CJ watched her as she gliding through the water so effortlessly, so gracefully. She was so perfect in every way that it made his heart ache just to see her. The way her back arched as she dove into the water, the way she slid through the deep blue waters, barely making them ripple. It was all too perfect! And then there was her personality! She was what he had always wanted and they had kinda always been together, so he had always had that perfection. He remotely remembered his mom telling him about her affair with Nikki's mom, Michelle. Maybe the two families were kinda destined to fall for the other, you know? "Whatcha thinkin' bout?" Nikki was leaning over his poolside bleacher seat where CJ was lounging while she swam. He opened his eyes from his musing thoughts and flicked at her soaked hair. It wasn't in its ponytail and it hung a little past her shoulders so it was hanging near his face. She laughed and squeezed some more water out of her hair onto him. "Hey!" He cried, sitting up and pretending to lunge at her. Nikki laughed again as she threw her towel at him. She ran all the way to the other side of the pool before he caught up with her. CJ grabbed her waist and spun her around. "Whoa there! No running near the pool, miss!" He said in a chiding tone. She grinned mischievously and leaned closer to him. "What are you gonna do bout it?" He leaned down and planted a kiss on her. She smiled mid-kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"That's how it happened, huh?" Aria was sitting on the couch in her and Rylie's private suite in the Palace. Rylie was telling her about Tiliana's attack at the school and how Erin had chosen his side. The serious faced young man nodded as he sipped at his tea. The raven haired woman fiddled with some of her hair nervously. "Lady Tiliana was dead the last time I saw her; murdered by her father, Drake. Damien stored her body in a block of black crystal so he could bring her back, but I never thought he had enough energy to do a feat like that." Rylie nodded again. "I was wondering what he could've been up to these past couple of months. Mother said she sensed a disturbance in the Time Realm, near the Gates of Time, not so long ago. Do you think Damien is planning on going back in time?" Aria's face fell. "Oh no!" Rylie's eyes darted to her. "What?" The young woman jumped up suddenly, a panicked look on her face. " I know what he's doing! Its his back up plan in case your plan didn't work!" Rylie stood also, eyes blazing. "What was his plan, Aria?" She turned away from him sadly. "He said he'd go back in time and capture one of the key members of the Sailor Scouts to turn them evil. Then he'd use them to gather energy from the people of Tokyo. So, it was like he'd be killing two birds with one stone; gathering massive amounts of energy and wiping out our chances of beating him in the future." Rylie caught on and pulled out his communicator, pressing the maroon button.
Nikki and CJ were walking back from the public fitness center later that night (it was Saturday) when they saw the weird light. It was flickering in the trees of the park near the fitness center. CJ locked eyes with his aqua haired partner and they both slunk towards the glimmer. They hid behind some trees and peeked around them to see what it was. A man dressed all in black with black hair and eyes stood next to a woman who looked quite beat up. Her red-orange hair and green eyes triggered CJ's memory. "Nik! That's Ms. Hawkins!" He hissed at the girl, who nodded. The man was holding a glimmering light out to Ms. Hawkins who seemed to absorb it. When all the light was gone, Ms. Hawkins thanked the man. "Thank you so much, brother. Those stupid Neo-Scouts ruined the plan and now I can't return to CTU without seeming suspicious." The man nodded slowly. "Yes, that does pose a problem, doesn't it?" He mused quietly. Ms. Hawkins looked at her feet sheepishly. "I'm sorry I failed you, brother." He looked at her with a cold look of resentment. "I do not tolerate failure, Tali." She gasped and stumbled back, fear etched onto her face. Her brother's thin lips twisted into a smile. "Fear not. I will give you one more chance to prove your worth. Return to CTU and stalk these two." He produced an orb that held the images of CJ and Nikki. They both exchanged frightened looks. Tali nodded. "Yes. I shall bring them to you, Damien so those meddlers can't interfere again." She turned and walked away, towards the school. Damien laughed and disappeared in a wave of black energy.
