Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Victory
Chapter 2: The Team Assembles
By: Jennifer Cleary
"Argh! I hate learning foreign languages!" a girl cried in English. She had hazel-brown hair and eyes. She slammed an English-Japanese dictionary shut and laid her forehead on the thick leather binding.
"I know Liz, but since Sailor Mercury told us that
we're needed in Japan, we have to learn at least basic Japanese to get
ourselves accustomed to Tokyo and the other senshi that live there." Another girl said, she was Liz's exact
twin.
"Rachel, why do have to? Just because
Miss-blue-head said so?" Liz asked.
"Look, we're both senshi," Rachel began, "and it is
our destiny that the world rest on our shoulders from impending evil. You saw
how powerful Mercury was last night, don't you want to be just as powerful as
her?"
"But, she's in MEDICAL SCHOOL! She's much more
experienced than us, because she's had at least more training than the both of
us combined! She worked with Sailor Moon! She's seen Galaxia and did harness
the power of the Shadow Galactica, it
was for a short time, but it showed her how to grasp her energy and make it
flow powerfully, without draining it so fast! Compared to her, we're pathetic!"
Liz complained.
"Duh, why do you think she's sending us to Tokyo?"
Rachel snapped, "Because she wants us to be powerful like her and Sailor Moon,
so we can defeat the enemy. We've only been senshi for a short time, and that's
one of your problems, you're not patient enough to let your powers emerge from
within and become more powerful over
time. Liz, please, the fate of the world rests with us and the other new
senshi. Before she took off, Mercury said to me that another senshi from
Britain is coming to Tokyo on the same flight that we're taking to get there
and that's in two weeks…she's just as new as us so don't be complaining so
much…" Rachel then sipped on some coffee and continued to study in the
dictionary.
"You're impossible sometimes, Rachel." Liz
commented and flicked a paper football at her sister.
"Cresta!" a young girl cried into the woods. "Where
are you?!" The girl was fairly tall and had long blue hair. "I'm sick of
playing games with you! Come out or I leave for home without you!"
A great horned owl swooped over the girl's head and
landed on a branch nearby. "What is it now Fumito? Did you leave something in
the woods again?" the owl spoke.
"No, we have to get your papers ready so that the
customs guys don't seize you as an undeclared animal. Come on! And I really
don't want to go through all that red tape just to get you back to help me
fight the enemy." The girl said.
"Well that wouldn't be my fault would it?" Cresta
said sarcastically.
"Yes it would, and if you do anything that real
owls don't do normally, then were would we be? Under a microscope, donating our
brains to science, trying to find out how you and I can communicate." Fumito
explained, getting frustrated.
"Well that doesn't sound too fun…" Cresta grimaced
and stretched her wings.
"I have all my things packed, and most of your
stuff is ready to go too. Now the problem is the foreign exchange family I have
to deal with. I told them there was an emergency at home and I have to leave as
soon as possible. This is a mess. They're so kind to me and I have nothing to
pay them back with."
"I don't know what to do about that Fumito, after
all, all I am is an owl, I have to just flap and screech and eat mice to my
heart's content." Cresta said.
"Your sarcasm astounds me…for an owl…" Fumito said
and disappeared into the house that was not too far from Cresta's perch.
Jen pulls her car up in front of Mamoru and Usagi's
apartment behind Mamoru and Usagi. Jen, Minerva and Shouni get out of the
Beetle and they follow Usagi and Mamoru up to their apartment.
"Please sit," Usagi said.
"Hello Luna," Minerva said, seeing the black cat
sit on the couch.
Luna looked confused for a moment and then stared
at Minerva for a short time. Artemisu then came along and recognized Minerva.
"It's been some time Minerva, how are things
going?" Artemisu asked.
"Not well since I had to revive a senshi in this
girl." Minerva said, referring to Jen.
"Minerva…" Luna mumbled.
Minerva shook her head at Luna. "Poor Luna she
doesn't seem to recognize me at all. Luna, do you remember this?" Minerva
paused and turned away from Luna for a few seconds and then turned back, her
face all disfigured. "Booga booga booga!" This surprised Luna into remembering
who Minerva was in the past.
