Revised Version
Act 2 "Missing Mamoru's? The trick of the icy villain!"
Chibi Usa looked around her and saw nothing but gray mist.
"Where am I? What is this place?" Suddenly she heard a sharp shrill behind her. Panicked, Chibi Usa turned but saw nothing in the gloom. Soon more of the same shrills and shrieks floated into her ear like the cries of demons in the night.
She shook her head violently and covered her ears, trying to keep out the frightful sounds but the voices only seemed to get louder. As she sat parlayed in the mist she could make out human voices from the confusing cries.
"You stupid little brat! You will never be like your mother!"
"The only heir to a great dynasty…but she's powerless now…how pitiful…"
"You will only get in the way of others! Why don't you just buzz off and leave everyone alone!"
"Useless, useless, useless…"
The voices when on and on relentlessly. Chibi Usa held herself and curled into a little ball. Her eyes were shut so tight that tears were starting to be forced out while she screamed desperately. "Leave me alone! Stop it!"
"Small Lady…Princess…" Chibi Usa looked up from her huddled position and heard the single gentle voice calling to her as the rest of the noise faded.
"Wha-what's going on?" Chibi Usa thought, still huddled in a fetal position.
A voice said gently "Hello…Small Lady…"
Surprised, Chibi Usa tried to locate the voice but saw nothing expect for the same hazy mist. "Who…what are you? How did you know my name?" The voice continued, ignoring her questions.
"It's frightful when you don't have any powers isn't it?" Chibi Usa's head dropped down between her knees, silently agreeing with the voice. "Yes…just as your weapon had proved today…You were unable to aid your friends…"
Chibi Usa's eyes opened wide. She jerked up and once again frantically searched for the source of the voice. "How did you know that my Carillon didn't work?" The voice chuckled softly.
"It's bad isn't it…you began to feel fearful and useless…like the world had decided to abandon you." Chibi Usa nodded slightly.
The voice became louder and it echoed in a sweet and emollient voice. "I can take away that feeling…I can offer you eternal peace…no more aggravation…no more guilt…no more fear." So saying a pair of pale human hands reached out towards Chibi Usa. "Give me your hand child and I will protect you…I will end your fear..." The more she listened the more Chibi Usa became numb. She slowly reached out her hand, her eyes unblinking.
Chibi Usa opened her eyes and saw the ceiling of her room. Confused, she quickly sat up in her bed and looked around. Sure enough, she was in her room in the attic. The moon's gentle light illuminated her face as she sat back down and thought to herself, What was that?
She lay back down on the bed and pulled the cover tightly around her, but the dream still lingered heavily in her mind. I want to be strong, I want to protect everyone…but my powers are…what should I do? Chibi Usa sank deeper into her bed covering and pulled it over her head and gradually drifted off to sleep.
In the gloomy chambers of Bellona, the four women stood motionless as their mistress unleashed her tirade upon them.
"How hard could it be to capture the energy of a puny human!" Bellona stood before the four with her back turned and walked angrily toward her throne.
"It was the sailor senshi's fault that I..." Rame began to explain.
Bellona sharply cut Rame off before she could finish. "I do not care for excuses! My time is limited and this must be done! Now go before I loss any more of my patience!"
The four bowed and swiftly disappeared and reappeared in their dressing room.
"Great! Now my ears will be ring for the rest of the day!" complained Eisen as she wiggled her little finger in her ear.
Argent sighed. "Too bad there's not a whole lot of handsome men out there or else I would take all the work by myself!"
"Well, we'd better get to work or else we'll get yelled at again." Oro picked out their new target and smiled. "Hey Argent! Remember how you said you would take on a job with a handsome target? I think I have just the thing!"
Argent quickly walked over to her mirror and when she saw the picture she sighed loudly and blushed. "Oh he's gorgeous! I'll take him!" the others crowded around them and saw the image of a man with jet-black hair and crystal blue eye. The name below read Mamoru Chiba.
Argent went to her blue wardrobe and stepped in. She walked out wearing a skimpy pale blue dress with a triangular opening on the front, revealing quite a bit of her chest. A white leather belt and golden buckle hanged loosely around her waist. Delicate sapphire earrings, pearl necklace, and rings decorate her white-gloved hands. Her silver lipstick and matching eye shadow outlined her exquisite face and her delicate hands carried a white leather handbag. The pale blue dress's organdy sleeves and white high-heels created a mix of elegance and sexiness that matched Argent perfectly.
Argent walked to the mirror and blew a kiss at the image of Mamoru. "With a little charm," a evil smile appeared on Argent's lips "…a man will follow you like a lost puppy. Here I come handsome! Hohohoho!" With that Argent walked in her wardrobe and closed the door behind her.
