hg~The Raven: Book Two~
Started: 4/28/01
Chapter One: Capture
"They will pay." came the cold voice of Sailor Saturn. No more was said.
No one could think of anything else to say.
The darkness and the mournful silence was closing in on them. Sailor Uranus licked her lips. "Computer girl! Yes, you, Mercury. Could you get a fix on where that portal went to and what exactly it was made of?" She ordered.
"Where do you get off ordering my team around? I'm in charge here!" Minako yelled
"I couldn't give a damn who's in charge! We need to do things, and we need to do things fast. I don't have time for a little girl to pretend she's a leader!"
"Yeah?! Well, I don't have time for a pushy newcomer to tell me and my team what to do!"
"I just want to find my Princess, and you're getting in my way!"
"We're the protectors of the Princess, Uranus!!"
"THAN HOW COME WE'VE BEEN DOING THE PROTECTING?!!!! WE'VE BEEN PROTECTING HER FROM YOU ALL THESE YEARS!!!!!" Uranus bellowed, closely followed by her gloved hand covering her mouth from her outburst.
"What are you talking about?" Minako whispered.
"You don't even REMEMBER?! You were her best friends, and then you turned on her like vicious dogs and YOU DON'T EVEN REMEMBER???!!!" Sailor Uranus felt the blood rushing to he face as her voice rose in tone once more.
Sailor Neptune put a hand on Sailor Uranus' shoulder. "Haruka, I think it'd be better if I explained."
She turned to the Senshi; all of them except Mercury looked toward her. "All your memories of the fight against Queen Beryl have been erased. The only thing you know is that you DID, in fact, fight her. You were told this by that talking cat, I do believe."
Minako nodded, agreeing with Mirchiru's correct statement. "So why don't you ask that talking cat why she never informed you of the death of your ally in that battle, the friend you ditched; Sailor Moon."
"But Sailor Moon is alive!" Jupiter yelled.
"No thanks to you. You left her for dead on the battlefield, in the arms of the also 'dead' Prince Endymion. I believe you know HIM by his other name, Chiba Mamoru."
Rei's eyes widened.'Mamoru-san?'
"But of course, you don't remember. Your memories were wiped, along with Selenity's and Mamoru's in hopes that you would be happy."
"Is this true, Luna?" Minako said, her blue eyes searching the cat's for an answer. Luna looked downward, breaking the gaze.
"I wanted- WE wanted to protect you from those painful memories!"Luna said, acknowledging Artemis.
Uranus growled. "But we will ALWAYS remember, and we don't easily forgive."
"I'VE GOT IT! I'VE GOT THE FIX!"
***
"Where AM I", Usagi said grogily. Sometime during her portal trip she had reverted from her fuku to regular clothes.
Her hair had come loose from her odangos, and soft waves of silver fell to the floor.
"You, my pretty little fairy, are in the deepest, darkest part of the Midnight Evil Society. We are an organization that wants nothing more than to capture Earth and obliterate human existence!" Evil laughter followed, as the black-haired man that had captured her stepped out from the shadows.
Usagi looked at him from indignant blue eyes that shined brightly in the darkness of the room. "That's just sick." She spit at him, and he dodged with an amused glance.
"Ooh, a fiesty one! I like that! Oh and by the way, fairy, I haven't yet told you HOW we plan to do it!"
"What are you talking about..." she whispered, the harsh reality of her powerless finally registering in her mind.
"Our leader, Zimite, wanted to be... different. We plan to destroy human life with a plague worse than the black death!"
Usagi's eyes got impossibly larger. All those people dying such painful deaths..."NOOOOOOOO! That's so cruel..." she whimpered! She had never been so useless; never felt so helpless, in her life.
And that made her angry. So very, very angry. Her body began to brightly glow with white light as the black eyed man looked on with fear.
***
"Where is it?" asked Uranus. This time however, Minako did not contest her question.
"The portal was made, not of black energy, but neutral energy. It took her to a power plant in Austrailia." Ami replied. "The only way I can see us getting there is by plane, but thatr would take days..."
"Where's Mamoru?" asked Rei, out of the blue. "He would have known if something had happened to Selenity-sama, wouldn't he have?"
Minako drew her eyebrows together in concentration."Quite possibly. Why don't you try and call him?" She said as she pointed to a telephone booth about a yard or so away from where they were standing.
Mars ran over to make the call.
Saturn cleared her throat, a move that usually made those unaccusmed to her presence jump. This time was no different. "I know a way we could get there, in, say, five seconds.It's called Sailor Teleport." She said.
Jupiter looked over at her and smiled. "That would be great. How is that possible?"
Mercury too looked on with interest."Well, it's done mostly by channling your powers through one Senshi team member-- usually Sailor Moon, but this time me because I'm the only other person who knows how to do it-- and envisioning the place you want to go."
"That's coo-" Minako was interrupted by Rei's frantic calling.
Jupiter and Saturn rushed over. Rei looked at them with wide violet eyes."You have to hear this to beleive it.
They stood silently as Rei dialed the Mamoru's phone number once more.
"You have reached the Midnight Evil Society. Little Sailor Chickies, I knew you would call. Here's a clue: Your prince resides with his princess, in a land WAY down under. Ta ta, now, and don't do anything that I wouldn't do!click."
The three walked back over to where their friends were waiting. Rei looked incredibly pale, they noted, and when she spoke, they also noticed her shaking voice.
Sailor Neptune looked concerned. "Miss Hino, are you alright?"
"The prince resides with his princess, in a land WAY down under."
A caw echoed overhead, and Saturn looked up, her face impassive. It was a raven "Beware of the Black Vials! They mean death!" It cawed, and Saturn's dark purple eyes got impossibly wider. She looked to see if the others had noticed. They hadn't.
She hadn't imagined it. Of that she was sure."Beware of the black vials." she mouthed. 'I thank you for the warning, great raven. Don't worry. We'll save the princess and her prince!'
"Now, down to this teleport business. Join hands and send out your power!" Saturn commanded.
"MERCURY STAR POWER!"
"MARS STAR POWER!"
"JUPITER STAR POWER!"
"VENUS STAR POWER!"
