Yay! Rejoice with me, minna-chan! I've pulled a few strings, and now I have more time to update over the next week! I want to finish this and LWTS, so be patient, ok!
Disclaimer: Eigoo…Sailor Moon nes pas pour moi, je suis pas contentre. (Hee hee, digging into my French roots there. I can speak French like I never knew another language, but don't try asking me to spell it!)
"Ah, shimatta! Pluto, you couldn't have brakes?" Uranus rubbed at her sore behind. The others glance around at their surroundings. They had landed in large bushes, and when they peered out, they could see a stone bench underneath a sakura tree.
"Can we go?" whispered Venus.
Saturn shook her head sharply, and Endymion answered.
"I can feel her coming, but she seems…changed. We should just watch for now." They settled into silence, just as a Usagi swept in.
She was wearing a long sleeved, green and plain dress that reached past her ankles. It curved in a modest V-neck, and she had a light green cape with a hood hanging on her shoulders. The cape reached past her ankles as well.
The senshi and shittenou breathed a sigh of relief as they saw she was still alive and well. She sat on the stone bench, and they noticed for the first time that she had a huge book with her. She opened the wide tome and began to read eagerly.
"Are we sure that's her?" Zoicite whispered. No one answered, as Usagi's eyes shot up. She closed the book and stood up, making as if she was walking towards them.
"Hey, Serenity!" Once more, a collective sigh was passed as Usagi turned away to greet a dark-haired man. Endymion sucked in air as he realized the man looked a lot like him.
"Hello, Saffir. What brings you out here?" Usagi settled back on the bench, and Saffir sat down next to her.
"Guess who's back?"
"You, oh most annoying one?" Saffir frowned.
"Hey! You're the annoying one!" She giggled.
"It was a joke. And let me guess…Rubeus?" Saffir stood and pointed a finger at her.
"No fair, you used your powers on that one!" Usagi merely shrugged and smiled, and the senshi and shittenou saw something that made their blood run cold. She had fangs.
"Well, m'dear, it seems like you've been having fun while I'm gone. How go the studies?" Rubeus leaned against the tree from where he had suddenly materialized.
Usagi smirked. "Much better than ever, now that I'm actually studying! Esmeraude is teaching me now, and I think she's forgiven me for the whole Demando being madly in love with me thing. She's really nice, but she gets really angry when Cooan, Birdy, Prisma (A/N: I know, it's Petz, but I like it this way!) and Karaberas skip our lessons. But I finished earlier today, so I get to go out."
Rubeus shook his head. "Is that so? Well, I just ran into Esmeraude, and she says that you, Birdy and Cooan simply left!"
Usagi blushed. "Maybe I didn't finish as much as I wanted…but she's teaching us the history of Nemesis and Crystal Tokyo and all that jazz, and something about it unsettles me!"
Rubeus and Saffir exchanged glances, and the latter spoke up.
"I suppose we could change your lessons…but for now, go. You're getting mathematics today!"
Usagi looked as if she couldn't decide whether to whine or accept it, but in the end she merely shrugged. "Fine. But you had better, or else…!" The threat hung empty in the air, and Rubeus and Saffir seemed a tad nervous.
She smiled, baring her fangs again. "No worries, friends!" She snapped her fingers, and a ball of light appeared and began to grow, until it was a bubble. It sucked her in, and she bowed as she and the bubble disappeared.
Rubeus shook his head. "That girl…She makes me wonder sometimes. I get the feeling she's hiding something from us."
Saffir snorted. "Gee, what makes you think that? Didn't you notice when she grew the fangs practically overnight?"
Rubeus nodded. "I did, and I had Karaberas and Birdy do a bit of searching for me. They came up with this: The fangs are usually the sign of a dark entity, but a released one. The fangs merely mean that the person sporting them may have some sort of relation to them, and it also tries to make them weaker. The only people who can get rid of the entity are those who released it."
Saffir looked skeptical. "So you think Serenity-sama let loose some dark force, which, coming from her, must be very powerful indeed, and it's feeding off her?"
Rubeus frowned. "It could be possible."
Saffir sighed. "We shouldn't tell her. She'd only worry. Come on, she won't have time to study anyways, and she and Demando have a surprise for us."
Rubeus chuckled. "Hearing that makes me wonder if he's asked her yet." Saffir nodded.
"I heard he did, and she said yes. Come on, I don't want to miss this!" The two vanished completely, leaving behind the large book.
