Ch. 3
With this power to wipe out
The havoc and anarchy.
This is my planet,
Gonna fight for our destiny.
-Unknown from M.E, Knuckle's theme, Sonic Adventure
"Don't you dare think about shirking training again, Usagi!"
She made a face a Mars. "Lighten up, Rei! I'm not shirking; I've been training all day. I wanna rest."
"That's just what the Shogun are waiting for," Touma said. "We can't rest, can't let our guard down."
"You train. I'm tired."
Mars sneered. "Weakling."
Moon turned her back on Mars. "Say and think what you want, I am resting!"
Mercury sighed. "No point in arguing, she's made up her mind. But she does have a valid point, we all should rest a few moments."
Everyone sighed, secretly grateful for the break. Miaka trotted up with food on a tray.
"Lunch time! I managed to worm my way into the kitchen and made some all Japanese dishes, I think you all will enjoy!"
Chibimoon smiled. "Thanks, Miaka-san!" She took one of the bowls from the tray and took a bite of the sushi inside.
"This is wonderful! You made this?"
Miaka smiled and flushed a little. "Yeah. You'd be surprised; they had all the ingredients. I've got some sauce here too for you all."
Everyone dug in, and thanks were squeezed around mouthfuls all around. Seiji swallowed a huge chunk-or at least he tried to, but began to pound on his chest. Venus squealed and began banging on his back. Finally he swallowed and began panting. Venus whacked him in the head.
"What was that all about?"
"Well, it was just so good I took a bigger bite. Too big, I guess."
Venus nodded, but an assault came from the back as a bowl full of sushi and sauce went hurtling at Seiji's head. It collided, staining his blond hair brown as raw fish and seaweed slid down it. He looked at his attacker, an angry Sailorjupiter.
"You never thought my cooking was that good! What a thing to say!"
Seiji flushed. "Mako-chan, wait! I'm sorry!"
"Too late, I'm mad at you!"
Miaka flushed crimson. "Oops. Guess I started a fight…"
As Jupiter continued to rave, Touma smiled apologetically. "It's not your fault, Miaka. Seiji brought it on himself as soon as the words were out of his mouth. You see, Jupiter and Shin do all of our cooking, and she would like to open a restaurant some day. We're supposed to be her critics and her patrons. So you can imagine she kinda took it personally."
Miaka giggled. She watched as the fight raged on until finally Mercury sighed. She had to cool Jupiter off.
"Mercury. Aqua Rasphody!"
The burst of water splashed Jupiter, drenching her. She blinked a couple of times, then, lips clamped shut, she sat down. Mars smiled.
"Nice going, Ami-chan. If you didn't do something I was about to. And I don't think she would have liked my solution too much."
"Melting her isn't cooling her off, Rei-chan."
Miaka blinked. "Are you all calling each other by your real names?"
Mars blinked, then blushed. "Yes, why?"
"You…live at the Hikawa Shrine?"
Mars blinked again. "Yes…we've met?"
"Kinda. I bought a charm from you some years back. Next thing I knew, I found myself on a bus with a youma."
Mars became a veritable blinking box. "Bus…youm-ah! My first mission! You were one of the girls abducted?"
Miaka nodded. "I was dazed, but awake enough to watch you guys fight for me. That's when I became a senshi fan."
Mercury, Mars and Moon all smiled. "Well, then, you're welcome," Mercury said, smiling broadly. "Really, it was only our fifth or sixth mission."
"Yeah," Rei added. "And Ms. 'For love and justice' over there was too scared to even investigate. Luna had to make her go."
Moon stuck her tongue out at Mars. "You didn't have to add that, Rei!"
Mars stuck hers back out. "Why, too embarrassed to let your little fan club know what a coward you are?"
Needless to say, a tongue war ensued. Miaka flushed again.
"Actually, my favorite is Chibimoon."
Chibimoon's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Miaka nodded. "Yeah. I mean, you're a lot closer to my own age, and I always thought that you were a very important part of the group."
Chibimoon threw her arms around Miaka in new appreciation. "Oh, thank you Miaka! That means so much to me!"