"URANUS STAR POWER!"
"NEPTUNE STAR POWER!"
"SATURN STAR POWER! TAKE US TO AUSTRAILIA!"
And suddenly, they were gone.
****
Chapter Two: Death
No longer did a young woman with frightened blue eyes stand before him. Now, an incredibly angry, incredibly beautiful Princess stood in front of him, and she looked rather dangerous. He noted the long scepter in her left hand; the Lunar Scepter, no doubt about it. She wore a white silk dress, embroidered with gold roses. Every inch the Moon Princess.
So his master had been right after all. He almost smiled until he remembered his predicament.
Usagi looked at the man in front of her, his greasy hair and black eyes. She couldn't believe this was the same cocky son of a gun that had been telling her of his master's wish to destroy all human life.
"You can kill me, but you will never kill my master or his dream!" The man stuttered as his executioner drew nearer.
"That's all it will ever be, you silly little dog. A dream. A dream that will never, NEVER, become reality."
"I hate you, you stupid bi-"
"LUNAR SCEPTER EXECUTION!"
And all was quiet except for a crying girl sitting in the middle of the dark marble floor, a pool of silver hair around her, and wearing a plain blue dress.
She had killed.
****
It was a moden office building; a large steel scyscraper with cubicles on each floor. And on the top floor; large rooms, comfy chairs, and company heads could be found.
Mr. Ronald Fujiwara rested his head in his hands. He had had a busy day, and luckily, he had only one more client before he could go home.
It was sweltering hot when they arrived, and the climate and landscape was far different from any they had seen in Japan. There was open space for miles around, and a beautiful sunrise lit the sky.
Saturn stood wearily, and cupping her hand above her eyes, squinted to the east. "I think I see the place we're looking for, guys!" She called.
Rei looked to where Saturn's index finger had pointed an smiled. Indeed, a large black building in the middle of a deserted wilderness WOULD be the place they looked for.
Rei frowned. "I wish we had those nifty wings Sailor Moon has!" she stated.
"If wishes were candy." Uranus replied dryly.
They both noticed the others had left without them. "HEY!" they cried in unison. "WAIT UP!"
****
The large black building also, Saturn noted, had large black doors. She halted the others, a frown etched into her face. "Be prepared for traps." She looked indecisive. "And if you see any-- any black vials, tell me, okay?"
They walked inside carefully, and seeing no traps, walked on.
A small red light blinked from the camera in the door way.
***
It watched evilly as they walked in, it's mouth set in a wide grin. Soon, yes soon, they would die, and earth would be his for the taking!
"Master, I come bearing awful news." a servant said, his mouth set in a grim line.
"Hai?"
"Ermine has been...eliminated, and the princess has ...escaped."
"Shimmatta!"
****
Usagi held her breath as she looked around the corner, searching for any sign of those well armored guards. She had run into quite a few of them recently, and had had to use her insticts to disbatch them. For some reason, she couldn't transform here in this-building. She had only established that they ran experiments here, which most likely meant it was a laboratory.
She had to find a way out...
Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth and pulled her body toward a warm wall behind her. She immediatly began struggling, until a warm, familiar voice whispered into her ear. "It's me. Calm down, Usako."
Usagi melted against him, savoring the feeling of security that would last perhaps only a moment. Soon enough, the echoing footsteps of the guards could be heard once more.
Usagi turned around until she was facing Mamoru. "They want to eliminate the human race, Mamo-chan. Can you imagine?"
"Why would they want to do that?! That's crazy!" Mamoru whispered loudly; incrediously.
"You haven't heard the worst of it, Mamo-chan."
"What do you mean, I haven't heard the worst of it?" he whispered, preparing herself for what she was about to say.
"They plan to use a virus that would put the Black Plague to shame. It would not only kill person after person, Mamoru! It would have everyone living in fear, and turning on longtime friends and neighbors! It would be total chaos!"
"And a negative energy hotspot." Mamoru finished grimly. "Kuso! Why couldn't they have a simpler plan?!"
The footsteps became louder,pounding in their ears.
"Let's go."
*****
Minako turned to Saturn, who was leading them down a dark hallway. "Saturn, what do we call you? You've sort of taken charge, and calling you Saturn doesn't seem- right. I'm Minako, by the way."
"My name's Hotaru. I have no idea why you guys are letting me lead, since I'm so young."
"How old are you, anyway?" Minako asked, curious.
"Thirteen. I used to be older; it's a long story."
"One I'd LOVE to hear someday, let me assure you-" CRASH!
Row after row after row of youma charged into the unlit corridor, from both side, trapping them in.
Mars grinned mirthlessly. "Let's get ready to rumble, ladies! MARS FIRE IGNITE!" Fire surged through 50 or 60 youma to the right. "Smokin'!"
Uranus turned to her with a challenge in her eyes. "Let ME show you how it's done, pyro. SPACE SWORD BLASTER!" She cried, and more than 70 youma melted into the ground.
Deciding they didn't want to be left out of the fray, Jupiter and Venus launched a double attack, killing 70 or so youma.
Mercury typed furiously on her computer as the others fought. 'What is that strange energy coming from the center of this building. It's not negative, but positive!Positive energy HERE? What could it BE?'
"I'm all tapped out!" Mars cried, breathing heavily.
"DEATH RIBBON REVOLUTION!" All the remaining youma turned to dust.
Makoto turned to Hotaru. "Why didn't you do that sooner?!"
"You guys looked like you were having fun..." she started, grinning.
Mercury gasped. "I've located Usagi and Mamoru! We've got to hurry! My computer says they're not transformed. They could be in serious trouble!"
****
"I will NOT let them ruin my plans!" Zimite hissied dangerously. "I WILL NOT!!"
****
"NOT SO FAST, STUPID SENSHI! YOU WILL NOT RUIN MY PLANS! IN FACT YOU'LL HELP THE ALONG! I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO MY VIRUS, KNOWN ONLY AS THE DARK PLAGUE!" A booming voice shouted, echoing through the walls of the large corridor.
Black vials started falling from the ceiling. Saturn's eyes widened impossibly larger. 'Beware of the black vials. They mean death.' she mouthed, before she started screaming...