The rest of the Metallum Girls were left gazing at their recently departed comrade. Oro sweat dropped while Eisen said what's on everyone's mind "That is one weird woman."
Everyone nodded.
Mean while all the sailor senshis have gathered at Rei's house. They had all seated them selves around the low table with tea provided by Rei, who had fully recovered from her attack.
"So we have a new enemy huh?" Makoto asked grimly.
Ami nodded and sighed. "It appears so. And they're stronger this time too. Venus's attack didn't do much to stop it."
Ami turned to her host. "Rei-chan did you try the fire reading?"
Rei nodded "I did it the day of the attack and I saw-" Rei's words froze in her mouth. She'd suddenly remembered the image of Black Lady and she demurred. "Well…I only saw the shadow of four women…and…" Rei hesitated and continued "and that was all."
Minako looked thoughtful and squinted her eyebrows together. "Hmm, that means there's at least four bad guys or gals out there. And what was did that woman called herself? Ram or rime or…oh, I remember now! Rame! And she also said that she was working for a person name Bellona-sama."
"Rame…" Luna thought to herself.
Usagi looked at Luna and asked hopefully "Does that name ring a bell Luna?"
Luna shook her head, her whiskers swaying gently in the air, "I've never heard of the names Rame or Bellona before. They must have came from some other part of the galaxy or universe." Luna looked up at Usagi "The universe is huge so it's impossible to know the names of all the evil forces out there."
Artemis nodded. "Luna's right. But one thing's for sure. Whoever or whatever this Bellona is it's our new enemy and we have to stop it."
Usagi groaned "Oh! Now I have to save the world and go to college!"
"Usagi!" the others scolded. Usagi laughed and waved her hands. "Just joking…huh?" she then noticed an unusually silent space beside her. She turned and saw that Chibi Usa was looking down at the table and seemed troubled by something.
"Chibi Usa are you okay?" Usagi placed her hand on her future daughter's shoulder. Chibi Usa jumped, obviously startled but she slowly shook her head "Oh…I'm fine…it's just that I just didn't get much sleep last night that's all." However the others look unconvinced when incidentally the bell in the room struck 10. Usagi suddenly popped up, and with a horrified look on her face cried, "Oh no! I forgot Mamo-chan's flight is coming in at 9: 30!"
"That means he would have already landed! We'd better go and pick him up!" cried Rei. With that, the girls charged out the temple and headed down toward Tokyo International Airport.
(Tokyo International Airport)
"Attention please. Flight 317MA from Los Angeles International Airport had just landed. They will be arriving at gate eight…" The airport announcer signaled the arrival of Mamoru's flight as it landed in the airport.
Mamoru walked out from the terminal, luggage in hand, and headed towards the lobby exit. "Usa-ko and the girls should be here somewhere…" Mamoru said to himself as he walked though the crowd.
Unbeknownst to Mamoru was that Argent was watching him from behind an obscure corner in the busy lobby. There you are handsome…now to spring the trap… With a twist of her wrist a ticket appeared in Argent's hand. As Mamoru went to the pickup area she walked up to Mamoru and asked tearfully, "Sir, could you be so kind to help me locate my flight? Please, I'm terribly late!"
Mamoru was surprised by Argent who seemed to have popped out of nowhere but said politely, "I'm sorry Miss but I'm expecting some friends of mine and…" But seeing the distressed look on Argent's face stopped Mamoru.
Argent looked away as if abashed. "Oh I understand…but you see I had just arrived here and this flight is very important. I have no time to walk all the way to the information desk as the plane leaves in 15 minutes!" Argent turned and took out a silk handkerchief and gingerly touched her eyes "My father's illness had recently taken a turn for the worse... I must catch this flight so I may say good bye to him…"
Mamoru looked worriedly at the woman and nodded. "All right then. Come on, we must not waste anymore time." So saying Mamoru gave his bags to one of the nearby airline attendants for save keeping and walked off into the crowd along side Argent. Argent grinned as she disappeared with Mamoru into the crowd.
Mean while Usagi and the girls had arrived at the airport only to find that the gate for Mamoru's flight was long since empty. "We're too late! He left without me!" Usagi moaned as she began to cry.
Makoto comforted Usagi and said, "Don't cry Usagi! I'm sure Mamoru-san is still inside the airport somewhere. Maybe he went to the lobby to wait for us." Usagi wiped her tears away and nodded her head as they headed towards the pickup area.
There they looked and looked but saw no sign of Mamoru. "I don't get it. Mamoru-san wouldn't simply disappear with out telling Usagi-chan," said Rei.
