"Did the construct succeed?"
"Of course. But. . ."
"Yes?"
"Are you aware that the girl is the warrior princess of legend?"
"Yes. Think of what power she will bring to the Master."
"But, when she changes, will we be able to control her?"
"Are you defying me, Viper?"
Silence reigned. "No, Lord Daemon. The woman has been infected, and will soon begin to change."
"I am pleased. Until the Sanguine Moon is upon us, you shall gather energy for me.
"Yes, Lord Daemon."
"Now go."
* * *
"Usako, are you sure you're alright?"
"Yes! Come on, we'll be late." The two were heading over to Rei's temple for the Senshi's meeting. Usagi felt very sore and stiff, but was in too big a hurry to let that slow her down; she'd worked too hard in the past years to lose her reputation for lateness and clumsiness.
"You need to eat." Mamoru had no intention of letting her go. "Here." He handed her a plate.
"I'm not hungry." In fact, the smell of eggs and toast made her slightly nauseous. "If I have to, I'll jump out my window and fly to the temple! Now let's go!" Her love conceded the point with a frustrated sigh and grabbed his keys.
They were, of course, the last ones to reach the temple, but for once Rei didn't scold Usagi. There were more important things to discuss.
"It was a vampire. I'm sure of it." Mamoru pulled Usagi closer to him as the other girls gasped.
"I don't see what else it could have been," agreed Hotaru. "Mamushan said it had been drinking the woman's blood when they found it, and the bite marks on Usagi were like a snake's fangs. Mamoru's checked at the hospitals, and there have been several reports of bodies found drained with similar bites."
"But why now?" Mirichu laid her hand upon Haruka's shoulder. They turned to look at her. "We haven't had any trouble for years. Why would vampires attack now?"
"The Sanguine Moon . . ." Everyone stared in shock at Usagi, whose glassy blue eyes contrasted frighteningly against chalky white skin.
"Usagi? Usa-chan, what's wrong? What do you mean?" Rei shook her friend, frightened by the distance in her eyes.
" . . . mean?" The fog lifted from Usagi's mind. "What did you say?" Why were her friends staring at her like that? "Did I say something?" Her voice rose in panic.
"No sweat, Moonface." Haruka took her hand with a warning glance at the others. "Muffin-head here was just spacing out. Tell you what," she drew Usagi to her feet, "Let's get some ice-cream. These guys can do without us for a while." Glancing again at the other senshi, she and Mirichu dragged Usagi over to her motorbike and were soon gone.
"What just happened?" Chibi-Usa stared at the remaining group. "And what's a Sanguine Moon?"
"A true Sanguine Moon occurs once every millennium." Luna jumped up from Ami's lap. "According to legend, it's the one time vampires can't touch a woman's blood; it will poison them."
Mina shook her head. "But how would Usagi know that?" Hotaru looked meaningfully at Mamoru.
Rei stood up. "I don't know, but it might have something to do with the fight yesterday. Let's keep an eye on Usagi, 'kay?"
"Just a thought," Setsuna interjected, " but when's the next Sanguine Moon?"
Ami typed it into the laptop she always carried, and looked up with an unreadable expression on her face. "Two weeks from yesterday."
* * *
Haruka pulled up next to the ice-cream parlor. "Here we go! One double scoop sundae coming right up!" She removed Usagi's helmet and looked at her critically; the little blond, who took affront at the fact that she would never be as tall as Haruka, still looked a little shocky. "Come on, Moonface."
Once the three young women were ensconced in a booth, Mirichu leaned toward her friend. "So, tell me about last night. Not the fight, I want to hear about the date! Did he-" At that point, Haruka kicked her under the table. Breaking off in surprise, Mirichu followed her love's eyes to Usagi's bare ring finger. "Oh, no! Don't tell me that youma screwed everything up?" Usagi's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry! Please don't cry! Um, look! Our ice cream!"
* * *
"Viper."
"Your orders, Lord Daemon?" Viper emerged from the shadows of the room and glanced at the orb. The princess was chatting with two of her companions. From Asp's mental images, Viper identified them as Sailors Uranus and Neptune, two of the Outer Senshi.
"I think it's time for another construct. The princess is distracted, and the other two Senshi have no idea how powerful the constructs are. Take them."
"As you wish, Lord Daemon."
* * *
"Usagi, aren't you going to eat that?" Haruka had done something she never had before; she'd spent the past half hour chatting about inconsequential things with Mirichu, trying to bring back Usagi's usual cheerful smile.
"I'm not really hungry." Usagi was pushing the cherries around in her melting sundae.
"Not hungry?" Mirichu glanced over her friend's head at Haruka; Haruka gave a little shrug of confusion and helplessness. "But-"
"And would everyone stop that? There's nothing wrong with me, so you can stop whispering and looking at each other behind my back!" Haruka was put aback by the tone in Usagi's voice. Not even in her worst fights with Rei or Chibi-Usa had Usagi sounded so angry and unlike herself.
"How did you-" Haruka broke off as an evil force registered in the back of her mind. "Usagi! Mirichu! There's a youma nearby. Come on!" She dragged the other two out through the back of the parlor.
