Hey All! Don't be surprised if this chapter is a bit on the long side. After 10 months of not writing, my imagination was revved up and kept spitting out one idea after another. Well, I'll shut my trap now and let you read. Enjoy!
This chapter is dedicated to four special gals. Without any one of these girls I would have stopped writing a long time ago. To all my sisters, I love you all so very much and will always be here for you. You all have made such a difference in my life and I know we'll never be apart. Love you Sakura, Kitsune, Serena, and Aidan! ..
Disclaimer: See chapter one.
Authors Note: Blah Blah Blah Indicates a character's thoughts.
Chapter 4
Who Were They?
It was a beautiful day outside and a tired Tokyo citizen had just crossed the main streets of downtown Tokyo on her way home from work. "Man I'm beat. All this stress from work is starting to get to me." She sighed heavily as she passed others on the sidewalk. She was thinking about what she was going to do when she got home when she smelt the lovely aroma of flowers. She stopped and saw that she was in front of the park. "I think I'll take a walk through the park before I go home. I don't know why, but the park always seems to relax and calm me. After a day like today, it seems like the perfect remedy."
The tired citizen took one step into the park and already felt better. "I knew this was the perfect thing for me." With every step, her smile grew and she felt more rejuvenated. She walked through the park enjoying the fragrant smell of the flowers around her, for it was the beginning of spring and everything was in bloom, letting her surroundings relax her. The birds were chirping happily in the trees and the wind was blowing ever so softly.
It wasn't until she was halfway through the park that she noticed something. "I wonder why there are hardly any people here? The park is usually bustling with couples and people relaxing after work. Oh well." She shrugged and then a rose bush that she hadn't seen before caught her attention.
"When did that get there? I was here three days ago and this wasn't here. Oh well, however it got here, I hope it stays. Look at it; it's gorgeous. I think I'll take a rose home for my roommate. She loves roses." She bent down and picked one. She smiled at the beautiful rose in her hand when the rose looked up, smiled in return, and then bit her. "What the…AHHH! SOMEONE HELP ME! PLEASE HELP ME!"
The rose bush had turned into a monster and the rose that had bit her remained there while she was screaming in agony. The monster was acting like it was completely deaf. "Well, it seems this park has raised your energy. I don't know what it is about this place, but all the humans I've gathered energy from have had more energy then when they first walked in. Your energy will be most helpful."
The creature smirked, removed the rose, and stuck it to himself like it was a leech. "We don't want to waste any of your precious energy now do we?" The monster then put his mouth where the rose first bit and started drinking her energy as if it was milk. Within seconds she was on the ground.
"Please help me. Someone…help……me." Then she lost consciousness.
I don't know why, but I feel like I should go and protect them. I mean, I know that India can take care of herself so I have nothing to worry about with her. According to Andrew, Raye is into martial arts, Lita can handle anyone, Mina can fight if she has to, and Amy is smart enough to fend off anyone who confronts her. What gets me the most though is that I'm more worried about Serena than anyone else. This is too confusing. Darien shook his head and walked back into the arcade to see Andrew yelling into the phone.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN PRANK CALL! LISTEN HERE LADY…DON'T YOU HANG UP ON-" Andrew yelled, slamming the phone down while mumbling curses under his breath.
"Andrew is everything okay?" Darien asked with a concerned look.
Andrew just stood there a few minutes breathing deeply, trying to get his temper under control. After what seemed like forever, Andrew asked, "Now I am. You want something to drink? Ice water okay?"
"Sure. What was that all about?" Darien asked, referring to the phone call. Darien walked over and sat down at a booth waiting for Andrew's answer.
Andrew got two glasses, filled them with ice and water, and joined Darien at the booth. "Well, when the girls mentioned calling for help, I ran in here and dialed the police. The lady who answered asked me what was wrong and I explained to her what had happened. She repeated what I said and then asked me my age. I asked her why she needed my age and her reply was that that line was for emergencies only, not prank calls. Then before I could say another word, she hung up on me."
"I wonder why she thought it was a prank call?"
"Who knows? I don't want to think about it anymore."
Andrew took a drink of his water and thought about India. Snap out of it Andrew! You've got to stop thinking about her. Andrew told himself.
Meanwhile, Darien was staring at his glass of water when he saw an image of Serena in the water. DAMN! Why can't I get you out of my head?
"Hey Darien?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think In…uhh…the girls are okay?" Andrew asked.
"I'm sure they are fine. They are all capable of taking care of themselves." Darien said. All except Serena, that is.