Nikki wasn't sure why she was so scared of her history teacher, but she knew that the "teacher" had some hidden connections with evil. Nikki could sense that kind of thing, she always could. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring at Erin's back. Her friend was doing her homework diligently while Nikki forced herself to think of her and CJ's encounter with those two in the park. She knew Ms. Hawkins was out to get her and her boyfriend, but she had no clue why. All the plausible reasons had something to do with CJ's street fighting foes. But none of them had mystical powers. Furrowing her brow in thought, Nikki ignored the frustrated groans from Kylie, who was also doing her homework. "GODS! Why is this stupid geometry so HARD?" Nikki jumped at the tough girl's cry. Kylie threw her homework off her bed and pouted angrily. Marina's soft voice soothed everyone's raked nerves. "Calm down and bring me the assignment, Kylie. I'll help you." Nikki nodded slightly and got back to thinking.
After about ten more minutes of confused thinking, Nikki decided to sleep on it. 'Maybe a good dream'll get my mind off all that crap.' She thought lazily as sleep drifted to her. She dreamt that night, though none of them were good. Most of them involved the angry crash of waves on the shore or images of a raging storm at sea. The one that shook her up the most was of the newly discovered group of Sailor Soldiers being destroyed by a wave of darkness.
CJ glared at Lee from across the room. That preppy, wannabe was mocking CJ and Nikki's relationship. Zach was sitting on the floor doddling in one of his many doodle notebooks. The other guys in the room were either asleep or ignoring the afore mentioned three. Lee snorted at CJ in a very stuck-up manner. "Really, CJ! She deserves soooo much better. Like me, perhaps." CJ's slight growl went unheard, but Zach felt the wave of pure rage ripple out from his best friend and glanced at Lee casually. "Drop it, Lee. Stop acting like you can have any girl you want, Mr. Single." CJ grinned at the blonde's hurt expression. "I could to have whichever girl I wanted! And Zach! You're single, too, and by the looks of it, you're gonna stay that way." Zach crumpled the page he was working on angrily. CJ pushed aside his own urge to strangle Lee and let the spikey-headed dude go to work. "LEE! That was out of line, dude!" Zach rushed forward and grabbed Lee by the front of his pajama shirt, slamming him up against the wall. CJ drowned out the sound of their heated argument and the chorus of "FIGHT! FIGHT!" from his thoughts. He focused on the weirdos he and Nikki had seen in the park earlier. They gave him the creeps and not many things do that to the all-around tough guy. Sighing, he laid back on his bed, hoping sleep when rest his weary mind.
"So, you don't like him, now?" Nikki stared at a peeved looking Erin curiously. The angered girl shook her head. "No way! I don't like him and I never really did!" She shoved past her so-called best friend angrily. Nikki pouted. "Oh no! Now I've made her mad. Crap monkies!" "What's this about crap monkies?" CJ's gruff voice sounded from behind her. She whipped around quickly, still pouting. "I made Erin mad by pushing her about her crush on-" She stopped when she saw Zach meander over. "Uh some guy here." CJ blinked his blue-green eyes, slightly confused. Zach slapped the taller guy on the back in greeting. "S'up, CJ! Nikki." He nodded to the aqua haired girl. She merely shrugged. "I'm gonna go catch up with Erin, k? Talk to you two later!" She waved and ran down the hall after the retreating form of Erin. CJ sighed, shaking his head. "We've been together for over three years and I still don't really understand her." Zach chuckled. "Yeah, that's why I don't wanna girlfriend. Too much trouble!" CJ laughed gruffly. "Whatever! I heard you mumble someone's name in your sleep last night." Zach's face went crimson. "EEK! I talked in my sleep about her?!" CJ laughed and playfully shoved his blushing pal. "You're shootin' pretty damn high there, skip!" Zach cleared his throat. "I think she's just playing hard to get." The taller guy rolled his eyes. "Whatever, buddy."