"Ahhh! That's right! You're were the clown that
always goofed around, and somehow got to protect the Goddesses!" Luna
exclaimed, surprised.
"I had connections, besides, the Goddesses liked
me…" Minerva bragged.
"Be quiet, this isn't the time to reminisce!" Jen
shouted, thumping Minerva in the ear.
"Sorry," Minerva said, rubbing her ear.
"What is the meaning of all this? Talking cats? The
short skirts? What am I doing here?" Shouni asked. Jen sighed and patted Shouni
on the shoulder.
"You're in for a LONG explanation girl…" Jen sighed
again and sat on the floor.
"You can sit on the sofa if you'd like." Usagi
offered to Jen. Usagi sat on the couch.
"Nah, I find myself all comfy on the floor for some
reason." Jen replied.
"Would you like something to drink? I can make some
coffee." Mamoru said, looking to Jen and Shouni.
"Water, I need to recover my strength from the last
battle, I did lose a lot of blood didn't I?" Jen said.
"I'll have some coffee." Shouni said and Mamoru
went into the kitchen.
"Where do we begin?" Jen asked, waiting for a
response.
"Well, what's your name?" Artemisu asked.
"I'm Jen, don't call me Jennifer or I rip your head
off…" Jen said, playing a false threat, making Artemisu stand up straight, his
fur on end. "Well, I won't rip your head off, I guess they say my bark is worse
than my bite…heh heh!" Jen scratched the back of her head.
"I'm Shouni." Shouni said and sat on the couch,
next to Usagi.
"She just became a senshi like half an hour ago.
Poor kid, don't know if we'll make it through or not." Jen commented as Mamoru
returned with the coffee.
"Well, how long have you been a senshi?" Mamoru
asked, handing Jen a glass of water.
"Let's see I'm seventeen now, and I was around 12
when Minerva came about, so almost five years, somewhere in that ballpark." Jen
responded, "Ok, mister, how long have you been a knight?"
"About six or seven years, Usako has been a senshi
just as long as I have." Mamoru responded.
"Veterans…" Shouni observed.
"I guess you could say that…" Usagi said smiling.
She looked at Jen and then asked a serious question. "So, what do you know
about the enemy?"
Jen's face turned ghost white and she gulped.
"W-w-well, not a whole lot, that lady that we fought earlier is only the start
of a massive cavalry that's hiding in some other dimension that is joined to
our world at certain times of day. I know that they can attack every nine
hours, that's when the portals between the worlds is stable enough to travel
through. After that, my mind is a total blank after that, I don't know how to
access the portals, but I could probably track the locations of the next stable
portal; but it drains my energy faster than I could say I know where it is. You
have to be incredibly fast in tracking it otherwise I'm out like a light for a
few hours." Jen explained.
"Every nine hours?" Usagi gasped, she leaned toward
Jen, "Does that mean that they're trying to merge our world with theirs?"
"I don't know what they plan to do with the Oracle
Stones, and if they do get one, we're…I guess you could say we're screwed." Jen
confirmed.
"This is all so much." Shouni said, getting
confused, "Exactly what are the Oracle Stones?"
"Gems that have the power of the Goddesses—" Usagi
said, but got cut off by Minerva.
"Not only they have the power of the Goddesses,
they control an aspect of life here on Earth, and the whole Galaxy." Minerva
said.
"They also contain the souls of the goddesses
themselves." Jen chimed in.
"Oh my…" Shouni gasped, nearly dropping her coffee,
"So we can't let the enemy get these Oracle Stones or we're screwed?"
"That's the idea. I heard from a little birdie, who
will remain nameless," Jen pointed to Minerva, "Well, I heard that the rest of
my team is arriving in a week."
"What do you mean by your team?" Luna demanded.
"Exactly what I'd like to know…" Mamoru said.
"Well, obviously I am the leader of this new team
of Sailor Senshi, I've the most experienced of the group and I assign myself as
leader." Jen declared, "I see no problems in that situation do you Shouni?"
"Well, you do know what you're doing most of the
time…" Shouni admitted.
"I have no complaints from my other team member…"
Jen said.
"What about the others?" Minerva demanded.
