Sailor Moon: On The Edge Of Yesterday

Chapter Seven: Night Of Romance


Mars blinked, trying to calm her racing heartbeat, and focus back
on the here and now. Sailor Moon needed to continue her story. She had
to say her line.

"We are in danger," Mars said, shuddering as she realized how
true this might be. "The forces of darkness have risen to strike us
down. They will attack within the next twenty-four hours."

"When the Queen heard this news, she was concerned. The Kingdom
had always been at peace with its neighbors and had few defenses. She
gave orders for the people to prepare for an attack, but she would not
put off her daughter's birthday celebration that evening. Princess
Serena was coming of age and such an event was not to be missed."

The other Sailor Scouts came out onto the stage. Tuxedo Mask was
the last out the door, but he stepped around the others to stand near
the princess. The servants took the brazier away, and Sailor Mars
walked back toward the others, glancing worriedly at Sailor Mercury.

"The celebration was a success. In honour of the occasion, Prince
Endymion from the neighboring Kingdom came with gifts for Princess
Serenity and the two danced for most of the night."

The fog swirled upward as Tuxedo Mask stepped forward, offering
Serenity a rose as he took her hand. They began to dance around the
stage, the fog wrapping around them, giving the scene a sense of
unreality. For Serena the moment was all too real, however, and Darien
smiled at her as she held him a bit closer, pressing her head against
his chest.

"This never lasts long enough," she muttered, in the Princess's
voice. Then she let him go, turning back to face their audience.

"In the midst of the celebrations, the enemy attacked! Prince
Endymion and the warriors of the Moon did their very best to defend
the Kingdom."

The fog rose rapidly, shrouding the Scouts' movements as they
took their positions on the stage. Venus began to glow, letting pulses
of light form in her hands, as the fog rolled around her. The light
seemed to carry through the fog, reflected off the ice crystals,
creating flashes of light and shadows all around the great hall.

"The enemy is attacking!" Yelled Tux in his most heroic voice,
moving between the imaginary invasion and Serenity. He thrust his cane
forward as if it were a fencing foil, lunging at the shadows.

"Over here!" yelled Mercury. "They are breaching the walls!"
Jupiter ran over to join her, performing a few elaborate martial arts
moves as she fought her invisible foe. As the fog grew up around her,
she fired off a few faint sparks from her fingertips, causing a flash
of light, and then leaped across the stage as if thrown by an attack.

Mars moved in, then, igniting a handful of rice dust and tossing
it in the air to make a nice fireball. "I summon the power of fire to
deal with these invaders!" Her flash was dramatic, but Mercury's fog
extinguished the flame quickly, keeping it from setting the stage on
fire.

But then Mars, too, flung herself across the stage, and the
flashing cloud moved in closer to Tuxedo Mask and the Princess. Tux
tossed a few roses into it, and brandished his cane, but began to back
away, making it clear he was outclassed. Behind him, Serena clung to
him as if hiding, but she was actually giggling soundlessly. This was
fun!

The fog rolled over Tuxedo Mask and Princess Serenity, cutting
them off from view. Mars and Jupiter lay where they had fallen, and
Mercury and Venus were nowhere to be seen. For a long moment, there
was only silence, and then Serena's voice came from the cloud:

"But it was all for nothing. The enemy overran the Kingdom. Many
were killed, and the Prince and Princess were captured. Seeing her
Kingdom in ruins, Queen Serenity used her own magic to send all the
remaining survivors, including Endymion and Serena, to a far-off land
where they would be safe."

All at once, the fog lowered, dropping out of sight and
vanishing. Sailor Mercury stood revealed at center stage. She did a
single pirouette, and summoned a handful of bubbles, which floated up
toward the ceiling, spreading out through the room. As they reached
the summit of the great hall, they burst, spreading a fine, sparkling
cloud of ice crystals out over the room.

Mercury stepped back out of the way as the princess again spoke.
"The effort of saving everyone was too much for Queen Serenity. But
even as she died, she knew in her heart that her daughter and the
handsome prince would someday be happy."