Rini gasped for air as she came up from underwater. She hated this part of the stupid training Marina was forcing all the Neo-Team members through. Rylie and Erin hadn't shone up yet and it was pissing everyone else off. A single tone signaled them to do the next part of the session. Running. The pool shimmered and disappeared, being replaced by a long, straight track. Everyone's swimsuits disappeared, becoming running shorts and t-shirts with the CTU emblem on the front. Another tone. Time to run. Rini pushed her muscles to their full capacity, huffing and heaving, forcing her fatigue away. Lee and Lea passed her followed by Kylie, Zach, and, sadly Marina. The pink haired girl cried out in frustration as she stumbled, falling to the virtual reality ground. Sobs wracked her sweat soaked body, exhaustion and total frustration getting the better of her. "Rini! You okay?" Lea's gentle hand and concerned voice broke into her mind. She lifted her head slightly, wiping her tears on the front of her shirt. "I hate this, Lea! Why do we have to do this? Mama and the original Sailor Scout never did stuff like this and they saved the world a bunch." Marina's chiding voice drifted towards them as she jogged over. "Yes, they never did do any grueling training, Rini. But I know for a fact that this enemy is much stronger than all Sailor Moon's enemies put together. Darkstar needs to be taken seriously." Her frowning face joined Lea's over Rini. Something died in Rini then; her hope for the future.
Helios closed his eyes sadly. She had given up already, the poor thing. So much was riding on her ability to lead this group of people that obviously didn't agree half the time. He blinked his eyes open, knowing what he had to do. Rushing towards the newly rebuilt temple, Helios silently called out to the Golden Princess he spoke of to Erin. A flash of gold light signaled her arrival. She had pale blond mixed with orange hair that flowed all around her and amber eyes that had seen too much. Her face looked like that of a twenty-year-old, but she was well over one thousand. A gold diamond shaped symbol glowed on her forehead. Her long, shimmering gold dress landed before she did. "You called for me, Helios?" Her voice was lilting and soft. Helios bowed low to her. "Yes, Princess Alexandria. I called to you so I could ask a favor of Your Highness." Alexandria nodded for him to continue. He stood and locked eyes with her. "I wish to assist Princess Lady Serenity and the Neo-Team in their fight against Damien of Darkstar." A cloud of doubt passed over the flawless face of the princess for a brief moment. Then she moved her hands in a series of complicated gestures. Three figures with angel wings appeared behind her throne. They glowed with a pale yellow, pale blue, and pale pink light that was too strong to see through. Helios recognized them as the Angelics, Guardians of the Sun Kingdom. "Ladies, Helios wishes to join the mortal struggle against Darkstar. What say you, Angelics?" Their answer was silent because they disappeared shortly after that. The golden glowing princess regarded Helios sadly a moment before holding out her hand. "Helios, long have you guarded this realm. Now that you make this request, I feel obligated to let you go. But, you will no longer be the immortal Priest. You will be an Earth bound, mortal body that only visits this realm in dreams." Helios bowed his head. "Ah! It is bittersweet, this victory!" He said this under his breath. Alexandria seemed to hear this and nodded. "Yes. When you are ready, I shall strip you of your immortal powers." He looked up at her with tear glistening eyes. "Princess, I am ready to go." He silently bid farewell to his home, Elysian, Realm of Dreams, as a soft golden light washed over him. The diamond shaped symbol flashed into life on his forehead and the flash transformed him into the white tuxedo-ed man. He stared through his mask at the golden image before him as it faded away.
Everything focused again and he was standing on the top of the Crystal Palace. Sighing, he glanced around him. This was his permanent home now, the beautiful Earth that he had assisted in saving so long ago. A familiar voice broke him from his thoughts. "Who are you?" He spun around and smiled. Rini stood there in her CTU uniform looking quite shocked. Why she was on top of the Palace, he couldn't tell. By the looks of it she had been crying. "Ah! My princess!" Silently, he decided calling her 'princess' instead of 'maiden' would keep his identity secret a little longer. She blinked. "Huh? Who are you and why are you on top of the Palace?" Helios sighed. This was complicated. "I am a guardian of warriors with short skirts and long capes. The Angel of Dreams! I must bid you farewell, beautiful princess." He bowed and did a back flip off the palace. A soft cry from Rini made him focus on not dying from the fall. Uttering a phrase in a strange language, he touched his forehead. The symbol flared into life and a column of white feathers surrounded him.
