The Soldier's Ultimate Choice

by hotanuri

Just as the dust settles after the fight with Galaxia, the senshi barely have time to relax as a new evil approaches. But this time, someone new and yet close to the group is the key to their survival...

2. The Soldier's Ultimate Choice Ch 2

The Soldier's Ultimate Choice
Beyond Stars Ch. 2

(disclaimer: i do not own sailor moon. I created the character rubi, but she was inspired by sailor moon. i write to enjoy reading )

Rubi stood outside of the giant library, leaning against her teal car. Being a Sunday, she had asked the girls to meet her at the Tokyo Library to help her look for any information on her family. Rubi was happy to find that they all wanted to help her, so they planned to meet at ten so that they could go to lunch afterwards. She tilted her head up at the clear sky, soaking in the sun's rays. There wasn't a breeze in the air, and Rubi felt that this would be a good day for swimming. Maybe later on, she thought.
Since it was Sunday, there was no school, so she wore casual clothes today. Rubi was glad her aunts had given her money to buy new clothes before she left, despite their objections of her going to Japan. When she had arrived in Tokyo, she realized how hard it would be to find clothes that suited her figure, since she was taller than most girls in the city. Still keeping with her tradition of not wearing feminine things, Rubi wore a pair of wide leg black jeans, with a large white dragon that was wrapped around the right leg. She wore a white tank top, and over that she wore a black button up that was unbuttoned. Despite how masculine her clothes were, the style was hers and suited her figure.
"Rubi-chan!"
Rubi straightened up, finding Usagi and the others approaching her. She could hear Rei telling the pig-tailed girl to not call Rubi "Rubi- chan."
"Rei, I don't mind."
"But you're older than us. That's a term children use to call their friends."
"Well, than that means I have friends." Rubi smiled. "You can call me Rubi-chan. I don't mind at all."
"Why did you have to use the Tokyo library?" Minako asked. She was wearing a yellow sundress and that large bow in her hair that Rubi still was uneasy looking at. "Don't you have a library in Boston?"
"My parents died in Tokyo, not in Boston. They're obituaries are at this library."
The girls all looked at Rubi in silence. Rubi had told them earlier what her purpose was to coming to Japan: to find who her parents were and how they died. She had explained how her aunts kept her family past secret, not even telling Rubi her mother's name. The only thing she knew was her father's name: Dennis Madison.
As they entered the library, Ami breathed in the scent of books, both old and new. "I love the library. It's practically my second home."
"You're such a book worm, Ami-chan," Makoto said with a smile.
"I thirst for knowledge. It's my passion."
Within a few minutes, Ami had taught Rei, Makoto, and Rubi how to look up newspaper articles and use the machines to read them. While the three started the search, Ami once more attempted to teach Usagi and Minako, taking them through every step.
"Look up everything that happened during my birth year. I don't know what day they died, but I do know it was before my first birthday since I was with my aunts then."
"That's a lot of newspapers..." Usagi moaned.

After two hours of searching through seven months worth of newspapers, Rubi decided to take a break. She signaled to Ami that she was going to go to the restroom, which the blue haired girl nodded in reply.
"Hey, wait!" Makoto said, jumping up from her chair. "I'll go with you."
Their short trip was made in silence, respecting those around them who were working on homework or casually reading. In the bathroom, Makoto started talking to Rubi.
"You know, my parents died in a plane crash when I was young."
Rubi looked up from the sink, catching Makoto's eyes in the mirror's reflection. She had a smile on her face, but Rubi could tell the memory was sad.
"I remember them very well," Makoto continued. "The scent of my father's shaving lotion, my mother's clothes, the way she brushed my hair. It took me a long time to get over their deaths. I became tough, hiding my feelings behind that." Makoto laughed a little. "I remember when I met Usagi. The whole school thought I was a bully. But not Usagi. She saw that I was lonely."
Makoto handed Rubi paper towels, smiling at her. "She may seem childish sometimes, but she has a pure heart. She will do anything for all of us. She really adores you, Rubi. Especially to be in the library on a Sunday when she could be talking to her boyfriend on the phone."
They're eyes met, and they giggled. "I really appreciate you all. Everyone at my old school considered me a freak."
"Why?"
Rubi sighed. "Promise you won't laugh at me."
Makoto smiled. "Trust me. You're hardly a freak. I've seen a lot worse."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. Why do they think you're a freak?"
"Because I talk to things."
"So, people talk to the cars in front of them, even though they can't hear them. There's nothing weird about that."
"You don't understand. I talk to the trees, to the animals."
Makoto smiled. "We talk to Usagi and Minako's cats."
"But they talk back to me."
Rubi stood there, waiting for Makoto to laugh, or leave the room and not talk to her anymore. Instead, Makoto put her hand on Rubi's shoulder. "Then you have a gift. That's something to be proud of, not scared of. Rei has a gift as well."
"I know. She talks to the birds at the temple."
"If anything, you fit in with us!"