After a few minutes of silence, Andrew slammed his hands down on the table. "I can't take this anymore! I feel like I should be helping the girls!"
"I know what you mean, but what can we do?" Darien asked.
"I don't know." Andrew replied, defeated.
The two friends sat thinking at how helpless they were, when Andrew got up. "You want some more water?"
"Yeah, but I'll get it." Darien said getting up as well.
Even though their glasses were pretty much full, the two guys walked toward the bar, hoping that it would take their minds off of India and Serena. All of a sudden, Andrew dropped his glass and grabbed the sides of his head. Darien looked at him with a worried look. "Andrew, what's wrong?"
"I don't know; it's my head. One minute it was fine and the next…" Andrew trailed off, dropping to his knees, clutching the sides of his head.
Then Darien's head started to throb in pain too. "What's going on?" He asked, kneeling to the floor as well. Then the two friends collapsed on the floor, unconscious.
"I hope we're not too late."
The six girls were running toward the park with Luna and Artemis in front.
"I hope so too, Mina." Lita agreed.
The group of girls were standing outside the entrance of the park when Luna said, "Girls, you better transform."
"Luna's right. You never know what the Negaverse has up their sneaky, slimy sleeve." Artemis said.
"Right!" The girls said in unison.
"Mercury Power!"
"Mars Power!"
"Jupiter Power!"
"Venus Power!"
"Neo Power!"
"Moon Crystal Power!"
The Sailor Scouts now stood before the entrance of the park. They advanced forward a few steps, all on their guard watching for anything out of the ordinary. "There is definitely something evil at work here."
"I agree Mars. Mercury, touch your left earlobe." Luna instructed.
She did so and a blue visor appeared across her eyes. "What is this Luna?" She asked puzzled.
"It's a mini computer, as well as a scanner. This will help you against the Negaverse. This is another mini computer that you can use when in or out of your Sailor Scout form. The visor and the mini computer are directly linked so you can use them together." Luna explained, doing a flip in the air and laying a blue item that looked liked an organizer, with the Mercury symbol on top, at Mercury's feet.
"Thank you Luna." Mercury said with a smile as she bent down and picked up the mini computer.
"Mercury, why don't you try out your new computers by scanning the park and seeing what we're up against?"
"Okay Artemis. Now, let me see…" Mercury said.
While she was scanned the park, the other scouts were still on their guard. The birds had stopped chirping and the negative vibes that filled the park had drowned out all the pleasant emotions and feelings that it normally gave off.
"Luna? Do we have any weapons that we can fight with? I mean, I don't know about the rest of the girls, but I certainly know that I'm not that skilled when it comes to fighting."
Luna smiled and said, "Don't worry about a thing Neo. You all have a special attack that is for you only. You can even combine them if you'd like. You don't have to worry about what you have to do in order to form the attack either; it will come to you when you want to attack. It will be as if it was second nature to you all along." Before anyone could ask any more questions, a sound came from Mercury's visor.
"There!" Mercury exclaimed, looking up and pointing toward the middle of the park.
"Let's go!" Jupiter said and took off running.
The scouts followed suit and ran off toward the middle of the park, with Luna and Artemis in tow, hoping against hope that they weren't too late. The group quickly arrived at the spot where the monster had attacked. When they got there, they saw the helpless victim fall to ground, unconscious. Before any of the scouts could retaliate another mysterious being appeared next to the rose bush monster. "Well done, Rosy. Queen Beryl will be most pleased with the ample amount of energy you've gathered." The mysterious being said.
The monster faced the mysterious being and kneeled. "Thank you, Master Jedite. Your praise is an honor."
"If we continue collecting energy like this, the Negaverse will be ruling the universe before you know it." Jedite said with an evil laugh.
"Wanna bet!" A voice said from the trees in front of the evil duo.
Jedite's laughter died and the monster stood. The two searched for the source of the voice. "Who's there? Where are you? Show yourself!" Jedite demanded.
"I think you should be more concerned about 'the ample amount of energy' that pathetic excuse of a monster stole." Another voice said from the trees located behind them.
Jedite grinned, turned around in the direction the voice came and replied, "Oh really? And why is that?"
"Because it is about to be returned to its rightful owners." A third voice said from the trees to his left.
"And how, exactly, will that event take place?" Jedite asked crossing his arms over his chest.
"Easy, but instead of telling you, why don't you and that sorry monster come and find out for yourselves." A fourth voice taunted from the trees located to his right.
Jedite grinned. "No thanks. I don't have time to deal with weakling humans playing hero."
"I assure you, we are not 'weakling humans playing hero.'" A fifth voice said from within the trees to his left.
