Chapter Four: Confusion God, this thing is like a bloodhound. Sailor Jupiter shook her head as she pounded onwards after the behemoth of a monster. No, this, this thing is Fukumi. Man, I hope that she's on the right track. As if in answer to Sailor Jupiter's unspoken question, the monster turned onto an unpaved road which lead to a small, quaint cottage by the side of a large wooded area. It was surrounded by flowers and plants of all different kinds. A fairly large garage was hidden in the back of the house. The monster stopped, shuddered, then melted until a tired looking Fukumi who was standing in a small pile of gelatinous fluid which was quickly reabsorbed into the ground. "Are you okay?" Makoto asked as she detransformed and ran over to support her friend. "Yeah. Nothing a few days of sleep couldn't fix," Fukumi replied as she steadied her self than began to walk towards the house. Makoto followed close behind with Jadoku bringing up the rear. "Michiru-san? Haruka-san? Are you home?" Fukumi asked tentatively as she knocked on the door. "Yes, who is it?" A young woman with teal colored hair stepped out onto the patio. She paled visibly when she saw Makoto. "Mako, what are you doing here? How did you find us?" "Michiru-san, I'd like you to meet Jinkyou Fukumi. She's the one who found you." "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Would you care for some tea? I just put some on the kettle." Michiru, although shaken, managed to compose herself and invite the Sailor Senshi into the house. As they stepped into the house, Makoto and Fukumi were taken aback at the beauty of the house. Soft, ethereal music drifted into the living room from the kitchen. The room itself was a pale green, and was filled with art supplies. On top of a table, a violin case was resting along with a bike helmet. Racing trophies covered on side of the room. As the two teens were taking in the room, an extremely tall, sandy-haired woman (although she could easily have been a man) walked in from where the garage attached to the house. "Michiru, I thought I heard the door shut. Who's-" She abruptly cut short her question when she saw the visitors. "Mako-chan. I thought that we saw the last of you at the disaster sight." "No, but I'd like you to meet Jinkyou Fukumi. She's the newest Sailor Scout." Makoto said timidly. She always felt a bit flustered around her, but when she saw the strange look that Haruka gave Fukumi (which she returned in full force), she felt a bit nervous. "A pleasure to meet you, Ten'ou Haruka, and you, Kaiou Michiru. Am I to assume that you are Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune?" Fukumi said this with such gravity and respect that it surprised Makoto. She felt that she knew Fukumi well, but most of the time when meeting new people, she hardly bothered to try to make friends with them. Maybe it's because they are more experienced Sailor Senshi than she is or we will ever become. Who knows what goes through her mind? Michiru and Haruka looked taken aback by her gravity. Haruka felt a little bit of immediate dislike for this girl. Her orange hair and red eyes were a bit creepy. Add that onto the fact that she was about an inch taller, and it made her a little bit odd. But, she thought, gently chiding herself. I might just not like to know that there is another lady out there who is taller than me. But Michiru doesn't seem to mind, so I'll just forget it. Michiru, on the other hand, was about as (or more) shocked as Haruka was. She was as unused to seeing another girl who was almost like Haruka when the time called for it. She looks like she doesn't like to sit still, or be polite. Mako seems to be thrown off by her behavior. It must not be usual. Michiru got the tea she had been preparing and they all sat down at the coffee table to talk. "What is your realm of influence?" Haruka asked curiously. " I am Sailor Nebula, and I rule over Anger and Hatred." Fukumi said this without any sadness over her lot (for it was not a typical realm for a good senshi to rule over). They talked for about ten minutes before Haruka asked something "Why are you and Mako-chan here?" Haruka finally asked the question that had been in her mind since she saw them. She thought that they had been safe enough from the worries of the Sailor Senshi here in their cottage. "Mamoru, Usagi, Rei, Ami, Minako, the cats and Chibi-Usa have been kidnapped by someone named