Candra desperately tried to think of
something. "Stop it! How about this?" offered Candra. "I
win, you let the girls go."
"And if we win, we get
their energy and you come back with us," countered
Libertine.
"Wait a minute. We?" asked
Candra.
"Youma! Get her!"
The youma smiled. "With
pleasure."
Candra quickly put both hands in front of her
neck, wrist-over-wrist, fingertips pointed up at an angle.
"Starlight Crystal Power! Make Up!"
After she
henshioned, StarMoon put her thumb under and her pointer finger
over the jewel of her tiara. "Tiara Beam!" The youma
just deflected the beam and leapt for StarMoon. She pulled her
StarWand out of her brooch. "Starlight Supreme Thunder!"
This only slowed the youma. It was able to advance little by
little, no matter how much power StarMoon put into the
attack.
"Princess!" Libertine called out. "You
are making this too easy! I thought you were stronger than
this!"
Sailor StarMoon grunted under the pressure. So
did I. Now what do I do?
"Mercury and I got
nothing here," said Venus into her communicator. "How
about you, Saturn? ChibiMoon?"
"Nothing here. Sailor
Moon?"
"Jupiter and I got nothing. What about you,
Neptune and Uranus?"
"Zero. Mars? Is she there
yet?"
Sailor Mars stopped and looked down the stairs. "I
still don't see her." She looked behind her. "Pluto?"
"I
don't see her, either."
"Mercury, can't you pick
her up on your computer?" asked Mars.
"I tried, but
she left her watch at home and I'm not able to track her
brooch."
Jupiter leaned over and put her hands on her
knees. Moon reached over to feel Jupiter's forehead. "Are
you alright?" she asked.
"I think they took my energy
when I was passed out. That or they took it and that's why I
passed out."
"Sailor Moon!" They looked over to
see the group of girls, who had managed to untie themselves,
running up to them.
"Well, hello. Do you girls need help?"
asked Jupiter.
"No, but Serenity does!" said one of
the girls.
"Nani?" Jupiter and Moon asked
together.
"We got attacked by these bad guys. . ."
said a second girl.
". . and Serenity became Sailor
StarMoon and tried to save us! But now they got her!" said a
third.
"How did you girls get away?" asked
Jupiter.
"They weren't paying attention," replied a
fourth.
"That could have been dangerous," said
Moon.
"We were hoping to find you," said the
second.
Sailor Moon smiled. "Well, it's a good thing you
did. Now I want you girls to realize that you can't tell anyone
that Serenity is Sailor StarMoon. That has to be our little
secret. It is very important that you keep this to
yourselves."
The girls nodded. "Yes,
ma'am."
"Jupiter. You call the others and watch
these girls in case someone comes to get them. I'll get Can. . .
Sailor StarMoon."
Jupiter nodded. "Hai! Alright,
girls. Let's go over here. Minna! We found her."
StarMoon
was slammed against the wall. She was so tired, she didn't
realize she was sliding down. She simply touched the corner of her
lip and checked her glove to see if there was any blood. She had
been beaten so badly that anyone else in her position, bleeding
everywhere, buries galore, and probably close to death, would have
curled up into the fetal position by now. StarMoon, however,
started to get back up. "Is that the best you got?" she
scoffed.
The youma couldn't help but ask, "How?"
"I
grew up with worse," StarMoon replied. "You're going
to have to try harder."
"Well, then," said
Libertine. She and the youma powered up. "How about you try
this?"
"Starlight HoneyMoon Therapy Kiss!"
Sailor
Moon's attack hit both Libertine and the youma, destroying the
youma. Angrily, Libertine turned around. "And just how do you
keep popping up everywhere?"
"It's my job,"
said Sailor Moon.
"Well, your job just cost these girls
their lives. . .NANI? Where did they go?" She looked at the
rope, which was now tied to a rock.
"Looks like they were
just a tad bit smarter than you," said Sailor Moon.