"Hey, you're just a cat, can you fight evil all the
time while you nap on my computer chair all damn day?" Jen snapped, "and
besides, they're not here yet, I still have a week! I am the leader of my group
and I take full responsibility for any actions that are made during a battle
with the enemy." Jen paused in her speech when she noticed a positive aura
drawing nearer. "Do you guys feel that? A really positive aura coming from
outside…" Jen then set a spell on her eyes that made her see on the outside. "A
girl, outside, I think she's a senshi, I can tell by the way her aura is from
here. I'll get her. Come on Minerva, you can confirm this one for a change…"
Jen and Minerva then rushed out into the hall and down the elevator. The girl
outside had a long braid streaming down her back and she was wearing a TA
Girl's School Uniform.
"Hey!" Jen called to the girl, the girl turned and
looked at the American and then continued on her way. Jen growled a little and
then tried again. She bounded up to the girl all bubbly and perky. "Hi, I'm
Jen, what's your name?" Jen shot out.
"Mei." The girl replied, and kept walking.
"I like your hair, how do you get it so smooth in
that braid?" Jen asked, trying to get some small talk out of the girl. "Do you
use a lot of gel?" Mei didn't respond
to Jen's question and kept walking. "Aw, come on, I'd like you to be my friend,
don't make me embarrass you in the middle of the street by breaking out into
song…" Mei stopped and looked at Jen, who had an aw-come-on-talk-to-me-pleeeeeeeease
look on her face.
"You are a persistent person, you know that?" Mei
said, making Jen grin from ear to ear.
"Oh, I know, it's a gift." Jen smiled and cocked
her head to one side playfully ^_^.
"I see. Well, Jen, I guess I should be going home
now, I have to make dinner and do my homework." Mei said.
"OH! I'll come with you and we can do our homework
together! I swear it'll be a blast! Just let me go upstairs and tell my friends that's I'm going with you!
You wanna meet them real quick?" Jen jabbered energetically.
"I guess…" Mei said quietly, and Jen yanked her arm
toward the apartment building. They went in the elevator and up to the fifth
floor. They reached the door.
"Um, I'll poke my head in and tell them that you're
here, kay?" Jen asked.
"All right." Mei said.
Jen opened the door and shoved her head in the
crack. "Hey, this is the girl I felt that was a senshi earlier, be nice, she's
really shy…" Jen said and slid her skull out. She looked at Mei who was playing
with her braid. "OK, we can go in now."
Jen opened the door wide and chauffeured Mei in the
apartment. Usagi, Mamoru and Shouni all greeted her with smiles, which made Mei
really nervous.
"Um…………Hello," Mei finally managed to say.
"Everyone this is Mei, Mei this is Mamoru, Usagi
and Shouni. Shouni is sleeping over at my house tonight, we're good friends
already, huh?"
"Yes," Shouni nodded, "I'm glad to have met you
Mei, would you like to join our little slumber party at Jen's home tonight?"
"Um, I don't know…" Mei stuttered.
"It'll be fun…" Jen sang.
"Oh, I guess I will, I need to have some fun for a
change." Mei finally gave in.
Jen smiled in delight and then apologized for not
staying as long as she hoped she would to Mamoru and Usagi.
"You're welcome here now, come back anytime if you
need help on anything." Mamoru said as the three girls walked into the hallway.
"See ya!" Jen called as they stepped onto the
elevator.
On the elevator was a girl of about 14 with bright
reddish-pink hair, it was very spiked and she wore a trenchcoat and
sunglasses. Jen was staring at her for
a little bit until they reached the bottom floor. As Mei, Shouni and Jen stepped off, the weird girl ahead of them,
Jen said: "I thought I saw her somewhere before…"
"Me too," Shouni said, shaking her head, which
confused Mei.
"What do you mean by that? She's a complete
stranger, and you act like you've seen her before…you are odd…"
"Odd?" Jen raised an eyebrow as the girls walked
through the front door of the building towards Jen's car. "Girl, it seems that
I have to teach you some slang…"
"Slang?" Mei questioned.
"Yeah, slang, it's a teenager thing nowadays in the
states, it confuses the adults so they can't understand ya."
"Why would I want to do that?" Mei asked, making
Jen fall over with shock, she then got back up and hung herself on Mei's
shoulder.