Ami noticed that there was a check-in desk for an airline not far from where they were standing so she walked up to them and asked, "Excuse me, but have any of you seen a tall man with black hair and blue eyes carrying two luggage's pass by here?"
One of the attendants nodded and said "Why yes! In fact that young man left his luggage here with us. He was with a very pretty young woman at the time."
"WHAT!" Usagi barked and cried, "My Mamo-chan ran off with another woman!"
Rei sighed and slapped her across the back of the head "Usagi he didn't run off on you! His luggage's are still here so he must comeback for them."
Minako nodded with a wink "And besides Mamoru loves you too much to leave you. Maybe he was helping that woman, being a gentleman."
Ami turned to the attendant. "Do you remember what the woman looked like and which direction they went?"
The attendant looked thoughtful before saying, "Hmm… well, she seemed very well to do. She was wearing a light blue dress and carrying a white handbag. Her hair was long and silvery white. But it's odd…I believe they were headed towards the hangers and not the boarding gates. "
Chibi Usa looked bewildered. "The hangers? But why would someone go there? Does she have her own plane then?"
Makoto shook her head "Don't know, but let's go check it out just in case." Everyone nodded.
The girls thanked the attendant and went looking for Mamoru again. They walked through the large corridors when Chibi Usa noticed something on the airfield outside the windows.
"Hey, isn't that Mamo-chan? And that must be the woman the attendant was talking about."
Everyone looked out and saw Mamoru walking besides Argent. "Let's go see what's going on." The girls began to run toward the door leading toward the airfield.
"So where is your plane?" Mamoru asked as he scanned the airstrip "I don't think we're suppose to be here."
Argent smiled "It's a small aircraft. It's parked right over in that hanger." She led Mamoru toward an old rusty building that was actually an old disused hanger.
The girls followed close behind, ducking and hiding as they made their way around the airstrip.
Inside the hanger, the light was dim and Mamoru could only see fuzzy shapes in the gloom. Mamoru squint his eyes but could only make out a few shelves and some equipment but saw no signs of a plane. "Are you sure this is where your plane is?" Mamoru asked dubiously.
Argent smiled, her form shaded by the shadows of the hanger. "Yes it is… my dear Mamoru Chiba-san…"
Amazed, Mamoru could sense that this was not a place he wanted to be in. "Who are you?" he demanded.
Argent laughed sharply and changed back into her costume. Rising a finger Argent said reproachfully "Tisk, tisk. Don't you know it's impolite to shout at a lady!" With one swift movement of her hand, the shawl bound Mamoru tightly around a nearby metal beam.
"Ugh!" Mamoru grunted as the cloth constricted his movement.
Argent walked up to him and caresses his smooth cheeks. "It's a pity that I have to suck your life energy dry. A handsome and courteous guy like you is so hard to find these days. But orders are orders!"
As Argent leaned away from him she pulled down the shawl there was a giant silvery-blue snake wrapped around Mamoru's torso, hissing and showing it's purple forked tongue as it began to suck Mamoru's energy.
Just then the girls made it inside the hanger and saw that Mamoru was in serious trouble "I knew that woman was up to not good stealing my Mamo-chan!" Usagi cried angrily "Come on, let's transform!" the girls nodded and took out their henshin wand.
"Moon Eternal Make Up!"
"Moon Crisis Power Make Up!"
"Venus Crystal Power Make Up!"
"Mercury Crystal Power Make Up!"
"Mars Crystal Power Make Up!"
"Jupiter Crystal Power Make Up!"
As each senshi appeared in their fuku Chibi Usa looked at herself in disbelief. "I didn't transform!" Chibi Usa cried. She was still wearing her normal clothing and nothing had happened!
"Chibi Usa!" The other senshis looked in shock. Chibi Usa's mind raced frantically Last time my attack failed, and now I can't transform! She turned to look at Mamoru. At this rate Mamoru will…turning swiftly to face the senshi Chibi Usa cried "Sailor Moon! Go on without me! Mamoru needs help!"
"But what about you?"
Chibi Usa brushed it aside and clutched her fist in determination. "I'll be all right. Go!" Sailor Moon nodded and rushed toward Mamoru. Chibi Usa dodged behind a nearby shelve but watched anxiously as her friends rushed toward her future father.
Mamoru mean while could not scream as the snake has coiled its body around his throat as it continued to absorb his energy. Argent looked on in satisfaction when she heard a cry.
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"
Argent managed to get out of the way of the liquid ice just in time but the snake was hit head on. It instantly shattered into hundreds of pieces of ice. An unconscious Mamoru fell to the floor.
