Rise of the Sacred Moon
Rise of the Sacred Moon
by Ratha
Part Two: Dark Side of the Moon

"Incu-what?" Bunny asked when Rei told the other senshi what had happened.

"Incubus," Rei repeated. "I don't know why I remembered that-Luna? What's wrong?"

Luna's eyes had gone wide as saucers and the small black cat had frozen in horror. "No," she whispered. "Not again. By the goddess, not again!" She jumped with a frightened hiss when Bunny's hand touched her. She looked up at the girls fearfully. "Girls, I-I think this calls for another trip to the moon. Queen Serenity will be able to tell you more about Incubus the Traitor."

The five girls looked startled at this announcement. The last time they'd been to the moon was before the final battle with Metallia, and afterwards when they'd learned that the Moon Palace had been restored by Bunny's power. For Luna to suggest returning to speak to the Moon Queen's spirit was an indication of a very dire situation.

***
Tora ran a hand through her reddish-gold hair as she went over the hundreds of applications for parts in the Sailor Moon movie. "Oy, I hate this part of the job. I hate picturing the disappointment these girls will have."

"Tora?" called a deep voice from the hallway.

"I'm in my office, Nate!" she called back.

A tall man with long, curly auburn hair and ice blue eyes walked in. He smiled when he saw what Tora was doing. "Sending out more 'don't-call-us-we'll-call-you' letters, Tigress?" he chuckled.

"Yup. I believe I've found the perfect girls for the parts, Nathan." She leaned back in her chair and stretched, yawning as Nathan Jones sat in a chair opposite her. "I still can't get over the fact that you're a dead-ringer for Nephrite, Nate. You sure you weren't him in another life?"

Nathan waved a hand dismissively. "You know I don't believe in that 'reincarnation' stuff, Tora! How can it be logical? I mean, if everyone was someone else in another lifetime, how did it all start?"

"Whoever said life was logical?" Tora countered. "And how do you explain those dreams that brought you and the others to me in the first place, hmm?"

Nathan laughed and put his hands on his temples. "That's too deep for me, Tora! My head's gonna explode!"

"Then don't get into that reincarnation debate, Nathan." Tora smiled at the auburn-haired man. Then she spotted the clock on the wall and leapt out of the chair. "Oh no! I'm late! I was supposed to be at Crossroads High ten minutes ago! Tell Kenneth and the others to be ready in five minutes!" She dashed out of the office in a panic.

Nathan chuckled and stood up to leave, then noticed a photograph sticking out from under the stack of papers. Curious, he pulled it out and looked at it. He nearly dropped it in shock. The picture showed him-or was it someone else?-in pale gray slacks and pale yellow button-up shirt. A pair of Ray-Bans hid the man's eyes, but somehow Nathan knew that the eyes were the same color as his own. Beside the man sat a young girl with shoulder-length red hair and dark blue eyes. The girl was smiling up at the man as if she was saying something to him as she fiddled shyly with the skirt of her school uniform. Nathan stared at the picture silently for a moment, eyes wide in disbelief, then dropped it like he'd been burned and bolted from the room.

Tora abruptly became visible again, stepping out of the corner and bending over to pick up the picture, smiling at it. "He almost remembered," she whispered. "I just hope Sailor Jupiter doesn't try to kill you when she sees you, General Nephrite." She pocketed the picture and walked calmly out of the office.

***
Bunny waited nervously with Ami, Lita, Mina, and the other girls who wanted to audition for the movie. It had been Luna's idea to go along with this and see what Tora was up to. The blonde-haired girl looked at the tree where Luna was watching for the strange woman.

"Bunny, here she comes," Mina whispered, elbowing Bunny in the side to get her friend's attention as a black sedan pulled up. Emblazoned on the side of the vehicle was a silver crescent moon!

Tora stepped out of the car, smiling at the eager group of girls. "My! I didn't expect this many girls! My name is Tora Freeman, as all of you must know by now. Before we proceed to the auditorium, I'd like to introduce a few of the proffessional actors that will be helping me judge your auditions: Nathan Jones, Jace Barnes, Kenneth James, and Zachary Ryu."