Libertine
regained her cool. "That's alright; I got some of their
energy anyway. By the way, tell Jupiter I said 'Thanks' for
the energy I took from her last night. Oh, wait. You are not going
to be able to; I will have killed you before you have a
chance."
Sailor Moon lowered her eyes. "Wanna bet?. .
.Starlight HoneyMoon Therapy Kiss!"
"Ring of
Immorality!"
Sailor Moon was thrown into the street right
in front of a speeding car. She screamed as the driver of the car
tried desperately to avoid her. Like clockwork, Tuxedo Kamen came
out of nowhere and saved her. "Oh, I do love you!"
Sailor Moon told him.
"Later. Let's go!" He grabbed
her hand and the two darted out of sight.
Libertine sneered.
"So, the Prince left without his Princess, ne? Now what did
you see in him, Princess? Princess?" Libertine turned to hear
a response and found StarMoon gone. "What the. . .?
AAAAAAH!"
Candra
gasped. "Ouch!"
Ami kept dabbing with the cotton
ball. "Gomen."
"That's okay." Candra
smiled weakly. "I really thought I was going to die back
there. I don't know what I would have done if Haruka-chan and
Oneesan hadn't helped me out of there."
"And let's
not forget Mamoru and Usagi, who helped by being distractions,
whether they knew it or not," added Michiru.
"Yeah, I
wondered why he saved me and then dragged me away with his hand
over my mouth," said Usagi.
Mamoru shrugged. "I knew
you would have said something," he said.
Candra put her
inhaler back in her mouth. As Ami leaned over to get another
bandage out of her first-aid kit, Candra noticed the worry on
ChibiUsa's face. Candra put her hand on ChibiUsa's head and
said, "I'm alright. I just needed a little help with my
breathing. Hey, Minako-chan. Didn't you say you needed to tell
Serenity something?"
"Huh? Oh! Right. Rei-chan? Care
to join us?" Minako asked.
"Sure would. Usagi, we
need to tell you something." As they took Usagi out, the rest
of the girls and the only guy looked at each other and quickly
started doing their assigned tasks. Candra and Mamoru were in
charge of the balloons. "So, Chiba-san? When are you going to
give it? During the party or after?"
"During. She
told me once that she wanted all of her friends to be there when
she is asked." Pulling the box out of the closet, he added,
"That was before we knew about ChibiUsa, but I think it still
stands."
"You do realize that when you marry her, you
marry the rest of us?" asked Candra.
Mamoru handed Candra
the balloon box. "Uh, I didn't until just now. Kami-sama,
what have I gotten myself into?" The two started
laughing.
"Um, Usagi-chan? I'm really sorry," said
Rei.
"Yeah. Me, too," said Minako. "I thought
that is was Mako-chan telling me that you were now dating
Jim-chan. I know now that it was really Libertine."
"I'm
sorry, too. Libertine kept telling me that you weren't going to
help me." Rei sighed. "I don't know why I listened to
her."
"Well, as long as I didn't do anything, I'm
fine," Usagi beamed.
Rei and Minako both formed
sweatdrops. "That's good to hear," commented Rei.
"Okay,
girls! We're ready!" Mako called from the doorway.
"Ready?
Ready for what?" asked Usagi.
Minako slyly pulled out a
blindfold and covered Usagi's eyes. "No peaking!"
"What
is going on?" asked Usagi.
"You'll find out!"
said Rei. She and Minako dragged Usagi back into the temple. "Step
up! No! Up! Ack!" Usagi didn't do what she was told and
fell up the steps, bringing Minako down with her. "Usagi! Get
off my foot!" cried Rei.
They finally got Usagi into the
temple and pulled off the blindfold. Usagi let out a long gasp
when she saw the words "Happy Birthday" draped across
the ceiling. There were balloons and streamers everywhere.
"Minna?"
"Surprise! Happy Birthday!"
Everyone jumped from his or her hiding place.