Her flesh was burning, she could feel it. The virus was invading her body, and a feeling of regret and despair washed over her. 'I'll never meet you now princess. I'm so sorry...'
******
"Where's it coming from!" Usagi yelled as she and Mamoru ran through the hallways, searching for the source of the screams. Her long blonde hair trailed behind her in endless waves of silver as she turned this way and that.
'I'll never meet you now princess. I'm so sorry...'
She stopped in one hallway, and her lips moved but no sound was emmitted. The only thing that could be seen was the black corpses littering the hallway in Sailor fukus, and the reek of rotting corpses filled the air.
"Mamoru..."
The corpse wearing a Saturn fuku had it's mouth bopened in a scream.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Chapter Three: Sacrifice
"Usagi! Usako! Don't! Please!" Mamoru begged, his navy eyes pleading with her.
"Mamo-chan, if seven people can live for one, it's worth it."
"You truly are the princess, aren't you?" Mamoru said sadly. "WHY CAN'T YOU EVER THINK OF YOURSELF, SELENITLY?!" he cried.
"But don't you see, Mamoru?! I'm being selfish right now, because I know I couldn't live if I knew they could have lived! I'm nothing without them, Mamo-chan!"
"What about me, Usagi? I- I love you. I NEED YOU!"
Usagi looked at Mamoru sadly. "I love you too, Mamo-chan. Never forget that I love you.Promise me!"
"I promise."
Usagi nodded tearfully, and grabbed his face to pull him down for a tender kiss; a farewell kiss.
She turned away then, and turned toward the black corpses. She held up the Imperium Silver Crystal, and high in the air it floated above her palms. "MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!"
The energy left her, floating toward the bodies that littered the floor. As life returned to them, Usagi smiled and slumped to the floor. Her eyes still open, the blue faded to a light gray color in death.
The moon princess had made a sacrifice; dying to save her protectors. It didn't seem right.
*****
When Saturn awoke, the first thing her eyes noted was the prince's sobbing form. When her vision became more focused, she saw the small body of her princess in his arms.
"No." she whispered. "NOOOOOOO!" Saturn screamed, awakening the others from there deathly sleep.
"Hime! Princess!" Uranus creid out in anguish. "How could she be so selfish?! It's our job to protect her!"
Rei looked down at the small girl in Mamoru's arms. Only now did she realize how small and harmless she looked. "I never got to know her; I was too suspicious to trust her, and I've missed out on so much..."
Minako looked over to her sobbing friend, tears shining in her eyes as well. "You missed out on a chance to get to know a wonderful person, but Rei... Don't you understand that now is not a time for regrets?"
Saturn's eyes narrowed. "She's right, Sailor Mars. Now is a time for action. We'll make these bastards pay!"
Sailor Mars stopped briefly as they left their princess' cold body on the floor. She knelt down beside it, and clasped a limp hand in her own warm one. "Princess, I wish you a happy time in the afterlife and heaven, and I wish you a safe journey there. Know that you go with our love and thanks."
She stood and slowly walked away, the steady click of her red high heels on the black marble floor.
****
Chapter Four: Antidote
They charged into the throne room to face their enemy, Mamoru in the lead as he told them of their enemy's plan.
"Zimite, you evil rat! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Uranus called out in what was a good mockery of glee.
"Calm down, love." Neptune said to Uranus, and Uranus looked at her fondly.
"I must have my revenge, Michi."
"We all must, Haruka. We ALL must."
"Why hello, little Senshi. I was wondering for awhile whether or not you were going to find me, I must admit. Or whether you would live long enough to do it!" he shouted in evil laughter.
He stepped out of the shadows. He wasn't human; they could be positive of that. His green skin was flecked with black, however, so they could see that somehow the virus had affected him.
"Yes, you're quite right. I was myself infected with the virus during the development, but luckily I knew the antidote soon after! Now little girls, you came to fight, so let's fight!"
Venus, Uranus and Neptune began to fight the warlord almost immediately, while the others stood back.
"Why is it so friggin' cold in here?" Jupiter mumbled.
"Cold?" Mecury whispered to herself. "I've got it!" she began punching keys into her keyboard furiously, and frowned whenever her scans gave her a bad result. Finally, she smiled triumphantly. "There is no real antidote, guys. Extreme cold freezes the virus' reaction to the body! If you can heat up his body, the virus will eat him inside out!"
"Well then," Mars started. "If it's heat you need... MARS FIRE IGNITE!"
"NOOOO!" he screamed when the blazing fire hit him. The Senshi watched in awe as he turned into a rotting black corpse before their eyes.
"That was too easy." Saturn muttered.
An image appeared on the wall, a projection, fuzzy yet easily identified as a human this time. "You may have defeated my servant, Senshi. But next time, you will not defeat me! bwahahahahaha!"
"Oh shit!"
******
Chapter Five: Rebirth
The sun was high in the sky when they returned, and Mamoru had sunk into a deep depression. With the loss of a soulmate, Minako had said, it is like the loss of life.
"But what I can't understand is why it's still there. The soulbond, I mean. Usually, when a person dies, the bond is broken..." Minako trailed off, realizing what she just said.
"Do you mean it's possible that she's still alive?" Hotaru, who was drinking ice tea with the 17 year old at Crown, asked the older girl.
"Quite. It's quite possible." Minako said thoughtfully.
"But I saw her and she was QUITE dead."
"It's possible that she planned for this to happen so she split her soul into two parts, and put them into two different bodies."
"She could do that?!"
"She's the friggin' MOON PRINCESS. She could do anything she damn well pleases."
*****
Ami, Makoto and Minako sat peacefully in Haruna-sensei's 'room of torture' tenth grade English class. She walked in, her red hair waving, and her make-up covered face was set in a frown. "Sit up staight, you slackers."
She walked over to her desk and plopped her briefcase on the desk. Once, Haruna had been a happy, dedicated teacher. It was rumoured she'd had her heart broken and it had made her heart cold and hard. "Today we have a break from our usual, monotonous day, students. In fact, we have a new student to add to my general feeling of misery."
A small girl, 4'11 or so walked into the room, her feet making almost no sound on the classrooms tile floors. Her hair was in odangos, a now familiar hairstyle to the girls.