Otag entered the library, her emerald eyes scanning around. She was dressed in casual clothes, much better in her taste than the silly little outfit her mistress gave her to wear. Unfortunately, she had to wear it when she was battling, so Otag was determined to find out who was helping the senshi in her casual form.
The door to the restroom swung open, and two tall girls walked out. The tallest was wearing boyish clothes, and her dark green hair hung down to her ankles. The other was slightly shorter, with chestnut colored hair that was worn in a high ponytail. Otag instantly recognized her from the picture her mistress showed her. "I have to keep her from transforming..."

"Shall we go through one more month before we stop for lunch?" Ami asked as Rubi and Makoto sat down.
"Why not? What's next, August?"
After only a few minutes, Usagi suddenly called out cheerfully. "This is the paper from one of Mamo-chan's birthdays!"
"Is there anything about the Madison's?"
"No."
"Then go to the next date."
"I miss Mamo-chan..."
Rubi shook her head, smiling at Usagi. "Is he coming home for winter break?"
Usagi nodded her head, seeming very happy. "He'll be here next month."
"Rubi-chan!"
Everyone turned to Makoto, who sat frozen in her chair. "I think I found an article."
Rubi jumped up from her seat, kneeling beside Makoto. The date was August 5, and the article was on the front page.
Dennis Madison, a resident of Tokyo, originally from Massachusetts, USA, was found dead yesterday. His body was discovered in his car, demolished at the bottom of a cliff. Madison's neighbor reported that Madison and his wife took their young son out for his birthday, leaving their baby daughter, who had a cough, with the neighbor. When the family did not return, the neighbor called the police, who found the car. Although Madison's body was found, his wife and son are yet to be found, and they are assumed to have drowned. A thorough search continues for the missing bodies.
"Oh my God..."
Rubi could feel the tears flowing down her cheeks, but she didn't care to wipe them away. "Where's the obituary?"
Without a word, Makoto scanned ahead to the obituaries, and sure enough, there was a picture. The words above it read: Madison Dennis, died on August 3, survived by daughter, Madison Rubi. Wife, Hikari Suki, and son, Madison Mamo, are still reported missing, but are assumed deceased. Below, the picture revealed the small family. They were all smiling, apparently a picture that was taken from an album of theirs. The man was tall, with short brown hair and smiling blue eyes. His wife was also tall, with long hair that resembled Rubi's and violet eyes to match. The boy had black hair, and his eyes gleamed like sapphires.
What caught Rubi's attention the most was that she was in the picture. The baby that the woman was holding in her lap was Rubi.
"These are my parents..."
Usagi came over, straining to see over Rei and Minako. Finally, she ducked between them, peering over Rubi's shoulder. "Hey! That's..."

Otag watched the scene before her. All of the girls were huddled around the computer, and they seemed to be comforting the one with long hair. She recognized them all as being the sailor senshi, except for the girl with the long hair and boyish clothes. Otag, reaching into her pocket, pulled out a small box. Opening it, she pulled out a little white object, appearing to be a toy mouse.
"Time to come out and play, Notar." She placed the toy on the floor, and it immediately came to life. It hurried over to the girls, causing other people to scream out in fright.
"A mouse!"
"Somebody kill it!"

The girls turned away from the computer as they heard the people in the library screaming. Rei sensed an evil presence and immediately grabbed her wand. The others, except Rubi, realized what she was doing, and nodded in agreement.
"These people are hysterical over a little mouse?" Rubi asked, catching it in her hands. She stood up, slowly opening her hands. A sudden twinge of pain shot through her arm, and she dropped the mouse, which appeared to be growing larger and more demonic. "It bit me!" Rubi was overwhelmed by a strange sensation, her arm now numb. She suddenly fainted, the pain too strong.
"Rubi-chan!"
"Usagi, we can't worry about her right now. We have to keep that mouse from hurting any one else." Rei pointed to the mouse, which was chasing around a bunch of people.
"But you're the only one that can transform, Rei."
Rei winked at Usagi. "You guys stay with Rubi. I can handle a little mouse." She raised her new wand in the air, making sure no one saw her. "Mars Love Eternal, Make-up!"
Sailor Mars left the computer room, searching around the corners. She heard someone screaming, and turned to find the mouse was now the size of a large dog. "Mars Flame Sniper!" Her arrow shot out, but the mouse noticed and moved like the speed of light. It caught her arrow, and threw it back at her. Mars, realizing what had happened, ducked in time. Her arrow passed over her and ignited a fire among the bookshelves.
Ami, seeing that her beloved books were burning, cried out. "Mars, stop the fire!"
"I can't! That demon is causing it! He's manipulating my arrows."
Ami, wanting to help her friend, heard a voice in her head.
Open up your heart, and I will lend you a new power. I will give you strength to protect that which you love.
"To protect what I love?"
You want to protect the books, don't you? Your passion is knowledge, your love for reading.
"I love my friends, too. If I can't transform, I can't protect Usagi. I want to protect Usagi!"
Then open your heart, and let love take over.
Ami closed her eyes and was overwhelmed by a sensation of what was ultimate love. Her wand appeared, and changed as well, similar to Mars's, but dark blue with Mercury's symbol.
"Mercury Love Eternal, Make-up!"
Usagi, Minako, and Makoto watched as Ami was wrapped in blue hearts, just like Rei, and appeared in a new fuku. Just like Mars, her outfit was the same style, except in different shades of blue. In place of her tiara, Mercury's symbol shone brightly on her forehead.
Mercury turned to Usagi. "Stay here. I have to go help Mars." Her compact appeared in her hand as her goggles covered her eyes. She raced down the hall, starting to scan for the enemy's weaknesses.
Makoto, who was supporting Rubi by having her lay on her lap, closed her eyes. "Why can't I help like Mars and Mercury?"
You can, my friend. Open your heart as they did. You want to protect your friends who you love. You have sacrificed a lot for each other because you love each other. Let that love take control.
Makoto nodded, and her transformation wand appeared, changing as well. The light green crystal shimmered in the light as Makoto shouted, "Jupiter Eternal Love, Make-up!" After being wrapped in green hearts, she appeared in a complete green fuku similar to the others. "Minako, stay with Usagi."
As Jupiter left, Minako turned to Usagi. "I thought blondes were supposed to have all the fun."