Sailor Darkstar smiled at the destruction she was causing. CTU was burning and the thick black smoke seemed to bless her victory. She didn't even think about the chances of her targets being inside the building still or the fact that the Neo-Team still held Crystal Orbs that were useless if they died. She laughed insanely and blasted the school with another ball of black fire.
Rini shuddered and snuggled lower into her brother's couch. Her encounter with that dude on top of the Palace stuck out in her mind like a burning school (heh heh!). Rylie walked into the living room carrying a pot of steaming tea. "Here. Drink this and tell my again why you came here ranting and raving." He poured her a cup of the sweet smelling tea. She sipped it gingerly before speaking. "Well, I was freaking out cuz I saw this weirdo on top of the Crystal Palace, but that's not why I'm here." Her brother nodded and sat across from her. "I-Rylie, I wanted to warn you." Rylie choked on his tea. "Wh-what? Warn me against what?" Rini gripped the edge of the couch. She still couldn't believe they had made her do this! He was her brother, for God's sake! "If you ruthlessly kill anyone, evil or not, I'm afraid I'll have to punish you in the name of the Moon!" He blinked at her. "Huh? Rini, I have the feeling you don't mean that." She jumped up suddenly. "Yes I do! Why wouldn't I? When you and Sailor Neo-Pluto killed Sailor Darkstar I felt, well, sad. And really mad at you for killing her." Rylie closed his eyes, holding back his rage. "Rini, you have no clue how powerful Darkstar is. He is the direct servant of Chaos. His powers are horribly real and he's gaining power as we speak. You can't be merciful with his minions like you claim we have to. If you haven't noticed, I am my own person, not to mention the first born of this family. Does that not make me the heir to the throne?" His voice steadily grew louder and louder until he shouted that last part. Rini gasped. She had always thought that she would inherit the Moon Kingdom, but he had a point. He was the oldest and that made him the Crown Prince. Panic choked her. He had more authority then; he could deny her requests. "N-no. You…Me…." Her words faded into a sob. If she thought it was hopeless before, now there was no chance in Hell that he would listen to her. A simultaneous beeping made them both jump. Their flashing communicators sobered them both from their drunken state of rage. They both pressed the buttons and spoke at the same time. "Moon here!" Rini glared over at her brother who was already glaring at her. Lea's holographic image and Erin's image appeared over their communicators. Lea spoke first. "RINI! Get back to CTU on the double! Sailor Darkstar's back and she's blowing up the school!" Erin's voice was less frantic. "Rylie, she's back and I need your help fighting her." The two Moon heirs nodded, turned their communicators off, and turned to each other in unison. "I guess we've gotta talk about this later huh?" Rini asked. Rylie smirked. "Yeah! We've got an undead witch to kill! Ready?" Rini nodded. They pulled out their transformation sticks and thrust them into the air.
Moon Crystal Orb Power!
White Moon Crystal Orb Power!
After the pink and white lights faded, Sailor Neo-Moon and the Knight of the Moon stood ready to fight.