"Because, if adults can't understand what you're
saying, they won't ask anything without getting a yammerin-jammerin answer from
us. Ya see my point?" Jen explained.
"Nope." Mei shook her head and climbed in the
backseat with Shouni.
"Put on the straps, I's don't need no angry parents
suing my ass for giving you guys whiplash, aright?" Jen ordered and Mei and
Shouni strapped themselves in and Jen put the pedal to the metal and screeched
away from the curb.
"Well, now, Clothos, it seems that you didn't get
the Oracle Stone did you?" Sailor Omega asked.
"No, it was the wrong target, Omega-sama…" Clothos
stammered.
"IT WAS THE RIGHT TARGET! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO
SCREWED UP! You attacked the boy instead of the girl I told you to get. Don't
be confused by their names, I wanted the girl called Shouni, not he boy named
Shinji!"
"I-I-I'm sorry…" Clothos said.
"YOU'RE SORRY?! Is that all, you're sorry?! I do
not care for a incompetent demon working for me…" Omega nearly threw a vase at
Clothos when she began to calm down. "I'll give you another chance, if you
prove yourself, I'll let you live, got it?!" Omega ordered, "You'll find your
own target and steal their soul. Then you shall bring it back here and
Sacrifice it to the great Queen Cerridwen. Then I might let you live, it all
depends on how well of a job you've done, understood?"
"Yes madam!" Clothos saluted and disappeared in a
puff of red smoke.
"Lachesis, step forward." Omega ordered.
In a swirl of green bubbles, a young woman of about
19 appeared. "Yes, you called for me your grace?" Lachesis asked, she had green
hair with a few blonde wisps that were braided and hung in loops across her
green hair.
"Watch your dear sister, make sure that she fails,
I do not wish to see her fail over and over again…" Omega waved her hand and
Lachesis disappeared in a flurry of green bubbles again.
"Heh, same house, new target…" Clothos muttered
from the bushes in front of the Kearnes's residence. She watched Mei nibble at
some cucumber slices while Shouni stuffed her face with sushi and Jen fed her
face with a double cheeseburger, with extra everything.
"So I said to the guy, 'what do you think I am,
your sex machine and you can take me whenever you want?!' Then I slugged him
hard in the teeth and then we broke up, I was glad to get away from that guy, I
tell ya, being single is like a dream, nobody to tie you down when you wanna
hang with your home girls!" Jen said, chunks of her burger were flying out of
her mouth about halfway through her story.
"You are such a independent person!" Shouni
complimented.
"Well, not entirely…" Jen admitted, "after all I
still am living with my mom and my cousin is mooching off of us until he
graduates…then after I'm done with high school, I'll have to start paying rent!
That is if I don't move back to NYC and get on Broadway… Mei, how ya holdin' up
over there? Need some more dip? My cousin is upstairs…" Jen commented. Mei
smiled at Jen's comment about her cousin being a dip. "Maybe I should go and
check on him…" Jen got up and left the room and went up to Shinji's room.
"Mei, how long have you lived in Tokyo?" Shouni
asked.
"All my life, or at least what I can remember of
it…" Mei replied.
"Oh, I see, then you don't remember going to the
park as a kid and playing around in the sandbox and scraping your knees and all
that?" Shouni asked.
"No…not a thing…" Mei replied. Suddenly the
doorbell rang and Jen nearly fell down the stairs trying to answer the door.
She opened the door to find the girl that was in the trenchcoat.
"Good evening," said the trenchcoat girl.
"Yeah, hi, um, may I help you?" Jen asked.
"Well, I'm doing a survey of this neighborhood, and
I was wondering if I could come in?" the girl said.
Jen gave the visitor the evil eye and simply said:
"No, the place is a total wreck, and you just annoy me."
"Oh, I do huh?" the girl threatened.
"Yeah, now get off my property before I contact the
authorities." Jen ordered.
"That won't be necessary…" the girl said and ripped
off the trenchcoat she was wearing.
"Clothos!" Jen gasped.
"Oh, well now it seems that you know me by name,
don't you?" Clothos replied and summoned a fire golem to restrain Jen.
"Wind Barrier!" Jen called and blocked the golem
from reaching her skin.
"Mei, get out of here!" Shouni ordered and shoved
Mei out the back door.