Sailor Mars continued to try different attacks, but none would work. Her fire was not fast enough to catch the demon. Just when she was about to lose hope, Sailor Mercury appeared, followed by Jupiter.
"You were able to transform!"
"No time to talk, Mars," Mercury said. "The only way to attack it is to restrain it."
"Venus is the one with the restraining attack," Jupiter commented, attempting a Sparkling Wide Pressure after she spoke.
Mercury closed her compact, and her visor disappeared. Open your heart, she heard in her head. A power surged through her veins, and she touched the place where her heart was. "Warm Embrace!" A blue light shot out, wrapping around the mouse, which was now the size of a tiger. It squealed, the noise ear piercing.
"Love's Surprises!" Jupiter touched her heart as well, and light emitted from her hand. Appearing to be punching at the air with open hands, she continued to hit the mouse with green light.
"Burning Passion!"
In a mixture of red and green light, the mouse shrunk down, returning to a toy, now black instead of white.
Mercury knelt down to pick it up. "It looks like a cat toy..."
Mercury looked up at Mars and Jupiter, and they shared the same confused look.

"What happened?" Rubi sat up suddenly, once again feeling dizzy. Minako was holding her shoulders, supporting her up. "Where'd that stupid mouse go?"
"We chased it out of here," Rei said, running back to the girls, followed by Ami and Makoto. "Are you all right?"
Rubi stretched out her arm, the pain gone. "Yeah. There's not a mark on me."
"Well, why don't we get back to our previous task," Ami suggested. "We'll make a copy of this article."
Rubi reached out, grabbing Ami's wrist. "Who was that woman?"
"What woman?"
"There was a woman. She was wearing an outfit with a short skirt and she was holding a sword."
The girls all looked at each other. "Rubi, there was no one here like that. Maybe you dreamed her."
"No, Makoto. She was real. She knew everything about me." Rubi touched her forehead, still feeling dizzy. "She kept telling me to search my heart, and accept who I am. To realize my destiny."
"Rubi, are you sure..."
Before Ami could finish, she noticed something strange on Rubi. There was a light emitting from her forehead, but it was very dim, and almost hidden behind her hand.
"Let's get you home, Rubi."

The girls all met at Rei's house after seeing Rubi off in her car. Ami told them about what she saw.
"Do you realize what this means?"
"She's a senshi, isn't she?" Minako asked. "Maybe she's like the Starlight's, from outside of our galaxy."
"Not only that," Ami continued, "but she doesn't realize she is. She hasn't been awakened."
"So what should we do?" Usagi asked.
"Protect her for now, until she awakens. Maybe that voice that's giving us new power will awaken her, too."
"Do you think the woman she saw was that girl who is helping you guys?" Minako asked.
"I don't know." Usagi folded her hands together, resting her chin on them.

It was quiet in the dark room, with only a sliver of moonlight shining through the curtains. On the nightstand near a twin size bed, a phone began to ring. A tired hand sprung out from under the covers, trying to cease the disruptive noise. "Hello?"
"Mamo-chan! It's Usagi. Are you awake?"
Chiba Mamoru sat up in his bed, looking at his alarm clock. "Usako, it's one in the morning? Why are you calling?" After he realized how agitated he sounded, he suddenly sensed something was wrong. "What's happened? Do I need to come home?"
"Well, a lot of stuff has happened." Usagi paused for a moment.
"Usako, is there another battle happening?"
"Actually, yes. Well, I think so."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, some fox demon attacked us at Rei's home, and now we're not able to transform. Well, Minako and I haven't been able to. The others were able to, only because there's some woman we don't know that's given them a new power, kinda like Pegasus. Then just today we were attacked at the library by a giant mouse, which turned out to be a cat's toy mouse."
"I'll be on the next flight out."
"Mamo-chan, that's not the main reason I called." She paused again, and then continued. "You remember telling me that you weren't able to find out anything about your parents?"
"Yes..."
"Well, today, I found a newspaper article about the accident that they were killed in and that caused your amnesia."
"Is that why you were at the library?"
"Uh-huh. We were helping this new friend of ours, Madison Rubi, find her parent's obituaries."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Mamo-chan, Rubi is your sister."