Tuxedo Kamen, ignoring both Mars and Moon, finally spoke. "My question to the rest of you is, since Miaka knows who Mars is, do we trust her, and indeed Hotohori, Tamahome and Nuriko enough to let them know who we really are?"
"It really shouldn't matter on the part of the warriors," Shou injected. "As they're staying here. It's Miaka we should be worried about, since she's from our world."
Ryo leveled his gaze on Miaka. "I think we can trust her with our secret. After all, we may have to go in disguise with her. If she can't recognize us and come to us when she needs help, then what's the point of our being here?"
Shin nodded. "Agreed. What's more, if a fight over her broke out again, she wouldn't know whom to trust, who won and who lost. I think it's wisest to let her know who we are."
"Maybe we shouldn't be making this call," Seiji pointed out. "After all, our identities aren't secret. It's the Senshi who would truly suffer."
Mercury threw up her hands. "What's the point? The Shogun know who we are, the Earth's Special Forces know who we are, Team Rocket knows who we are, hell, even Batman and Superman know who we are. What's one more person??"
Touma smirked. "Well, when put that way…."
"So, we want to keep this a secret still?"
"We have to, Katzie," Anubis said softly, kissing her. "Otherwise you'll be sent back, and I'm not going anywhere without you. And they need me here."
Katzie sighed and smiled. "Okay, Anubis. For you but as soon as we get back, I'm telling."
"By all means. Not like they're not going to notice eventually anyway."
Katzie giggled, and snuggled closer to Anubis. He'd been so supportive ever since they found out she was pregnant, unlike Rajura who, she had heard, treated Bertie's pregnancy like a plague until he finally saw Ben. Anubis now placed his hand on Katzie's stomach and smiled.
"You're going to make an excellent mother."
"And you an excellent father, you know."
Anubis grinned before kissing her lightly along the jaw line. He moved in to kiss her harder when they both started. They were being called to a conference. Sighing, both rolled out of bed and began throwing clothes on.
"And the guard station is here. Hardly a concern, but you never know."
Rajura sat, arms folded, looking at the tactical screen before him. "You still haven't explained what to do about the warriors and what to do about our little Trooper/Senshi problem.
Rubbeus shot Rajura a glare. Rajura may have saved his life, but he was still as annoying as ever.
"I'm waiting for all of us to arrive first."
"Think you might have interrupted something, Rubbeus?" Avery asked. "After all, it is late." Rubbeus shrugged.
"They know duty comes first. Ah, speak of the devil,"
Anubis and Katzie both entered, looking not too pleased to be there. Rubbeus ignored the looks.
"Now, about those warriors, they're not like the Senshi, all powerful you know. They're very limited in their abilities. From the two I saw, I say each only has one trait. "
A picture of Tamahome filled the screen. "This one seems to be prominent in martial arts, as Rajura can easily testify."
Rubbeus switched the image to Nuriko over a very audible snort. "This one seems to be super strong, something we've got to watch out for. Her and A-ko fighting together make an impressive team."
"He," Rajura corrected. "That's a man. Think of him as an ancient Chinese drag queen."
Rubbeus shrugged. "One way to look at it. Anyway, the third M've been told by Lord Talpa is a master swordsman. But as we haven't encountered him yet I don't have his picture to show to you. And I don't think we need to go over the Senshi again."
"Well maybe we should," Prizma said. "After all, it may give us a fresh look and we may find a weak spot in their defenses.
Rubbeus nodded. "All right. Sailormoon."
A picture of Usagi in mid-eat flashed. Rubbeus grinned. "The most accurate picture I could find."
Everyone smirked.
"Leader of the Sailor Senshi, her attacks consist of Moon Tiara Action, Rainbow Moon Heart Ache, and, along with Chibimoon, Moon Gorgeous Meditation."
Sh'ten frowned. Usually he didn't speak up at meetings, but he just noticed something.
"You know, it takes Sailormoon quite awhile to gear up for an attack. If we could keep her from completing her attack sequence, she'd be helpless."