"Introduce yourself, girlie."
"Hello everyone." Her voice was melodic, and several guys in the class sighed. She looked up suddenly, her blonde hair swinging in her eyes. "My name is Tsukino Usagi, and I'm 17 years old. It's a pleasure to meet you all!"
It wasn't the name. They could have sworn that. It was her eyes when she swung her hair out of her face. They were the same crystal blue color of Selenity's.hb
*****
Chapter Six: Meetings
Usagi sat alone at lunch, her hair falling into her face. Apparently, no one liked her enough to sit near her. 'Oh well,' she thought. 'It's not the first time I've ever been an outcast.'
"Excuse me, Usagi-san?" A small voice asked from behind her. She turned to see a blue haired girl, around the height of 5'2 or so. "My name is Mizuno Ami. It's a pleasure to meet you."
A brown ponytailed girl also looked over Usagi's shoulder. "And I'm Kino Makoto."
A blonde sat down next to her. "Aino Minako, at your service."
"Where do you people come from?!"
"I'm from Venus."
"Mercury."
"Jupiter."
"You guys are out there. But somehow, you seem familiar..." Usagi said.
She noticed as they all three exchanged a look.
"So Usagi, where are you from?" asked Makoto casually.
****
Luna looked at Artemis. "Tsukino Usagi, eh? I think it's time to have a talk with our friend, the Raven."
*****
Mr. Robert Fujiwara sat at his desk, his head cradled in his hands as he repeated a mantra in his mind. He was SO glad he had only one more client for the day.
Fujiwara was the president of the Tokyo Research facilities, and was a very busy man. "Fujiwara-san? A Ms. Raven to see you."
"Thank you, Aki. Send her in."
"Hello, Mr. Fujiwara."
"Ms.Raven."
"Setsuna, please."
"How may I assist you, Ms.Setsuna?"
"I want you to make an antidote for me."
"Why?"
"Have you ever heard of the Sailor Senshi?"
**
Chapter Seven: Sailor Moon
The wind blew upon the seven at the scene of battle.The youma was hard, as they all were now that Sailor Moon was gone.
It was the heart of winter, and Hotaru cursed the thin fukus that she and the others wore. "Too bad I can't use my attack," she muttered. "But it's a human."
What were they to do?
A streak of yellow slime headed straight for her; it had been spit out of one of the youma's many mouths, and Hotaru braced herself, knowing she wouldn't have time to move out of the range.
Suddenly, a blur of red, white and blue pushed her out of the way.
The girl's golden hair was up in the classic odangos, the streamers reaching only to mid-calf, and her familiar blue eyes twinkled in the moonlight. She wore a fuku, with a blue skirt and red bow, matching the red boots and red jewels decorating her hair.
She stood proudly, her stance an echo of the late Sailor Moon...
"I am Sailor Moon, a champion of Justice! I will right wrongs and triumph over evil! In the name of the moon, I will punish you!"
"Oh, another little girl with big talk. LET'S PLAY!" The youma cried.
"Nuh uh! MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!" The girl shouted, and the youma reverted to human form.
The Inner Senshi looked on in confusion as the Outer Senshi's eyes widened. "That's the first form of Sailor Moon. Selenity's fuku used to look like that!"
Saturn looked eerily at Sailor Moon. "And Selenity used to be a blonde, I've heard."
"WHAT IS GOING ON?!"
****
The raven flew in and perched on the windowsill before reverting to her origional form, a tall, dark woman with green hair and silky maroon eyes. Her chocolate colored skin gleamed in the soft moonlight, and she smiled at her friends.
"Setsuna, do you know what's going on?"
"It's time to give ALL the Senshi back their true memories Luna. Ones of present, ones of past."
And with that, the raven was gone.
****
"Who are you?" Rei demanded hotly. "YOU CAN'T BE SAILOR MOON!"
The girl's soft blue eyes, the ones that had become hauntingly familiar to the scouts, became somewhat angry. "And why is that, may I ask? I have the brooch, I have the powers, and a friggin' TALKING CAT TOLD ME I WAS!" Her face flushed a bit, and she added a quirky little statement that made a smile pull at Uranus' lips. "And I'm NOT EVEN a cat person."
Rei wasn't amused. She looked even angrier. "I don't care who told you what, but I saw Sailor Moon sacrifice herself for us six months past, and it makes me angy that someone would just use her name like that!"
'Sailor Moon' smiled winningly. "But only a part of me died, you see. I'm sure your friend Venus can tell you all about it."
All but Saturn turned to Venus accusingly. Venus gulped, and noticed as she glanced to the side that Tuxedo Mask was here. 'Surprise, surprise.'
Thank god for talking cats and perfectly timed entrances. Luna looked dispassionatly at them, looking for all the world as if she had just been given a horrible task to do.
"I'm sorry, girls," she started, her blue eyes softening as she gazed at each one in turn. "But an order is an order, even if it's not made to sound like one."
"LUNA MIND MELD!" she yelled loudly.
All the scouts fell unconcious, their bodies melting softly to the gound as their tiaras disappeared and symbols of their planets appeared in place, and tuxedo mask felt his transformation slip as he too plunged into darkness.
Save for Uranus and Neptune, who looked at each other, an understanding between them. This was a moment they had been through before. They looked to Luna, who was concentrating ever so hard on the connection between her and the others.
The time had come. The Messiah would be awakened.
****
"Tonight, several citizens noticed a beam of golden light lighting up the sky around eleven PM... Scientists have hazarded that this might be an effect of Global Warming..."
*****
END BOOK 2!! Yahoo! I'm so proud of the way this story is coming out, and I'm hazarding a guess that this will come out to be about six books. Just a guess, mind you. It might be longer. Since you're probably not going to read this anyway, I just HAVE to thank all kinds of awesome people.
Maia, you tell me I'm good at writing, and it bolsters my self esteem. We're writing a co-fic, so be on the lookout.
Jennifer W.- my way cool editor who has all kinds of nifty suggestions to make this fic better...
Yang, LadyBlue, whatever you call yourself, you're SO weird. But heh! At least you're helpful!
Lady Blackdragon ^-^!!