Nikki stared at her burning school with a dazed expression. CJ was doing the same but an undertone of rage could be found in his eyes. Suddenly, they both sensed the coming danger behind them and they both whirled around. Sailor Darkstar stood there, her outfit ripped and stained from her previous battle with the Neo-Team. A gaping whole could be seen in her right shoulder where Rylie had thrown his sword. "I'm so glad you're both safe and sound out here. Wouldn't want those Orbs to go to waste, now would we?" CJ jumped in front of Nikki protectively. "Back off! I'll take you on, Ms. Hawkins!" The floating villain laughed. "I am no longer Ms. Hawkins! I am Sailor Darkstar, Lady of Darkstar and eternal slave to Lord Damien!" She formed a ball of black and blue flames and tossed it at the duo. CJ braced himself and they both flew backwards, rolling to a stop inches from the blazing school. Nikki screamed and jumped away. CJ was way ahead of her and was charging at Darkstar. He would've done some MAJOR damage if she hadn't blasted him with another ball of fire. He screamed and fell unconscious. "CJ! NO!!!" Nikki ran to him, grabbing his hands. "Don't die! Come on!" She bit back her tears and stood to face her adversary. Sailor Darkstar was walking towards her slowly, an evil grin on her face. Nikki crouched defensively. "Lets go, teach!" She ran forward with a crazed scream. Sailor Darkstar tossed her on top of CJ's still form. "HA! Too easy! Damien will shower me with praise for this victory!" She prepared to launch her attack when a voice sliced through her attention. "So, you've defeated some regular civilians. You must be really proud of yourself!" The Knight of the Moon stepped out from behind the pillar that formed one side of the front gates. Sailor Neo-Pluto whirled her staff and stepped up next to him. "I think we've been through the whole 'never hurt Sailor Neo-Pluto's friends' thing, haven't we?" "I fight for Truth, Love, and Justice and in the name of-" The Moon Knight started, but Neo-Pluto interjected. "Pluto!" "AND the Moon, we'll punish you!" They both posed and rushed towards Sailor Darkstar. She cackled insanely and threw a flurry of black fireballs at them. Neo-Pluto twirled her staff and cried,
Pluto Deadly Scream!
The purple and red ball of energy rushed at the sailor-suited warrior, tossing her to the ground. Moon stepped above her fallen form, sword drawn. He pointed the gleaming blade at her throat. "What have you got to say for yourself, you undead minion of evil?" She laughed again, totally losing it. "I say this-DARKSTAR CRYSTAL KNIFE!" Four beams of black beams shot forward from her hands, rushing at the Nikki/CJ pile, Moon, and Neo-Pluto. Neo-Pluto was prepared and dodged the beam easily. Moon wasn't so lucky and was hit in the back with the black knife. He shouted out, dropping his sword. Nikki and CJ's screams mingled with his, creating a chorus of pain. Darkstar stood, shoving the pain stricken Moon away. Neo-Pluto caught him as he fell. "WHAHAHAHA! I've won, fools! Can't you just taste your defeat?" She laughed again as she walked over to Nikki and CJ's now still forms. Two Crystal Orbs floated above them. They were both dark blue with black wings, but one had a golden rod symbol of Uranus in it and the other had an aqua symbol of Neptune in it. Darkstar grinned hungrily and reached for them.
Sailor Neo-Moon screamed. The flames were too strong all around her. She and the Inner Team had gone into the flaming school in hopes of saving some of the people within. They had gotten most of the survivors out before the building started collapsing. Neo-Moon had been trapped by a falling ceiling beam and separated from the others. Their cries could still be heard over the roar of the flames. Tears started at the corners of her red eyes as she realized they couldn't save her and that they'd die if they stayed any longer. 'Rylie'll take care of them and Darkstar's plot if I die, right?' She thought sadly before calling out to her friends. "Guys! Get outta here and don't worry 'bout me! You've still got Rylie to lead you, right?" A pause in the attack phrases made her listen closer, ignoring the searing pain that licked at her right side. "NO WAY! Sailor Neo-Moon, we'll save you!" That was Sailor Neo-Venus. Neo-Moon shook her head. "Go! Run as fast as you can and don't look back! There's no hope for me but you guys still a chance!" A collective cry of "NO!" Made her laugh, or was she sobbing? "GET OUT OF HERE NOW! I ORDER YOU AS LEADER OF THIS TEAM AND AS THE MOON PRINCESS! GO!" She screamed this at the top of her lungs, hoping her tears weren't too obvious in her voice. Silence. She sighed after a moment and gasped at her once ignored pain. The flames climbed higher and came closer to her. Neo-Moon stumbled back, trying hard not to lose her footing. A single white feather drifted into the circle of flames and landed near her pink booted foot. She looked at it with tear-glazed eyes. "Somehow I know you really aren't ready to die, princess." A familiar voice came from the direction the feather had come from. The man in the white tuxedo she had seen earlier was walking through the flames towards her. He was holding his cape around him and it seemed to protect him from the fire. He held out his hand to her when he got close enough. With a cry of relief she threw herself at him, clinging to the front of his pristine tuxedo. He wrapped one arm and the cape around her and leapt into the air, going through the window nearest them.
