After the Tokyo Tower was destroyed the Sailor Senshi had avoided any possible contact with it. The twisted metal bars and the rubble were a remainder of their failure. Where the tower had once stood had also stood people. People that had trusted them to save them from the evil, sadistic monster that had destroyed it without a second glance.
Therefore, in an effort to put their minds at rest, Ami had found the means to take them to the beach. They had found their enemies even there.
Not only that, but the dragons had attacked Usagi's family, having found out her identity as Sailor Moon and now Ami had been warned that the same could happen to her own family. The dragons knew who they were.
And so, Ami and Makoto had returned to the dreaded place. The remains of Tokyo Tower, to tell her mother to leave. And to do that, Ami realized, she would have to reveal her secret.
Masks & Dragons
Chapter 6
P.S. I want you dead.
By Wanderer D
"Tell me, Winter." Black mused as he sat on his throne watching an illusion of Earth rotating in front of him. "Why is it that I permit these barbaric beings to continue propagating their miserable, treacherous race?"
Winter, kneeling at the base of Black's throne looked up at his master. Tilting his head to the side he curiously looked at him as he pondered a suitable answer. "I do not know your lordship, why?" he asked at last.
"I have decided to discontinue this particular..." Black shifted thoughtfully, trying to express his feelings to his servant. "...cattle."
Winter gulped down slowly, never taking his eyes from the figure on the throne. He didn't like where this was going.
"How many statues are still left in this island?" Black asked dismissing the globe with a wave of his hand.
"Two, my Lord." Winter answered immediately.
"Very well then, send Gold to retrieve them. I will destroy this island when we have them." Black ordered.
Winter bowed low after standing up and quickly ran to fetch Gold.
Black stopped him as he was about to leave the room. "Winter, don't tell Gold what I told you. It would be unfortunate to lose him... accidentally..." Black said.
Winter nodded and left.
Black waited alone in the throne room quietly. He then started to chuckle softly as a small sphere of light appeared before him. Inside it, Japan could be seen.
---
"What are you going to do, Raye?" Usagi asked after Ami and Makoto had left.
Mamoru, Usagi and Raye were sitting around the tea table at the Hikawa Shrine.
"What if what Sapphire said was some sort of a trap?" Raye asked nervously.
"You know that's not true, Raye!" Minako said. "I think I will tell my parents… I don't know what I would do without them…" she added, scratching Artemis behind the ear.
Raye sighed and nodded. "I know. It's just that I didn't want grandfather to know that..."
"Know what, Raye?" asked her grandfather, as he walked into the room.
"Grandfather!" Raye gasped in surprise.
---
Gold stood up when Winter entered his quarters. Seeing who it was he sat down again. "What is it that you want?" he asked icily.
"Black has ordered you to retrieve the next statue as soon as possible." Winter returned coldly enough.
"Oh, the lizard is finding his fangs!" Gold laughed. "Very well then, I shall find the next statue tonight." He said with a slight nod.
The white dragon left irritated and almost bumped into Sapphire, who was walking in right then.
"I see you haven't changed your mind." she commented, watching the white grumble all the way out of the hall and beyond ear shot.
"I told you my plans. I can't act until my debt is paid." Responded the gold dragon.
"Can't or won't?" she asked, exasperated. "Listen Gold, I'll be surprised if you survive long enough to pay your debt." she said darkly before turning around and walking out, not deigning to look over her shoulder.
Gold glared at her as she left. "I will repay my debt and avenge my friends." He vowed vehemently. "Even if it costs me my life."
---
"Well dear, you know I can't stay away much longer..." Dr. Mizuno said looking at her daughter. "What is it Ami?"
Makoto placed her hand reassuringly on Ami's shoulder. Ami smiled at her and turned towards her mother.
"Mom, I... I don't know how to say it..." Ami looked at Makoto for support.
"Come on Ami, you can tell her, she's your mother..." Makoto whispered.
Ami nodded and looked resolutely at her mother. "Mom I'm..."
"A lesbian? Come on Ami, you already know I really don't have problems with lesbianism. I know that two of your friends are lesbians too. Really, if that was it you could have told me some other time…"
Makoto had quickly retrieved her had from Ami's shoulder and looked at her aghast as the later looked in disbelief at her mother. "MOM!"
Dr Mizuno looked at the two in surprise. "You're not going out with Sapphire?"