Started: 4/28/01
Chapter One: Capture
"They will pay." came the cold voice of Sailor Saturn. No more was said.
No one could think of anything else to say.
The darkness and the mournful silence was closing in on them. Sailor Uranus licked her lips. "Computer girl! Yes, you, Mercury. Could you get a fix on where that portal went to and what exactly it was made of?" She ordered.
"Where do you get off ordering my team around? I'm in charge here!" Minako yelled
"I couldn't give a damn who's in charge! We need to do things, and we need to do things fast. I don't have time for a little girl to pretend she's a leader!"
"Yeah?! Well, I don't have time for a pushy newcomer to tell me and my team what to do!"
"I just want to find my Princess, and you're getting in my way!"
"We're the protectors of the Princess, Uranus!!"
"THAN HOW COME WE'VE BEEN DOING THE PROTECTING?!!!! WE'VE BEEN PROTECTING HER FROM YOU ALL THESE YEARS!!!!!" Uranus bellowed, closely followed by her gloved hand covering her mouth from her outburst.
"What are you talking about?" Minako whispered.
"You don't even REMEMBER?! You were her best friends, and then you turned on her like vicious dogs and YOU DON'T EVEN REMEMBER???!!!" Sailor Uranus felt the blood rushing to he face as her voice rose in tone once more.
Sailor Neptune put a hand on Sailor Uranus' shoulder. "Haruka, I think it'd be better if I explained."
She turned to the Senshi; all of them except Mercury looked toward her. "All your memories of the fight against Queen Beryl have been erased. The only thing you know is that you DID, in fact, fight her. You were told this by that talking cat, I do believe."
Minako nodded, agreeing with Mirchiru's correct statement. "So why don't you ask that talking cat why she never informed you of the death of your ally in that battle, the friend you ditched; Sailor Moon."
"But Sailor Moon is alive!" Jupiter yelled.
"No thanks to you. You left her for dead on the battlefield, in the arms of the also 'dead' Prince Endymion. I believe you know HIM by his other name, Chiba Mamoru."
Rei's eyes widened.'Mamoru-san?'
"But of course, you don't remember. Your memories were wiped, along with Selenity's and Mamoru's in hopes that you would be happy."
"Is this true, Luna?" Minako said, her blue eyes searching the cat's for an answer. Luna looked downward, breaking the gaze.
"I wanted- WE wanted to protect you from those painful memories!"Luna said, acknowledging Artemis.
Uranus growled. "But we will ALWAYS remember, and we don't easily forgive."
"I'VE GOT IT! I'VE GOT THE FIX!"
***
"Where AM I", Usagi said grogily. Sometime during her portal trip she had reverted from her fuku to regular clothes.
Her hair had come loose from her odangos, and soft waves of silver fell to the floor.
"You, my pretty little fairy, are in the deepest, darkest part of the Midnight Evil Society. We are an organization that wants nothing more than to capture Earth and obliterate human existence!" Evil laughter followed, as the black-haired man that had captured her stepped out from the shadows.
Usagi looked at him from indignant blue eyes that shined brightly in the darkness of the room. "That's just sick." She spit at him, and he dodged with an amused glance.
"Ooh, a fiesty one! I like that! Oh and by the way, fairy, I haven't yet told you HOW we plan to do it!"
"What are you talking about..." she whispered, the harsh reality of her powerless finally registering in her mind.
"Our leader, Zimite, wanted to be... different. We plan to destroy human life with a plague worse than the black death!"
Usagi's eyes got impossibly larger. All those people dying such painful deaths..."NOOOOOOOO! That's so cruel..." she whimpered! She had never been so useless; never felt so helpless, in her life.
And that made her angry. So very, very angry. Her body began to brightly glow with white light as the black eyed man looked on with fear.
***
"Where is it?" asked Uranus. This time however, Minako did not contest her question.
"The portal was made, not of black energy, but neutral energy. It took her to a power plant in Austrailia." Ami replied. "The only way I can see us getting there is by plane, but thatr would take days..."
"Where's Mamoru?" asked Rei, out of the blue. "He would have known if something had happened to Selenity-sama, wouldn't he have?"
Minako drew her eyebrows together in concentration."Quite possibly. Why don't you try and call him?" She said as she pointed to a telephone booth about a yard or so away from where they were standing.
Mars ran over to make the call.
Saturn cleared her throat, a move that usually made those unaccusmed to her presence jump. This time was no different. "I know a way we could get there, in, say, five seconds.It's called Sailor Teleport." She said.
Jupiter looked over at her and smiled. "That would be great. How is that possible?"
Mercury too looked on with interest."Well, it's done mostly by channling your powers through one Senshi team member-- usually Sailor Moon, but this time me because I'm the only other person who knows how to do it-- and envisioning the place you want to go."
"That's coo-" Minako was interrupted by Rei's frantic calling.
Jupiter and Saturn rushed over. Rei looked at them with wide violet eyes."You have to hear this to beleive it.
They stood silently as Rei dialed the Mamoru's phone number once more.
"You have reached the Midnight Evil Society. Little Sailor Chickies, I knew you would call. Here's a clue: Your prince resides with his princess, in a land WAY down under. Ta ta, now, and don't do anything that I wouldn't do!click."
The three walked back over to where their friends were waiting. Rei looked incredibly pale, they noted, and when she spoke, they also noticed her shaking voice.
Sailor Neptune looked concerned. "Miss Hino, are you alright?"
"The prince resides with his princess, in a land WAY down under."
A caw echoed overhead, and Saturn looked up, her face impassive. It was a raven "Beware of the Black Vials! They mean death!" It cawed, and Saturn's dark purple eyes got impossibly wider. She looked to see if the others had noticed. They hadn't.
She hadn't imagined it. Of that she was sure."Beware of the black vials." she mouthed. 'I thank you for the warning, great raven. Don't worry. We'll save the princess and her prince!'
"Now, down to this teleport business. Join hands and send out your power!" Saturn commanded.
"MERCURY STAR POWER!"
"MARS STAR POWER!"
"JUPITER STAR POWER!"
"VENUS STAR POWER!"
"URANUS STAR POWER!"
