The Gathering of Stars
Haruka quickly shut the door, and spun to face the others. She did not look happy. Menagi looked at Minako and Usagi and asked, "Does this sort of thing happen all the time, or am I just particularly lucky?" Eight sets of eyes turned to look at her in surprise.
"Crap, someone get her OUT of here!" Mamoru snapped as he slid his hand back out of his vest pocket.
Haruka slid something back in to the pocket of her pants. "I'll do it."
Michiru slid her hand out of a hidden pocket in her skirt. "No, we'll do it."
"Nani? Wait, hold it, we all need to--hey, Hey, HEY!" Menagi was cut off as Haruka and Michiru hurriedly escorted her to the emergency exit on the far side of the room.
"YOU need to get someplace safe. For all we know this could be an attempt on your life," Michiru supplied smoothly.
Menagi's face flushed in anger. "I can take care of myself. Besides, what about the others? They should be leaving, too! This is no place for a bunch of kids. Hey, stop pushing me! Ouch!" Without another word, Haruka and Michiru hustled the young heiress out of room. They took her downstairs, and then promptly locked her in a broom closet.
"Stay here. You'll be safe. We'll get help and come back for you." As Haruka shut the door, she could have sworn she saw the young American girl's eyes flash red. They nodded as the door clicked shut and locked, and never heard the soft popping noise that accompanied the bolt being slid home.
The 5 Sailor Senshi of the Solar System squared off against Lady Ebonite. The petite woman blanched at being accosted by all these girls at the same time and decided to even the odds a bit. She pulled out a lump of clay and threw it on the floor. "Mimic! Come forth!" The lump bubbled and grew to be 6 feet in size, with a roughly humanoid shape, but no facial features. "See, I'm artistic, too! Come, my lovely Automaton, rid me of these pests."
The creature said nothing, but simply moved forward, forming two round balls of goo in each hand. It lobbed one at the group of girls, scattering them. It held the second, throwing it up and catching it, waiting.
"You've got to do better than that to beat us, Ebonite." Jupiter scoffed. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" A ball of lightning appeared in lovely warrior's hand and Jupiter sent her attack arcing at the creature. It hit the creature solidly. Its face contorted as if in pain and it screamed silently as lightning played up and down its body. It started to smoke slightly, and when it looked back down, it grinned at Jupiter with malevolent green eyes. It stopped tossing the ball, then lobbed it at Venus.
The blonde yelped and yelled, "Venus! Love-Me Chain!" The golden chain of hearts raced forward, blocked the glob, and then wound tightly around the Automaton. The green eyes shut, and the face became a mask of concentration. The muscles of the creature began to strain against its bonds. A moment later the chain burst. The Automaton grinned at Venus with pearly white teeth, and the young senshi noticed it had acquired a new red bow and a sleeker, more feminine form. The creature did a graceful pirouette, and threw two more globs, one at Mars and one at Mercury.
"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
"Burning Mandala!"
Both attacks burned through the globs instantly, and then struck home. The creature actually screamed this time, a high pitched, feminine scream. The fire and water created a cascade of steam, which obscured the creature from view for a moment. When the steam cleared, a pretty young woman with short, black hair, a red bow, and bright green eyes stood there in a rainbow colored sailor suit. "Sailor Mimic!" the creature announced. The girls stared in amazement. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" The Automaton lobbed a ball of lightning at Jupiter, who had to do a diving roll to the side to avoid being electrocuted.
"Nani? How the hell did it do that?" Mars yelled.
"Enjoy, Sailor Saps," Ebonite chuckled to herself and moved off into another part of the room. She heard the Automaton yell "Burning Mandala!" and laughed harder. It was too perfect. She wandered aimlessly, looking for the next Fragment. After a moment, she shut her eyes, and began to concentrate on the emanations the fragment would put off. It has to be around here somewhere, damn it.
From a balcony above, a set of amethyst colored eyes surveyed the situation below. Now that's interesting. A Mimic. The Senshi have their work cut out for them this time. Dark fingers raced across the keyboard, calling up the scanner. Now, what could Ebonite be after this time? Ah ha! So that's it! A flurry of red obscured her vision for a moment, and the violet-eyed woman looked up in irritation. Lying on the keyboard was a single red rose, which had just been bounced off her face. "All right, Cape Boy," the woman snarled. "I have had enough. Come out here where I can see you!" She stood, closed the laptop, and it vanished. On the balcony across the way, the tall young man in the tuxedo stepped out.