"Even in the blackest hour, there is always hope. Hope for a
peaceful future." Sailor Moon's sceptre suddenly flashed, brightly,
blinding the audience for a moment. In the few seconds it took for
their sight to return, the princess had become Sailor Moon again.

There was a moment of stunned silence, but then the Shogun began
to applaud. His Samurai soon followed, and the rest of the audience as
well. Even the servants joined in the cheers. Sailor Moon stood,
holding the sceptre across her chest as she took a bow.

"We are the Sailor Scouts..." she said.

"Sailor Mercury, as calm and collected as the quiet stream, with
wit and intelligence beyond her years..." Mercury winked at Togonara
as she took her bow, then struck a pose.

"The beautiful and radiant Sailor Venus, as caring and
compassionate as she is strong and powerful..." Venus smiled winningly
at Serena's praise, then bowed deeply.

"Sailor Mars, the spiritualist, with the power of the fire..."
Sailor Mars bowed, still a little shaken, but glad that Moon's "play"
had worked so well.

"Sailor Jupiter, a brave warrior, with the strength and courage
of a man..." Jupiter also struck a pose, performing a few Tai Chi
moves before she took her bow.

"The mysterious..." Serena's voice slipped out of its
storytelling mode, to become more girlish, "and handsome... Tuxedo
Mask, who is always there to protect us when we most need him..." Tux
chuckled, as he took his bow.

"And I am Sailor Moon, the champion of love and justice!"

Moon raised her sceptre again, and the cheering began anew. It
was some time before they could get off of the stage.

* * * * *

Sailor Jupiter lunged forward, putting her weight behind the
punch as she struck out at the palace wall. She stopped her fist mere
inches from the hard stone. In a smooth, graceful action, she followed
the attack with a roundhouse kick, then dropped back into a block. For
a few moments more, she continued her shadow boxing, concentrating on
keeping her mind focused, and her muscles tight and controlled.

Serena's "play" had left her oddly restless. Rather than giving
her the workout she'd hoped for, the martial arts moves she'd used had
left her full of energy, and feeling strangely unsatisfied. They had
all seemed to be a little on edge, especially Raye. After the Scouts
returned to their rooms, Raye had disappeared, without a word to
anyone. Mina put it off as exaustion from the fire reading, but Lita
could tell something was troubling the dark-haired psychic.

Amy never even made it back to her room, setting off right after
dinner for her talk with Togonara. And Serena and Darien went off
together as well. Lita had thought she might have had Mina around to
chat with, but then the samurai that had picked them up earlier came
by, and she went off with him.

Jupiter sighed, relaxing as she stepped out of her karate stance.
She hated feeling like this, but right now she was all alone, alone
with her thoughts. And even the concentration of a practice session
couldn't make the jealousy go away. She looked back toward the front
gates, and up at the two figures on the wall that protected the city.
A burly man in armor and a petite, slender girl stood silhoutted
against the moonlight.

"Damn her," She said to herself, not exactly meaning it, but
feeling better having said it. "Of all people, mousy little Sailor
Mercury has to pick NOW to come out of her shell..."

Several yards away, the "mousy little Sailor" was feeling just as
frustrated... and just as confused. She had all of this planned, all
the things that she was going to say to Togonara, all the questions she
was going to ask. "I cannot recall any of it," Amy thought. "What is
wrong with me?"

Togonara was silent, staring up at the sky. Amy felt oddly warm,
and safe, with the stone parapets of Kyoto on one side of her, and the
warlord on the other. She was finding it hard to concentrate. "I must
be tired," She said to herself. "That's it. I'm worn out, from the
circus act. I need to calm down, and focus on why I am here..."

"Amy..." the warlord began, still staring off into the distance.
"Look at the Moon... It is so beautiful... shining so brightly. You
don't know how many nights I've stood here, on these walls, wishing
that I had someone to share this with."

Amy looked up at what was, so long ago, her home, and the home of
her Princess. "But not so long ago right now..." she thought, with a
bit of a start. "How far in the past are we? Six hundred years..."

"I never thought that anything could be as beautiful as the Moon
shining over the parapets of Kyoto... until I met you..."