Jedite's grin fell. "Then show yourselves!" He yelled, losing his patience and facing the trees to his left.
"And put an end to this wonderful conversation that is pissing you off so royally? That would take all the fun out of it." A sixth, and final, voice said from inside the trees behind him.
Jedite, his patience now gone, yelled, "Stop playing around and show yourselves!"
The six girls smiled and said in unison, "We thought you'd never ask!" The girls jumped from the surrounding trees and stood before Jedite and his monster looking to fight and kick some butt.
In the order that they taunted Jedite, they revealed who they were.
"I'm Sailor Moon!"
"Sailor Jupiter!"
"Sailor Mercury!"
"Sailor Venus!"
"Sailor Mars!"
"Sailor Neo!"
"And we are the Sailor Scouts!" The six finished with pride.
Jedite stood and examined the group of girls. Hmm…the one with the raven black hair is quite the looker. What the hell am I thinking! I'm supposed to be working, not checking out other girls. Especially since the girl is the enemy. Come on Jedite. Get your mind in gear! After giving himself a mental shake, Jedite bestowed an evil grin upon the girls. "The Sailor Scouts? Never heard of ya. Guess you really are weakling humans playing hero."
"Care to put that theory to the test?" Sailor Moon challenged.
"Hmm…sounds interesting. Rosy, dispose of these pesky sailors. I do not wish to waste any more of my time with them. We have other appointments to keep."
Rosy kneeled and said, "Yes my master." He stood up and faced the girls. "Now, which one of you wants to go first? Or would you all rather perish together?"
The scouts stood staring at the monster, not believing what they were seeing. Rosy was touching every rose on his body. What is he doing? I really don't think I want to know. That's it! Time to end this freak show. Sailor Moon thought.
"How dare you take a symbol of love and mutate its beauty to something of pure evil. We are the Sailor Scouts and in the name of the Moon, we will punish you!"
Rosy burst out laughing. "Punish me? I'd like to see you try it."
Sailor Jupiter smirked and said, "Well come on then you poor excuse for a monster. Let's fight!" Jupiter then got into a fighting stance.
"What!" Rosy's relaxed demeanor disappeared immediately and an aura of complete hatred replaced it.
"You heard her. I've seen scarier monsters in weak ass horror films. You can't hold a blade of grass to them." Sailor Mars stated.
"Why you…!" Rosy charged toward the girls. Seeing and expecting the charge, they easily dodged, but not before Rosy succeeded in attaching one of his mutated roses to Sailor Moon and Sailor Neo.
"You call that a charge? Please, my little brother could do better." Moon said after she turned and faced Rosy.
Rosy, with his back to the scouts, started laughing. "You Sailor Kids are so naïve."
The scouts looked at one another confused. "What are you talking about?" Sailor Venus asked.
Rosy turned and faced the group of teenage girls with a wicked grin on his face. "Your observation skills are laughable. That will be your downfall in this battle."
"You're not making any sen-" Mars started, but was cut off by the screams of Sailor Moon and Sailor Neo.
Rosy's eyes had widened and turned blood red and the wider his eyes grew, the louder Sailor Moon and Sailor Neo's screams became.
"What's wrong with them?" Jupiter asked Mercury.
"Let me check." Sailor Mercury answered touching her left earlobe. After a quick scan, Mercury said, "It's the roses! He must have attached them when he passed them."
Jupiter looked toward Rosy with her fists balled. "Why you…!" Jupiter charged Rosy, who attached a rose to her as well. She stopped and said, "What the…?" Jupiter then began screaming along with Moon and Neo.
"Stop it!" Mars screamed. "Stop stealing their energy!"
"Steal their energy? I'd never dream of it. My roses are just biting them and sending electric shocks throughout their bodies…at the moment. Their energy will start leaking out of their bodies in an agonizing slowness momentarily. That's when I will collect it!" Rosy stated with an evil laugh.
"Not if I can help it!" Mars yelled. "Mars Fire Ignite!"
Rosy heard Mars talking and said, "Huh?" Next thing he knew, fire was flying at him. He had just enough time to dodge the attack. When it passed he said, "Watch it Pyro! You almost hit me!"
"That was the point." Mars said with a roll of her eyes.
"Mercury Bubbles Blast!"
Rosy suddenly found himself surrounded by fog. "Hey! Where'd y'all go? Come out and fight!"
"As you wish." Venus said with a smile. "Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"
"Crap!" Rosy exclaimed barely dodging Venus' attack.