Usagi started
crying. "I thought you guys forgot."
"How could
we, Serenity?" asked Candra.
Usagi looked at Candra. "Oh,
it's. . ."
". . .our first one together!" they
finished together. "Hug!"
"Oh, geez. . ."
said Haruka.
"Okay now. Less hugging, more eating,"
said Mako as she and Hotaru brought out the cake. "Now, we
are going to get the plates and forks," Mako stated as they
placed the cake on the table, "and when we get back, the cake
better still be here. I am not making another one."
"Awww,
man," said Usagi and ChibiUsa as they crossed their arms at
the same time. Everyone else laughed.
After most of the cake
was gone and the games where played, it was time for the presents.
Usagi thanked each of her friends for the gifts, then looked at
Mamoru. "And just where is your gift?" she asked with a
pouty face.
Candra rolled her eyes. "Serenity.
Honestly."
Mamoru smiled. "It's right here,"
he answered, reaching into his coat pocket.
"Candra-chan.
Where are you going?" asked Mako.
"Never mind me.
Keep goin'. Keep goin'." Candra waved off the question as
she headed into another room.
"Uh, okay," Mako
replied.
"Usako, the last time I did this, I wasn't able
to do it properly. So, this time. . ." He pulled out the
jewelry box and opened it. ". . .I want to do this
right."
"Mamo-chan!" Usagi gasped.
"Usako.
You are the sun in my sky, the only reason I get up in the
morning. I cannot remember what life was like before
you."
"Mamo-chan," she breathed.
He slipped
the ring on her hand. "Tsukino Usagi, you do not even know
how much it would humble me if you let me become your
husband."
"Kami-sama! Hai!" squealed
Usagi.
CLICK! FLASH! "That was perfect!"
Candra looked at the screen on her digital camera.
"Candra?
You knew about this?" asked Michiru.
"Well, yeah. Who
do you think helped him pick out the ring?" Candra
asked.
Minako looked at Mako. "Uh oh."
"See?
I told you it wasn't what it looked like," Mako whispered
back.
Usagi and Mamoru, apparently oblivious to all of this,
leaned over to kiss. ChibiUsa and Hotaru stuck their out tongues.
"Yuck," they declared.
"Oh, Usako."
"Oh,
Mamo-chan."
"O-kay. This is getting a little too
romantic for my tastes." Candra couldn't help but stick her
finger down her throat in a fake attempt to gag. "If you two
want to keep this up," she continued, "may I interest
you in a hotel room?"
"Candra-chan!" said
Minako. "Such a comment from you!"
Candra shrugged.
"If you asked Jim, he would tell you I'm like that all the
time."
"I hate to break up the love-fest and change
the subject," said Rei, "but I should say this while we
are all here. I think that it would be a good idea to have
Candra-chan with one of us at all times. At least until we can
defeat Grety and Libertine, I feel that's the only way that she
is going to be safe."
"I agree; today just proved a
hypothesis of mine," Candra said. "Ever since I have
been fighting Sir Grety, I had this feeling that he was getting
stronger and stronger with each encounter. At first, I thought it
was just me and my inexperience. But I know that, had I met
Libertine last year, I would have defeated her by now."
Candra gave the group a sly smile. "Or at least sent her home
crying to her mommy."
"Why didn't you tell us
this?" asked Mako.
"Well, I think that if he has been
getting stronger, it was at a very slow rate and I couldn't
tell. However, ever since he has been here, he has been attacking
more people than before. I'm not sure why he is, but because
he's just now getting more energy, I am now able to see the
growth.
"I remember him saying something a few years ago
about getting enough to make a sidekick. But he said that so often
that I thought that it was just an idle threat. Then he comes here
and, what four, five months later, Libertine appears. She's the
one we want now."
"Why her and not Grety?" asked
Ami.
