dust and the fog.
"Moondusted!" said Venus. The others looked at her with a weird gaze.
"Sailor Moon wasn`t here to say it, someone had to!" she argued.
With the thrill of battle slowly fading away Makoto began to feel
ashamed for her conduct with her friends earlier that evening. "I`d
like to... appologize for what I said at the dinner, I guess I
ruined it for everyone. I think it`s fabulous that the two of you
finally found love; seeing you together just reminded me how lonely
I am myself. I`m really sorry." she explained.
"Don`t beat yourself up for that, we couldn`t possibly be mad at
you." said minako.
"I admit it was a shock. Our mothers were surprised as well when we
told them, but they took it well. All you needed was a little time
to get used to the idea. Besides, the real test of friendship will
come from other people when they learn about us." added Ami.
"It`s not going to be easy for anyone." said Minako.
"I`ll be there for you, girls." said Makoto. She then remembered
that she had taken a shower with the two of them at the public pool
the week before. "HACK! Were you two checking me out in the
showers?!?"
"Don`t be ridiculous, you`re our friend!" answered Ami.
"Yeah, we`d never look at you in that way." said Minako.
"That`s reassuring." said Makoto. She then saw the other three
scouts running their way, unaware that the fight was already over,
so she went their way to tell them of their victory using a new
combo attack.
"I`m glad we didn`t lose any friends among the sailor scouts, it
would have been really sad if you consider all we`ve been through
together. I`m happy Makoto finally accepted us." said Ami.
"You know..." whispered Minako to Ami, "...she does look great naked,
don`t you think?"
"That`s true, but I don`t think we should tell her that!" replied
Ami, giggling uncontrollably.
* * *
EPILOGUE
Thunderstorms are nothing to be afraid of, unless you live in the
tenth sphere where they can lay waste to entire countries. This is
why the fortress of the ruling family of Changraloor was built so
strong; over the past three millenia, it withstood assaults from
natural and unnatural forces sufficient to wipe out Japan in a
single night.
In the heart of the black fortress, inside one of the many secret
rooms, a seductively wicked figure completed the last operation in
her ritual to create a new demonic life. Starting from shapeless
biomass and a few hairs from a template, she created the being to
her own taste. A demon who would be her husband. As soon as it had
been large enough, she had begun subconscious education so that he
would have an adult intelligence and behavior right out of his
magical womb.
Lady Daemonfang was a natural when it came to magic. Creating a
complete demon in little more than three weeks as she did was
nothing short of an exploit. An unholy birth was about to take
place.
Cracking and opening, the womb released the most beautiful demon
ever born by the tenth sphere`s standards. His leathery wings were
smooth and not slimy, his feet were well proportionned like a
human`s, his armored second skin`s color complemented his primary
skin color to perfection. As he stepped into the light, his face
showed its delicate beauty; his jaw was not disproportionately large
like all other male demons, neither were his small fangs that did
not hinder his evil smile. His bright eyes flared malevolent wits.
His face was identical to Mamoru`s.
"Come to me, my husband to be..." said Daemonfang. "Come to me, my
AKUMA KAMEN!"
The End