Ami shook her head.
"Oh, my. Sorry about that Ami." Dr. Mizuno said with a little laugh. "It's just that you're always with girls…"
---
"Guys? Would you leave us alone?" Raye asked her friends, who nodded and left, closing the door behind them.
"Well, Raye?" Prompted grandfather Hino.
Raye closed her eyes and breathed deeply, gathering her courage while her grandfather waited patiently.
"Grandfather, so much has happened... I really don't know where to start..." She stammered.
"Sometimes Raye, the best place to start is the beginning." He answered, smiling.
Raye smiled back. Gathering her wits she found a place to begin. "Remember how shaken I was when Tokyo Tower was destroyed?" she asked.
---
"Well Ami, if it wasn't what you were going to tell me..." Dr. Mizuno started to say after a few embarrassed moments, but she stopped as Makoto suddenly looked up at the sky and scowled.
Ami and her mother followed her line of sight and saw a figure flying into the city.
"What was that?" Dr. Mizuno asked, pretty sure that it was not a bird.
"Gold." Makoto growled. "That means there'll be another attack!" She looked at Ami meaningfully.
Dr. Mizuno caught the look and her expression darkened slightly. She grabbed Ami's hand and walked to where Makoto couldn't hear.
"Ami, don't tell me you're somehow related to what happened to Tokyo Tower?" She asked sternly.
"Mom, I..." Ami stammered.
"Too late Ami! We have to go. Now! He's found the statue! I can feel it!" Makoto practically shouted as she walked up to them and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"If we want to stop Black, we need the statues!" she added.
Ami looked at her mother apologetically, then turned to run after Gold.
Makoto grabbed her arm and stopped her. "We won't get there in time this way, you'd better kill two birds with one shot." She said stealing a glance at Ami's mother and making sure no one else was around.
After a pause Ami nodded and pulled out her henshin stick.
"Jupiter Crystal Power Makeup!" Makoto called.
"Mercury Crystal Power Makeup!" Ami echoed.
Dr Mizuno had seen many things in her life, but nothing remotely similar to what she now saw. Her daughter and her friend were surrounded by energy. Blue energy enveloped her daughter as green energy did the same to Makoto.
Water suddenly appeared out of nowhere and created a blue and white sailor fuku for Ami as she rotated in the air until she stopped and a tiara appeared on her forehead.
Lightning surrounded Makoto and created another fuku for her, this one dark green and white.
Then they ran away, jumping high and avoiding all obstacles with incredible ease.
Dr. Mizuno fell to her knees as she watched them go. She suddenly remembered a conversation she had had with Ami two days before.
---
In the living room she had sat down on the couch, she had been working all day at the remains of Tokyo Tower along with many volunteers and doctors trying to find survivors. They had found none so far.
The fact that there was a crater beneath the rubble didn't help much either, the slope adding more danger to the unwary.
Ami came in with a sandwich and a glass of milk for her, she gave them to her and sat down. Dr. Mizuno now recalled that Ami had kept her gaze on the floor all the time.
"Did you find anything, mom?" Ami had asked without too much hope.
The doctor had sighed deeply and rubbed her eyes with her forearm. "No." She took a long drink before speaking again. "What is it with this city, Ami? There's always something going on here, and not only in the city, all over Japan! Two days ago someone reported sighting a group of humanoid turtles in Mount Fuji, they also said that they wore masks and carried weapons. Then, just last week I met a colleague from the Nerima district, and you wouldn't believe the stories he told me. Then here in Tokyo, some winged monster destroys Tokyo Tower and nobody did a thing!"
"What about the Sailor Senshi?" Ami had asked a little defensibly.
"Hmm! They are as bad as the monsters! Most of their attacks shatter the ground! Some of the people that were able to see the battle say that the sailor Senshi were responsible for the explosion, since the monster reacted to their presence! I know sometimes the cure is worse than the disease, but this is ridiculous!" She had looked up to see Ami running upstairs to her room.
---
Kneeling on the ground, she let the tears slide down her face. "Oh, Ami. I'm so sorry..."
---
"Hmm... it should be around here..." Gold muttered as he dived and landed on the rooftop of a building overlooking the Shinjuku subway station. "Ah, there." He said to himself as he settled back. "There are too many humans around though, I'll have to wait..." He sat down and closed his eyes, concentrating. Soon he faded out of sight completely.