"If what I remember is correct, then she is his key
to reviving the Dark Kingdom. I'm not sure how, but something
about her being pure energy and that would allow her to pass by
Sailor Pluto and go back in time and grab Beryl and bring her
back." She shrugged. "I don't know. It won't work,
though."
"Why not?" asked Mamoru.
"She's
actually part human," answered Candra.
"But if she's
made of pure energy," asked Setsuna, "then how can she
be part human?"
"Don't ask me. I guess this stuff
just happens," Candra said.
"How did you know this
anyway?" asked Mako.
Candra asked, "About her being
human?" Mako nodded. "Well, 'cause of this."
Candra showed the group a grey minicomputer with a pink cross and
a darker grey moon on the lid.
"How did you get one?"
asked Ami.
"Remember the first battle you girls had with
Grety? Well, after you all left, I checked to see if he was going
to come back. He use to do that a lot: attack, fall back, and
attack in the same place again. I guess he gave that up, but I
still go back just in case. That's when I found Ami-chan's
mini."
"NANI?" Ami cried. "I lost it?"
"I
guess. I saw the symbol and knew it was yours, so I used the
Ginzuishou and made a copy for myself."
"But it was
on my dresser the next morning," a flustered Ami
responded.
Candra opened hers, pushed a few buttons, and let
everyone see what was on the screen. "I guess once Mercury
meets a new Sailor Senshi, her computer records the name of the
Senshi and, after a few days, gives the name, age, address, and
few other things. See? Here's me and here's Usagi."
"It
says here that I'm the Princess!" Usagi pointed out. "And
that it was last updated. . .the day after I met Ami-chan!"
Rei
looked up at Candra. "So, we could have just used this. .
."
". . .and saved ourselves a lot of trouble?"
finished Mako.
Candra nodded. "I figured that out the
first night. I looked up Ami-chan's address, then teleported in
and out. You where so tired, you never noticed."
Everyone
groaned.
"Oh, geez." Ami was looking at her mini.
"Right here it says, 'Usagi Small Lady Serenity. Address:
unknown; possible time travel'."
"Grrrr. . ."
Usagi mumbled.
"I thought you all knew about this and was
never able to figure out why nobody never said anything about it
at school," commented Candra.
"Well, then why was it
a surprise when you met me?" Usagi asked.
"Well,
because it was just so difficult to see you as the most powerful
person in the universe," Candra explained slyly.
"Oooooooo!"
everyone else replied to Candra's playful insult.
Ami hit her
head on the table. "Baka! Baka! Baka!"
"Hey!"
Rei cried. "Watch it! That's an antique!"
"For
tonight, Candra-chan could stay with us," Michiru
offered.
"Yeah! Slumber party!" cried Hotaru. "You
can sleep in my room!"
Candra laughed. "Okay. I just
have to call home and let them know what's going on."
Haruka
stood up. "Well, let's get moving
then."
Candra's
cell phone started to vibrate. She rolled over and grabbed it out
of her purse. "Hello?" she hissed.
"I'm
outside," said the voice on the other line.
"Okay.
I'm coming." Candra pushed the 'end' button to hang up.
She slipped quietly out of the bed she and Hotaru were sharing
during their "sleepover party" and grabbed a bag. She
tiptoed past the other rooms and slithered out the front door.
"Hey, Greg."
"Hey, sis." He hugged her.
"It's been a few days, hasn't it?"
"Haruka,
do you hear something outside?" asked Michiru.
Haruka
peered out the window. "Star's outside with someone. . .
.She's hugging him."
"Is it Jim-san?" asked
Setsuna.
"No, he doesn't look familiar," replied
Haruka.
"Here are the clothes you asked for." Greg
and Candra traded bags.
"What's in the bags?" asked
Michiru. She and Setsuna had joined Haruka at the window.
"I
can't tell; it's too dark," replied Haruka.
"How
are the others?" asked Candra.
"They are okay. We're
all worried about you, but we all feel that this would be better
for you right now. If you were to be attacked at our house, we
wouldn't be able to protect you."
