EPISODE 11-BETRAYAL AND LOSS
I do not own any of the main characters in this story except for Gilded Rose. They are owned by someone in Japan. However, with the exception of Serena Campbell and Amy Anderson, I do own the Americanized names of the characters, as well as many of the supporting characters and villians. To make things easy, we'll just say that anything that has appeared in the manga or anime version of Sailor Moon is owned by someone in Japan, most likely Toei or Naoko Takeuchi.
Tuesday, 1 July, 1986
Life couldn't have been much better for Serena Campbell. She had turned 16 the previous day, and was finally old enough to get her driver's license, and she passed her test with flying colors, in fact, getting a perfect score. She also finally had a date with the boy of her dreams, Tom Chiba. Things couldn't be much better. Little did she know that the worst was yet to come.
Later that evening
Serena had just returned home from her date. She and Tom had went to the movies, where they saw the Karate Kid, Part 2, and during the scene where Daniel-san asks Sato if they could hold the obon dance in the ruins of the old palace, he kissed her. Serena had been floating on air. When she got to her room, she picked up the phone and called her friend Molly. Or, at least, she thought she was calling Molly.
Jake's house
Jake was watching Return of the Jedi on video when the phone rang. He picked it up on the first ring. "Your two dimes," he said.
"Is this Serena?" Jake said, after Serena had asked for Molly. "You dialed 0832 instead of 0823, didn't you?"
Serena's house
"Oh sorry Jake," Serena said, and hung up. She then dialed the correct number. After spending the next twenty minutes describing her date, Serena hung up. When she hung up, Luna came in he room, with a worried look on her face. "What's wrong?" Serena asked.
"I just have a very bad feeling," Luna said. "Something real bad is about to happen. I don''t know what, but I know it's bad."
Hillcrest Park, several minutes later
Something doesn't feel right, Tom thought to himself. He decided to check it out. He took a mask out of his pocket, and put it on. Immediately, he became Tuxedo Mask. He then began to investigate what was wrong.
He encountered a red-haired woman in a "Dragon Lady" style dress. "Tuxedo Mask," the woman said. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Eudial, and I am here to make you serve the Darkness."
"Never!" Tuxedo Mask said. "I fight on the side of good. I will never serve the Darkness."
"I beg to differ," Eudial said, as she raised her right hand, and pointed a red-nailed finger at Tuxedo Mask, shooting a red mist at him, which caused him to fall into a deep sleep. "All too easy," she said, as she draped one of his arms over her shoulders, and teleported away.
The next morning, Serena's house
Serena answered the phone on the second ring. "Hello," she said.
"Is this Serena?" the voice on the other end of the line said.
"Yes it is," Serena said. "Who are you?"
"My name is Mike Chiba," he said. "I'm Tom's brother. Listen, he didn't spend the night at your house, did he?"
"No," Serena said. "Why do you ask?"
"He never came home," Mike said. "It's not like him to stay out all night, especially without telling anyone. If you see him, have him call home, okay?"
"Sure," Serena said.
After she hung up, Serena got out her communicator. "Sailor Soldier emergency," she said. "Everyone meet at my house ASAP."
Ten minutes later, Serena's house
"What's this all about?" Elizabeth asked.
"Tom's brother called me a few minutes ago," Serena said. "Apparently, he never came home last night. I think something might have happened to him."
"Let's split up and look for him," Jake said. "You girls split up and cover the ground, and I'll do an aerial search. Use your communicators if you see anything."
"Should we transform?" Amy asked.
"Your call," Jake said. "I'm going to." Jake left, and when he got home, threw down his transformation rose. "Transform!" he said, and became Gilded Rose. He then took to the air, flying in a spiral pattern over Sunny Hills.
Back at Serena's
The girls all decided to transform, and did. After a quick discussion, they split up, each Soldier taking a different part of town.
Euclid Park, an hour later
Sailor Jupiter was in the middle of her foot patrol, when she spotted something. "I think I found something," she said.
"What?" Gilded Rose asked , standing directly behind her.
"Where did you come from?" Jupiter asked.
"I was flying directly overhead when you called," he said. "I noticed something too." He threw a gold rose into a cluster of bushes. "You can come out," he said.
Eudial came out of the bushes. "How did you know I was here?" she asked.
"I saw you from the air," Gilded Rose said.
"Well," Eudial said, "I don't think you saw this, did you?" A that, Tuxedo Mask came through an interdimensional portal. "Tuxedo Mask, destroy these insolent meddlers."