When Jupiter and Mercury arrived near there, they couldn't see any sign of him around, nor could Makoto feel him anywhere.
"He came to this area..." Ami said.
"So where is he?" Makoto asked, confused.
"I don't know, we'll have to wait around here until he returns." Ami decided as she started her communicator and told Usagi what was happening.
"Are you sure he'll be back?" The future princess asked over the communicator.
"There's a very high probability that he'll do just that." Ami said evenly.
"Then we'd better call the others." Usagi said, nodding.
---
That night the Sailor Senshi waited patiently, hidden between buildings and even up a few trees.
From her vantage point at the top of a tree, Makoto looked a Raye who stood on the roof of a building. The raven-haired Senshi of fire looked back at her and shook her head.
Jupiter sighed heavily, until a sixth sense told her to look up. Following her instinct she noticed a draconic figure standing on top of one of the many buildings. She saw Gold jump down and catch one of the drafts, gliding down to the ground and landing lightly on his feet.
The dragon then walked into the subway. All the Senshi plus Tuxedo Mask quickly followed him and ran down the subway stairs.
Gold ignored the drunkard that lay in a corner and looked around.
He finally found the place where the statue was, sensing the magic chest laying buried behind the wall past the rails. Gold started walking towards it when a small scratch stopped him.
Turning around he faced the Senshi, who were glaring at Usagi.
"Sailor Moon!" Raye groaned.
"Sorry..." Usagi said meekly.
"So, you found me. I'm really not surprised." Gold laughed.
"You're going to stop this now, Gold!" Makoto growled.
The golden dragon snorted and pointed his open palm at the wall.
---
White walked into Black's throne room and knelt. He then looked at up his master. Coldfire's here." he reported.
"Good. Tell her to enter, and leave." Black ordered.
Winter nodded his acknowledgement and left the throne room. After Coldfire had walked in he closed the doors. Winter then stood guard before the great doors.
Suddenly he sensed something and looked up. His eyes opened wide and he yelped as he jumped to the side. Where he had stood a concrete tube crashed, breaking in half. Among the rubble was a small wooden chest.
Winter growled low and picked it up. He went into Black's throne room, noticing that Coldfire was halfway up the steps to the throne. Black looked at him angrily until Winter showed him the chest from where he stood.
"Gold has delivered the Silver statue." The white said and retreated to put it in its place among the others.
---
The Sailor Senshi looked at the wall. A part of the concrete had been sliced and a cylinder of solid concrete had disappeared.
"You are not having much luck are you, youngsters? The Silver statue was in there, now Black has it." Gold said with a little chuckle.
The Senshi glared at him, and were about to attack when a voice stopped them.
"YOU IDIOTS! YOU HAVE LOST EVERY STATUE FROM THE BEGINING! I
SHOULD KILL YOU ALL NOW!" Mask shouted from somewhere.
Suddenly the ceiling gave in and huge chunks of stone crashed to the ground. The Senshi protected their eyes from the dust that had covered the area, while Gold looked slightly interested.
Raye stumbled back from the force of the feelings she perceived coming from Mask. She lost control and fell to her knees gasping. Usagi knelt beside her.
"Mars!" she shook her friend until Raye looked at her and hugged her as if her life depended on it. Usagi held her as the dust settled.
He had his sword in his right hand, and his entire armored figure glowed with small trickles of white lightning, his cape buffeted wildly as if the air was trying to tear it from him.
Raye calmed down a little and stood up slowly. "Such hate..." she muttered.
Mask started walking towards the Senshi and the dragon.
Suddenly a red beam flew towards him. Without missing a beat he swung his sword and cut the beam in two. The split ray smashed against the concrete walls behind him with an explosion. He stopped to look at his antagonist and growled.
"I see you're pretty good with drama knight, I wonder if you're as good fighting?" A female dragon asked as she walked down the stairs. She was a beautiful creature that almost seemed to be made out of mercury, and her muscles seemed like ripples under the silver surface, but her steel colored eyes were as cold as she was beautiful. She literally shone with the remaining light, her silver scales reflecting it perfectly.
Gold recognized her immediately. "Coldfire!" he growled.
She walked up to him and smiled. "I bring news to you, Gold."
Fast as lightning, she impaled her claw into Gold's stomach.