Argent turned around to see Sailor Moon and the senshis appear before her. "How dare of you to use a gentleman's kind heart for your own evil plan! In the name of the Moon I will punish you!" cried Sailor Moon as she did her pose.
Argent looked spitefully at the senshis and screamed. "You stupid senshis! Coming in and messing up my plan! You'll pay!" She turned to the shattered snake and commanded "Arise my Fury! Ice Fangs!" To the senshis' amazement, the shattered pieces of the monster began to melt into water and the droplets slowly gathered to form a figure. With a shrill scream a half snake, half woman monster appeared before them. Green eyes flash as it coiled its scaling body. Its hair resembled the extended hood of a cobra as it towered above the senshis.
"Get rid of these annoying pests and finish your job Ice Fangs! I'm leaving!" Argent quickly jumped into an appearing closet and disappeared.
The monster Ice Fangs opened its mouth and sharp stakes of ice shot out from its throat like bullets. Everyone had to dodge to avoid being pierced by the lethal icicles.
"Mars Flame Sniper!" Mars unleashed her flaming arrow, melting the monster's body. However the melted water quickly swarmed back together to reform the monster.
"It's no use! It'll just regenerate…AHH!" screamed Venus as she and the Inner senshis are thrown to the ground by Ice Fang's thick tail. As the senshi struggled to get up, the snake monster slithered around and sped toward Mamoru.
"Mamo-chan!" Sailor Moon screamed. As the only senshi left standing, she dove in front of Mamoru while the others watched.
"Sailor Moon!" screamed Chibi Usa as she watched in horror.
Ice Fang rammed headfirst into Sailor Moon, tossing her roughly into the concrete floor beside Mamoru. Sailor Moon stood up on her knees, dazed but still conscious, and moved in front of Mamoru to block the snake from her lover as it poised to strike again.
"Sailor Moon!" The senshis cried as they watched, too far away to help. Just then Chibi Usa dashed out from behind the shelve and tried to distract the monster by picking up a gas container and threw it with all her might at the monster. The container struck the monster on the face, successfully catching its attention. Chibi Usa immediately turned to lead it away from Sailor Moon but she tripped on a stray steel cable. Lifting her face from the concrete floor, Chibi Usa saw that the monster was now coming headfirst toward her. Her body froze and her face turned pale.
"Chibi Usa, NO!" Sailor Moon cried as she tried to hold up her wand but couldn't due to her dazed state. Then suddenly her arms were lifted up.
Sailor Moon turned and found Mamoru's hands supporting her. "I'll help you Sailor Moon!" Mamoru said weakly. Sailor Moon smiled turned back to her foe then focused her thoughts on the power of the wand.
"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"
Inches from Chibi Usa, the monster turned to look at the bright beam of light headed towards it. With a deafening scream, it was obliterated. Chibi Usa turned her eyes to see Sailor Moon and Mamoru walking towards her, the monster vanished like a bad dream into the night.
"Sailor Moon, Mamoru-san are you guys all right?" Mars asked anxiously as she and the other senshis ran up to their leader.
Sailor Moon nodded and smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine guys, don't worry."
"Someone might have seen us coming in here. We should leave before someone finds us." Said Mercury. The group quickly detransformed and left the hanger.
After retrieving his luggages Mamoru and the rest of the group headed out of the airport. Chibi Usa stared at her feet as she walked, her mind hidden in dark thoughts "You all right Chibi Usa?" Mamoru asked, snapping Chibi Usa out of her reveries. Usagi and Mamoru were standing besides her, having noticed her distressed look.
"Oh… I'm fine Mamo-chan…Usagi…" said Chibi Usa but on the inside she thought …but my powers…
"Chibi Usa, about your transformation…" Usagi began. Chibi Usa looked up sharply, surprised that Usagi had read her mind.
Chibi Usa slowly looked back down at the ground and said in a hushed voice "Usagi…I'll only become a drag to you while I can't transform. I don't want to get in the way…"
Usagi shook her head and held Chibi Usa tightly. "Chibi Usa… when I was fighting the Death Busters I wasn't able to transform either. But I believed in the ones I loved and was able to transform again. I'm sure you'll be okay."
Minako walked up and said with determination, "Yeah! We'll be there to support you so don't worry about it! We're gonna get to the bottom of this!" The others nodded in turn.
Chibi Usa give a weak smile and said, "Thank you everyone…"
"You guys better get going! I'll go help Mamo-chan unpack at his apartment." Usagi said with a cheerful blush as she tried to push the others toward the taxi stop.
"Usagi what would your parents say if they knew you were alone with Mamoru-san in his apartment?" Rei asked.