Amy looked up at him, startled out of her private thoughts. She
felt herself blushing again. "Could he really... care about me?" For
a moment, Amy wondered why her heart had begun beating so loudly.
"Get a grip on yourself, girl. You've got questions to ask, plans to
make."

But the warlord was still talking to her. "My feelings for you,
in the short time I've known you... they're hard to describe. I want
to stay with you, to protect you. But I have a responsibility to my
men, and to the Shogun."

He looked away, towards the fields around the city. "Look. I can
see the fires of Daigo's minions even as we speak..."

Amy's eyes widened as she looked in the direction Togonara was
pointing, and spotted the campfires, spread out in a ring around the
city. "Oh, no! My scan earlier didn't even pick them up! How could
they have gotten here so fast! I'm... we're not ready... I haven't had
time to make my plans... I haven't..."

"Amy..."

She looked up, as Togonara said her name. Her thoughts were
already muddled, and the sight of the approaching army had thrown
her into a panic. But all that was forgotten as Togonara leaned over
her. Her blue eyes became positively enourmous, her mouth falling
open in shock, but the only sound that escaped her lips was a small
gasp, as the warlord covered them with his own.

"No! No! What am I doing?" To her utter astonishment, Amy felt
herself returning the kiss, even reveling in it, leaning closer to
Togonara, as his strong arms went around her. She cast around herself
desparately, trying to concentrate on her plan, but the one weapon she
felt she could always rely on -- her mind -- was lost in a maelstrom
of emotion.

"Oh, God! Don't give out on me now! I need a plan! I need a way
out of this! Please, don't LEAVE me like this!" But what was left of
her concentration broke down, in the security of Togonara's embrace,
and even those thoughts went silent.

Inside the city walls, Lita just stared, stunned. Part of her
wanted to scream. Part of her wanted to cheer. Mostly, though, she
just gaped at the two lovers, almost unable to believe what she was
seeing. Amy? AMY? In LOVE???

Suddenly, all other thoughts were shoved aside as a feeling of
danger washed over her. She knew the feeling well. It had even come to
her, once or twice, before she became a Sailor Scout. It wasn't as
strong as Raye's ability to sense evil, she knew, but all the Sailor
Scouts knew, instinctively, when evil was near.

The Temporal Dominators were attacking. Sailor Jupiter took off
in a run towards Togonara and Amy.

Up on the wall, however, the haze of her emotions and the force
of Togonara's kiss let nothing else through. Amy could not sense the
danger, and she continued to hold the warlord tightly, lost in the
bliss of the moment.

* * * * *

Raye walked out of her room into the central chamber. Her eyes
were closed, and her hands were folded in front of her, her fingers
steepled. On her face was an expression of extreme concentration.

She opened her eyes and looked around the room, but to her
astonisment, there was no one there. Only Luna and Artemis remained,
resting on one of the cushions by the table.

"Where is everybody?"

"They've all gone out," Luna answered. "Serena and Darien left
together, and Mina left a little while afterwards with that Wasira
Chi. Then Lita went out alone -- to do some practicing, I would guess,
since she went in just her Sailor costume."

"And Amy hasn't returned from her walk with Togonara," Artemis
added.

"Yes, that's what I wanted to talk to her about." Raye said. "I
didn't want to say anything until I was sure, but..."

She paused, taking a deep breath. "Amy seems to be getting very
close to the warlord, doesn't she?"

Artemis opened his mouth, a smug expression on his face, but then
he glanced at Luna, and shut it, quickly. "I would say so, yes," he
said, a little more seriously.

"I think that he is in danger," Raye said. "I wouldn't want Amy
to get hurt because she fell in love with someone who was doomed to
die..."

What was left of Artemis's grin faded as he noticed the black
haired girl's forlorn expression. "Like you did with that sailor on
the _Hunter_," Luna added quietly.

Raye's expression turned fierce. "I can't let that happen." She
said, slamming a fist into her palm. "I'm going to go warn her."

"That sounds like a good idea," Artemis said. "We'll go with
you." As they started towards the door, all three gasped.

