All That Glitters
***Dark brown eyes scanned the horizon. It was a lovely winter's day, the sun glinting off the mountaintops. Snow, pure and white covered everything as far as the eye could see. It looked like the whole world was covered in white lace. As they cruised over head, Menagi Starnigh's family chatted happily about the upcoming trip. Her mom and dad sat arm in arm, chatting softly to one another. Her brother wanted to try out his new boogie board on the slopes, while her sister was wondering how she'd look in her new ski suit. As for Menagi, she was busily scratching away in her sketchbook. She was looking forward to all the artwork she'd get done in the solace of the woods. The brown-eyed girl loved to draw, loved to hike, but mostly loved being alone.
Her siblings regarded her as odd, because she preferred trees to people, art to conversation. Her parents were concerned because she was a lovely young girl, and should have lots of friends, and boyfriends. She was concerned because all her life she felt like there was something more for her, something missing, but she had no idea what it was.
She sighed, and looked up from her latest work, a vast starscape with a comet streaking through it. She looked out the window, her chocolate brown eyes scanning the horizon. From up here, everything looked so peaceful, so perfect. The snowy mountains, the evergreen trees, the puffy white clouds, the smoke from the engine. She sat bolt upright.
"Mom! Dad! I think there's something wrong with the engines, they're smoking!"
The next few minutes were the most terrifying in Menagi's short life. Her mind still blocked out most of it, but she remembered the heated argument between her father and the pilot of their private jet. She remembered her mother trying to calm the children down. Before the pilot could do more than radio in, there was an explosion as the engines ignited. In a flash, it was over. She saw the flames racing down the wings, up the cabin. She saw fire consume her family in slow motion; she saw it rolling towards her to consume her.
Then she saw a flash of light, and a radiant figure stood before her holding out her hand. At first, Menagi thought it was an angel come to rescue her. She was dressed in a beautiful white gown, trimmed in platinum. She had large, angelic wings protruding from her back, and was surrounded by a pure white light. Her face held an unearthly beauty, like nothing of this world, with large, amethyst colored eyes, and upon her brow was a golden crescent moon with a star nestled between its points. As Menagi took her hand, she felt a shock run up her arm and into her body. Her whole being throbbed with power and she instinctively knew that she and this woman were connected, as if they were one. The apparition vanished as the last of the power entered Menagi's body. As if in a dream, she saw a tear-shaped amethyst pendant appear on a platinum chain around her neck, glowing softly. She looked up, and saw the fire come. Her now amethyst eyes grew wide as she felt the flames pass around her, by her, surrounding her but not harming her. She saw the plane explode and felt herself flying towards the ground. A cocoon of golden light surrounded her as she slammed in to the ground.
And that's how the rescue team found her, alive and unhurt, but inexplicably catatonic.***
Menagi's scream tore through the pre-dawn morning, scaring the living daylights out of Rhea who was sleeping on the pillow next to her. After she could breathe again, Rhea looked at her companion who was sitting bolt upright, sweat covering her body. Her eyes were dilated in fear, an odd blue-black color. Her breath came in short gasps, and her body shook. After a moment, the young girl put her head in her arms and quietly sobbed herself back to sleep.
Rhea looked at the young girl in sympathy. Fate wasn't kind to you by letting you be reborn. We should have stayed dead. Of course, Fate never has been kind to us, has it? The Persian sighed. And its not going to get any easier, Little Star. You can count on it.
"Checkmate." Ami set the black bishop down with a soft click.
Menagi whistled appreciatively. "Wow, that was great! You really are a master at this game. I'm used to being beaten, but not so quickly!"
Ami blushed. "No, you're technique is good, but I had your pattern figured out after the 3rd move."
Menagi blinked, and looked at the other girls. "Anyone else want to give this a try? She's already beaten me 4 out of 5."
The other girls shook their heads. "You're the only one I've ever seen beat her, even once!" Mako-chan said.
Minako nodded. "We keep telling her she should enter the Junior Chess League, to win back her title as Grand champion."
"But she won't do it." Usagi shook her head sadly.
"It would interfere with my school work." Ami protested.
Menagi's empathy kicked in. She could feel that not only was Ami fudging the truth, she really did want to join the league again. There was something else bothering her as well. "Are you sure?" Menagi asked. "They don't meet all that often, so I don't see why you can't enjoy yourself while you're still young."
Minako looked at her strangely. "That's something an old person would say."
The foreigner giggled. "I am old. I'm 16!" The other girls laughed.
"So, you're a year older than us. Big deal! Biiiiiiiii-daaaaaaaaaa!" Minako stuck her tongue out at Menagi.
"And apparently a lot more mature," Mako-chan added, slapping Minako upside the head.
Menagi turned back to Ami. "In any case, you may want to consider it. It would be a shame if you looked back one day and ended up regretting not following your heart when you were younger." She laid a hand on Ami's shoulder and squeezed it lightly.
Blue eyes locked with violet ones. "I'll think about it."
"Thanks for inviting me to the competition, Ami-chan! Good luck!" Menagi shook Ami's hand before the blue haired girl returned to her seat. The girls were sitting in a large auditorium waiting for the next round of chess matches to begin again.
Minako grabbed Menagi's arm. "Hey, I wanna go see the grand prize again before the match starts. Come with me, onegai?" She tugged the auburn haired girl down the isle toward the display set off to the side.
"Wait for me!" Usagi cried. "Rei-chan, Mako-chan, hold our seats!" The pigtailed blonde took off after her friends.
"'Hold our seats'," Rei muttered. "Gee, thanks a lot." Makoto sighed and shrugged, a bead of sweat forming on her brow.
The three girls approached a glass case. Inside was a hand carved chess set, made of ebony and ivory, inlayed with silver and gold. It was ancient, carved sometime back during the Tokigawa Shogunate. The winner of today's match would win this set.
Minako sucked in her breath at the sight. "Isn't it beautiful?" The other two girls nodded.
"My father had a chess set like this, once, but I was never allowed to touch it. It was crafted Italian marble, or something, and it was his pride and joy." Usagi said.
