The Soldier's Ultimate Choice
Beyond Stars Ch. 3
(disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, I just enjoy writing about them. THat's what fanfiction is.)
"Otag..."
Otag, a girl about twelve years old, slowly walked forward, her head hung low. Her green eyes were looking down at the floor as she approached her shadowed mistress. "I'm sorry, milady. Two more of the senshi transformed..."
"I'm not worried about that, Otag. I realize there's no use in trying to prevent it. However..." The woman stepped forward, lifting Otag's chin. "I want you to keep an eye on that girl."
"Which one?"
"The one they were with."
Otag thought back a moment, remembering seeing a longhaired girl at the library. "Why her?"
"Didn't you see, Otag? There was a green light emitting from her forehead."
"And that means..." Otag said, drawing out her question.
"That means she is a senshi! Haven't I taught you anything, Otag?" She raised her hand as if to strike the girl, then stopped suddenly. She touched the girl's head, stroking her hair. "I think it would be best if you used your other form for the time being, Otag."
"Yes, milady," Otag replied, softly beginning to purr.
Rubi tossed and turned in her bed, lost in her dreams. She had kicked the covers off completely, and her body was moving as if she were fighting someone. Suddenly, she jolted up, her arm stretched out to find nothing.
"Brother!"
Her eyes shot open, sweat covering her face. Her breathing was choppy, as if she had been running. She lowered her arm, realizing she was in her room. She touched her forehead, feeling a warm sensation there. Turning to her dresser mirror, she looked to see if there was something on her face.
"What was that weird dream..."
It had started out with the woman from her other dreams while she had been unconscious. She was reaching out to Rubi, calling for her. Rubi didn't know who she was, for she was surrounded in light. As Rubi had touched her hand, she was taken to a night filled with endless stars, where a battle was taking place. The soldiers were different from any modern armies, and she had felt she was fighting along with them. Just when it seemed the dream would never end, she saw two figures floating in the air, lifeless.
Too awake to sleep anymore, Rubi picked out one of her many swords, pulling it out of its sheath. As she practiced the different moves from the classes she took, she remembered how her aunts objected to the sport. While they wanted her to take ballet lessons and participate in piano recitals, Rubi mastered the art of swordsmanship and martial arts by the age of sixteen.
Collecting different types of swords had become her hobby, and to her surprise, her aunts had actually given her a beautiful katana set for her seventeenth birthday. The cases were emerald green, with white dragons wrapped around them. The swords themselves had dragons etched on the blades, and Rubi prized the katana set.
Glancing over at her alarm clock, Rubi remembered that Rei and the others would be over in an hour. They had arranged to meet again on Sunday, this time at Rubi's apartment. The girls insisted that they were just coming over to see her home, but she knew it was because it was her eighteenth birthday. Rubi smiled at the thought of a surprise party. It was nice to have friends who cared about her. Rubi put her katana blades away and went to the kitchen to prepare some food. She remembered Makoto's advice and made extra since Usagi would be there.
Back in America, Mamoru stepped out of a taxicab, giving the correct bills to the driver. As it pulled away, Mamoru turned to face the house he had arrived at. It was like any other house in New England, with two stories and Victorian décor. He checked the address on his piece of paper, which he had written down information on. Usagi had told him what Rubi's last name was, and this was the only address he could find where two females lived by the name of Madison.
Mamoru walked up to the front porch and rang the doorbell. Waiting only a moment, the door opened, revealing two middle-aged women. "May we help you?"
"Are you Abigail and Bethany Madison?"
"Yes," the closer one replied, a little wary. She was older than the other, her hair a shimmering silver, while her sister's was still black. "I'm Abby."
"You have a niece named Rubi, is that right?"
Abby's hand covered her chest. "Oh, good heavens! Something's happened to our Rubi! I knew she shouldn't have gone to Tokyo!"
Mamoru reached out, shaking his hand, but Abby continued to babble. Her sister touched her shoulder, gaining her attention. "Abby, I don't think that's what this gentleman is here to tell us."