"Genius," Rajura said, rolling his eye. "That's obvious, Sh'ten, and if it were just Sailormoon, we'd have won this war already. But we still have other Senshi to contend with."
"Keep it in mind," Sh'ten snapped back. "It may keep you from losing your Morning Star next time."
Rajura snorted again but fell silent. Anubis raised a brow. "Score this one to Sh'ten. And he's on the board!"
Everyone snickered, even Sh'ten. Rubbeus shook his head.
"Okay, Next…"
"It feels so good to take a bath," Usagi sighed and sunk deeper into the big wooden tub. It wasn't home, but it was hot and that was all that mattered. She laid her head back, her hair wrapped up around her odango. She thought on their situation.
They were, as far as they knew, trapped in a book with no way out, defending a Japanese girl from evil Shogun who weren't so evil because one of them had admitted to caring for them, while who knows how much time had passed at home.
Life wasn't fair, she pouted. She wanted to go home. She wanted to shave her legs. She wanted an ice cream sundae. She wanted to munch on movie food while watching "Bring it on" with Mamo-chan. She wanted to tease Naru-chan about going out with Umino-kun. She wouldn't even mind running into the Earth's Special Forces and being taken for a ride. Just so long as she was home.
"Usagi-chan?"
Usagi started, and sunk into the tub, peering over the edge.
"Chibiusa??"
"Usagi-chan, I'm scared."
Usagi blinked. Since when did her daughter confide in her? But, grabbing a towel, Usagi stepped out of the tub and sat next to her namesake. "Why, Chibiusa?"
"I'm afraid we won't make it home."
Usagi smiled and hugged her. "Don't worry, Chibiusa. We'll make it home. I promise."
Chibiusa looked into Usagi's eyes, and she knew she was telling the truth. They looked at each other a moment, smiling. Then Chibiusa stood.
"Then get outta the tub, you're hogging all the hot water!"
Usagi froze a second, and then began arguing furiously with her daughter.
"So how about it?"
Nuriko shook his head, "This is ludicrous!"
A-ko shrugged and smiled. "Well, if you're afraid to lose, I understand."
Tamahome and Hotohori smiled. They knew Nuriko wouldn't back down from a challenge like that. Nor did he.
"Who's afraid? I'll arm wrestle you."
A-ko grinned broadly and sat down across from him at the table. She set her elbow resolutely on the surface and grinned at Nuriko, almost daring him to take her hand. He pushed his sleeve up his arm and took A-ko's hand. Tamahome grinned.
"Ready….go!"
The two began straining against each other, a light sheen of sweat breaking out relatively quickly on each participant's forehead. A-ko reached up with her other hand and wiped the sweat away from her forehead, her red hair already sticking to it. Nuriko brushed his purple hair out of his face and continued to strain against this girl.
"They look pretty evenly matched," Hotohori whispered to Tamahome. Tamahome grinned. "I'll bet that A-ko wins."
Hotohori raised an eyebrow. "Betting against your fellow warrior in favor of a strange girl? Shame on you, Tamahome."
Tamahome grinned and the two watched a little longer. Hotohori leaned back over to Tamahome. "I'd put half my kingdom on A-ko. If I were a betting man, of course."
Tamahome grinned wider. "Of course, your majesty."
"So you're actually Sailormoon- Usagi's future daughter??"
Chibiusa nodded. "Yep! Mamo-chan and Usagi-chan are my parents. My mom, Neo Queen Serenity sent me to the past to learn how to be a Senshi so when I go back I can be Sailormoon. But I don't think she meant for me to go this far in the past."
Miaka rolled her eyes. "Yeah, tell me about it. I always hated learning about ancient civilizations. Now I'm living in one. Not exactly how I wished to spend my life. But it's not all bad."
"You mean it's not so bad living with Tamahome, don't you?" Chibiusa asked incredulously. Miaka laughed.
"Yeah, I do. But seriously, I really care about him a lot. I'm in love with him. But I guess you're too young to know what love is, aren't you?"
Chibiusa thought back to Helios, and to Peruru. "No, not really. I'm not as young as you may think I am, Miaka-chan."