"Shouni! Call for help!" Jen screamed trying to
fight off Clothos and her golem. "Wind
Mirage!" Jen called and created a picture inside Clothos's head. The image was
that Jen's soul was successfully taken.
"Trickery, ha! I've seen better!" Clothos shouted
and broke through the Wind Barrier. Slowly she began to suck away at Jen's
soul.
"Hey you!" a figure with a staff cried.
"Nani?" Clothos stopped sucking and Jen dove away
to transform.
"Stealing souls because you don't have your own is
unjust! I hold my friends dearly in my heart and I won't let their souls be
taken! For light and love, I am the pretty sailor-suited soldier of justice,
Sailor Solaris! With the power of my righteous light, I shall vanquish you to
the depths of darkness!"
Clothos began to clap slowly smirking. "What a nice
speech, I'm sure your friend loved hearing it. But I'm afraid that its already
too late, I've already taken her soul and now I'm going to sacrifice it to the
Great Queen, so have fun battling my
friend Flamzio, he'll burn you away! Flamzio, attack!"
Flamzio grunted and sent fireballs toward Sailor
Solaris, who dodged them successfully.
"So you like to play with fire huh?" Sailor Solaris
asked, "then try this! Solar Flare!" Solaris sent her Solar Flare attack at
Flamzio and hit him hard on the shoulder. "Take that, smoky!" Sailor Solaris
said when Flamzio went down and disappeared into a wisp of smoke. Flamzio then
reappeared behind Sailor Solaris without her knowing.
Mei was watching from the kitchen. "LOOK OUT!" she
tackled Sailor Solaris and barely missed Flamzio's punch which was aimed at
Shouni. Mei burned her leg on Flamzio's waist when she tackled Shouni and
screamed in agony, this caused a small locket to appear out of the air in front
of her.
"Saving those who you care about takes courage and
strength, Sailor Comet, transform yourself and fight with us," Sailor Nebula
said.
"How?" Mei was confused.
"Call out 'Comet Star Power, Make Up', but not
here, in the kitchen, where the monster can't see you, QUICKLY, we can only
hold him off for so long!" Sailor Solaris cried, dodging the attack from
Flamzio.
"But my leg…" Mei said, scrunching her face in
pain.
"Wind Barrier!" Sailor Nebula cried and put up
another protective shield so she could heal Mei's leg from the burn. "Healing
Metamorphosis!" Sailor Nebula said and a white glow emitted from her hand. The
wound healed and Mei took off to the kitchen.
"Come on! You can fight better than that!" Sailor
Nebula cried, seeing Solaris and Flamzio struggle with the Sun's Rod between
them. "Wind Shot!" Sailor Nebula cried, holding her hands mere centimeters from
Flamzio's back. Many small green blades shot from Sailor Nebula's hands and hit
Flamzio at point blank range. This caused Flamzio to fall to his knees in agony
and screams for mercy.
"Mercy for you?" Sailor Comet entered the scene,
"Not from what I've experienced. Not for you. Do you really think you deserve
our mercy? You are a demon golem which must be banished to the far reaches of
the catacombs of darkness."
"Nice speech." Sailor Nebula thought.
"For the strengths of friendship and the courage to
love, I, the pretty sailor suited soldier, Sailor Comet, shall send you there!"
"Ha, a novice like you? You make me laugh!" Flamzio
jeered and threw a fireball at Sailor Comet, who just flung it out of her way,
putting it out, giving Flamzio the evil eye. "Comet Spin!" Sailor Comet sent
four comets hurtling toward Flamzio. Three hit him in the abdomen and the other
in the face.
"How do we get rid of him?" Sailor Solaris asked,
panicking.
"Evil that has invaded our world, be gone to the
farthest reaches of space, know of this world and this defeat, Akuryou taisan!!" This spell that was cast
made Flamzio shrink into a little ball and disappeared into the far reaches of
space.
"Every nine hours?" Sailor Nebula complained,
turning back into civilian form.
"Yeah, every nine hours," Sailor Solaris confirmed,
also changing back.
"Every nine hours? What does that mean? And how do
you change back?!" Sailor Comet demanded.
Jen and Shouni sweatdropped and they told her how
to turn back, Sailor Comet did so and turned back into Mei.