"No, Rubi is fine." Mamoru sighed, relieved that the woman calmed down. "I'm actually here for some information. My girlfriend is one of her friends."
Bethany smiled. "I'm glad to hear she has friends in Japan. Did you come all the way from Tokyo to tell us that?"
"No," Mamoru replied. "I attend college hear in Boston and I'm on winter vacation. I'm flying out tomorrow to go home."
"That doesn't tell us why you are here," Abby said.
"I need to know about Rubi's parents."
The women stared at him in disbelief. "What good is that information to you? They died when she was little."
"I'm her brother."
The smell of lasagna filled her kitchen, and Rubi smiled at her accomplishment. In America, her aunts did all the cooking, but she had taken care to watch them so that one day she could cook for herself. Rubi began to wonder if the girls had ever eaten lasagna when she heard a scratch at her window.
Sitting on the sill was a little black kitten, pawing at the glass as if trying to get in. Rubi opened the window, grabbing the kitten in her hands. Closing the window, she stroked the feline's soft fur. "Hello, there, kitty. Did my lunch smell so good you decided to come visit too?"
The kitten looked up, meowing in reply. Its chest echoed with the soft purring it began to make.
"Well, let's get you some milk, then. I don't think Italian food would be good for you." Rubi took a bowl down from the cabinet, opened the fridge, and pulled the milk out. As she poured the milk, she thought she saw the kitten lick its lips. "Here you go," Rubi said, sitting the bowl and the kitten down on the floor. As she did so, her doorbell rang. "You stay here."
Leaving the feline in the kitchen, Rubi entered the hallway to answer her door. She was greeted by Rei, Usagi, Makoto, Minako, and Ami singing happy birthday and holding up a decorated cake, which was adorned with eighteen burning candles.
"Blow them out before the cake melts!" Usagi said. "It's an ice cream cake!"
Rubi closed her eyes to make her wish, then blew the candles out with one breath. She opened her eyes, smiling at her new friends.
"What did you wish for?" Minako asked, entering the apartment with the others. She sat down on the sofa, rubbing the soft fabric of the couch. "This is nice..."
"Minako, she's not supposed to tell. If she does, it won't come true." Makoto sat down next to her blonde friend, slightly bouncing. "This is comfy."
Usagi sat down on the floor, placing a whicker basket next to her. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought our cats."
"You have cats?" Rubi asked.
"Yes. My cat's name is Luna, and Minako's is Artemis." Usagi opened the lid, and a black head and a white one popped up. Rubi noticed they both had a unique mark on their forehead, resembling a crescent moon.
"They're names are both derived from the moon, aren't they?" Rubi asked.
Usagi nodded, and lightly scratched the black cat's ears. "This one is Luna. She's a girl. The white one is Artemis, and he's a boy. They're mates."
Rubi smiled, and for a second she could've sworn she saw the two cats blush. "Have they had any kittens yet?"
"No, not yet. But they will eventually." Usagi opened her mouth to continue, but Rei's foot tapped her leg, as if to signal her to stop talking. Instead, Usagi jumped up. "Can we eat your cake now? It took all my will power to not eat it on the way over!" With a nod from Rubi, Usagi bounded into the kitchen, where Ami had taken the cake.
Rei made her way over to the bookcase, examining Rubi's display of swords. "That is a beautiful katana set," Rei commented, pointing at the blades Rubi had earlier been practicing with.
"Thank you. I've had a fascination for swords since I was little. My aunts bought me those for my last birthday."
Makoto was now beside Rei, studying the swords and the papers that were framed beside them. "You're a champion swordsman?"
"Yes. I won several competitions back in America. My instructor was sad to see me go. He had made a lot of publicity off of me."
Meanwhile, Usagi had found the kitten in the kitchen, and had sat down to play with it. "You are so cute! Luna isn't as playful as you are." Usagi dangled her keys in front of the kitten, which pawed at it playfully. Luna was sitting next to her, looking quite jealous.
"I resent that." Luna glared at the kitten, sensing something she didn't like. "I don't know about this cat, Usagi."