Minako laughed. "Very wise of him." She yelped as Usagi punched her in the arm.
Menagi sighed as she looked at the chess set. "I'd like to have one made of glass some day. I know it's not as expensive, but I like the way the light reflects off the pieces."
As both the other girls nodded in agreement, Menagi's temples started to throb. Something's not right here. Her violet eyes grayed a little as she looked around. I sense evil, but where? She was snapped out of her reverie as the two girls pulled her off to one side. One of the officials came to unlock the case, since the last match was about to begin. The contestants were to use the ancient chessboard for the final match. As the glass case was opened, a wave of nausea washed over Menagi. The chess pieces!
They set the board in front of the two contestants, Ami and a boy from Shijuku. Just as the match was about to begin, the lights went out flooding the auditorium with complete darkness. Screams of terror rent through the dark and the host used his mic to try and calm people down. Over the screams, Menagi swore she heard someone yell, "Mercury Star Power! Make-Up!" Then it went eerily silent. A moment later, the emergency lights came on, casting the place in an eerie twilight. Menagi heard twin gasps beside her and looked up on the stage in alarm. There, standing by the chessboard was Lady Ebonite. Confronting her was another of Earth's defenders, this one dressed in blue.
"Aww, crud! The lights came on too soon," Ebonite whined. "Cordial, would you fix that?"
"Cordial!" came a cry from the audience.
"Oh my gosh, the people!" Minako cried. The entire audience was unconscious, Rei and Makoto included. Standing in front of the audience was another Automaton, this one dressed as the Queen of Hearts. She was holding a golden scepter topped by a golden gem that glowed with stolen energy. Since the 3 girls were off to the side, they hadn't been hit by the attack.
"We've got to get out of here," Minako hissed.
"But what about Am-" Minako slapped her hand across Usagi's mouth and started yanking her toward the exit. There was a soft popping noise behind them, and Minako turned around. As she turned back to tell Menagi to follow, she saw that the young heiress had disappeared. That's odd, where'd she go? Nothing we can do about that now, we have to help Mercury!
"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
"Ebon Blasting!"
Black lightning slammed against blue ice, causing a tremendous explosion.
"Crap! Cordial! Give me a hand here!" Lady Ebonite cursed.
"Cordial!" The Automaton leapt on to the stage, her full skirts swirling around her.
She held her scepter high, then swung it in an arc around her. "Love Me Tender Draining!" The scepter flashed, and a beam of pink light lanced out at the blue-haired senshi. Mercury nimbly dove to the side, then came up on one knee.
"Ebon Bla-"
"Love Me Te-"
"Stop right there!" Both women halted in their attacks as two new combatants entered the field.
"For interrupting this very important chess match, I can't forgive you. I'm Sailor Moon, and on behalf of the Moon, I will punish you!" Sailor Moon was standing in the back of the auditorium, and beside her was another blonde haired girl, this one in an orange Sailor fuki, trimmed in navy blue.
"I'm Sailor Venus, and for hurting all these people, I will punish you with the power of love!" She struck a pose next to Sailor Moon.
Must they do this every time? The violet-eyed shadow thought, and readjusted herself on her precarious perch up in the rigging.
"Cordial, take care of them!" Lady Ebonite turned back to Mercury. "Now, get out of my way, little girl, so you don't get hurt."
"What are you doing here? What are you after?" Mercury asked.
Ebonite smiled slowly. "Now that would be giving away secrets, ne? Ebon Blasting!" Another lance of black lightning struck out towards the blue haired senshi, who hastily dove to the side to get out of the way. The petite woman advanced on her prey, chasing her down the length of the stage.
The woman hidden in shadows pulled out her laptop computer. "Computer."
breep
"Scan the chess board and all its pieces. I need to know if the whole board is cursed, or just a particular piece."
scanning A moment later: scanning complete
"Well?"
Only one item scans with negative energy A picture popped up on the display of the black queen.
"Bingo." Violet eyes looked at the two separate combats, wondering how to get the piece without drawing attention to herself. Hmm, I guess I just wait for an opening. If they just move a little further down the stage...
"Cordial! Love Me Tender Draining!" Another beam of pink light lanced out at the two senshi, who dove to opposite sides to avoid being hit.
"Venus! Love-Me Chain!" A chain of golden hearts shot from Venus' white gloved hand and raced toward the Automaton. The red-haired creature smiled, winked, then blew it a kiss, and the chain dissipated.
"Do you think that would hurt me? I'm the Queen of Hearts! Hearts do as I command!" She laughed; a loud, shrill sound. She leveled the scepter at Venus. "Love Me Tender Draining!"
"Sailor Moon Kick!" Blonde ponytails streaming behind her like banners, Sailor Moon's foot slammed into Cordial's midriff, knocking her shot wide. The Automation went flying backwards a few feet to land on her butt. "Oof!"
Cordial's face fell, and tears filled her eyes. "Now that wasn't very nice!" She sniffled, and wiped her nose on her sleeve. The two girls looked at each other in confusion, knowing they couldn't attack someone while they were crying. Quick as a cat, Cordial bounded to her feet and ripped off the front of her gown in a flourish. "If you can't be nice, I can't be nice! S&M Queen of Hearts!" Both girls eyes widened, and they blushed furiously. Cordial wore a red lace teddy underneath the dress, with a red studded collar and red, thigh high boots. She laughed as a whip of red energy appeared from the end of the scepter. "You have a Love-Me Chain? Meet my Love-Slave Whip!" She snapped the whip, once, twice, then slammed it between the two startled senshi, who gasped, and dove for cover.
The violet eyes in the shadows narrowed as she watched the dual combats. When she figured that Mercury and Ebonite were distracted enough, she looked down to the chessboard. With a thought, she vanished from the spot she'd been occupying up in the rigging. The air rushed in to fill the space she'd once been, making a soft popping noise. At the same time, the air by the chessboard rushed out with a soft swoosh, and the black garbed woman reappeared. It took her a moment to focus; teleporting always made her disoriented. She glanced furtively at both sets of combatants, and seeing them both occupied, reached out to recover the black queen. From out of nowhere, a red rose struck her hand, scoring a deep wound across the top and drawing blood. She dropped the queen with a startled yelp, and it rolled across the floor. The violet-eyed woman looked up to see Tuxedo Mask leap down from the catwalk above.