"NEPTUNE STAR POWER!"
"SATURN STAR POWER! TAKE US TO AUSTRAILIA!"
And suddenly, they were gone.
****
Chapter Two: Death
No longer did a young woman with frightened blue eyes stand before him. Now, an incredibly angry, incredibly beautiful Princess stood in front of him, and she looked rather dangerous. He noted the long scepter in her left hand; the Lunar Scepter, no doubt about it. She wore a white silk dress, embroidered with gold roses. Every inch the Moon Princess.
So his master had been right after all. He almost smiled until he remembered his predicament.
Usagi looked at the man in front of her, his greasy hair and black eyes. She couldn't believe this was the same cocky son of a gun that had been telling her of his master's wish to destroy all human life.
"You can kill me, but you will never kill my master or his dream!" The man stuttered as his executioner drew nearer.
"That's all it will ever be, you silly little dog. A dream. A dream that will never, NEVER, become reality."
"I hate you, you stupid bi-"
"LUNAR SCEPTER EXECUTION!"
And all was quiet except for a crying girl sitting in the middle of the dark marble floor, a pool of silver hair around her, and wearing a plain blue dress.
She had killed.
****
It was a moden office building; a large steel scyscraper with cubicles on each floor. And on the top floor; large rooms, comfy chairs, and company heads could be found.
Mr. Ronald Fujiwara rested his head in his hands. He had had a busy day, and luckily, he had only one more client before he could go home.
It was sweltering hot when they arrived, and the climate and landscape was far different from any they had seen in Japan. There was open space for miles around, and a beautiful sunrise lit the sky.
Saturn stood wearily, and cupping her hand above her eyes, squinted to the east. "I think I see the place we're looking for, guys!" She called.
Rei looked to where Saturn's index finger had pointed an smiled. Indeed, a large black building in the middle of a deserted wilderness WOULD be the place they looked for.
Rei frowned. "I wish we had those nifty wings Sailor Moon has!" she stated.
"If wishes were candy." Uranus replied dryly.
They both noticed the others had left without them. "HEY!" they cried in unison. "WAIT UP!"
****
The large black building also, Saturn noted, had large black doors. She halted the others, a frown etched into her face. "Be prepared for traps." She looked indecisive. "And if you see any-- any black vials, tell me, okay?"
They walked inside carefully, and seeing no traps, walked on.
A small red light blinked from the camera in the door way.
***
It watched evilly as they walked in, it's mouth set in a wide grin. Soon, yes soon, they would die, and earth would be his for the taking!
"Master, I come bearing awful news." a servant said, his mouth set in a grim line.
"Hai?"
"Ermine has been...eliminated, and the princess has ...escaped."
"Shimmatta!"
****
Usagi held her breath as she looked around the corner, searching for any sign of those well armored guards. She had run into quite a few of them recently, and had had to use her insticts to disbatch them. For some reason, she couldn't transform here in this-building. She had only established that they ran experiments here, which most likely meant it was a laboratory.
She had to find a way out...
Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth and pulled her body toward a warm wall behind her. She immediatly began struggling, until a warm, familiar voice whispered into her ear. "It's me. Calm down, Usako."
Usagi melted against him, savoring the feeling of security that would last perhaps only a moment. Soon enough, the echoing footsteps of the guards could be heard once more.
Usagi turned around until she was facing Mamoru. "They want to eliminate the human race, Mamo-chan. Can you imagine?"
"Why would they want to do that?! That's crazy!" Mamoru whispered loudly; incrediously.
"You haven't heard the worst of it, Mamo-chan."
"What do you mean, I haven't heard the worst of it?" he whispered, preparing herself for what she was about to say.
"They plan to use a virus that would put the Black Plague to shame. It would not only kill person after person, Mamoru! It would have everyone living in fear, and turning on longtime friends and neighbors! It would be total chaos!"
"And a negative energy hotspot." Mamoru finished grimly. "Kuso! Why couldn't they have a simpler plan?!"
The footsteps became louder,pounding in their ears.
"Let's go."
*****
Minako turned to Saturn, who was leading them down a dark hallway. "Saturn, what do we call you? You've sort of taken charge, and calling you Saturn doesn't seem- right. I'm Minako, by the way."
"My name's Hotaru. I have no idea why you guys are letting me lead, since I'm so young."
"How old are you, anyway?" Minako asked, curious.
"Thirteen. I used to be older; it's a long story."
"One I'd LOVE to hear someday, let me assure you-" CRASH!
Row after row after row of youma charged into the unlit corridor, from both side, trapping them in.
Mars grinned mirthlessly. "Let's get ready to rumble, ladies! MARS FIRE IGNITE!" Fire surged through 50 or 60 youma to the right. "Smokin'!"
Uranus turned to her with a challenge in her eyes. "Let ME show you how it's done, pyro. SPACE SWORD BLASTER!" She cried, and more than 70 youma melted into the ground.
Deciding they didn't want to be left out of the fray, Jupiter and Venus launched a double attack, killing 70 or so youma.
Mercury typed furiously on her computer as the others fought. 'What is that strange energy coming from the center of this building. It's not negative, but positive!Positive energy HERE? What could it BE?'
"I'm all tapped out!" Mars cried, breathing heavily.
"DEATH RIBBON REVOLUTION!" All the remaining youma turned to dust.
Makoto turned to Hotaru. "Why didn't you do that sooner?!"
"You guys looked like you were having fun..." she started, grinning.
Mercury gasped. "I've located Usagi and Mamoru! We've got to hurry! My computer says they're not transformed. They could be in serious trouble!"
****
"I will NOT let them ruin my plans!" Zimite hissied dangerously. "I WILL NOT!!"
****
"NOT SO FAST, STUPID SENSHI! YOU WILL NOT RUIN MY PLANS! IN FACT YOU'LL HELP THE ALONG! I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO MY VIRUS, KNOWN ONLY AS THE DARK PLAGUE!" A booming voice shouted, echoing through the walls of the large corridor.
Black vials started falling from the ceiling. Saturn's eyes widened impossibly larger. 'Beware of the black vials. They mean death.' she mouthed, before she started screaming...