Usagi laughed. "Don't be silly. What harm could a cat do?"
Suddenly, the window above the kitchen sink shattered. The glass went flying everywhere, and Ami and Usagi immediately covered their faces for protection. After the sound of the last piece fell to the floor, they both looked up, finding a very large dog-looking man standing in the sink. His eyes were black, and every inch of his skin was covered in brown fur, including the tail on his backside.
"Where is she?" he growled, kneeling down, as if ready to leap. "Where is the girl?"
The kitten Usagi had been playing with suddenly ran, hiding behind the refrigerator. Luna also ran out of the room, calling out to the other girls. "Transform! There's a monster!"
Rubi froze in the middle of her conversation, looking straight at Luna. She wondered if this was just one of those sensations she would have, like hearing the trees talk to her or the birds singing actual words. She started to disregard the cat, but was suddenly shocked by the looks on Makoto, Minako, and Rei's faces.
"You—you heard that cat speak too?"
"Um, Rubi, we'll have to explain this to you later." Rei pulled out a red wand, a giant ruby gleaming on top. "Mars Love Eternal, Make Up!"
"Jupiter Love Eternal Make Up!"
Rubi fell to the ground, her knees collapsing in sheer awe as she watched a magical force wrap around both Rei and Makoto, and they reappeared wearing a sailor costume that seemed oddly familiar. She suddenly recognized she had seen them in her dream, but her thoughts were disrupted by a tall wolf-man entering her living room. Another girl in an outfit, who Rubi instantly recognized as Ami, followed right behind him.
"I can't restrain him!" Ami yelled at the other girls. She kept shooting out a rope that looked like water, but it dissipated when it touched the monster's fur. Rubi couldn't keep her eyes off of it, and it seemed to realize she was watching him.
"You are the one," he growled, suddenly leaping toward her. In one swift movement, he grabbed Rubi up into his arms, and had crashed through her living room window.
"Rubi-chan!"
Rubi tried to fight her captor, kicking and hitting him all over, but he was too strong. He ran along the rooftops, making incredible leaps to each one. She tried to wriggle free, but his grip was too tight on her. Rubi's hair was flying everywhere, making it difficult for her to see where she was being taken.
"What do you want with me?"
"Mistress wants to see you now. Otag is taking too long. Never trust a cat. They never listen. Orrep is much more faithful and obedient." He continued to babble on, his words becoming muffled.
This birthday had definitely not been what Rubi had expected. Her friends were some kind of magical warriors, and now she had been abducted by a panting dog monster. She hoped that things couldn't get any worse.
"World Shaking!"
The monster stopped on the roof, trembling all over. Rubi was shaking as well, the pain vibrating through her. She cried out in pain, but she was not heard over the howling of the dog man. He let go of her, grabbing himself as if to stop the pain.
"Silence Glaive Surprise!"
A shimmering barrier surrounded Rubi, and she looked up to see a small girl in another uniform, holding up a glaive. Through the barrier, she could see two other people, older than the one inside with her. A girl with teal hair lifted her hands up, shouting out a phrase. "Emotional Tide!" A flood of water poured from her hands, engulfing the monster. He howled and screamed, and then completely vanished.
The girl who had made the barrier with her glaive turned toward Rubi as the magical shield disappeared. She appeared to be around twelve years old, with short purple hair and purple eyes that made her older than she seemed. She smiled, though Rubi thought it was sort of a sad smile.
The two other people approached, also wearing a strange uniform. The girl with teal hair was surely beautiful, her eyes telling of her gentle grace. The other had very short, blonde hair, and looked masculine, except for her eyes and the very obvious mark of womanhood where the giant bow was.
Rubi started to stand up, but the blonde took a step forward, her eyes gleaming at Rubi. "Who are you? What were you doing with that daimon?"
Rubi was shocked at the tone in her voice. Did this girl actually think she was an enemy? "I'm just an ordinary girl. That thing kidnapped me from my friends..." Rubi looked around suddenly, expecting someone to be there. "My friends will be looking for me. If you try anything..."