"With pleasure," Tuxedo Mask said, and fired beams from his eyes that sent Sailor Jupiter and Gilded Rose reeling.
The two of them recovered quickly, and retreated to the cover of bushes. When they were safe, Gilded Rose activated his communicator. "I've got some good news and some bad news," he said. "The good news is Jupiter and I have found Tuxedo Mask."
"The bad news," Jupiter added, "he's kind of joined forces with our enemy."
"Are you sure?" Sailor Mars asked.
"He just tried to destroy us," Gilded Rose answered. "And I think he enjoyed it."
A couple of minutes later, the whole team was assembled. "Any suggestions on how to deal with this?" Sailor Venus asked.
"I'd say throw all ideas of subtlety out the window and strike hard," Gilded Rose said. "But try not to permanently harm Tuxedo Mask. I have a feeling he's not a willing servant of our enemy. We might be able to save him."
By this point, everyone in the park had congregated around to watch the action. Many of the people had heard of the sailor Soldiers, but for many, this was their first time actually seeing them in the flesh. "Get back," Gilded Rose said to the crowd. "This is no place for civilians." The crowd backed off a little, but still remained. He then ricocheted off several trees, and landed about 25 metres behind the rest of the group. "Sailor Moon," he called, "take a knee!" Sailor Moon dropped to one knee, and Gilded Rose took a running start, and vaulted off her shoulders. He got only a couple of feet off the ground before another optical bolt from Tuxedo Mask sent him to the ground at the Soldiers' feet. "A gold rush seemed like a good idea," he said. The small explosion from the impact ripped his mask, so he removed it, and discovered that the magic aura that protected the identities of the Sailor Soldiers protected his too.
The Sailor Soldiers and Gilded Rose had regrouped, and were preparing to initiate another offensive, when Eudial shot a red mist from her hands. The mist enveloped the Soldiers, and dissapated in a few seconds. The Soldiers and Gilded Rose felt no ill effects from the mist. "Is that the best you can do?" Sailor Moon said. "It'll take more than a red mist to take out the Sailor Soldiers and Gilded Rose."
"Who said I was trying to take you out just yet?" Eudial asked. "I only meant to take something from you first. Take a look around."
At that, the good guys looked around at the crowd, and noticed something different about them. It took Gilded Rose a moment to realize exactly what. "Oh god," he said. "They recognize who we are. That last attack wasn't to hurt us, it was to destroy the aura that protects our identities."
"Enough fooling around," Eudial said. "Tuxedo Mask, destroy them!"
Tuxedo Mask raised his hand to launch destructive bolts of energy at the Sailor Soldiers and Gilded Rose, but was stopped by an otherworldly voice that seemed to come from the heavens. "Stop!" the voice said. We will destroy them. But not here, not now. Now return to the microdimension. But first, Eudial, leave them with something else to remember us by."
"With pleasure," Eudial said. She pointed a red-nailed finger at Sailor Venus, and shot a small bolt of energy at her as she and Tuxedo Mask retreated through an interdimensional portal. Venus' Sailor uniform disappeared, and was replaced with the shorts, tank top, and flip-flops that Elizabeth Minako was wearing.
Elizabeth got out her transformation wand. "Pretty Venus Soldier, Make-up!" she said, and instead of transforming, she watched in horror as her transformation wand turned into dust in her hand. "Oh no," she said. "I'm powerless!"
Gilded Rose threw down his transformation rose, and the rest of the team transformed back to their civilian identites. The crowd began to enthusiastically show their support to the teenagers, with "We're behind you" and "Give those demons a one-way ticket back to Hell" being two of the more common things the crowd said.
EPILOG
Two hours later, Elizabeth Minako's house
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Jake said.
"For the thousandth time, Jake Slater, yes," Elizabeth said. "It's not like I don't have anything to take up my time. I still have volleyball. But I'd be lying if I said I won't ever miss being Sailor Venus. Believe me, if I ever get my powers back, I'll be back in the thick of it with you guys again. And that's a promise."
"We wouldn't have it any other way," Jake said. "Well," he continued, looking at his watch, "I gotta go home and face the music."
"Thanks for giving me a ride home," Elizabeth said.
"Hey," Jake said. "What are friends for?" He started to put out his hand for a handshake. What the hell, he thought to himself as what started as a handshake became a hug. "Don't worry," he said, when he let her go. "We'll get Tuxedo Mask back, and give the Darkness one for you."