"Why is it where ever there is trouble, you seem to show up?" he asked as he leaned casually against a pillar, several more red roses in his white-gloved grip. "Who are you?"
The woman in black smiled a mirthless smile. "A wandering star." The smile vanished. "Solar Flare!" She sent the golden projectile rocketing towards him, and in response he threw all his roses to block. There was a small explosion, and then the woman in black felt someone grab her by the back of the cowl and trip her at the same time. She fell to the floor with a thud, and then felt her mask being ripped away. She heard a gasp as she looked up in to the startled face of Tuxedo Mask. "What? Never seen a Sailor Senshi before?"
Back down below, the girls were having a hard time of it.
"Burning Mandala!" Circles of flame shot out at the startled young girls, who frantically dove for cover.
"It's mimicking all our powers!" Sailor Moon yelled. She hastily rolled to the side to get out of the way, the ends of her ponytails getting singed.
"Thanks for stating the obvious," Mars snarled. She heard the faux warrior yell "Shine Aqua Illusion" and did a back flip to avoid the cascade of ice being thrown at her. "How do we beat it?"
Mercury pulled out her palm-top computer and her holo-vid glasses. "Good question. Keep it busy, and let me see what I can find out."
Jupiter rolled her eyes and did another diving roll to get out of the way of the golden chain streaking toward her. "'Keep it busy,' she says. Easier said than done." She yelped as the chain snagged her ankle and pulled her foot out from under her.
"Moon Tiara Action!" Sailor Moon sent the golden disk to slam in to the chain of hearts, bursting the links and freeing Jupiter.
"Arigatou!" Jupiter climbed to her feet. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" The lovely senshi in green decided to go on the offensive.
"Shine Aqua Illusion!" the creature countered. Lightning and ice collided, sending glittering shards spraying across the room.
Jupiter winced as she saw the shards fly amongst her comrades, cutting them. "That was lovely. Gomen, minna!"
"Nice shot, Jupiter!" Mars growled. The dark-haired jumped forward. "Burning Mandala!"
"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Mimic announced. Fire met ice and made steam. Lots of it.
"Aww, crud." Mars sighed.
"Hers was bad, your was worse!" Venus yelled. "Now we can't see!"
His blue eyes widened as he beheld the tiara of a Sailor Senshi, this one inset with a deep amethyst stone in the center. Auburn hair fell in waves out of the hood he'd just removed, and crystal teardrop earrings adorned her ears. She stood slowly and smirked at him. "But who ARE you?" he asked.
In response she grabbed the front of her ninja outfit and ripped it away, revealing the Sailor fuki underneath. She looked like one of Earth's senshi, save that her sailor suit was black, trimmed in purple. Long, auburn hair fell in waves to her knees, and violet eyes shimmered in agitation. Her boots were black as well, thigh high, and trimmed at the tops in purple. Her gloves ended just below the shoulder, also cuffed in violet. "For time beyond reckoning I have walked the Stars. Sabishi Senshi, the Solitary Soldier. Ryuusei Houkou, The Wandering Star. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I am Sailor Star Infinity!" Her violet eyes flashed. "I was TRYING to keep my whereabouts a secret, but thanks to you, that's no longer possible."
The handsome young man shook his head in amazement. "But why? If you're truly senshi, then who are you hiding from?"
"Because she knew if we found out she was here, we'd kill her." From a second balcony across the way, a ball of light formed. "World Shaking!" The light swelled, blew out the opposite railing, and then raced toward Sailor Star Infinity.
The new Senshi growled and leapt into the air. "Solar Flare!" Golden light slammed against golden light, and an explosion rocked the building. The combatants on the floor looked up to see Uranus and Neptune on the remains one balcony, while a third, unknown senshi was flying above a balcony on which Tuxedo Mask stood. Large chunks of plaster started to rain down on them.
"Nani? Who is that?" Sailor Mimic looked up in time to see a large piece of the balcony fall on her, squishing her like a bug.
Mars' eyebrows shot up. "Well, that's one way to get rid of her." Her dark eyes went back to the fight over head.
"Uranus! Neptune! What are you doing?" Sailor Moon yelled up to the two girls. "Tuxedo Mask! What is going on?"
"Getting rid of a pest," Uranus gritted. "One we should have gotten rid of a long time ago."