The teal haired girl rested a hand on Rubi's shoulder. "Don't worry. Sometimes Uranus can seem to be a little harsh, but she means well."
Realizing that she meant the blonde when she said 'Uranus,' Rubi wondered if they're powers were like Rei's, since they had used planet names. Rubi noticed the littlest one lean over and whisper something into the blonde's ear. Her eyes suddenly changed, and she stood up. "We'll be going now, but remember this: we'll be watching you very closely."
"Is that a threat?" Rubi asked, suddenly very defensive.
"It may or may not be. It depends on your choice."
Just as suddenly as they had appeared, they were gone. Rubi was left on top of the roof alone, the afternoon sun beaming down on her. She stood up, walking over to the edge of the roof, finding herself several stories up from the street. Down below, people were walking around, some with children by their side, others chatting away on their cell phones. Rubi sat down on the ledge, her legs dangling over against the wall.
"It depends on your choice..." The words echoed through her mind. What did that girl mean? What was it that Rubi had to choose that would keep them watching her so close?
"How am I gonna get down?"
The shadowed woman stood by her throne, her fist clenched around one of the arms. "How could I have forgotten about the other senshi? They've completely destroyed my dog daimon without the aid of that sniveling princess." The hand that grasped the throne suddenly tightened, and it began to crack. "Otag had better succeed in bringing me that girl, or she will meet the same end as I did those years ago..."
She partially stepped into the light, which exposed her red and yellow sailor fuku. Her hair hung down to her feet in a cascade of curls, but her servants that were in her room were still not able to see her face. One of them came up to her, his head bowed low.
"Milady, we have found the artifact which you have been s-s-searching for." He peered up at her through his jet-black hair, which was hanging over his face as he bowed. "It is-s-s being cleaned and trans-s-slated as-s- s we s-s-speak."
Through the shadow across her face, a smile could be faintly seen. An eerie, evil smile. "Excellent, Epreis. If all goes well with Otag, the fate of the world will be in our hands very soon."
Beyond Stars Ch. 3
(disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, I just enjoy writing about them. THat's what fanfiction is.)
"Otag..."
Otag, a girl about twelve years old, slowly walked forward, her head hung low. Her green eyes were looking down at the floor as she approached her shadowed mistress. "I'm sorry, milady. Two more of the senshi transformed..."
"I'm not worried about that, Otag. I realize there's no use in trying to prevent it. However..." The woman stepped forward, lifting Otag's chin. "I want you to keep an eye on that girl."
"Which one?"
"The one they were with."
Otag thought back a moment, remembering seeing a longhaired girl at the library. "Why her?"
"Didn't you see, Otag? There was a green light emitting from her forehead."
"And that means..." Otag said, drawing out her question.
"That means she is a senshi! Haven't I taught you anything, Otag?" She raised her hand as if to strike the girl, then stopped suddenly. She touched the girl's head, stroking her hair. "I think it would be best if you used your other form for the time being, Otag."
"Yes, milady," Otag replied, softly beginning to purr.
Rubi tossed and turned in her bed, lost in her dreams. She had kicked the covers off completely, and her body was moving as if she were fighting someone. Suddenly, she jolted up, her arm stretched out to find nothing.
"Brother!"
Her eyes shot open, sweat covering her face. Her breathing was choppy, as if she had been running. She lowered her arm, realizing she was in her room. She touched her forehead, feeling a warm sensation there. Turning to her dresser mirror, she looked to see if there was something on her face.
"What was that weird dream..."
It had started out with the woman from her other dreams while she had been unconscious. She was reaching out to Rubi, calling for her. Rubi didn't know who she was, for she was surrounded in light. As Rubi had touched her hand, she was taken to a night filled with endless stars, where a battle was taking place. The soldiers were different from any modern armies, and she had felt she was fighting along with them. Just when it seemed the dream would never end, she saw two figures floating in the air, lifeless.