"Stop right there!" The man in the tuxedo and long black cape leveled a second rose at her. "Just who are you and what do you think you're doing?"
The black queen rolled across the floor, and came to a stop a few feet away from the fight between Ebonite and Mercury. Mercury was giving it all she had, but the petite woman was much stronger. However, Mercury believed in fighting smarter, not harder. She noticed a cone-shaped object on the floor behind Ebonite, and angled her next attack accordingly. "Shine Aqua Illusion!" The spray of ice forced Ebonite to dodge to the right and back a bit, and, as Mercury predicted, the woman stepped right on the small object. The look on Lady Ebonite's face was almost comical as she tried desperately not to fall. Her arms whirled in the air in a futile effort to stay upright. As if in slow motion, she fell on her butt, and the chess piece shot out from under her foot to smack against Mercury's blue boot with a soft tink. The blue haired girl looked down and wondered how the Queen had gotten there. She started to pick it up as to replace it with the other pieces later. As her hand closed around it, she felt the evil radiating from it, and her eyes widened in surprise. "So this is what you're after. But why? Why is it so important to you?"
The dark haired woman stood up, and dusted off her skirts. Her dark eyes narrowed as she regarded the blue tressed senshi. "Our Lady wants it. That's all you need to know. Now, I'll just take that and be on my way."
"I don't think so." Mercury's blue eyes narrowed as she regarded her adversary. "If you want it, you'll have to take it from me."
Lady Ebonite smiled a slow, mirthless smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Violet eyes glittered dangerously, the only feature that Tuxedo Mask could see as he faced off against the black garbed woman. "Look, put your little toy away. I don't want to have to hurt you."
Tuxedo Mask glanced down to the woman's hand, which bled freely, and then looked back at her. "I would worry more about yourself, if I were you. Now, who are you?" When the woman ignored him and turned to walk over to recover the chess piece, he threw the 2nd rose in her path, halting her momentarily. "The next one won't miss." He was surprised to see that her eyes had darkened to almost a black color when she looked back at him.
"All right, Cape Boy. You're starting to get on my nerves. I'll tell you one last time, stay out of my way. You're not my enemy, but you will be if you keep this up." With that she turned to walk away, deliberately turning her back on him. She had to call his bluff. She heard a slight swoosh behind her, and she spun on her heel and flung out a hand. "Solar Flare!" A small ball of golden light erupted from her black gloved hand, and incinerated the rose. However, she had not anticipated his action entirely. He had thrown six roses, not just one. This time, as the roses struck her, they grew in to vines, which grew rapidly around her, encasing her body. The dark clothed warrior fell to the floor with a thud. When she looked up, she saw the smirking visage of Tuxedo Mask standing over her.
"I told you, next time, I wouldn't miss." As he regarded his fallen adversary, he came to a decision. This shadow woman had been involved in all 3 fights so far. It was time to find out who she was. He reached down to remove the mask obscuring her features. His had stopped halfway there, however, because her eyes were glowing like coals and her body seemed to be pulsing with power. "Nani?" he asked, and backed away slowly.
"Alright, I have had enough of this," the woman snarled. With a thought, the vines around her body burst into flames, and the black clad figure stood. She turned to regard the open mouthed Senshi of Earth. "If Ebonite gets away with that piece, Cape Boy, you and I are going to have words." With that, the dark clad figure vanished with a soft popping noise.
"Shabon Spray!" Mercury knew she couldn't beat Lady Ebonite head on, so she decided to buy some time by laying down her ground fog.
"Nani?" Lady Ebonite's voice echoed through the fog. "Hey! That's cheating!" Ebonite looked this way and that, trying to figure out where her opponent had gone.
In the meantime, Mercury had took out her pocket computer, and pulled down her holo-visor. First, she did a preliminary scan of the chess piece. Then, she did some quick scans of the area, locked on to Ebonite, and then did some scans of the woman's powers. Her eyes quickly read over the data, and her shoulders slumped. She knew immediately she didn't have the firepower to take this one down. Suddenly, a second blip appeared on her screen, someone with a totally foreign energy pattern. Whoever it belonged to, that person's readings were off the scale. For a moment, she thought it was SuperSailor Moon, but then discarded the idea. Sailor Moon needed all 8 of her senshi to become SuperSailor Moon, and as far as Mercury knew, Saturn and Pluto where no longer here. Then, who is it?
The momentary distraction cost her dearly. The blue haired senshi felt someone grab the collar of her fuki, and yank her hard off her feet. She was tossed bodily up in the air, then brought down on the floor like a rag doll. A dainty, black heeled shoe slammed in to Mercury's rib cage, and it was all the Senshi of Ice could do to hold on to the chess piece. The evil woman grabbed Mercury by the hair, and slammed her head into the ground, and then snatched the piece out of her hand. The last thing the pretty girl saw before she lost consciousness was a golden light streak out of the fog, and hit Lady Ebonite in the stomach, sending her flying across the room.
The girls dodged the red whip time and time again, with little breath to spare. Cordial was able to strike like a cobra with the thing, and kept managing to keep the girls close to one another. This also kept the two of them bouncing in to one another, as they were always in each other's way. When one would dive out of the way, the red-haired Automaton would then laugh and chase the other girl back into the former one's path. Considering how much of a klutz Sailor Moon was, it was making for a disastrous fight.
"Hey! Get off my foot!"
"Ouch! That hurt! Stop elbowing me!
"Then get out of my WAY!" Venus attempted to vault over some of the seats, and caught her foot on the back of one. She tumbled end over end to land in a heap in the middle of the isle.
The scantly clad Automaton laughed. "How pathetic. Let's end this now, shall we?" She advanced on the fallen senshi. "Love Slave-OUCH!" she screamed as the scepter was knocked out of her hand. Sailor Moon's tiara returned to her hand. "Damn you!" Cordial cursed the pig-tailed senshi. Noticing she was now defenseless, she turned to race across the isle to where her scepter had fallen.