Neptune leapt across to another balcony. "Deep Submerging!" The blue ball of light arced out towards the floating woman.
"Baka!" The now black-eyed woman snarled. "Solar Shield!" A barrier of golden light enveloped the floating woman. She grunted as the blue orb slammed against her shield, but the wall held. More plaster cracked on the surrounding walls and fell to the floor. "You IDIOTS! Your friends are down there. Would you jeopardize their lives just to kill me?"
In response, Uranus sent another golden ball of light arcing towards the floating senshi at the same time Neptune sent her blue one. Infinity hollered over her shoulder, "I'd move if I were you. I don't think that balcony can stand much more abuse!" With that, the foreign senshi vanished. The two balls of light collided where she once was, and ripped apart the remainder of the balcony Tuxedo Mask was standing on. Fortunately, he had already decided standing behind the mysterious senshi wasn't the safest of places, and had started running for cover. He leapt over the side, landed on the floor below, and rolled to absorb the impact. He stood and watched in horror as the balcony gave way. There was still people unconscious underneath.
"Solar Shield!" A golden wall appeared along the length of the balcony, creating a barrier between the people and the rubble. The dark haired senshi grunted from her place in the center of the horizontal wall. "I can't hold this very long, guys. Do me a favor and get the innocents OUT of here!" Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead as the strain of hold up several tons of rock on her barrier got to her. The senshi on the ground immediately ran to do as she said. The Sailor Scouts of the Inner Planets raced under the golden barrier, grabbed an unconscious person, and then dragged that person to safety. As soon as the last Senshi was clear with her burden, Infinity heard the sound she knew she'd hear. The outsider knew they couldn't pass up the opportunity. Aww, crap, she thought.
"World Shaking!"
"Deep Submerging!"
Twin balls of light zoomed down from over head, and streaked under the wall. There was a brilliant flash of light, an explosion, and the barrier collapsed. Tons of rubble slammed to earth. Above it all, a scream rent the night.
"No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Everyone turned to see Sailor Moon staring in horror at the pile of rubble, tears streaming down her face. "How could you? She saved those people, and you killed her!" She looked up at Uranus and Neptune, her face a mask of pain. "How could you?"
The two senshi leapt from their perches and landed near their Princess. "You have no idea who she was. We do. She was an outsider, and she deserved to die," Neptune said coldly, her blue-green eyes filled with menace.
"How can you say that? If she was that bad, why did she risk her life to save those people?" Jupiter yelled angrily, clenching her fist at her side.
Uranus stepped forward to tower over the lovely brunette. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Our job is to protect our Princess from outsiders. We failed in our duty before with Queen Serenity. We will NOT allow that witch to get close to her daughter."
"What are you talking about?" Sailor Moon asked softly, tears still shimmering in her eyes.
Uranus looked coldly at her Princess for a moment, and when next she spoke, her voice was filled with ice. "The Senshi of the Outer Planets never made it in time to the final battle of the Silver Millennium. A traitor kept us from our Queen at our time of greatest need. The Wanderer, Sailor Star Infinity was that traitor." With that, the two older girls turned on their heels and walked away. The younger senshi looked sadly at the floor.
"Hey," Mercury said, "what ever happened to Lady Ebonite?" The other girls shook off their lethargy and did a quick search of the perimeter. The evil woman was nowhere to be found.
Haruka unlocked the closet door, and opened it. Menagi sat on the floor, her arms wrapped around the skirt of her dress, her chin on her knees. She looked very, very angry. Her eyes were pure black, her lips pressed tightly together. She glared at the pretty blonde woman as she offered the heiress a hand to stand. Menagi smacked the hand away and stood on her own. "You're not still mad we locked you in here, are you?"
Menagi said nothing, but just stalked out of the building. I'm sorry, but right now I just don't trust myself to say anything civil. I know its not your fault that those two bitches tried to kill me, but I'm so angry I'm afraid I'd say something horrible. Her eyes began to blaze red. I wish I could get my hands on them, but God knows where they went. If I ever do find out where Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are, there will be hell to pay. Her hand closed around a circular disk in a hidden pocket in her skirt, then pulled it out. It was the black, circular disk from the Pharaoh's crown. Dark energy coursed up and down her arm. At least I got this. It's the only thing that went right the entire evening. She closed her fist around it, and the gem at her throat flashed. When she opened her hand again, the dark jewel was gone.