Too awake to sleep anymore, Rubi picked out one of her many swords, pulling it out of its sheath. As she practiced the different moves from the classes she took, she remembered how her aunts objected to the sport. While they wanted her to take ballet lessons and participate in piano recitals, Rubi mastered the art of swordsmanship and martial arts by the age of sixteen.
Collecting different types of swords had become her hobby, and to her surprise, her aunts had actually given her a beautiful katana set for her seventeenth birthday. The cases were emerald green, with white dragons wrapped around them. The swords themselves had dragons etched on the blades, and Rubi prized the katana set.
Glancing over at her alarm clock, Rubi remembered that Rei and the others would be over in an hour. They had arranged to meet again on Sunday, this time at Rubi's apartment. The girls insisted that they were just coming over to see her home, but she knew it was because it was her eighteenth birthday. Rubi smiled at the thought of a surprise party. It was nice to have friends who cared about her. Rubi put her katana blades away and went to the kitchen to prepare some food. She remembered Makoto's advice and made extra since Usagi would be there.
Back in America, Mamoru stepped out of a taxicab, giving the correct bills to the driver. As it pulled away, Mamoru turned to face the house he had arrived at. It was like any other house in New England, with two stories and Victorian décor. He checked the address on his piece of paper, which he had written down information on. Usagi had told him what Rubi's last name was, and this was the only address he could find where two females lived by the name of Madison.
Mamoru walked up to the front porch and rang the doorbell. Waiting only a moment, the door opened, revealing two middle-aged women. "May we help you?"
"Are you Abigail and Bethany Madison?"
"Yes," the closer one replied, a little wary. She was older than the other, her hair a shimmering silver, while her sister's was still black. "I'm Abby."
"You have a niece named Rubi, is that right?"
Abby's hand covered her chest. "Oh, good heavens! Something's happened to our Rubi! I knew she shouldn't have gone to Tokyo!"
Mamoru reached out, shaking his hand, but Abby continued to babble. Her sister touched her shoulder, gaining her attention. "Abby, I don't think that's what this gentleman is here to tell us."
"No, Rubi is fine." Mamoru sighed, relieved that the woman calmed down. "I'm actually here for some information. My girlfriend is one of her friends."
Bethany smiled. "I'm glad to hear she has friends in Japan. Did you come all the way from Tokyo to tell us that?"
"No," Mamoru replied. "I attend college hear in Boston and I'm on winter vacation. I'm flying out tomorrow to go home."
"That doesn't tell us why you are here," Abby said.
"I need to know about Rubi's parents."
The women stared at him in disbelief. "What good is that information to you? They died when she was little."
"I'm her brother."
The smell of lasagna filled her kitchen, and Rubi smiled at her accomplishment. In America, her aunts did all the cooking, but she had taken care to watch them so that one day she could cook for herself. Rubi began to wonder if the girls had ever eaten lasagna when she heard a scratch at her window.
Sitting on the sill was a little black kitten, pawing at the glass as if trying to get in. Rubi opened the window, grabbing the kitten in her hands. Closing the window, she stroked the feline's soft fur. "Hello, there, kitty. Did my lunch smell so good you decided to come visit too?"
The kitten looked up, meowing in reply. Its chest echoed with the soft purring it began to make.
"Well, let's get you some milk, then. I don't think Italian food would be good for you." Rubi took a bowl down from the cabinet, opened the fridge, and pulled the milk out. As she poured the milk, she thought she saw the kitten lick its lips. "Here you go," Rubi said, sitting the bowl and the kitten down on the floor. As she did so, her doorbell rang. "You stay here."
Leaving the feline in the kitchen, Rubi entered the hallway to answer her door. She was greeted by Rei, Usagi, Makoto, Minako, and Ami singing happy birthday and holding up a decorated cake, which was adorned with eighteen burning candles.
"Blow them out before the cake melts!" Usagi said. "It's an ice cream cake!"
Rubi closed her eyes to make her wish, then blew the candles out with one breath. She opened her eyes, smiling at her new friends.
"What did you wish for?" Minako asked, entering the apartment with the others. She sat down on the sofa, rubbing the soft fabric of the couch. "This is nice..."