Realizing the creature's intent, Venus stood and yelled, "Crescent Beam!" A beam of golden light lanced out from her gloved hand and struck the golden crystal atop the scepter. The Automaton screamed in rage as the scepter detonated mere inches from her hand, releasing all its stolen energy.
"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" Pink light flooded the area and slammed in to the enraged Cordial, who screamed in pain, and then shattered into a thousand pieces. The two girls caught their breath a moment, then, as one, raced to the stage to help their friend. All around them, people started to groan slightly, as their energy was slowly returning to them.
The fog on the stage dissipated slowly, and the Scouts saw the fallen form of Mercury being held by Tuxedo Mask. They ran across the auditorium and lept on to the stage, screaming Mercury's name. The handsome young man looked up as they approached. "She's hurt, but she's OK."
They saw Mercury's face scrunch in pain, and then she opened her eyes to regard them calmly. "Gomen nasai. Lady Ebonite got the chess piece, what she came for. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough." She looked sadly at the floor.
Tux looked down at the fallen palm top computer, which was still running. "I bet you got some useful information, though. That would be good, since we have no idea what is going on. I'm getting tired of fighting blind." He slowly helped the blue haired girl to her feet, and the group quickly changed to civilian form, since the crowd was almost awake.
Minako picked up the computer and handed it to Ami. "Let's get the others and meet at Crown to discuss what's going on."
A few moments later, the judges halted the contest, on account of the strange disruption, and the group walked out of the building. Rei stopped suddenly. "Hey, where's Menagi-chan?"
Usagi shook her head. "We lost track of her at the beginning of the fight."
Minako nodded. "She disappeard just after the lights came back on."
Mamoru's blue eyes narrowed. "You mean she was awake? She wasn't knocked out like everyone else?" The two girls nodded, and Mamoru frowned.
"Hey! There she is!" Makoto pointed a green laqured fingernail towards a figure sitting slumped on the edge of a planter a few yards away. The auburn haired girl seemed upset, and she was regarding something in her hand intently. Or, as they got closer, she was regarding her hand itself. It looked as if she had injured it somehow, but it was hard to see. As they approached, she covered the top of her right hand with her left, obscuring the wound from view.
"Hey Menagi-chan!" the girls called. She looked up, her eyes a dark purple, and an aggrivated expresion on her face. She smiled slightly as they approached. "What happened to you, Menagi-chan?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing. I saw.. ..or, I thought I saw.. these weird women fighting. I figured the safest thing to do was get out of the building. What in the world was that?" Menagi asked. The others looked around and shrugged, beads of sweat forming on their brows.
"Its hard to explain. If you live her long enough, you'll get used to it," Rei's eyes never quite met Menagi's.
"What did you do to your hand?" Mamoru asked, looking at her hands, which she still kept covered. It's her, it has to be! I wounded the dark ninja with my rose.
Menagi looked up at the handsome young man in surprise. "My hand? Nothing? Why do you ask?"
"May I see it?"
Menagi frowned, but complied. She lifted her left hand to reveal the top of the right. Smooth, slightly tanned skin shown in the afternoon sun, not a scratch on it. Mamo-chan frowned as she said, "See? I told you, its fine."
"Gomen. When we walked up, it looked like you had injured yourself. I'm studying to be a doctor, so I'm always trying to take care of people." He gave her a lopsided grin, and she smiled back.
"We're going to Crown, wanna come with?" Usagi asked. The others gave her a nasty look.
Menagi shook her head, her auburn hair swaying slightly. "No thank you. I think I'll go home and do my homework. Its been too weird a day for me." She said goodbye to her friends and headed home.
"Konichiwa, Rhea! I'm home!" The young entrepreneur closed the door behind her, and made her way to the living room. She sank down gratefully on to the soft sofa, and the gold and white feline made her way in and sat next to her.
"So, how'd it go?" Rhea regarded her intently, then noticed her hand. "What happened there?"
Menagi sighed, and let the illusion fade. The top of her hand changed from unblemished skin to a deep cut, red and crusted with dried blood. "God, that hurts. Oh, we had another fight, and this time Cape Boy spotted me and decided to pick a fight. I don't see why I don't just reveal myself to them."
Rhea shook her head. "Its not time yet. Your memories haven't returned completely, or you wouldn't be asking that question. Suffice it to say, most of the Senshi of this solar system would be more than happy to hang you out to dry. You did have a few friends back then, but not enough. We need to find out if Queen Serenity or her daughter survived."
Menagi sighed, and started healing her hand. "I know. So far, she hasn't shown herself. I do know that I need to get my hands on one of those evil objects so we can stop being on the defensive. I'm tired of being 3 steps behind these goons. Ebonite took off with the latest object of power, an obsidian stone charged with dark power in the shape of a black queen. I've got some basic scans, but nothing like we need." She sighed again, and rubbed her eyes. "If Cape Boy hadn't gotten in my way, I'd have had it, no problem. I'm telling you, Rhea, I know you think that these Sailor Senshi are part of the Queen's court, but who is the clown in the tuxedo and cape?"
Rhea shook her head. "I don't remember him, but he seems to be their ally. So, no," Rhea said, in answer to the unspoken question on Menagi's thoughts, "you can NOT kick his butt. No matter how much you want to. Just try keeping out of sight better. You don't need a confrontation with the Queen's Senshi. She may have been your friend, but I doubt she'd take it very well if you got into a fight with them. Nor do I think you're read for that kind of confrontation. Your powers haven't fully returned, nor have your memories. I think it would be YOU who would get her butt kicked."
Menagi's shoulders slumped. "You mean there's more? I have more powers?" When Rhea nodded, she closed her eyes and sighed. "Why me? I just wanted to be a normal kid. Rhea, when will you tell me more?"
"When the time is right, Little Star, and not before." Rhea's golden eyes locked with Menagi's violet ones and they sat in silence for along time.