Haruka quickly shut the door, and spun to face the others. She did not look happy. Menagi looked at Minako and Usagi and asked, "Does this sort of thing happen all the time, or am I just particularly lucky?" Eight sets of eyes turned to look at her in surprise.
"Crap, someone get her OUT of here!" Mamoru snapped as he slid his hand back out of his vest pocket.
Haruka slid something back in to the pocket of her pants. "I'll do it."
Michiru slid her hand out of a hidden pocket in her skirt. "No, we'll do it."
"Nani? Wait, hold it, we all need to--hey, Hey, HEY!" Menagi was cut off as Haruka and Michiru hurriedly escorted her to the emergency exit on the far side of the room.
"YOU need to get someplace safe. For all we know this could be an attempt on your life," Michiru supplied smoothly.
Menagi's face flushed in anger. "I can take care of myself. Besides, what about the others? They should be leaving, too! This is no place for a bunch of kids. Hey, stop pushing me! Ouch!" Without another word, Haruka and Michiru hustled the young heiress out of room. They took her downstairs, and then promptly locked her in a broom closet.
"Stay here. You'll be safe. We'll get help and come back for you." As Haruka shut the door, she could have sworn she saw the young American girl's eyes flash red. They nodded as the door clicked shut and locked, and never heard the soft popping noise that accompanied the bolt being slid home.
The 5 Sailor Senshi of the Solar System squared off against Lady Ebonite. The petite woman blanched at being accosted by all these girls at the same time and decided to even the odds a bit. She pulled out a lump of clay and threw it on the floor. "Mimic! Come forth!" The lump bubbled and grew to be 6 feet in size, with a roughly humanoid shape, but no facial features. "See, I'm artistic, too! Come, my lovely Automaton, rid me of these pests."
The creature said nothing, but simply moved forward, forming two round balls of goo in each hand. It lobbed one at the group of girls, scattering them. It held the second, throwing it up and catching it, waiting.
"You've got to do better than that to beat us, Ebonite." Jupiter scoffed. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" A ball of lightning appeared in lovely warrior's hand and Jupiter sent her attack arcing at the creature. It hit the creature solidly. Its face contorted as if in pain and it screamed silently as lightning played up and down its body. It started to smoke slightly, and when it looked back down, it grinned at Jupiter with malevolent green eyes. It stopped tossing the ball, then lobbed it at Venus.
The blonde yelped and yelled, "Venus! Love-Me Chain!" The golden chain of hearts raced forward, blocked the glob, and then wound tightly around the Automaton. The green eyes shut, and the face became a mask of concentration. The muscles of the creature began to strain against its bonds. A moment later the chain burst. The Automaton grinned at Venus with pearly white teeth, and the young senshi noticed it had acquired a new red bow and a sleeker, more feminine form. The creature did a graceful pirouette, and threw two more globs, one at Mars and one at Mercury.
"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
"Burning Mandala!"
Both attacks burned through the globs instantly, and then struck home. The creature actually screamed this time, a high pitched, feminine scream. The fire and water created a cascade of steam, which obscured the creature from view for a moment. When the steam cleared, a pretty young woman with short, black hair, a red bow, and bright green eyes stood there in a rainbow colored sailor suit. "Sailor Mimic!" the creature announced. The girls stared in amazement. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" The Automaton lobbed a ball of lightning at Jupiter, who had to do a diving roll to the side to avoid being electrocuted.
"Nani? How the hell did it do that?" Mars yelled.
"Enjoy, Sailor Saps," Ebonite chuckled to herself and moved off into another part of the room. She heard the Automaton yell "Burning Mandala!" and laughed harder. It was too perfect. She wandered aimlessly, looking for the next Fragment. After a moment, she shut her eyes, and began to concentrate on the emanations the fragment would put off. It has to be around here somewhere, damn it.
From a balcony above, a set of amethyst colored eyes surveyed the situation below. Now that's interesting. A Mimic. The Senshi have their work cut out for them this time. Dark fingers raced across the keyboard, calling up the scanner. Now, what could Ebonite be after this time? Ah ha! So that's it! A flurry of red obscured her vision for a moment, and the violet-eyed woman looked up in irritation. Lying on the keyboard was a single red rose, which had just been bounced off her face. "All right, Cape Boy," the woman snarled. "I have had enough. Come out here where I can see you!" She stood, closed the laptop, and it vanished. On the balcony across the way, the tall young man in the tuxedo stepped out.