"I sense evil!" Raye warned, and the two cats nodded. They had
sensed the wave of danger as well. The Sailor Scout threw open the
door and charged out into the hall, but drew up short as she came face
to face with their foe.

The form in front of them was hazy and undefined, but seemed to
be a black, roughly spherical mass of pure shadow. It roiled and
seethed, its internal shape changing by the second, and two red,
glowing eyes peered angrily out of its depths.

"WHERE IS THE SHOGUN?" It demanded, its voice booming, even in
the narrow corridor. "YOU WILL TELL ME, OR MEET HIS FATE AS WELL!"

"MARS..." Even though she'd changed into her robes for the fire
reading, Raye was still in her Sailor Mars form. "FIRE..." She brought
both hands together, her arms shaking with the barely contained power
as she pointed at the shadow demon. "IGNITE!!!"

A cone of flame shot forth, engulfing the demon, but it moved
forward rapidly, slamming into Sailor Mars. She cried out in pain as
her body was tossed about in the maelstrom of the creature's body. It
threw her against the wall, as if discarding a rag doll, and continued
down the corridor.

Mars struggled to her feet, wiping blood from the corner of her
mouth. The two cats ran up behind her. "Are you all right?" Artemis
asked her.

"He's gonna pay for that," Mars growled, grimacing against the
pain. She put a hand around her belly, then looked down at herself.
She suddenly removed the hand, pulling at the fabric of her ceremonial
robe. It was burned, and ripped wide open across the front.

"Damn! Look what he's done to my robes! I can't return them like
this. And they were so pretty..."

"No, Artemis, DON'T look," Luna cut in. "There's a rather sizable
hole here in the back, Raye, where you can't see it. Why aren't you
wearing your costume? If you keep fighting that thing..."

"I'm gonna be worse off than I am now," Mars finished. Like all
the Sailor Scouts, Mars' costume was made of a material much tougher
than any Earth based cloth. "But I can't run back in and change, I
don't have time."

"Why don't you try and transform?" Artemis asked. Luna shot him
a dirty look, but he held up a paw. "I'm not looking! I swear!"

"But I AM transformed," Mars answered. "Like Amy suggested, I
never changed back. I was afraid my costume was interfering with my
fire reading, so I took it off, but I'm still Sailor Mars."

"Try it anyway," Artemis continued. "What can it hurt?"

"MARS! STAR! POWER!" There was a brilliant flash of light as the
elaborate robe vanished. From the guest room, however, a sheet of
flame blasted forth, wrapping itself around Raye's body. Before even
a second of immodesty could pass, Sailor Mars was once again in
costume.

Artemis looked stunned. "It worked! Wow! All my ideas should
work so well..." He shook his head, then took off running after Sailor
Mars, who was already halfway down the hall.

* * * * *

Outside, the alarms of Kyoto were ringing out their warning as
the Shogun's warriors headed for the walls. A horrible, keening moan
had settled over the city, and the sound of approaching troops could
clearby be heard from the field outside. "Wait for me, Mina!" Wasira
Chi said, as he headed for his post. "I'll be back to get you once
these ruffians have been driven away."

Mina stood in the street, with her arms wrapped around herself
worriedly. "Artemis... my kitty... please be all right."

Several yards away, Serena and Darien also saw the soldiers
running past. Serena shivered. "The Dominators..." she said.

Darien nodded. "I know. I feel them, too."

Serena raised her locket above her head. "Serena..." Darien
began, but he was too late.

"MOON! CRYSTAL! POWER!!!" There was a brilliant flash of light
as Serena's kimono vanished -- revealing the Sailor Moon costume she
still had on underneath it!

"Whoops! I forgot!" Serena giggled as she looked down at herself.

Tuxedo Mask shook his head, amused. He pulled his cape out of
somewhere, Serena wasn't sure where, and threw it around himself.
"Let's go!"

"You're not going anywhere!"

They both turned to see Hamasu Wu facing them, his samurai sword
held in front of him, a look of hatred on his face. "You and I have a
battle to fight, Prince of Earth..."

Serena gasped. "How..." But in the same moment, she noticed the
eerie purple glow of his eyes. Hamasa Wu was under the control of the
Dominators!