Bunny, Ami, Mina, and Lita all gasped softly, as did Molly who was beside them. Those four men looked like the Negaverse Generals! Then the four senshi gasped again as they caught Tora watching them intently. She must know more than she's letting on! the four senshi agreed silently.

Tora merely smiled at the girls' shock and faced the group. "Now let's head toward the auditorium, everyone. Come on, you blockhead!" She yanked on Jace's ear, distracting the blonde man from frowning at Bunny and Ami in confusion. "You can flirt later!"

Several of the girls giggled and whispered to each other about the four handsome men accompanying them. Once in the auditorium, Tora directed the girls to sit in the first two rows, then sent Kenneth down the rows to get names.

Ami, Bunny, Mina, and Lita were sitting at the end of one row, nervously watching the four men.

"Excuse me."

The four girls jumped and let out small screams at the unexpected soft voice beside them. Ami looked up and paled when she saw the Zoisite look-alike, Zachary.

The man smiled faintly. "Sorry for scaring you girls, but you seem awfully familiar. Were you ever in England before?"

The girls shook their heads and Ami squeaked, "No, sir. We-we've never been out of Japan."

He nodded slightly, frowning thoughtfully. "I could have sworn I've seen you four before. Or were there five? I can't..." His face twisted slightly in pain and he put a fist to his forehead, shaking his head as if to ward off dizziness. "No...it was a dream...it had to have been..." He turned away from the staring girls and nearly ran into the silver-haired Kenneth. "Sorry, Kunz-wait, no, KENNETH..." He stumbled away, mumbling under his breath.

Kenneth snorted. "Damn idiot can't stop acting," he muttered as the blonde man returned with a bright grin.

"I repeat my first apologies, girls," Zachary said with a merry twinkle in his eyes. "Tora put me up to it, don't ask me why. I-"

Bunny jumped and screamed as a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Why don't you go first, Miss Tsukino?" Tora's voice said from behind her. "You can work with Nathan. He'll play Nephrite and you will be Sailor Moon."

Bunny swallowed nervously and looked at the silent Nathan onstage. "O-okay," she stuttered. She walked onto the stage, keeping an eye on Nathan. "Um-what do I do?"

"Ad-lib," Nathan replied with a smile. "Make it up as you go. Tora'll give us the setting."

Bunny nodded nervously and looked at the older woman.

Tora smiled wickedly. "Let's begin. All the teenage girls in Crossroads have recieved love letters from Tuxedo Mask, telling them to meet him at the mall after hours. Bunny, your best friend has gone on ahead to the mall because she thinks he is someone she knows and has fallen in love with. Bunny, you arrive at the mall in time to see the imposter draining your friend's energy. Bunny, begin."

Bunny's mouth snapped shut and she stared at Nathan a moment, then her eyes hardened as she remembered that day when she had found out Nephrite was behind the attacks. The memory of that scene flashed in front of her eyes and she reacted instinctively. "Stop it!" she shouted, reaching for where her tiara should be. "Put her down before I blast you to the moon!"

Nathan looked briefly startled at the intensity of her fury, a faint memory tugging at his mind. Then he scowled darkly. "You want this brat? You can have her. Catch, girlie." He made a throwing motion, then arched an eyebrow and looked at Tora. "Well, Tora?"

Tora had been watching Bunny intently. She nodded slightly just as the lunch bell rang. "We'll continue auditions after lunch, girls. Bunny, would you and your friends stay for a moment, please?"

The four senshi looked at each other nervously and sat back down as Tora approached them.

The red-haired woman smiled warmly at them. "Well, my Sailor friends. You've led me a merry chase through the millenia, but I've finally caught up with you," she said quietly once the other girls had gone.

The senshi's eyes widened in shocked horror. They had fallen right into her trap!

Tora chuckled softly. "No, my friends, I'm not an enemy. You don't remember me from the Moon Kingdom, but I remember you."

"Who are you?" Ami asked her.

Tora smiled. "I am Sailor Nebula, Pluto's younger sister."