"Why is it where ever there is trouble, you seem to show up?" he asked as he leaned casually against a pillar, several more red roses in his white-gloved grip. "Who are you?"
The woman in black smiled a mirthless smile. "A wandering star." The smile vanished. "Solar Flare!" She sent the golden projectile rocketing towards him, and in response he threw all his roses to block. There was a small explosion, and then the woman in black felt someone grab her by the back of the cowl and trip her at the same time. She fell to the floor with a thud, and then felt her mask being ripped away. She heard a gasp as she looked up in to the startled face of Tuxedo Mask. "What? Never seen a Sailor Senshi before?"
Back down below, the girls were having a hard time of it.
"Burning Mandala!" Circles of flame shot out at the startled young girls, who frantically dove for cover.
"It's mimicking all our powers!" Sailor Moon yelled. She hastily rolled to the side to get out of the way, the ends of her ponytails getting singed.
"Thanks for stating the obvious," Mars snarled. She heard the faux warrior yell "Shine Aqua Illusion" and did a back flip to avoid the cascade of ice being thrown at her. "How do we beat it?"
Mercury pulled out her palm-top computer and her holo-vid glasses. "Good question. Keep it busy, and let me see what I can find out."
Jupiter rolled her eyes and did another diving roll to get out of the way of the golden chain streaking toward her. "'Keep it busy,' she says. Easier said than done." She yelped as the chain snagged her ankle and pulled her foot out from under her.
"Moon Tiara Action!" Sailor Moon sent the golden disk to slam in to the chain of hearts, bursting the links and freeing Jupiter.
"Arigatou!" Jupiter climbed to her feet. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" The lovely senshi in green decided to go on the offensive.
"Shine Aqua Illusion!" the creature countered. Lightning and ice collided, sending glittering shards spraying across the room.
Jupiter winced as she saw the shards fly amongst her comrades, cutting them. "That was lovely. Gomen, minna!"
"Nice shot, Jupiter!" Mars growled. The dark-haired jumped forward. "Burning Mandala!"
"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Mimic announced. Fire met ice and made steam. Lots of it.
"Aww, crud." Mars sighed.
"Hers was bad, your was worse!" Venus yelled. "Now we can't see!"
His blue eyes widened as he beheld the tiara of a Sailor Senshi, this one inset with a deep amethyst stone in the center. Auburn hair fell in waves out of the hood he'd just removed, and crystal teardrop earrings adorned her ears. She stood slowly and smirked at him. "But who ARE you?" he asked.
In response she grabbed the front of her ninja outfit and ripped it away, revealing the Sailor fuki underneath. She looked like one of Earth's senshi, save that her sailor suit was black, trimmed in purple. Long, auburn hair fell in waves to her knees, and violet eyes shimmered in agitation. Her boots were black as well, thigh high, and trimmed at the tops in purple. Her gloves ended just below the shoulder, also cuffed in violet. "For time beyond reckoning I have walked the Stars. Sabishi Senshi, the Solitary Soldier. Ryuusei Houkou, The Wandering Star. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I am Sailor Star Infinity!" Her violet eyes flashed. "I was TRYING to keep my whereabouts a secret, but thanks to you, that's no longer possible."
The handsome young man shook his head in amazement. "But why? If you're truly senshi, then who are you hiding from?"
"Because she knew if we found out she was here, we'd kill her." From a second balcony across the way, a ball of light formed. "World Shaking!" The light swelled, blew out the opposite railing, and then raced toward Sailor Star Infinity.
The new Senshi growled and leapt into the air. "Solar Flare!" Golden light slammed against golden light, and an explosion rocked the building. The combatants on the floor looked up to see Uranus and Neptune on the remains one balcony, while a third, unknown senshi was flying above a balcony on which Tuxedo Mask stood. Large chunks of plaster started to rain down on them.
"Nani? Who is that?" Sailor Mimic looked up in time to see a large piece of the balcony fall on her, squishing her like a bug.
Mars' eyebrows shot up. "Well, that's one way to get rid of her." Her dark eyes went back to the fight over head.
"Uranus! Neptune! What are you doing?" Sailor Moon yelled up to the two girls. "Tuxedo Mask! What is going on?"
"Getting rid of a pest," Uranus gritted. "One we should have gotten rid of a long time ago."