Ryuu Kuki. We need your help to find them and rescue them as well." "Ryuu Kuki? Never heard of her." Haruka said indifferently, although the worry in her eyes belied her inner thoughts. Next to Michiru, Usagi was the only other person she felt close to. "Haruka, I think we should help them." Michiru said to her partner. "Yes, but what about Hotaru?" "Hotaru? She's here?" Makoto was surprised. Chibi-Usa said that she had been with her father Doctor Tomoe when she last saw her. "Yes. We're baby-sitting for the moment. We can't leave her now, she just settled down for her afternoon nap." "Well well well, looks like I have all of my troubles under one roof today." The sinister, laughing voice of Ryuu Kuki was audible as she kicked open the door to the cottage. Without a second's pause several transformation phrases rang out in the suddenly still house. "Uranus Planet Power! Makeup!" "Neptune Planet Power! Makeup!" "Jupiter Planet Power! Makeup!" "Nebula Mystery Power! Makeup!" Within moments, four extremely ticked off senshi stood in the middle of the room, ready for anything the evil woman could throw at them. "Oh, dear, it seems that the bad Sailor Senshi have come to hurt me!" The woman sneered as she looked mockingly at them all. "None the less, all I want is you, Nebula. Now, if you'll save yourself the hassle by coming with me, I would be most grateful." "Why don' ya try and take me?" the Sailor of Anger said as she tensed, then threw a very impressive uppercut right into the bounty hunter's gut. "Very nice. I think that the First was right to choose you." Kuki coughed as she tried to regain her footing (for Fukumi was one of her dojo's best students). "World Shaking!" The yellow light almost grazed Sailor Nebula, but she moved just in time. However, the attack was reflected off of Kuki and hit Uranus instead. "Uranus!" Michiru cried as she grabbed her partner. She quickly assured herself that her partner was ok, the stood and threw her two cents into the fight. "Deep Submerge!" "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" Jupiter also made herself heard. "Nebula Pronged Hate!" All three of the attacks combined into a lethal blob of molten energy. It rushed towards Kuki and exploded as it hit her. The three senshi grinned as they saw the smoke explode. But their hopes were dashed as the woman got up and attacked. She threw a weird looking bunch of pellets at them which increased in speed until it was like trying to dodge bullets. Not to mention that they had a nasty homing device, or so it seemed. "Enough with the games, Sailor Senshi." Kuki spit out the last two words with the most contempt and hatred she could muster. "I am going to ask you again, Sailor Nebula. Will you come quietly, or do I have to render you unconscious?" "You'd have to kiss my ass and send me to hell before I'll go with you. I dare ya." Without waiting for an answer, Sailor Nebula cried out "Nebula Frying Blast!", sending a glob of a weird rainbow colored liquid, which she then threw on the woman. It ignited her within seconds, but for some reason, did not harm her in the least. "Foolish girl. You aren't even near enough to the power you'd need to try and stop me." With that, she sent a tide of the bullets towards her, which then melted and surrounded her, effectively stopping her from using any more of her attacks. She then knocked out the rest of the senshi, and stopped to admire her handiwork. "Not bad. Not bad at all." She then pulled a cell phone from her uniform's single pocket. "First, if you're calling about the One, I've got her bagged perfectly." She allowed a snicker to escape her control. "Unharmed?" A deep, menacing voice replied over the phone. "Yes, and I'm about to add the rest of the missing Sailor Senshi to my collection. You don't mind, of course?" "No, just so long as we have Sailor Nebula, you are free to do as you please." This time the voice seemed to be happy, so it made his voice a bit nicer. By less than a millimeter. "Very well, master. I shall be seeing you soon." With that, she closed the cell phone with a snap. She allowed herself a single smile a she surveyed her work. This is very nice. Very nice indeed. Without another word, she silently teleported herself, Fukumi, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, Sailor Jupiter and (with about a moments worth of hesitation) little baby Hotaru, who had slept through the entire thing.