***Dark brown eyes scanned the horizon. It was a lovely winter's day, the sun glinting off the mountaintops. Snow, pure and white covered everything as far as the eye could see. It looked like the whole world was covered in white lace. As they cruised over head, Menagi Starnigh's family chatted happily about the upcoming trip. Her mom and dad sat arm in arm, chatting softly to one another. Her brother wanted to try out his new boogie board on the slopes, while her sister was wondering how she'd look in her new ski suit. As for Menagi, she was busily scratching away in her sketchbook. She was looking forward to all the artwork she'd get done in the solace of the woods. The brown-eyed girl loved to draw, loved to hike, but mostly loved being alone.
Her siblings regarded her as odd, because she preferred trees to people, art to conversation. Her parents were concerned because she was a lovely young girl, and should have lots of friends, and boyfriends. She was concerned because all her life she felt like there was something more for her, something missing, but she had no idea what it was.
She sighed, and looked up from her latest work, a vast starscape with a comet streaking through it. She looked out the window, her chocolate brown eyes scanning the horizon. From up here, everything looked so peaceful, so perfect. The snowy mountains, the evergreen trees, the puffy white clouds, the smoke from the engine. She sat bolt upright.
"Mom! Dad! I think there's something wrong with the engines, they're smoking!"
The next few minutes were the most terrifying in Menagi's short life. Her mind still blocked out most of it, but she remembered the heated argument between her father and the pilot of their private jet. She remembered her mother trying to calm the children down. Before the pilot could do more than radio in, there was an explosion as the engines ignited. In a flash, it was over. She saw the flames racing down the wings, up the cabin. She saw fire consume her family in slow motion; she saw it rolling towards her to consume her.
Then she saw a flash of light, and a radiant figure stood before her holding out her hand. At first, Menagi thought it was an angel come to rescue her. She was dressed in a beautiful white gown, trimmed in platinum. She had large, angelic wings protruding from her back, and was surrounded by a pure white light. Her face held an unearthly beauty, like nothing of this world, with large, amethyst colored eyes, and upon her brow was a golden crescent moon with a star nestled between its points. As Menagi took her hand, she felt a shock run up her arm and into her body. Her whole being throbbed with power and she instinctively knew that she and this woman were connected, as if they were one. The apparition vanished as the last of the power entered Menagi's body. As if in a dream, she saw a tear-shaped amethyst pendant appear on a platinum chain around her neck, glowing softly. She looked up, and saw the fire come. Her now amethyst eyes grew wide as she felt the flames pass around her, by her, surrounding her but not harming her. She saw the plane explode and felt herself flying towards the ground. A cocoon of golden light surrounded her as she slammed in to the ground.
And that's how the rescue team found her, alive and unhurt, but inexplicably catatonic.***
Menagi's scream tore through the pre-dawn morning, scaring the living daylights out of Rhea who was sleeping on the pillow next to her. After she could breathe again, Rhea looked at her companion who was sitting bolt upright, sweat covering her body. Her eyes were dilated in fear, an odd blue-black color. Her breath came in short gasps, and her body shook. After a moment, the young girl put her head in her arms and quietly sobbed herself back to sleep.
Rhea looked at the young girl in sympathy. Fate wasn't kind to you by letting you be reborn. We should have stayed dead. Of course, Fate never has been kind to us, has it? The Persian sighed. And its not going to get any easier, Little Star. You can count on it.
"Checkmate." Ami set the black bishop down with a soft click.
Menagi whistled appreciatively. "Wow, that was great! You really are a master at this game. I'm used to being beaten, but not so quickly!"
Ami blushed. "No, you're technique is good, but I had your pattern figured out after the 3rd move."
Menagi blinked, and looked at the other girls. "Anyone else want to give this a try? She's already beaten me 4 out of 5."
The other girls shook their heads. "You're the only one I've ever seen beat her, even once!" Mako-chan said.
Minako nodded. "We keep telling her she should enter the Junior Chess League, to win back her title as Grand champion."
"But she won't do it." Usagi shook her head sadly.
"It would interfere with my school work." Ami protested.
Menagi's empathy kicked in. She could feel that not only was Ami fudging the truth, she really did want to join the league again. There was something else bothering her as well. "Are you sure?" Menagi asked. "They don't meet all that often, so I don't see why you can't enjoy yourself while you're still young."
Minako looked at her strangely. "That's something an old person would say."
The foreigner giggled. "I am old. I'm 16!" The other girls laughed.
"So, you're a year older than us. Big deal! Biiiiiiiii-daaaaaaaaaa!" Minako stuck her tongue out at Menagi.
"And apparently a lot more mature," Mako-chan added, slapping Minako upside the head.
Menagi turned back to Ami. "In any case, you may want to consider it. It would be a shame if you looked back one day and ended up regretting not following your heart when you were younger." She laid a hand on Ami's shoulder and squeezed it lightly.
Blue eyes locked with violet ones. "I'll think about it."
"Thanks for inviting me to the competition, Ami-chan! Good luck!" Menagi shook Ami's hand before the blue haired girl returned to her seat. The girls were sitting in a large auditorium waiting for the next round of chess matches to begin again.
Minako grabbed Menagi's arm. "Hey, I wanna go see the grand prize again before the match starts. Come with me, onegai?" She tugged the auburn haired girl down the isle toward the display set off to the side.
"Wait for me!" Usagi cried. "Rei-chan, Mako-chan, hold our seats!" The pigtailed blonde took off after her friends.
"'Hold our seats'," Rei muttered. "Gee, thanks a lot." Makoto sighed and shrugged, a bead of sweat forming on her brow.
The three girls approached a glass case. Inside was a hand carved chess set, made of ebony and ivory, inlayed with silver and gold. It was ancient, carved sometime back during the Tokigawa Shogunate. The winner of today's match would win this set.
Minako sucked in her breath at the sight. "Isn't it beautiful?" The other two girls nodded.
"My father had a chess set like this, once, but I was never allowed to touch it. It was crafted Italian marble, or something, and it was his pride and joy." Usagi said.