"Minako, she's not supposed to tell. If she does, it won't come true." Makoto sat down next to her blonde friend, slightly bouncing. "This is comfy."
Usagi sat down on the floor, placing a whicker basket next to her. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought our cats."
"You have cats?" Rubi asked.
"Yes. My cat's name is Luna, and Minako's is Artemis." Usagi opened the lid, and a black head and a white one popped up. Rubi noticed they both had a unique mark on their forehead, resembling a crescent moon.
"They're names are both derived from the moon, aren't they?" Rubi asked.
Usagi nodded, and lightly scratched the black cat's ears. "This one is Luna. She's a girl. The white one is Artemis, and he's a boy. They're mates."
Rubi smiled, and for a second she could've sworn she saw the two cats blush. "Have they had any kittens yet?"
"No, not yet. But they will eventually." Usagi opened her mouth to continue, but Rei's foot tapped her leg, as if to signal her to stop talking. Instead, Usagi jumped up. "Can we eat your cake now? It took all my will power to not eat it on the way over!" With a nod from Rubi, Usagi bounded into the kitchen, where Ami had taken the cake.
Rei made her way over to the bookcase, examining Rubi's display of swords. "That is a beautiful katana set," Rei commented, pointing at the blades Rubi had earlier been practicing with.
"Thank you. I've had a fascination for swords since I was little. My aunts bought me those for my last birthday."
Makoto was now beside Rei, studying the swords and the papers that were framed beside them. "You're a champion swordsman?"
"Yes. I won several competitions back in America. My instructor was sad to see me go. He had made a lot of publicity off of me."
Meanwhile, Usagi had found the kitten in the kitchen, and had sat down to play with it. "You are so cute! Luna isn't as playful as you are." Usagi dangled her keys in front of the kitten, which pawed at it playfully. Luna was sitting next to her, looking quite jealous.
"I resent that." Luna glared at the kitten, sensing something she didn't like. "I don't know about this cat, Usagi."
Usagi laughed. "Don't be silly. What harm could a cat do?"
Suddenly, the window above the kitchen sink shattered. The glass went flying everywhere, and Ami and Usagi immediately covered their faces for protection. After the sound of the last piece fell to the floor, they both looked up, finding a very large dog-looking man standing in the sink. His eyes were black, and every inch of his skin was covered in brown fur, including the tail on his backside.
"Where is she?" he growled, kneeling down, as if ready to leap. "Where is the girl?"
The kitten Usagi had been playing with suddenly ran, hiding behind the refrigerator. Luna also ran out of the room, calling out to the other girls. "Transform! There's a monster!"
Rubi froze in the middle of her conversation, looking straight at Luna. She wondered if this was just one of those sensations she would have, like hearing the trees talk to her or the birds singing actual words. She started to disregard the cat, but was suddenly shocked by the looks on Makoto, Minako, and Rei's faces.
"You—you heard that cat speak too?"
"Um, Rubi, we'll have to explain this to you later." Rei pulled out a red wand, a giant ruby gleaming on top. "Mars Love Eternal, Make Up!"
"Jupiter Love Eternal Make Up!"
Rubi fell to the ground, her knees collapsing in sheer awe as she watched a magical force wrap around both Rei and Makoto, and they reappeared wearing a sailor costume that seemed oddly familiar. She suddenly recognized she had seen them in her dream, but her thoughts were disrupted by a tall wolf-man entering her living room. Another girl in an outfit, who Rubi instantly recognized as Ami, followed right behind him.
"I can't restrain him!" Ami yelled at the other girls. She kept shooting out a rope that looked like water, but it dissipated when it touched the monster's fur. Rubi couldn't keep her eyes off of it, and it seemed to realize she was watching him.
"You are the one," he growled, suddenly leaping toward her. In one swift movement, he grabbed Rubi up into his arms, and had crashed through her living room window.
"Rubi-chan!"