Her flesh was burning, she could feel it. The virus was invading her body, and a feeling of regret and despair washed over her. 'I'll never meet you now princess. I'm so sorry...'
******
"Where's it coming from!" Usagi yelled as she and Mamoru ran through the hallways, searching for the source of the screams. Her long blonde hair trailed behind her in endless waves of silver as she turned this way and that.
'I'll never meet you now princess. I'm so sorry...'
She stopped in one hallway, and her lips moved but no sound was emmitted. The only thing that could be seen was the black corpses littering the hallway in Sailor fukus, and the reek of rotting corpses filled the air.
"Mamoru..."
The corpse wearing a Saturn fuku had it's mouth bopened in a scream.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Chapter Three: Sacrifice
"Usagi! Usako! Don't! Please!" Mamoru begged, his navy eyes pleading with her.
"Mamo-chan, if seven people can live for one, it's worth it."
"You truly are the princess, aren't you?" Mamoru said sadly. "WHY CAN'T YOU EVER THINK OF YOURSELF, SELENITLY?!" he cried.
"But don't you see, Mamoru?! I'm being selfish right now, because I know I couldn't live if I knew they could have lived! I'm nothing without them, Mamo-chan!"
"What about me, Usagi? I- I love you. I NEED YOU!"
Usagi looked at Mamoru sadly. "I love you too, Mamo-chan. Never forget that I love you.Promise me!"
"I promise."
Usagi nodded tearfully, and grabbed his face to pull him down for a tender kiss; a farewell kiss.
She turned away then, and turned toward the black corpses. She held up the Imperium Silver Crystal, and high in the air it floated above her palms. "MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!"
The energy left her, floating toward the bodies that littered the floor. As life returned to them, Usagi smiled and slumped to the floor. Her eyes still open, the blue faded to a light gray color in death.
The moon princess had made a sacrifice; dying to save her protectors. It didn't seem right.
*****
When Saturn awoke, the first thing her eyes noted was the prince's sobbing form. When her vision became more focused, she saw the small body of her princess in his arms.
"No." she whispered. "NOOOOOOO!" Saturn screamed, awakening the others from there deathly sleep.
"Hime! Princess!" Uranus creid out in anguish. "How could she be so selfish?! It's our job to protect her!"
Rei looked down at the small girl in Mamoru's arms. Only now did she realize how small and harmless she looked. "I never got to know her; I was too suspicious to trust her, and I've missed out on so much..."
Minako looked over to her sobbing friend, tears shining in her eyes as well. "You missed out on a chance to get to know a wonderful person, but Rei... Don't you understand that now is not a time for regrets?"
Saturn's eyes narrowed. "She's right, Sailor Mars. Now is a time for action. We'll make these bastards pay!"
Sailor Mars stopped briefly as they left their princess' cold body on the floor. She knelt down beside it, and clasped a limp hand in her own warm one. "Princess, I wish you a happy time in the afterlife and heaven, and I wish you a safe journey there. Know that you go with our love and thanks."
She stood and slowly walked away, the steady click of her red high heels on the black marble floor.
****
Chapter Four: Antidote
They charged into the throne room to face their enemy, Mamoru in the lead as he told them of their enemy's plan.
"Zimite, you evil rat! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Uranus called out in what was a good mockery of glee.
"Calm down, love." Neptune said to Uranus, and Uranus looked at her fondly.
"I must have my revenge, Michi."
"We all must, Haruka. We ALL must."
"Why hello, little Senshi. I was wondering for awhile whether or not you were going to find me, I must admit. Or whether you would live long enough to do it!" he shouted in evil laughter.
He stepped out of the shadows. He wasn't human; they could be positive of that. His green skin was flecked with black, however, so they could see that somehow the virus had affected him.
"Yes, you're quite right. I was myself infected with the virus during the development, but luckily I knew the antidote soon after! Now little girls, you came to fight, so let's fight!"
Venus, Uranus and Neptune began to fight the warlord almost immediately, while the others stood back.
"Why is it so friggin' cold in here?" Jupiter mumbled.
"Cold?" Mecury whispered to herself. "I've got it!" she began punching keys into her keyboard furiously, and frowned whenever her scans gave her a bad result. Finally, she smiled triumphantly. "There is no real antidote, guys. Extreme cold freezes the virus' reaction to the body! If you can heat up his body, the virus will eat him inside out!"
"Well then," Mars started. "If it's heat you need... MARS FIRE IGNITE!"
"NOOOO!" he screamed when the blazing fire hit him. The Senshi watched in awe as he turned into a rotting black corpse before their eyes.
"That was too easy." Saturn muttered.
An image appeared on the wall, a projection, fuzzy yet easily identified as a human this time. "You may have defeated my servant, Senshi. But next time, you will not defeat me! bwahahahahaha!"
"Oh shit!"
******
Chapter Five: Rebirth
The sun was high in the sky when they returned, and Mamoru had sunk into a deep depression. With the loss of a soulmate, Minako had said, it is like the loss of life.
"But what I can't understand is why it's still there. The soulbond, I mean. Usually, when a person dies, the bond is broken..." Minako trailed off, realizing what she just said.
"Do you mean it's possible that she's still alive?" Hotaru, who was drinking ice tea with the 17 year old at Crown, asked the older girl.
"Quite. It's quite possible." Minako said thoughtfully.
"But I saw her and she was QUITE dead."
"It's possible that she planned for this to happen so she split her soul into two parts, and put them into two different bodies."
"She could do that?!"
"She's the friggin' MOON PRINCESS. She could do anything she damn well pleases."
*****
Ami, Makoto and Minako sat peacefully in Haruna-sensei's 'room of torture' tenth grade English class. She walked in, her red hair waving, and her make-up covered face was set in a frown. "Sit up staight, you slackers."
She walked over to her desk and plopped her briefcase on the desk. Once, Haruna had been a happy, dedicated teacher. It was rumoured she'd had her heart broken and it had made her heart cold and hard. "Today we have a break from our usual, monotonous day, students. In fact, we have a new student to add to my general feeling of misery."
A small girl, 4'11 or so walked into the room, her feet making almost no sound on the classrooms tile floors. Her hair was in odangos, a now familiar hairstyle to the girls.