"I can take care
of myself when it comes to these kinds of things," Candra
said.
"But you are our baby sister and as your older
brothers, we feel that we have a duty to protect you. When it
comes to this, we aren't able to do nothing," Greg
stated.
Candra smiled. "I know. I'm glad you fellas
care. I just. . ." A tear ran down her check. "I just
wish that it didn't have to be like this."
"Oh,
Candra." Greg wrapped her up in another hug. "This isn't
easy for anyone, but right now, this is the best thing we can do.
I know you; right now you feel that you are just bringing everyone
down, but you are a joy to be with and this will be worth
it."
Candra, with her face buried in his chest, just
nodded. "I think it's time I went back in," she
said.
"Okay. Give me kiss."
Candra smirked.
"Greg," she said in her stop-treating-me-like-a-kid
voice. He leaned over and kissed her on the lips.
"AAAAACK!"
Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna reacted to Candra and Greg's kiss.
"What in the world?"
"Someone's gonna be over
tomorrow to visit," Greg told Candra. "'Night,
girl."
"'Night, dude." Candra slipped quietly
back into the house. She stopped to peak into Haruka's room and
found her in bed, back to the door. Candra gave a quiet sigh of
relief and headed back to Hotaru's room.
When she heard the
door close, Haruka rolled over. Michiru and Setsuna popped up from
the other side. "That was close," commented Michiru.
"I
know," added Setsuna.
"We have to find out who that
is," stated Haruka. "I don't want Star to think she
can run around behind her boyfriend's back, whoever that really
is."
Ding-dong.
"Hotaru!"
Setsuna yelled. "What have we. . .?"
"I got it!"
Hotaru yelled, completely ignoring her. She opened the door,
leaving the chain on. "Hello? Can I help you?" she
asked.
"Uh, hey. Is Candra here?" asked the man at
the door.
"Maybe," replied Hotaru.
"Hotaru!"
Michiru ran up to the door and pulled Hotaru away from the door.
"Hello. You are looking for Candra?"
"Yes, I am.
Is she here?"
"May I tell her who is here?"
"Yes,
you can." He pulled back a few loose strains of hair behind
his ear.
"Um, would you tell me your name please?"
Michiru asked.
"It's Ozzie," he said.
Michiru
raised an eyebrow. "Ooookay. Candra! There is an Ozzie here
to see you."
"Ozzie!" Candra bounced down the
stairs and almost ran into the door. "Hang on." She
closed the door, undid the chain, and reopened the door. "Ozzie!"
she squealed again and hugged him.
He had to take a step back.
"Hey, girl. Waz up?" He put his hands under her armpits
and picked her up. He spun her around a few times and put her back
down. "Tickle Monster!"
"No! Not th Tickle
Monster!" Candra burst into laughter. "STOP!!!"
Haruka,
Michiru, Hotaru, and Setsuna started at the scene with wide-open
eyes. "Can someone explain what is going on?" asked
Setsuna.
"I was kinda hopping you could tell me,"
responded Hotaru.
"Hey, we're going to go to get some
ice cream. Who's coming with me?" asked Candra.
"Um.
. .I guess we all can," said Haruka. "Let me go get my
wallet."
"Nope. All on me! Come on!" Candra
gestured.
"Candra-chan! Look out!" Hotaru pointed
behind Candra.
There was an explosion behind Candra and Ozzie.
The force sent the two of them flying towards the house. Haruka
caught him and Michiru caught her. "It's Libertine!"
yelled Hotaru.
"Alright. Ozzie, here's my mini; get the
others," instructed Candra. "Press 'Communicate',
then her name. Now, get inside!" Ozzie nodded and did as he
was told. "Let's do this! Starlight Crystal Power! Make
Up!"
"Uranus Crystal Power! Make Up!"
"Neptune
Crystal Power! Make Up!"
"Pluto Crystal Power! Make
Up!"
"Saturn Crystal Power! Make Up!"