Rubi tried to fight her captor, kicking and hitting him all over, but he was too strong. He ran along the rooftops, making incredible leaps to each one. She tried to wriggle free, but his grip was too tight on her. Rubi's hair was flying everywhere, making it difficult for her to see where she was being taken.
"What do you want with me?"
"Mistress wants to see you now. Otag is taking too long. Never trust a cat. They never listen. Orrep is much more faithful and obedient." He continued to babble on, his words becoming muffled.
This birthday had definitely not been what Rubi had expected. Her friends were some kind of magical warriors, and now she had been abducted by a panting dog monster. She hoped that things couldn't get any worse.
"World Shaking!"
The monster stopped on the roof, trembling all over. Rubi was shaking as well, the pain vibrating through her. She cried out in pain, but she was not heard over the howling of the dog man. He let go of her, grabbing himself as if to stop the pain.
"Silence Glaive Surprise!"
A shimmering barrier surrounded Rubi, and she looked up to see a small girl in another uniform, holding up a glaive. Through the barrier, she could see two other people, older than the one inside with her. A girl with teal hair lifted her hands up, shouting out a phrase. "Emotional Tide!" A flood of water poured from her hands, engulfing the monster. He howled and screamed, and then completely vanished.
The girl who had made the barrier with her glaive turned toward Rubi as the magical shield disappeared. She appeared to be around twelve years old, with short purple hair and purple eyes that made her older than she seemed. She smiled, though Rubi thought it was sort of a sad smile.
The two other people approached, also wearing a strange uniform. The girl with teal hair was surely beautiful, her eyes telling of her gentle grace. The other had very short, blonde hair, and looked masculine, except for her eyes and the very obvious mark of womanhood where the giant bow was.
Rubi started to stand up, but the blonde took a step forward, her eyes gleaming at Rubi. "Who are you? What were you doing with that daimon?"
Rubi was shocked at the tone in her voice. Did this girl actually think she was an enemy? "I'm just an ordinary girl. That thing kidnapped me from my friends..." Rubi looked around suddenly, expecting someone to be there. "My friends will be looking for me. If you try anything..."
The teal haired girl rested a hand on Rubi's shoulder. "Don't worry. Sometimes Uranus can seem to be a little harsh, but she means well."
Realizing that she meant the blonde when she said 'Uranus,' Rubi wondered if they're powers were like Rei's, since they had used planet names. Rubi noticed the littlest one lean over and whisper something into the blonde's ear. Her eyes suddenly changed, and she stood up. "We'll be going now, but remember this: we'll be watching you very closely."
"Is that a threat?" Rubi asked, suddenly very defensive.
"It may or may not be. It depends on your choice."
Just as suddenly as they had appeared, they were gone. Rubi was left on top of the roof alone, the afternoon sun beaming down on her. She stood up, walking over to the edge of the roof, finding herself several stories up from the street. Down below, people were walking around, some with children by their side, others chatting away on their cell phones. Rubi sat down on the ledge, her legs dangling over against the wall.
"It depends on your choice..." The words echoed through her mind. What did that girl mean? What was it that Rubi had to choose that would keep them watching her so close?
"How am I gonna get down?"
The shadowed woman stood by her throne, her fist clenched around one of the arms. "How could I have forgotten about the other senshi? They've completely destroyed my dog daimon without the aid of that sniveling princess." The hand that grasped the throne suddenly tightened, and it began to crack. "Otag had better succeed in bringing me that girl, or she will meet the same end as I did those years ago..."
She partially stepped into the light, which exposed her red and yellow sailor fuku. Her hair hung down to her feet in a cascade of curls, but her servants that were in her room were still not able to see her face. One of them came up to her, his head bowed low.
"Milady, we have found the artifact which you have been s-s-searching for." He peered up at her through his jet-black hair, which was hanging over his face as he bowed. "It is-s-s being cleaned and trans-s-slated as-s- s we s-s-speak."
Through the shadow across her face, a smile could be faintly seen. An eerie, evil smile. "Excellent, Epreis. If all goes well with Otag, the fate of the world will be in our hands very soon."