The senshi and shittenou exited, their carefree attitude gone. Nephrite spoke first, surveying the area.
"I felt great power emanating from her. She is dominant in several arts; I can sense it. Did you see the bubble?"
Mars looked around. "But there is dark energy in the air also, more powerful than her. It is not coming from the members of the dark moon family. I can't seem to place it…"
"It could be the entity they were talking about." Mercury pointed out. "But what dark entity could Usagi-chan have in her?"
"She seemed so at ease with them." Marveled Mako. "They acted just like us!" Jadeite sighed.
"Yeah, but it seems like she doesn't remember us. Did you hear her before? 'We're learning about the history of Nemesis and Crystal Tokyo. Something about it unsettles me.'"
Kunzite looked at the large volume on the bench and frowned. "Calling Upon Your Hidden Powers? What is this?"
Zoicite reached him quickly and flipped through the pages. "It looks like what it says, Kunz. It's a series of rituals in which she can call upon either light or dark powers, using them to do whatever she wants. There's a few pages ripped out…I can't tell which ones."
Saturn held onto Chibiusa's hand. They had not been able to leave her behind; The Dark Moon might have attacked her, and they weren't about to leave any of their members behind.
Pluto held onto her staff, standing stiffly. What was going on here was completely different then what she had seen, meaning only one thing.
"Someone has messed with the time line." They turned to stare at her.
"Isn't that impossible?" Uranus looked worried. Pluto trembled slightly, and they saw something they would only see once more; Pluto afraid.
"It is not. Only a being more powerful than anything I have ever known could do such a thing. A God, or maybe a Goddess."
"But are they not sworn not to meddle in human affairs?" Neptune questioned her.
"They are. But one of them has done so, and now we must fear for our lives. The princess…things may turn out differently."
"So we have to find her!" Mako cried. "We have to find her, apologize for being late, and then leave here to fix everything."
How do we do that?" Venus asked. "We don't exactly know how to get in, and it seems like she's happy here!"
"What do you think," Endymion spoke for the first time, continuing quietly. "What do you think was the question Demando asked her hat she agreed to?"
No one spoke a word. There was one answer, spinning lazily above their heads, but they were all afraid to grasp at it.
"Who are you?" They all turned suddenly to find Usagi, standing on the bench with the book in her hands.
Venus took a step forward. "Hey, Usagi-chan. We're sorry we're late, but we just wanted to take you back home!"
Usagi's eyes narrowed. "Who is Usagi-chan? And I will ask again, who are you?" There was a bewildered silence. She had forgotten them!
"Usagi?" Chibiusa emerged from behind Endymion, where she had taken refuge. "Usagi-chan, is that really you?" There was no recognition in Usagi's eyes, and Chibiusa tried again. "Mommy?"
"Endymion!"
"SERENITY!"
Usagi blinked as the pictures entered her mind, and she rubbed at her temples. She knew this girl. She knew the people, obviously. But who were they?
"Hold still, while we do your hair!"
"Ah, Mina, it hurts! And Rei and Mako are making faces! Gah, Ami, you're the only sane person here, help me!"
Her eyes flicked to the shittenou and Outer senshi.
"Hotaru! Hotaru put Justin's cell phone down!"
"He called my Silence Glaive a q-tip again!"
"But do you really have to hold it hostage? Come one, Haruka and Michiru and the guys are waiting!"
She had seen the man in the middle before. He especially, sparked something. Him and the little girl…
"Chibiusa, can I play with you and Hotaru? Hey, no fair, I'm sure you couldn't have beat that!"
"Mamo-chan, stop playing with my hair!"
She blinked once more, slowly, and furrowed her brow. "Chibi—Chibiusa?" Their hearts soared, until suddenly she began to glow brightly and her eyes grew angry.
"I can't believe you! You come here now and beg for my forgiveness, expecting me to leave the only people who have been kind to me, and to go back to a home I don't even remember!" They grew frighten, and Jadeite tried to reason with her.
"W—What are you talking about, Sere? It's only been about two hours since you disappeared!"
"Two hours? TWO HOURS?" she raged. "Try THIRTY YEARS for size!"
Eh, I thought fifty at first, but that seemed way too long. Here's my new chapter! I hope you like it! Errah… I swear I'll get to working on Living With The Stress soon, I swear it on the ginzouishou and the ougonritsu! Hah, on the Kinpa! Love much, ISSALEE!