Gripping their talismans, the three young women transformed into Sailor Senshi. Uranus finished first and watched Usagi. What were those black lights swirling around her? She blinked as Mirichu touched down beside her, and the lights disappeared. Must have been my imagination. "This way, guys!"
The youma crouched over the body of a young shop attendant. When the Senshi appeared, she raised her head and screamed at them, her fangs dripping with blood.
Uranus didn't waste any time. "Space Sword Blaster!" The youma leapt out of the way. "Damn! She's too fast! Moonface, blast her!"
"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" Again, the monster dodged. Ignoring Sailor Moon, she threw a dark ball of energy at Uranus, hitting her squarely in the chest. She giggled, a horrible, high-pitched keen, and threw another one.
Neptune screamed as Uranus was thrown back against the alley wall. "No! Submarine Reflection!" The youma ducked, and lashed out at her. Neptune's mirror crashed against a nearby garbage bin, and she soon followed, a trail of blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. Smiling, the youma advanced upon Uranus, her claws raised. Where was Sailor Moon?
"Silence Wall!" Out of nowhere, a shimmering wall of pure energy came between the two combatants. "Uranus, are you alright?" Looking up, Uranus located the source of the voice; Saturn and the rest of the Senshi perched overhead.
"Mars Flame Sniper!"
"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"
The powerful, glowing chain wrapped around Mar's arrow as it sped toward the youma's heart. With a shriek, the vampire was soon consumed by the fire, and, as quickly as it had begun, the fight was over.
"Uranus, Neptune, where's Sailor Moon?" Tuxedo Kamen leapt down to Uranus's side, glancing around for the other young woman.
"Don't know. She- oomph!" Uranus transformed back into Haruka, and winced as bruises screamed. "She was with us, she transformed, and her attack didn't work. After that, I lost track of her. I was a little busy," she snapped as Tuxedo's mouth tightened.
"Guys?" Usagi appeared at the entrance of the alleyway. "Is it dead?"
"Are you okay?" Saturn and Mercury crossed to her side.
"I guess that shot took more out of me then I thought. I just collapsed!" Usagi's gaze traveled to Haruka and Mirichu. "I'm so sorry for leaving everything to you! Were you hurt?"
Haruka shrugged it off and climbed to her feet. "Nothing a little rest won't cure. Did you guys finish your meeting?"
"Later." Pluto helped Mirichu to her feet and handed her the mirror. "Let's get you two cleaned up."
"Not so fast." The Senshi whirled around toward the entranceway. Five or so feet above the ground, there floated a figure swathed in a huge, green cape.
Tuxedo Kamen stepped in front of Usagi. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"How typically pathetic." The figure raised his hand and a beam of dark energy shot towards the Senshi. A cruel chuckle emerged from his cowl as they scattered. "I'm known as Viper, and I think you've come to know my constructs well." He gestured at the remains of the youma.
"Why?" Usagi moved from behind Tuxedo Kamen. When he tried to restrain her, she brushed his hand aside and stalked toward Viper. "What do you want with us? You can't win; we've beaten everyone else who's tried to hurt us and our planet, so what makes you different?" The rest of the Senshi tensed, ready to move to their leader's defense.
Strangely enough, Viper made no move to attack her. "Sailor Moon, you have no idea what you're in for. We know everything about you and your friends. And you haven't much time left-" He broke off and tilted his head, as if listening to some private instruction. "We'll be seeing each other very soon, Mistress. Until then-" he bowed deeply to Usagi, and vanished.
"Usagi?" When the blond didn't respond, Haruka stepped forward and gently touched her shoulder. "Moon face, wake up."
"Wha-? Oh, sorry. I spaced for a sec." Usagi shook her head to clear it, and Haruka stepped back to avoid being hit in the face by flying hair. "I'm really tired, guys. I'll catch you later, okay? I'm going home." Without another word, she turned and left the alley, leaving ten very confused friends behind her.
"What did he mean when he called Usagi 'Mistress'?" With a swirl of pink lights, ChibiMoon reverted to Chibi-Usa; the rest followed her example.
"Could it have something to do with that bite she received last night?" Mina asked. "You've got to admit, Usagi's been acting weirdly since Mamushan brought her home."
"I don't know." Setsuna looked troubled. "What worries me more right now is that Viper claimed they knew 'everything.' One of our greatest weapons has always been that our enemies don't know what we're capable of. And how-"
Hotaru broke in. "Did anyone else have some sort of odd vision or dream last night?"
The group turned to look at her. "Define 'vision'." instructed Rei, slowly.
"I heard this hissing, and my eyes clouded over. Then I saw a snake, and my head pounded. It was similar to a hangover, and it came and went in a instant."
"And when have you experienced a hangover, young lady?" Mirichu shook her head. I did have a very odd dream last night. I was being chased by a gigantic serpent."
Slowly, the entire group revealed similar occurrences.
"Well," Ami said, "He did call himself 'Viper," and I suppose you could relate vampires to snakes. Maybe these guys have some sort of mind reader?"
"This is bad." Lita chewed her lip. "They could know our plans before we do. What are we gonna do?"
They looked at each other helplessly.
* * *