"The nine hours thing is how often the enemy may
attack and I'm pretty sure that they'll take advantage of it." Shouni explained
to Mei.
"Hey, you sound like a veteran already!" Jen
laughed.
"Time to die, dear sister…" Lachesis said, pointing
a lightning ball at Clothos's head, in her chamber.
"I failed…my success was an illusion, DAMN YOU, YOU
LITTLE WITCH!" Clothos said holding her head in shame.
"Ready, aim, fire…" Lachesis mumbled softly, but
Clothos disappeared, leaving a small red light on her bed, alongside a short
letter. Lachesis flew down to the small light and read the letter:
To whoever this may concern:
I, Clothos, the first fate, resign my duties as a minion of the Shadow Moon Empire, upon finding this letter, I have already left for my new home on Earth, there I will earn myself a life, and not live to the beat of succeed or die.
You can try and hunt me down by tracking my powers but I no longer have them as you now see.
So long suckers!
Clothos, no longer.
"That little bitch shall pay for this!" Lachesis screamed and in a flurry of bubbles, went to Earth to search for the traitorous sister.
Now a week after Sailor Comet's awakening…
"Ok, they said that the flight would be here at two right?" Jen asked Mamoru who was waiting with her at the Narita Airport.
"Yeah, Ami and Rei sent pictures of them last week. They should be here soon." Mamoru said.
"Good, because I'm sick of holdin' this sign…" Jen grumbled.
"You always have something to complain about don't you?" Mamoru asked as the passengers began to pour in the terminal.
"Yes, I do, thanks," Jen snapped, "Just keep your eyes peeled for them would ya?!"
"Do you see them?" Usagi asked, walking up with a bundle of flowers for the new arrivals that they were taking to Tokyo.
"Not yet." Mamoru said.
"I hope that they didn't miss their flight…" Mei hoped.
"No, they couldn't have," Shouni argued, "They're senshi, they're dependable people who can be relied on for most anything!"
"I see them!" Mamoru said.
"Hey, Rachel, you see that guy with the black hair yet?" Liz asked, trying to make her way past all the passengers.
"No! But I do see a meatball head!" Rachel called back to her sister.
"Did someone say meatballs? I'm starving!" some squeaky-voiced teenager asked.
"Move it midget!" an angry lady shoved Fumito into the wall.
"Ow, that hurt!" Fumito cried.
"Look, Jack I told you to not call me on my vacation no matter how important it was!" a angry man followed the angry woman, "Sorry miss, we didn't mean to shove you… Jack, don't make me cut you off…"
"Are they coming?" Usagi asked.
"Yeah." Mamoru said trying to find Fumito.
"Are you Tsukino Usagi?" Rachel tried to say in Japanese.
"Yes." Usagi responded in English.
"Thank God! Liz! I found them!" Rachel called to her sister.
"Great! I'm coming!" Liz called from way down the tunnel.
"She's trying to get more airline peanuts from the steward…" Rachel muttered, ashamed of her sibling.
"You are Usagi, right?" Fumito asked when she finally made her way up to the group.
"Yes, and you are Ami-chan's cousin Fumito?" Usagi asked.
"Yes." Fumito said.
"Let's get the show on the road already!" Jen complained.
"Not without my sister you pushy, overbearing, whiny little American!" Rachel yelled at Jen.
"Eeesh, sorry, did I push a button on your bitch board?" Jen asked acting a bit offended.
"Yes you did!" Rachel snapped and waited for her sister, who came bounding up, her arms full of peanut bags.
"Look, I'm tired, hungry and really sick of this place!" Jen said and began to leave.
"Wait! I have to get my owl!" Fumito said.
"Well, looks like you're riding with me, beware of my cat though, she gets mean when she's hungry." Jen warned.
After about another half hour of waiting for all the procedures to be done and the owl was safely in Fumito's hands, the group left and went to their cars. Jen took Fumito, Shouni and Rachel in her car, and Mamoru and Usagi took Mei and Liz.
"I hope you like fast food, because that's where I'm stopping for lunch, and its my treat!" Jen said and zoomed out of the parking lot toward a fast food restaurant.
Continued in Chapter 3…