Neptune leapt across to another balcony. "Deep Submerging!" The blue ball of light arced out towards the floating woman.
"Baka!" The now black-eyed woman snarled. "Solar Shield!" A barrier of golden light enveloped the floating woman. She grunted as the blue orb slammed against her shield, but the wall held. More plaster cracked on the surrounding walls and fell to the floor. "You IDIOTS! Your friends are down there. Would you jeopardize their lives just to kill me?"
In response, Uranus sent another golden ball of light arcing towards the floating senshi at the same time Neptune sent her blue one. Infinity hollered over her shoulder, "I'd move if I were you. I don't think that balcony can stand much more abuse!" With that, the foreign senshi vanished. The two balls of light collided where she once was, and ripped apart the remainder of the balcony Tuxedo Mask was standing on. Fortunately, he had already decided standing behind the mysterious senshi wasn't the safest of places, and had started running for cover. He leapt over the side, landed on the floor below, and rolled to absorb the impact. He stood and watched in horror as the balcony gave way. There was still people unconscious underneath.
"Solar Shield!" A golden wall appeared along the length of the balcony, creating a barrier between the people and the rubble. The dark haired senshi grunted from her place in the center of the horizontal wall. "I can't hold this very long, guys. Do me a favor and get the innocents OUT of here!" Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead as the strain of hold up several tons of rock on her barrier got to her. The senshi on the ground immediately ran to do as she said. The Sailor Scouts of the Inner Planets raced under the golden barrier, grabbed an unconscious person, and then dragged that person to safety. As soon as the last Senshi was clear with her burden, Infinity heard the sound she knew she'd hear. The outsider knew they couldn't pass up the opportunity. Aww, crap, she thought.
"World Shaking!"
"Deep Submerging!"
Twin balls of light zoomed down from over head, and streaked under the wall. There was a brilliant flash of light, an explosion, and the barrier collapsed. Tons of rubble slammed to earth. Above it all, a scream rent the night.
"No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Everyone turned to see Sailor Moon staring in horror at the pile of rubble, tears streaming down her face. "How could you? She saved those people, and you killed her!" She looked up at Uranus and Neptune, her face a mask of pain. "How could you?"
The two senshi leapt from their perches and landed near their Princess. "You have no idea who she was. We do. She was an outsider, and she deserved to die," Neptune said coldly, her blue-green eyes filled with menace.
"How can you say that? If she was that bad, why did she risk her life to save those people?" Jupiter yelled angrily, clenching her fist at her side.
Uranus stepped forward to tower over the lovely brunette. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Our job is to protect our Princess from outsiders. We failed in our duty before with Queen Serenity. We will NOT allow that witch to get close to her daughter."
"What are you talking about?" Sailor Moon asked softly, tears still shimmering in her eyes.
Uranus looked coldly at her Princess for a moment, and when next she spoke, her voice was filled with ice. "The Senshi of the Outer Planets never made it in time to the final battle of the Silver Millennium. A traitor kept us from our Queen at our time of greatest need. The Wanderer, Sailor Star Infinity was that traitor." With that, the two older girls turned on their heels and walked away. The younger senshi looked sadly at the floor.
"Hey," Mercury said, "what ever happened to Lady Ebonite?" The other girls shook off their lethargy and did a quick search of the perimeter. The evil woman was nowhere to be found.
Haruka unlocked the closet door, and opened it. Menagi sat on the floor, her arms wrapped around the skirt of her dress, her chin on her knees. She looked very, very angry. Her eyes were pure black, her lips pressed tightly together. She glared at the pretty blonde woman as she offered the heiress a hand to stand. Menagi smacked the hand away and stood on her own. "You're not still mad we locked you in here, are you?"
Menagi said nothing, but just stalked out of the building. I'm sorry, but right now I just don't trust myself to say anything civil. I know its not your fault that those two bitches tried to kill me, but I'm so angry I'm afraid I'd say something horrible. Her eyes began to blaze red. I wish I could get my hands on them, but God knows where they went. If I ever do find out where Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are, there will be hell to pay. Her hand closed around a circular disk in a hidden pocket in her skirt, then pulled it out. It was the black, circular disk from the Pharaoh's crown. Dark energy coursed up and down her arm. At least I got this. It's the only thing that went right the entire evening. She closed her fist around it, and the gem at her throat flashed. When she opened her hand again, the dark jewel was gone.