She still couldn't feel her body; there was only numbness and the black around her. The last thing she remembered was being flung through the air and landing on top of CJ's still body. She couldn't even remember what had made her scream so loud before the black came. There was a faint glimmer of aqua light to her right and she flicked her eyes to it slowly. It was an orb of aqua light glimmering near her. CJ's voice slipped into the darkness her pain stricken body. "Nikki, I think we need to kick that freak's ass. Go towards the light, Nik!" She mentally smiled and pushed herself to the light. Her and CJ's physical hands reached up to the hovering orbs.
Neo-Pluto tried to force away the sadness she felt as his outfit shimmered and became his street clothes. His face was deathly pale and he still looked shocked. The clear Crystal Orb hovered over his chest, glimmering with a white light. Neo-Pluto held her hand over it, mentally pushing it back into his body. It slowly, painfully lowered itself back into its master's chest. The white and navy suit flashed back into existence on Rylie's body. He opened his blue eyes and stared into her dark red ones. She smiled quirkily. "Welcome back. Glad you're still with us." She helped him stand up slowly. He grinned, his eyes reflecting the flames from the school. "Lets go, Neo-Pluto! Just for that last attack we should make sure she never comes back to life." She nodded and scooped up his fallen sword, handing it back to her leader. They ran towards the evil Sailor Soldier who was just about to grab the Crystal Orbs above Nikki and CJ.
Before their hands met the Orbs, two dark blue transformation sticks grew from the orbs themselves. Both of them opened their eyes at the same time. He looked at her and she looked back, both angrily smiling. They grabbed the sticks and thrust them into the air, crying
Uranus Crystal Orb Power!
Neptune Crystal Orb Power!
Golden rod ribbons traced with rock shards shot out of the Crystal Orb of Uranus and they wrapped themselves around CJ. More shards of rock spiraled around him as his dark blue suit with golden rod sleeve and collar cuffs and a golden rod symbol of Uranus on the front, a cape that is dark blue with another golden rod symbol of Uranus on the back and golden rod on the other side. The rock shards flew away from him and formed the Space Sword (Uranus' talisman). He grabbed it and landed in a similar pose to his mother's.
Aqua ribbons that seemed more like water than ribbons shot out of the Neptune Crystal Orb and wrapped themselves around Nikki. A wave gathered behind her, steadily coming closer as the ribbons worked their magic. They formed her main suit, dark blue bows that were longer in the back, an aqua skirt and collar, the collar had two black stripes, a pair of aqua high heels, a dark blue collar with an aqua symbol of Neptune on it, white elbow high gloves that had aqua rolls at the tops, a silver tiara with another aqua symbol of Neptune on it, and, finally, the Crystal Orb became the brooch. The wave crashed around her and a few tendrils of it formed the Deep Aqua Mirror (Neptune's talisman). She posed like her mom had before her.
The two new Neo-Team members stood proudly in front of Sailor Darkstar. She stared in awe at these obviously powerful warriors. Sailor Neo-Pluto and the Moon Knight had stopped running when they saw the transformations' lights. They locked eyes and smiled proudly. The Inner Team, still stricken over the loss of Sailor Neo-Moon, also arrived on the scene just as these two warriors transformed for the first time. Sailor Neo-Neptune and the Knight of Uranus began their speech. "Guarded by the planet of the winds, I am the Knight of Uranus." "Guarded by the planet of the seas, I am Sailor Neo-Neptune." Then they said in unison, "We are here to destroy evil doers in the name of our planets!" Then Neo-Neptune prepared to attack.