Minako smiled sheepishly "After all these months apart you guys will need some quality time together. Just make sure you don't get too comfortable…"
Usagi threw up her arms and blushed a deep red "Minako!" the girls laughed and proceeded to call a taxi.
As she watched, Chibi Usa thought of the happy couple. Once again the image of a particular person surfaced in her mind. She brought her hands to her chest, feeling the movement of her hear in her palm as her eyes locked on Usagi's and Mamoru's entwined hands.
Why is it that I feel this hollow pain in my heart? She looked up at Usagi and Mamoru. Chibi Usa closed her eyes and let her hands fall back to her side Why do I feel this pain when I think of you…Helios?
When Chibi Usa opened her eyes she saw Usagi looking at her. Usagi smiled, "You want come with us Chibi Usa?"
Chibi Usa shook her head and tried to smile despite the confusion in her mind. "No, it's okay…I don't want to get between you and Mamoru." Usagi blushed. "I'll see you later Usagi…" with that Chibi Usa smiled and ran toward the girls who were waiting for her with a taxi.
That night Chibi Usa opened her window and looked out at the city in all its rainbow colored shades of lights. With the bright crescent moon hanging in the heavens, Chibi Usa stared blankly at the night sky as a cool breeze brushed aside her long pink hair, no longer tied in her coned odangos.
Chibi Usa watched silently as the sounds and images of the city's nocturnal activities passed before her. She turned her head and closed the window. Chibi Usa looked at her table and saw her heart-shaped brooch sitting idly on the polished surface. Reluctantly Chibi Usa picked up her brooch and opened it.
Chibi Usa examined the diamond-like Crystal held in the center of the brooch. The Silver Crystal shinned brilliantly in the moonlight. Rainbow colored spectrums created a burst of color in the pale hands of the future princess.
"The crystal looks perfectly fine…but why can't I transform?" Chibi Usa asked herself. She closed the brooch and looked down at its pink and gold decorations. It feels just like the time when I first came to the 20th century…like the time when I was small and useless… She looked up and looked at the spot where the Stallion Reeve used to be. I wish I could talk to you Helios…You're so wise and gentle…you were always there for me when I needed advise…Turning away, Chibi Usa felt warm tears gathering in her eyes.
"Meow"
Surprised, Chibi Usa turned her head and saw that Diana was standing beside her on the bed. Chibi Usa quickly wiped away her tears and smiled faintly at the gray cat. "Hey there Diana."
Diana placed a paw on Chibi Usa's arm and said in a voice filled with concern "Small Lady, are you all right? You seem kind of down."
Chibi Usa didn't reply instead she lifted Diana into her arms and hugged her tightly. "The truth is I don't know Diana…without my powers I'm nothing…and now with this new enemy…"
Diana meowed again and licked Chibi Usa's face. Chibi Usa smiled. "But at least I'm not alone…" she released Diana who nuzzled her and climbed into her covers. Before turning off the lamp Chibi Usa took one last look at the former location of the Reeve. Her red eyes dimmed before she turned off the lamp.
In a partially lit chamber, dark purple curtains hung around a tall throne made of shining steel. Strong beams crafted skillfully into branches and leaves, creating a combination of strength and grace. A crest-like emblem decorated the top of the throne, depicting two crossed swords in the center.
Seated cozily in her steel throne, Bellona watched from her crystal ball as the pink princess turned off her light and went to sleep. Her right hand supported her chin as she watched the princess drift off to sleep. A small chuckle escaped from behind the ivory mask as the image faded.
"She's coming along just as planned," said a low-pitched voice from the gloom. The crystal ball, which had been floating in front of Bellona, flew toward the direction of the voice. Bellona nodded and one could tell even with the mask on that a grin was curled upon her lips.
"Yes…It's even better then I had excepted," Bellona said in satisfaction.
From the gloom another cloaked figure appeared. However, unlike Bellona, this figure was levitating in the air. Its face was completely hidden as the crystal ball floated between its strange looking hands.
"We are another step closer to achieving your goal Bellona-sama. Once we get the energy to repair the Crystal this planet will be yours for the taking," the second cloaked figure said ghostly.
Bellona stood up and turned to the floating figure. In a hushed voice she quietly whispered, "Exactly, Wise Man…exactly…"
A/N Hello again! This will just be a short explanation to some of the stuff in this chapter. First of all is that even though Tokyo International Airport is mentioned here, I don't know what it looks like and my description may very well be wrong. I've traveled quite a bit in my life but I've never been to Japan, so for the readers who have then I'm sorry for the inaccuracy in the story. Other then that watch out for the next chapter and thank you for reading!
(PS Don't forge to review!)