Miaka shrugged. "Anyway, all I know is that once I met Tamahome, I was lost without him. I couldn't do anything without thinking about him."
Chibiusa nodded. "Yeah, I can relate…" she trailed off as she saw something in the sky above and behind Miaka. "M-Miaka?"
Miaka blinked and turned. Then, she screamed. It was Rajura.
Chibiusa stood quickly and grabbed Miaka's hand. She began pulling her toward safety as she activated her communicator. "Sailor Senshi, we're under attack! Transform and help us!"
Chibiusa turned to face the oncoming warlord. "Moon Crisis Make Up!"
She transformed into Sailorchibimoon and faced the warlord down. When he was about ten feet away from her, she yelled "Pink Sugar Heart Attack!"
Rajura was defter than this and dodged the little pink hearts, slamming Chibimoon into a giant stone column. He grinned underneath his armor. This had been too easy, ambushing the Senshi like this. Usually they were ready for such tactics. He held a scythe to her throat.
"Senshi, come out right now with the Celestial warriors or Chibimoon is history."
At first, there was no answer. Rajura braced himself for what he knew was going to happen.
"Venus Love-Me Chain!"
Chibimoon was yanked out from under him with no more than a scratch. Rajura growled and turned to face the Senshi.
"You're losing your touch, Rajura," Mars scolded. "Even you should have known more than to come alone."
"And you're losing your touch, Rei," Rajura said. "Or else you would have known that I did not come alone!"
"Quake with fear!"
"Snake bite Strike!"
"Black Lightning Strike!"
The Senshi were split up as three different attacks came from three different directions. Split apart, there was nothing much they could do against the Shogun. Rubbeus appeared Miaka in tow.
"Let's get out of here, we have what we want."
Rajura nodded and grinned. "I agree. The Senshi are of no consequence now."
"Don't bet on it! Arrow Shock Wave!"
Once again, Miaka's bonds were split. She was caught this time by Touma. The momentary confusion on the part of the Shogun gave Sailormoon enough time to gear up for an attack.
"Rainbow Moon Heart-"
"Oh no you don't! Quake with fear!" Sh'ten yelled, knocking Sailormoon off guard and yanking the scepter from her. Sailormoon gasped as he crushed it in his hands.
"M-my scepter!"
Sailorjupiter grit her teeth. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!"
Sekhmet jumped out of the way, grinning. "Snake bite Strike!"
The poison hit Jupiter in the chest, burning quickly through her fuku. While Sailormercury used her powers to wash off as much as she could, Rajura struck.
"Morning Star Strike!"
The two senshi were clobbered, hurled halfway across the space of the courtyard.
"Iie! (No!) Mako-chan! Ami-chan!" Shin yelled, running towards them. Seiji watched in growing horror as he saw Rubbeus aim for his friend's back. He heard his own warning come too late as the blast knocked Shin into the wall, unconscious before he even hit.
"Stop!!!"
The command brought everyone to a virtual halt. Miaka stood there, trembling, tears streaming down her face. The Sailor Senshi and Samurai Troopers were fighting-dying because of her. She wouldn't allow it. She'd end it the only way she could think of.
"This is all about me, right? Then…then take me. Leave them alone."
Ryo gasped. "Miaka, no! You can't-"
Miaka put her hands over her ears. "No! Shogun, take me with you now!"
Rajura grinned widely. "Wouldn't want to upset her. You heard her, guys."
Rubeus opened a portal and gestured towards it.
"After you, Suzaku no Miko."(Priestess of Suzaku…duh)
Miaka cast a back glance at the shocked group of warriors before stepping through. The portal immediately closed up behind her and all the Shogun disappeared. Touma ran over to Mercury, whereas Venus, Mars and Moon tended to Jupiter and Shin. Hotohori, Nuriko, Tamahome and A-ko came running out.
"What happened? Where is Miaka??" Hotohori demanded. Sailormoon caught his golden eyes with her blue ones.
"Gomen ne, Hotohori-sama. She's gone."