Minako laughed. "Very wise of him." She yelped as Usagi punched her in the arm.
Menagi sighed as she looked at the chess set. "I'd like to have one made of glass some day. I know it's not as expensive, but I like the way the light reflects off the pieces."
As both the other girls nodded in agreement, Menagi's temples started to throb. Something's not right here. Her violet eyes grayed a little as she looked around. I sense evil, but where? She was snapped out of her reverie as the two girls pulled her off to one side. One of the officials came to unlock the case, since the last match was about to begin. The contestants were to use the ancient chessboard for the final match. As the glass case was opened, a wave of nausea washed over Menagi. The chess pieces!
They set the board in front of the two contestants, Ami and a boy from Shijuku. Just as the match was about to begin, the lights went out flooding the auditorium with complete darkness. Screams of terror rent through the dark and the host used his mic to try and calm people down. Over the screams, Menagi swore she heard someone yell, "Mercury Star Power! Make-Up!" Then it went eerily silent. A moment later, the emergency lights came on, casting the place in an eerie twilight. Menagi heard twin gasps beside her and looked up on the stage in alarm. There, standing by the chessboard was Lady Ebonite. Confronting her was another of Earth's defenders, this one dressed in blue.
"Aww, crud! The lights came on too soon," Ebonite whined. "Cordial, would you fix that?"
"Cordial!" came a cry from the audience.
"Oh my gosh, the people!" Minako cried. The entire audience was unconscious, Rei and Makoto included. Standing in front of the audience was another Automaton, this one dressed as the Queen of Hearts. She was holding a golden scepter topped by a golden gem that glowed with stolen energy. Since the 3 girls were off to the side, they hadn't been hit by the attack.
"We've got to get out of here," Minako hissed.
"But what about Am-" Minako slapped her hand across Usagi's mouth and started yanking her toward the exit. There was a soft popping noise behind them, and Minako turned around. As she turned back to tell Menagi to follow, she saw that the young heiress had disappeared. That's odd, where'd she go? Nothing we can do about that now, we have to help Mercury!
"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
"Ebon Blasting!"
Black lightning slammed against blue ice, causing a tremendous explosion.
"Crap! Cordial! Give me a hand here!" Lady Ebonite cursed.
"Cordial!" The Automaton leapt on to the stage, her full skirts swirling around her.
She held her scepter high, then swung it in an arc around her. "Love Me Tender Draining!" The scepter flashed, and a beam of pink light lanced out at the blue-haired senshi. Mercury nimbly dove to the side, then came up on one knee.
"Ebon Bla-"
"Love Me Te-"
"Stop right there!" Both women halted in their attacks as two new combatants entered the field.
"For interrupting this very important chess match, I can't forgive you. I'm Sailor Moon, and on behalf of the Moon, I will punish you!" Sailor Moon was standing in the back of the auditorium, and beside her was another blonde haired girl, this one in an orange Sailor fuki, trimmed in navy blue.
"I'm Sailor Venus, and for hurting all these people, I will punish you with the power of love!" She struck a pose next to Sailor Moon.
Must they do this every time? The violet-eyed shadow thought, and readjusted herself on her precarious perch up in the rigging.
"Cordial, take care of them!" Lady Ebonite turned back to Mercury. "Now, get out of my way, little girl, so you don't get hurt."
"What are you doing here? What are you after?" Mercury asked.
Ebonite smiled slowly. "Now that would be giving away secrets, ne? Ebon Blasting!" Another lance of black lightning struck out towards the blue haired senshi, who hastily dove to the side to get out of the way. The petite woman advanced on her prey, chasing her down the length of the stage.
The woman hidden in shadows pulled out her laptop computer. "Computer."
breep
"Scan the chess board and all its pieces. I need to know if the whole board is cursed, or just a particular piece."
scanning A moment later: scanning complete
"Well?"
Only one item scans with negative energy A picture popped up on the display of the black queen.
"Bingo." Violet eyes looked at the two separate combats, wondering how to get the piece without drawing attention to herself. Hmm, I guess I just wait for an opening. If they just move a little further down the stage...
"Cordial! Love Me Tender Draining!" Another beam of pink light lanced out at the two senshi, who dove to opposite sides to avoid being hit.
"Venus! Love-Me Chain!" A chain of golden hearts shot from Venus' white gloved hand and raced toward the Automaton. The red-haired creature smiled, winked, then blew it a kiss, and the chain dissipated.
"Do you think that would hurt me? I'm the Queen of Hearts! Hearts do as I command!" She laughed; a loud, shrill sound. She leveled the scepter at Venus. "Love Me Tender Draining!"
"Sailor Moon Kick!" Blonde ponytails streaming behind her like banners, Sailor Moon's foot slammed into Cordial's midriff, knocking her shot wide. The Automation went flying backwards a few feet to land on her butt. "Oof!"
Cordial's face fell, and tears filled her eyes. "Now that wasn't very nice!" She sniffled, and wiped her nose on her sleeve. The two girls looked at each other in confusion, knowing they couldn't attack someone while they were crying. Quick as a cat, Cordial bounded to her feet and ripped off the front of her gown in a flourish. "If you can't be nice, I can't be nice! S&M Queen of Hearts!" Both girls eyes widened, and they blushed furiously. Cordial wore a red lace teddy underneath the dress, with a red studded collar and red, thigh high boots. She laughed as a whip of red energy appeared from the end of the scepter. "You have a Love-Me Chain? Meet my Love-Slave Whip!" She snapped the whip, once, twice, then slammed it between the two startled senshi, who gasped, and dove for cover.
The violet eyes in the shadows narrowed as she watched the dual combats. When she figured that Mercury and Ebonite were distracted enough, she looked down to the chessboard. With a thought, she vanished from the spot she'd been occupying up in the rigging. The air rushed in to fill the space she'd once been, making a soft popping noise. At the same time, the air by the chessboard rushed out with a soft swoosh, and the black garbed woman reappeared. It took her a moment to focus; teleporting always made her disoriented. She glanced furtively at both sets of combatants, and seeing them both occupied, reached out to recover the black queen. From out of nowhere, a red rose struck her hand, scoring a deep wound across the top and drawing blood. She dropped the queen with a startled yelp, and it rolled across the floor. The violet-eyed woman looked up to see Tuxedo Mask leap down from the catwalk above.