While Rosy was trying to regain his composure and think of a way to defend himself, he failed to realize that he had stumbled right into the path of Mars. "Got ya." Mars mumbled. "Mars Fire Ignite!" She was standing so close to Rosy that he had no time to dodge the attack so it was a direct hit.
The fog cleared and Rosy stood hunched over, his breathing labored, and, with what could only be described as, blood flowing out from his body. After a few moments, Rosy stood straight up with his eyes flaming red. "DAMN YOU, YOU PYRO BITCH! MY PRECIOUS ROSES ARE BURNT! NO MORE PALYING GAMES! YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!" Rosy then began screaming at the top of his lungs.
Meanwhile, a distracted Jedite was standing off to the side pretending to watch the battle from the trees. Well, well, well…looks like Mars packs a pretty powerful punch. Nothing attracts me more than a beautiful, if not gorgeous, woman who is strong and can handle herself. Jedite thought with a pleasing smile on his face. WHOA! Calm down Jedite. Take control of the hormones; don't let the hormones control you. Jedite then stole a glance at Mars. I can't help it if I'm slightly, emphasis on slightly, attracted to her. What's a guy to do! He then heard Rosy's scream. Hearing Rosy reminded him that he was close to a battle and needed to focus his thoughts on it. All right, no more thinking about Mars. My attention will be solely on the battle. Hopefully anyway. So with a determined set to his jaw, Jedite forced his mind back to the battle.
"Watch it scouts. He's gathering his energy." Mercury warned touching her left earlobe.
"NOW YOU DIE!" Rosy screamed. The decibel of his scream skyrocketed and left the scouts covering their ears trying to withstand the pain. While they were temporarily paralyzed to do anything, Rosy took this chance to attack. He stopped screaming and took off.
The scout's ears stopped ringing so they removed their hands and opened their eyes to see Rosy running. "He's going for Moon, Neo, and Jupiter!" Venus exclaimed.
Moon, Neo, and Jupiter had passed out by now from the loss of their energy, but their faces held expressions of pain. Mars, Venus, and Mercury all looked at their fallen comrades. They would have attacked, but Rosy was moving too fast for them to hit him. The fallen scouts were helpless. "No!" All three yelled in unison.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, red and white roses struck the ground in front of the fallen scouts. Rosy continued running, not realizing the roses were there because of his outraged state. He collided into something and fell back. The roses had constructed a barrier between the scouts and Rosy.
With his attention distracted, Rosy returned to normal. Dumbfounded, Jedite, Rosy, and the scouts stood starring at the two roses.
"What the…?" Jedite said stunned. Then a male voice was heard from the surrounding trees.
"A rose is a symbol of true love, happiness, and everlasting friendship. The rose represents a true bond between friends and loved ones."
Another male voice then spoke from the trees. "The meaning and or purpose of a rose vary greatly with each individual person. Generation after generation has passed down the general understanding for the rose. But you, you have destroyed decades worth of happiness and love."
"We will severely punish any Negaverse Sleeze Bums for the manipulation and distortion of this treasured symbol." The two voices finished in unison.
"And who is this 'we' that is supposedly going to 'severely punish' the 'Negaverse Sleeze Bums' that we are?" Jedite demanded.
"As you request." The two voices answered. With the dimming of their voices, rustling from the surrounding trees was heard as the owners of the voices revealed themselves. Two figures jumped from the trees and landed between the unconscious scouts and the enemy. "That 'we' would be us!"
Jedite, Rosy, and the scouts all stared at the two new individuals. They were tall males dressed in tuxedos with a cape, holding a cane, and wearing a mask on their faces. The only differences between the two were one had black hair, a black tuxedo, a black cane, and wore a white mask and the other had blonde hair, a white tuxedo, a white cane, and a black mask.
"I am Tuxedo Mask." The one in the black tuxedo said.
"And I am the Neo Knight." The guy wearing the white tuxedo said.
"We will never let the Negaverse win!" The two proudly finished.
"Tuxedo Mask and Neo Knight, huh? Never heard of you two either. Rosy, take care of them as well." Jedite commanded.
"You got it Master Jedite. It'd be my pleasure." Rosy grinned evilly. His eyes turned blood red and he charged at the two guys standing in front of the unconscious scouts. "I'll get rid of you all! Starting with those scouts."
"No you don't." Tuxedo Mask drew a red rose out of his tuxedo and hurled it at Rosy.
"Huh?"