"Ring
of Immorality!"
"Silent Wall!"
Libertine
pointed at StarMoon. "Just hand her over and no one gets
hurt!" she yelled.
"Why do they always yell that at
the beginning?" asked StarMoon. "It gets old and it
never works!"
"Well, this does! Corruption
Beam!"
Saturn put up the Silent Wall up again; however,
the force sent Saturn into Pluto. "I think the only thing to
do is my other attack!" she uttered.
"Wait! If she
made of only dark energy, light energy will stop her,"
StarMoon responded.
"What are you taking about?"
asked Neptune.
"The Ginzuishou. If I use it, it should
stop her," StarMoon said.
"Corruption Beam!"
"Dead
Scream." Pluto's attack knocked Libertine off-balance long
enough for StarMoon to show them her Ginzuishou. "It only has
one fourth the power of the whole thing, but it should be enough
to stop her. And we need to do it now," she continued as
Libertine stood back up, "because I figure that the next time
we meet, she may be too strong."
Libertine started
laughing that annoying evil villain laugh. "Who's says I'm
not already?" The wind started to pick up as Libertine tried
to somehow convince her foes that she was better then
them.
StarMoon took a few steps forward. She closed her eyes
and started to glow grey as did her brooch. Placing her hand
around the brooch, she brought out her Ginzuishou and put it over
her head. "Moon Crystal Power!" she yelled. The wind
picked up. The light from the Ginzuishou cut through all of that
and headed straight for Libertine. This sudden burst of energy
surprised Libertine and she had little time to put up her shield.
"You will not win, Princess!" yelled Libertine.
"Funny!
That was what I was gonna say!" StarMoon put all of her
energy into the attack. Libertine slowly started to disappear. "I
am tired of dealing with you! Get off of my planet and out of my
life!"
Libertine looked up and yelled, "Please, Sir
Grety-sama! Help me! Help m. . .!"
The light slowly died
down along with the wind. The Ginzuishou returned to its place in
the brooch.
"Candra!" Neptune held StarMoon in her
arms. "Are you okay?. . . Haruka! She's starting to get
cold!"
Ozzie stuck his head out of the door. "Is it
over yet?" he asked.
The Inner Senshi turned the corner.
"What's going on?" asked Venus.
Saturn looked over
and stood up. "Candra-chan used her Ginzuishou to defeat
Libertine!"
The Inners gasped. "Candra-chan!"
Sailor Moon yelled and ran up to StarMoon. "Please,
Candra-chan! Wake up!"
"Serenity," mumbled
StarMoon, her eyes still closed. "Is she gone?"
"Yes,
she is."
"Okay." StarMoon opened her eyes. "Now,
it's his
turn."
"Candra!"
Greg, Jim, and Lance jumped up from the table as she, Ozzie, and
the girls walked into the ice cream parlor. Candra rested on her
left leg and leaned her crutches on the booth. "Hey, guys,"
she said has she hugged each of them.
"We heard it was
bad, but we didn't think it was this bad," said Jim. "Hey,
Minako-chan."
Minako gave Jim a peck on the check. "Hey,
Jim-chan."
"You know what I just thought," said
Candra. "Even though I met them first, I never introduced you
guys to Haruka and Michiru. Guys, this is Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru,
and Setsuna. Girls, this Greg, Lance, Jim, and you already know
Ozzie. These are my brothers."
The jaws of Haruka,
Michiru, Hotaru, and Setsuna hit the floor. "Your brothers?"
asked Haruka.
"Yeah. What did you think? That I was dating
them?" asked Candra.
Haruka and Michiru looked at each
other and fainted.
"Haruka-chan? Oneesan?" Candra
asked with concern.
Setsuna and Hotaru looked at each other.
"Well, that explains a lot," said Setsuna.
"Ug.
. ." groaned Haruka.
Chapter Sixteen: Could This Be The End? Grety's and StarMoon's Beginning Revealed!