"Stop right there!" The man in the tuxedo and long black cape leveled a second rose at her. "Just who are you and what do you think you're doing?"
The black queen rolled across the floor, and came to a stop a few feet away from the fight between Ebonite and Mercury. Mercury was giving it all she had, but the petite woman was much stronger. However, Mercury believed in fighting smarter, not harder. She noticed a cone-shaped object on the floor behind Ebonite, and angled her next attack accordingly. "Shine Aqua Illusion!" The spray of ice forced Ebonite to dodge to the right and back a bit, and, as Mercury predicted, the woman stepped right on the small object. The look on Lady Ebonite's face was almost comical as she tried desperately not to fall. Her arms whirled in the air in a futile effort to stay upright. As if in slow motion, she fell on her butt, and the chess piece shot out from under her foot to smack against Mercury's blue boot with a soft tink. The blue haired girl looked down and wondered how the Queen had gotten there. She started to pick it up as to replace it with the other pieces later. As her hand closed around it, she felt the evil radiating from it, and her eyes widened in surprise. "So this is what you're after. But why? Why is it so important to you?"
The dark haired woman stood up, and dusted off her skirts. Her dark eyes narrowed as she regarded the blue tressed senshi. "Our Lady wants it. That's all you need to know. Now, I'll just take that and be on my way."
"I don't think so." Mercury's blue eyes narrowed as she regarded her adversary. "If you want it, you'll have to take it from me."
Lady Ebonite smiled a slow, mirthless smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Violet eyes glittered dangerously, the only feature that Tuxedo Mask could see as he faced off against the black garbed woman. "Look, put your little toy away. I don't want to have to hurt you."
Tuxedo Mask glanced down to the woman's hand, which bled freely, and then looked back at her. "I would worry more about yourself, if I were you. Now, who are you?" When the woman ignored him and turned to walk over to recover the chess piece, he threw the 2nd rose in her path, halting her momentarily. "The next one won't miss." He was surprised to see that her eyes had darkened to almost a black color when she looked back at him.
"All right, Cape Boy. You're starting to get on my nerves. I'll tell you one last time, stay out of my way. You're not my enemy, but you will be if you keep this up." With that she turned to walk away, deliberately turning her back on him. She had to call his bluff. She heard a slight swoosh behind her, and she spun on her heel and flung out a hand. "Solar Flare!" A small ball of golden light erupted from her black gloved hand, and incinerated the rose. However, she had not anticipated his action entirely. He had thrown six roses, not just one. This time, as the roses struck her, they grew in to vines, which grew rapidly around her, encasing her body. The dark clothed warrior fell to the floor with a thud. When she looked up, she saw the smirking visage of Tuxedo Mask standing over her.
"I told you, next time, I wouldn't miss." As he regarded his fallen adversary, he came to a decision. This shadow woman had been involved in all 3 fights so far. It was time to find out who she was. He reached down to remove the mask obscuring her features. His had stopped halfway there, however, because her eyes were glowing like coals and her body seemed to be pulsing with power. "Nani?" he asked, and backed away slowly.
"Alright, I have had enough of this," the woman snarled. With a thought, the vines around her body burst into flames, and the black clad figure stood. She turned to regard the open mouthed Senshi of Earth. "If Ebonite gets away with that piece, Cape Boy, you and I are going to have words." With that, the dark clad figure vanished with a soft popping noise.
"Shabon Spray!" Mercury knew she couldn't beat Lady Ebonite head on, so she decided to buy some time by laying down her ground fog.
"Nani?" Lady Ebonite's voice echoed through the fog. "Hey! That's cheating!" Ebonite looked this way and that, trying to figure out where her opponent had gone.
In the meantime, Mercury had took out her pocket computer, and pulled down her holo-visor. First, she did a preliminary scan of the chess piece. Then, she did some quick scans of the area, locked on to Ebonite, and then did some scans of the woman's powers. Her eyes quickly read over the data, and her shoulders slumped. She knew immediately she didn't have the firepower to take this one down. Suddenly, a second blip appeared on her screen, someone with a totally foreign energy pattern. Whoever it belonged to, that person's readings were off the scale. For a moment, she thought it was SuperSailor Moon, but then discarded the idea. Sailor Moon needed all 8 of her senshi to become SuperSailor Moon, and as far as Mercury knew, Saturn and Pluto where no longer here. Then, who is it?
The momentary distraction cost her dearly. The blue haired senshi felt someone grab the collar of her fuki, and yank her hard off her feet. She was tossed bodily up in the air, then brought down on the floor like a rag doll. A dainty, black heeled shoe slammed in to Mercury's rib cage, and it was all the Senshi of Ice could do to hold on to the chess piece. The evil woman grabbed Mercury by the hair, and slammed her head into the ground, and then snatched the piece out of her hand. The last thing the pretty girl saw before she lost consciousness was a golden light streak out of the fog, and hit Lady Ebonite in the stomach, sending her flying across the room.
The girls dodged the red whip time and time again, with little breath to spare. Cordial was able to strike like a cobra with the thing, and kept managing to keep the girls close to one another. This also kept the two of them bouncing in to one another, as they were always in each other's way. When one would dive out of the way, the red-haired Automaton would then laugh and chase the other girl back into the former one's path. Considering how much of a klutz Sailor Moon was, it was making for a disastrous fight.
"Hey! Get off my foot!"
"Ouch! That hurt! Stop elbowing me!
"Then get out of my WAY!" Venus attempted to vault over some of the seats, and caught her foot on the back of one. She tumbled end over end to land in a heap in the middle of the isle.
The scantly clad Automaton laughed. "How pathetic. Let's end this now, shall we?" She advanced on the fallen senshi. "Love Slave-OUCH!" she screamed as the scepter was knocked out of her hand. Sailor Moon's tiara returned to her hand. "Damn you!" Cordial cursed the pig-tailed senshi. Noticing she was now defenseless, she turned to race across the isle to where her scepter had fallen.