Neptune Total Submerge!
A towering wave crashed around her (like at the end of her transformation) and gathered into an aqua ball of energy. She glared at Sailor Darkstar and threw the ball of swirling water at her. It slammed into the villain with all the force of the wave that had created it. She screamed as she collapsed. The Knight of Uranus unsheathed the Space Sword, preparing to strike the final blow. "STOP!" A voice that most of the people watching had thought they would never hear again cried. Sailor Neo-Moon and some dude in a white tuxedo were running onto the scene. The Inner Team screamed joyously. "NEO-MOON!" The pink haired warrior winked at them with a triumphant smile. Then she sobered up, staring at the Outer Team who had assembled near Uranus and Neo-Neptune. She frowned. "I am afraid I can't allow you to attack her anymore, Outers." The Moon Knight unsheathed his sword slowly, almost sadly. "Sailor Neo-Moon, I know you are my sister, but if you are denying us the right to perform our sworn duty, I'll be forced to kill you." Gasps welcomed this comment. But Neo-Moon smiled slightly. "I knew you'd say that." She took off her tiara and it became a blade of pink energy. She spun it like a sword. "Then let's go, bro!" He grinned and rushed at her, blade gleamed in the light of the fire.
The Inner Team knew they couldn't interfere, but they watched with bated breath. The Angel of Dreams simply bit back his yells of "I shall fight for you, princess!" and "I love you Rini!" The Outers, meanwhile, seemed unsure of what to do. Neo-Pluto was watching worriedly. She liked Rini well enough that she didn't want to see her get hurt and she knew Rylie wouldn't seriously hurt his sister. But, Rini might just be pissed enough to want to hurt him. Neo-Neptune was gaping. This whole Sailor Soldier thing was new to her, but she was pretty sure that it didn't involve fights within the team. They were brother and sister judging by their dialogue before, so why were they fighting so fiercely? She felt Uranus' hand on her shoulder and she turned to look at him. His eyes held the reflection of the flaming school and the flashes of pink and silver light from the fight that was going on. "Its just sibling rivalry, Neo-Neptune. Don't worry." Neo-Neptune nodded, reassured by his calm words. Neo-Pluto gripped her staff as she heard Sailor Darkstar stumble to her feet behind them. She cried out to her team members and turned to face her foe. Sailor Darkstar looked crazier than she had before and she was spinning a bar of black energy above her head. "I haven't lost yet and I can still taste my victory!" Neo-Pluto growled under her breath and Uranus unsheathed the Space Sword. "Come on, freakazoid! I'll give you the fight of a lifetime!" He screamed out of rage and slashed the Space Sword.
Uranus Space Sword CRUSH!
The blade of the sword
flared brighter as a g-force that would've been unbearable to a human shoved
down on Darkstar. He rushed forward, blade outstretched, eyes glaring. He
sliced through her body easier than a hot knife through butter. Her silent
scream of agony was drowned out by the WHOOSH of the waiting g-force crashed
down on her, smashing her to the ground. A sickening CRUNCH greeted the three
nearest her as she was crushed.
Meanwhile, the 'sibling rivalry' fight was raging on. Neo-Moon screamed as his blade sliced into her arm, leaving a deep gash. She glared at him after she inspected the wound. He was standing there, staring at her with an emotionless expression. "Will you let us kill her now that you see I am your superior?" She narrowed her eyes fiercely. "I really don't think so!" She ran towards him, pink blade flaring higher into the smoky air. Everything seemed to slow down then; the Inner Team watched in horror as Neo-Moon's blade raced towards the Moon Knight's heart. The Angel of Dreams gasped as he felt Neo-Moon's sadness and rage course through his body. Neo-Pluto saw this all happening from the distance and ran as quickly as she could towards them. She threw herself between Neo-Moon's blade and the Moon Knight's body. Then everything sped up again and three screams echoed off into the night. The first was Neo-Moon's full of rage that faded into horror. Then came Neo-Pluto whose scream was simply agonized. The last was the Moon Knight's who caught Neo-Pluto's blood stained body as she collapsed away from the pink blade. His was of pure horror. Neo-Neptune and Uranus ran over, crying things about losing a team member they barely had. The Inner Team rushed over to see if Neo-Moon was okay and the Angel of Dreams frowned, disheartened at this turn of events. He did a back flip and disappeared in a swirl of feathers.