"Introduce yourself, girlie."
"Hello everyone." Her voice was melodic, and several guys in the class sighed. She looked up suddenly, her blonde hair swinging in her eyes. "My name is Tsukino Usagi, and I'm 17 years old. It's a pleasure to meet you all!"
It wasn't the name. They could have sworn that. It was her eyes when she swung her hair out of her face. They were the same crystal blue color of Selenity's.hb
*****
Chapter Six: Meetings
Usagi sat alone at lunch, her hair falling into her face. Apparently, no one liked her enough to sit near her. 'Oh well,' she thought. 'It's not the first time I've ever been an outcast.'
"Excuse me, Usagi-san?" A small voice asked from behind her. She turned to see a blue haired girl, around the height of 5'2 or so. "My name is Mizuno Ami. It's a pleasure to meet you."
A brown ponytailed girl also looked over Usagi's shoulder. "And I'm Kino Makoto."
A blonde sat down next to her. "Aino Minako, at your service."
"Where do you people come from?!"
"I'm from Venus."
"Mercury."
"Jupiter."
"You guys are out there. But somehow, you seem familiar..." Usagi said.
She noticed as they all three exchanged a look.
"So Usagi, where are you from?" asked Makoto casually.
****
Luna looked at Artemis. "Tsukino Usagi, eh? I think it's time to have a talk with our friend, the Raven."
*****
Mr. Robert Fujiwara sat at his desk, his head cradled in his hands as he repeated a mantra in his mind. He was SO glad he had only one more client for the day.
Fujiwara was the president of the Tokyo Research facilities, and was a very busy man. "Fujiwara-san? A Ms. Raven to see you."
"Thank you, Aki. Send her in."
"Hello, Mr. Fujiwara."
"Ms.Raven."
"Setsuna, please."
"How may I assist you, Ms.Setsuna?"
"I want you to make an antidote for me."
"Why?"
"Have you ever heard of the Sailor Senshi?"
**
Chapter Seven: Sailor Moon
The wind blew upon the seven at the scene of battle.The youma was hard, as they all were now that Sailor Moon was gone.
It was the heart of winter, and Hotaru cursed the thin fukus that she and the others wore. "Too bad I can't use my attack," she muttered. "But it's a human."
What were they to do?
A streak of yellow slime headed straight for her; it had been spit out of one of the youma's many mouths, and Hotaru braced herself, knowing she wouldn't have time to move out of the range.
Suddenly, a blur of red, white and blue pushed her out of the way.
The girl's golden hair was up in the classic odangos, the streamers reaching only to mid-calf, and her familiar blue eyes twinkled in the moonlight. She wore a fuku, with a blue skirt and red bow, matching the red boots and red jewels decorating her hair.
She stood proudly, her stance an echo of the late Sailor Moon...
"I am Sailor Moon, a champion of Justice! I will right wrongs and triumph over evil! In the name of the moon, I will punish you!"
"Oh, another little girl with big talk. LET'S PLAY!" The youma cried.
"Nuh uh! MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!" The girl shouted, and the youma reverted to human form.
The Inner Senshi looked on in confusion as the Outer Senshi's eyes widened. "That's the first form of Sailor Moon. Selenity's fuku used to look like that!"
Saturn looked eerily at Sailor Moon. "And Selenity used to be a blonde, I've heard."
"WHAT IS GOING ON?!"
****
The raven flew in and perched on the windowsill before reverting to her origional form, a tall, dark woman with green hair and silky maroon eyes. Her chocolate colored skin gleamed in the soft moonlight, and she smiled at her friends.
"Setsuna, do you know what's going on?"
"It's time to give ALL the Senshi back their true memories Luna. Ones of present, ones of past."
And with that, the raven was gone.
****
"Who are you?" Rei demanded hotly. "YOU CAN'T BE SAILOR MOON!"
The girl's soft blue eyes, the ones that had become hauntingly familiar to the scouts, became somewhat angry. "And why is that, may I ask? I have the brooch, I have the powers, and a friggin' TALKING CAT TOLD ME I WAS!" Her face flushed a bit, and she added a quirky little statement that made a smile pull at Uranus' lips. "And I'm NOT EVEN a cat person."
Rei wasn't amused. She looked even angrier. "I don't care who told you what, but I saw Sailor Moon sacrifice herself for us six months past, and it makes me angy that someone would just use her name like that!"
'Sailor Moon' smiled winningly. "But only a part of me died, you see. I'm sure your friend Venus can tell you all about it."
All but Saturn turned to Venus accusingly. Venus gulped, and noticed as she glanced to the side that Tuxedo Mask was here. 'Surprise, surprise.'
Thank god for talking cats and perfectly timed entrances. Luna looked dispassionatly at them, looking for all the world as if she had just been given a horrible task to do.
"I'm sorry, girls," she started, her blue eyes softening as she gazed at each one in turn. "But an order is an order, even if it's not made to sound like one."
"LUNA MIND MELD!" she yelled loudly.
All the scouts fell unconcious, their bodies melting softly to the gound as their tiaras disappeared and symbols of their planets appeared in place, and tuxedo mask felt his transformation slip as he too plunged into darkness.
Save for Uranus and Neptune, who looked at each other, an understanding between them. This was a moment they had been through before. They looked to Luna, who was concentrating ever so hard on the connection between her and the others.
The time had come. The Messiah would be awakened.
****
"Tonight, several citizens noticed a beam of golden light lighting up the sky around eleven PM... Scientists have hazarded that this might be an effect of Global Warming..."
*****
END BOOK 2!! Yahoo! I'm so proud of the way this story is coming out, and I'm hazarding a guess that this will come out to be about six books. Just a guess, mind you. It might be longer. Since you're probably not going to read this anyway, I just HAVE to thank all kinds of awesome people.
Maia, you tell me I'm good at writing, and it bolsters my self esteem. We're writing a co-fic, so be on the lookout.
Jennifer W.- my way cool editor who has all kinds of nifty suggestions to make this fic better...
Yang, LadyBlue, whatever you call yourself, you're SO weird. But heh! At least you're helpful!
Lady Blackdragon ^-^!!