Realizing the creature's intent, Venus stood and yelled, "Crescent Beam!" A beam of golden light lanced out from her gloved hand and struck the golden crystal atop the scepter. The Automaton screamed in rage as the scepter detonated mere inches from her hand, releasing all its stolen energy.
"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" Pink light flooded the area and slammed in to the enraged Cordial, who screamed in pain, and then shattered into a thousand pieces. The two girls caught their breath a moment, then, as one, raced to the stage to help their friend. All around them, people started to groan slightly, as their energy was slowly returning to them.
The fog on the stage dissipated slowly, and the Scouts saw the fallen form of Mercury being held by Tuxedo Mask. They ran across the auditorium and lept on to the stage, screaming Mercury's name. The handsome young man looked up as they approached. "She's hurt, but she's OK."
They saw Mercury's face scrunch in pain, and then she opened her eyes to regard them calmly. "Gomen nasai. Lady Ebonite got the chess piece, what she came for. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough." She looked sadly at the floor.
Tux looked down at the fallen palm top computer, which was still running. "I bet you got some useful information, though. That would be good, since we have no idea what is going on. I'm getting tired of fighting blind." He slowly helped the blue haired girl to her feet, and the group quickly changed to civilian form, since the crowd was almost awake.
Minako picked up the computer and handed it to Ami. "Let's get the others and meet at Crown to discuss what's going on."
A few moments later, the judges halted the contest, on account of the strange disruption, and the group walked out of the building. Rei stopped suddenly. "Hey, where's Menagi-chan?"
Usagi shook her head. "We lost track of her at the beginning of the fight."
Minako nodded. "She disappeard just after the lights came back on."
Mamoru's blue eyes narrowed. "You mean she was awake? She wasn't knocked out like everyone else?" The two girls nodded, and Mamoru frowned.
"Hey! There she is!" Makoto pointed a green laqured fingernail towards a figure sitting slumped on the edge of a planter a few yards away. The auburn haired girl seemed upset, and she was regarding something in her hand intently. Or, as they got closer, she was regarding her hand itself. It looked as if she had injured it somehow, but it was hard to see. As they approached, she covered the top of her right hand with her left, obscuring the wound from view.
"Hey Menagi-chan!" the girls called. She looked up, her eyes a dark purple, and an aggrivated expresion on her face. She smiled slightly as they approached. "What happened to you, Menagi-chan?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing. I saw.. ..or, I thought I saw.. these weird women fighting. I figured the safest thing to do was get out of the building. What in the world was that?" Menagi asked. The others looked around and shrugged, beads of sweat forming on their brows.
"Its hard to explain. If you live her long enough, you'll get used to it," Rei's eyes never quite met Menagi's.
"What did you do to your hand?" Mamoru asked, looking at her hands, which she still kept covered. It's her, it has to be! I wounded the dark ninja with my rose.
Menagi looked up at the handsome young man in surprise. "My hand? Nothing? Why do you ask?"
"May I see it?"
Menagi frowned, but complied. She lifted her left hand to reveal the top of the right. Smooth, slightly tanned skin shown in the afternoon sun, not a scratch on it. Mamo-chan frowned as she said, "See? I told you, its fine."
"Gomen. When we walked up, it looked like you had injured yourself. I'm studying to be a doctor, so I'm always trying to take care of people." He gave her a lopsided grin, and she smiled back.
"We're going to Crown, wanna come with?" Usagi asked. The others gave her a nasty look.
Menagi shook her head, her auburn hair swaying slightly. "No thank you. I think I'll go home and do my homework. Its been too weird a day for me." She said goodbye to her friends and headed home.
"Konichiwa, Rhea! I'm home!" The young entrepreneur closed the door behind her, and made her way to the living room. She sank down gratefully on to the soft sofa, and the gold and white feline made her way in and sat next to her.
"So, how'd it go?" Rhea regarded her intently, then noticed her hand. "What happened there?"
Menagi sighed, and let the illusion fade. The top of her hand changed from unblemished skin to a deep cut, red and crusted with dried blood. "God, that hurts. Oh, we had another fight, and this time Cape Boy spotted me and decided to pick a fight. I don't see why I don't just reveal myself to them."
Rhea shook her head. "Its not time yet. Your memories haven't returned completely, or you wouldn't be asking that question. Suffice it to say, most of the Senshi of this solar system would be more than happy to hang you out to dry. You did have a few friends back then, but not enough. We need to find out if Queen Serenity or her daughter survived."
Menagi sighed, and started healing her hand. "I know. So far, she hasn't shown herself. I do know that I need to get my hands on one of those evil objects so we can stop being on the defensive. I'm tired of being 3 steps behind these goons. Ebonite took off with the latest object of power, an obsidian stone charged with dark power in the shape of a black queen. I've got some basic scans, but nothing like we need." She sighed again, and rubbed her eyes. "If Cape Boy hadn't gotten in my way, I'd have had it, no problem. I'm telling you, Rhea, I know you think that these Sailor Senshi are part of the Queen's court, but who is the clown in the tuxedo and cape?"
Rhea shook her head. "I don't remember him, but he seems to be their ally. So, no," Rhea said, in answer to the unspoken question on Menagi's thoughts, "you can NOT kick his butt. No matter how much you want to. Just try keeping out of sight better. You don't need a confrontation with the Queen's Senshi. She may have been your friend, but I doubt she'd take it very well if you got into a fight with them. Nor do I think you're read for that kind of confrontation. Your powers haven't fully returned, nor have your memories. I think it would be YOU who would get her butt kicked."
Menagi's shoulders slumped. "You mean there's more? I have more powers?" When Rhea nodded, she closed her eyes and sighed. "Why me? I just wanted to be a normal kid. Rhea, when will you tell me more?"
"When the time is right, Little Star, and not before." Rhea's golden eyes locked with Menagi's violet ones and they sat in silence for along time.