"Bloody Rose Fury!" Swiftly, the single rose quickly multiplied into many and each rose attacked Rosy, each drawing blood on contact. Then, instead of falling after the attack, each rose turned around and came back for another attack. After the second attack, on its path back to Tuxedo Mask, the roses returned to one just as quickly as it had multiplied. Tuxedo Mask saw the rose, caught it, and held it looking at Rosy on his knees, blood flowing out from all over his body.
During Tuxedo Mask's attack, Neo Knight turned and tended to the scouts. He removed each rose from their bodies and laid them on their backs. The scouts looked merely asleep with the roses no longer connected to them. Neo Knight stood in the middle of the three scouts and said, "Neo Healing Wave." A dim light surrounded his body and almost instantly, the light flowed, like a wave, from him to surround each scout. Jedite, Mars, Venus, and Mercury stood stunned as Moon, Neo, and Jupiter rose to their feet, as if nothing had happened at all.
After a yawn and a good stretch, Neo said, "Man! I feel like a million bucks."
"I know what you mean. I could really get use to this." Moon stated.
"That makes two of us." Jupiter agreed.
"Glad to see you all back to normal." Neo Knight said smiling.
"Yes, now we can finish this." Tuxedo Mask said, with a hint of laughter in his voice.
"That's right. We're in the middle of a battle." Neo said.
"Yeah, with that annoying loud mouth rose bush." Jupiter said angrily.
Before anyone could say anything else, Venus yelled, "Watch out!"
All attention turned to Rosy, who was standing hunched over, blood covering his body. "Hey! Cape Boy!"
"What is it you bloody mess of a monster?" Tuxedo Mask replied.
"What do you think you're doing? That hurt like hell! I won't let you get away with it!" Rosy then became surrounded by a red aura.
"I've had about all I can stand of this monster." Neo commented.
"I agree completely." Jupiter agreed.
"Then it's about time we terminate this fight." Moon said determined and confident.
Everyone then turned his or her attention to Sailor Moon.
She reached and grabbed the tiara off of her head. "Moon Tiara Magic!"
"No you don't." Rosy said, dodging the attack. "Now it's my turn."
"Guess again." Moon said with a smirk.
"Huh?" Rosy turned around and had no time to dodge this disc shaped object coming back at him. "NO!" He was hit and, screaming in agony and defeat, became a pile of dust and disappeared. The energy that he stole returned to their owners when the dust disappeared.
"Ha! Moon dust! Gotta love it!" Sailor Moon smiled.
Jedite stood off to the side fuming. "I can't believe this. How could Rosy be defeated? By weakling humans no less."
"Face it, Jedite. We aren't weakling humans!" Mars yelled at him.
For a few short seconds, Mars and Jedite starred at each other with kindness in their eyes, but that quickly disappeared and fire took its place.
"You won't get away with this. I'll get you next time, you pesky sailors!" With that said, Jedite disappeared and the park returned to the joyful place of refuge.
"Good job today Sailor Scouts." Tuxedo Mask said.
"Keep up the good work." Neo Knight said with a smile.
The two turned to leave when Sailor Moon and Sailor Neo called after them. "WAIT!"
The two stopped, faced the scouts, and Venus asked, "Who are you?"
The two looked at each other and then back at the scouts. "We cannot say." Tuxedo Mask answered.
"Well are you friend or foe?" Mercury asked.
"We are your friends and will always protect you." Neo Knight promised.
The comment was directed to all the scouts, but Neo Knight and Tuxedo Mask were looking at Sailor Neo and Sailor Moon as if making a personal promise to them.
"See you again." Tuxedo Mask said with a wave. The two then jumped into the trees and out of sight.
Moon and Neo stood starring after them. WOW! What a babe. Stop it Serena! You're taken remember?
Neo was doing much of the same thinking. MAN! What a hunk! Wish I knew who he was. Damn! No I don't. I have Darien. What are you thinking, India?
While the other scouts could be heard talking with Luna and Artemis about the battle, Tuxedo Mask, and Neo Knight, Sailor Moon and Sailor Neo couldn't help but wonder the same thing. Why do I feel as if I've met him before?
As the scouts mulled over their thoughts about the battle, Tuxedo Mask, and Moonlight Knight, a pair of glowing eyes gazed at the Sailor Scouts and there guardians. The eyes stopped glowing and an unconscious young woman appeared on the ground behind a bush. She went unnoticed to the Scouts, but the owners of the once glowing eyes smiled.
Goodness! I thought I'd never finish that chapter. I hope that you liked it. That was my first attempt at writing a fight scene. How did I do? Anyway, I've got to get to work on chapter 5. Things start to get a little more interesting then. Take care!
Ja Ne
Duos Gurl