Neo-Pluto gasped at the pain, but sighed as she felt his arms grasp her. His voice whispered near her ear, full of horror and pain. "Erin, why? Why did you do that?" She coughed, covering her mouth with a white-gloved hand. Taking the hand away and grimacing at the red stain she saw, she looked up at his handsome face. "Too many reasons…. I just felt like it…don't forget me, k?" She felt his grip on her shoulders tighten and he said something that she couldn't hear as everything faded into darkness.
The Knight of Moon gripped Neo-Pluto tightly, hoping he could keep her alive long enough to get some help. Neo-Neptune fell to her knees, realizing who Sailor Neo-Pluto was. Uranus gripped her shoulder as she sobbed against his leg. Neo-Moon watched, horrified at the damage she had dealt. She lifted her blade and dropped it as if it burned her hand. Before it hit the ground, it turned back into her tiara. The Moon Knight knew it was his entire fault that Neo-Pluto had been hurt so badly, possibly killed. If he had just listened to Neo-Moon….Uranus' low, gruff voice broke the silence around them all. "You know, I just killed Sailor Darkstar, so that whole fight was pretty stupid, huh?" Everyone, but Neo-Pluto, looked at him, slightly shocked. Neo-Moon cried out in rage and frustration at herself. "This is all my fault! The blood stains my hands and my conscience! Someone kill me now!" She pushed away Neo-Venus' reassuring arms. She ran off into the city, tears flying out behind her and sobs interjected with cries of things like "I hate my life!" and "I should've died in that fire!"
Mars held Neo-Venus back when she tried to run after her friend. Eyes tear filled, she wrapped her arms around him tightly, as if his embrace could stop the pain in her heart. Neo-Mercury knelt by the still form of Neo-Pluto who was still being held by the Moon Knight. She pressed her right earring and the light blue visor flickered into existence in front of her eyes. Doing a quick scan, she nodded definitely. Standing, she turned to her comrades. "We can still save her. If we combine our powers into a healing energy, we can heal her." Glancing at each Inner and Outer Neo-Scout, she turned back towards Neo-Pluto. They all closed their eyes, preparing to channel their energies.
Mercury Crystal Orb Power!
Venus Crystal Orb Power!
Mars Crystal Orb Power!
Uranus Crystal Orb Power!
Neptune Crystal Orb Power!
White Moon Crystal Orb Power!
As they each said these phrases, their tiaras (if they had one) disappeared and their respective symbols flared into life. The Moon Knight felt all their power grow inside him, but he was at a loss of what to do to transfer that power to Neo-Pluto. Then he remembered an old story about a sleeping princess and prince that awakened her with a kiss. Turning his body so he could kiss her better, he leaned down a planted a gentle kiss on her cold lips. The transfer of energy took seconds and Neo-Pluto's eyes flew open to stare at the Knight of the Moon's closed eyes and, well, him kissing her. Shocked, she tapped him on the shoulder gently. He opened his eyes and sat up, blushing slightly. "It worked!" He called to the others who had seen the whole thing and were smiling at the two of them. Neo-Pluto stood up and looked around seriously. "Where's Neo-Moon? I want to tell her it's okay that she almost killed me." The Knight of the Moon's face fell and he shook his head. "She's gone. Ran off that way." He motioned to the city and Neo-Pluto sighed.
And so, two stars, closer to each other than the other stars, joined the waxing crescent moon in the sky that night.