Gold's eyes opened wide as she took her bloodied hand out and slashed his chest without missing a beat.
Gold felt cold growing up his spine.
"In case you haven't understood yet, I'll tell you his message: I...don't... need... you... anymore. Black. P.S. Say hi to..."
She let Gold fall to the floor and crouched, avoiding Mask's katana as it passed almost invisible with its speed.
Her tail lashed out and hit Mask in the chest, sending him crashing into the wall.
Undaunted, he got up and charged again. Swinging down he managed to graze Coldfire's arm, but the dragon buffeted him with a wing, which only made him take a step back, however that was all Coldfire needed. She did an uppercut, scoring on Mask's chin and he let go of his sword as he was impaled, head first, into the ceiling.
Coldfire picked up the sword and threw it into the rails. The sword flew up and embedded to the hilt in the ground next to the right rail. Pushing against the ceiling, Mask managed to free himself and turning his hands into claws jumped at the dragon with a wordless cry.
"Sailor Moon! We have to stop them! They'll tear the place apart!" Ami yelled.
Usagi nodded, then noticed light coming from the tunnel. Grabbing Ami she pointed at the tunnel.
Ami paled visibly.
Tokyo, being one of the most populated cities in the world was vibrant with people all night, morning and day, and while they had avoided any accidents so far, the Shinjuku station was widely used. If the train stopped here who knew how many people would die needlessly?
But they couldn't stop the train, Ami could only hope the driver was smart enough to go on without stopping.
As soon as he was out of the tunnel the driver noticed the dragon, the knight, the Senshi and blasts and smoke. Instead of slowing down he pumped up the speed of the train, trying to pass them by. He never saw the sword hilt.
The wheel hit the hilt and sparks flew, but the sword didn't break or give any ground. The driver's car stopped dead, while the weight of the other cars smashing against it and the force of the crash made it turn over in a 360 degree all of fire, metal and pieces of broken glass that started to slide towards the fighter, followed by the other cars that went out of the railing and crashed against the walls exploding.
Ami's stomach grew cold as she watched the train crash. All the wagons were engulfed in flames, and they were sliding towards them!
Mars shouted and the Senshi started running, except for Ami, who tried to pull Gold out of harm's way. Jupiter saw her and ran towards her.
"Ami!! What are you doing?! Leave him!!" she said, grabbing her arm.
"No!! He doesn't deserve to die like this!" Ami argued.
Jupiter swore and finally helped Mercury drag Gold out of the subway station.
As soon as they were both out the station was engulfed in fire, there was no way anybody could've survived that.
Ami quickly knelt besides Gold.
"If he stays like this he'll die." She stated.
"So what do we do? We can't take him with us." Sailor Moon asked.
Minako suddenly heard voices from people running their way. "We'd better move!"
As they started running, Tuxedo glanced at the dragon that Mercury and Jupiter were carrying alone. He didn't look like he was going to make it. "What do we do about him?" he asked without stopping.
"I have an idea…" Mercury answered.
---
Dr. Mizuno sat with Grandfather Hino outside the Shrine. She sipped a little of the tea the old priest had given her a few minutes before.
They suddenly heard a thud inside the Shrine and ran inside. There they found the Senshi standing up around a dragon. They turned towards the door when they heard the cup break.
"Ami!"
Mercury turned around and embraced her mother, breaking into tears. "I'm sorry mom! I tried..." she gulped and looked at Gold. "I'm glad you're here… we have to help him..." she said.
---
At the Tokyo international airport a plane coming from New York arrived, it's wheels squealing in protest for a moment as they touched the ground.
Minutes later, as the hatch opened and the stewardess smiled and thanked the people that walk out, a lady in a gray business suit and long dark-green hair stepped next to it and waited silently as the people passed.
Finally the stewardess smiled at one of the passengers, then looked at her closer. "You... you're Michiru Kaiou?"
The passenger smiled and nodded.
The Stewardess took out a small CD with Michiru's picture playing the violin. "Could you sign this for me? I'm a big fan of yours!"
After complying and getting out of the plane with her two companions she saw Setsuna waiting for them, arms crossed and grim looking.
"Hello, Michiru, Haruka. How are you today Hotaru?" Setsuna asked with a nod, and without waiting for them to complete their mumbled answers she said, "I hope you had a good trip. We have work to do." She then turned around and the others followed her.
End Chapter 6