THE SECOND MOBIUS
Book Two of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon CosmicStars
by Nashie (aka ShadowSamurai)
May 2000 – September 2000
Revised - Winter 2001
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and her friends belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The author takes no credit for any of the original storyline. However, all the new characters belong to me and I'd appreciate it if you didn't take any without requesting permission.
Episode 224: The enemy revealed? Yomicha and Megumi make the scene!
"So, I'm the soldier of sacrifice," Sailor Midnight said. Her tears had stopped falling by now. "I'm going to disappear?" Selene nodded, her own eyes teary. Midnight gasped back another round of tears. The memories didn't hurt her physically, but mentally.
In the past, she was the "forbidden" soldier. She was awakened for a purpose that a powerful sailor had set millions of years ago. Midnight automatically resented the sailor soldier who created her destiny. She hated her and that partner of hers. They had created the destiny of all the sailor soldiers. She, who was the forgotten leader of another group of senshi, had to be 'sacrificed' if she were born with the sailor senshi. She had to always stay with her senshi, or they would find a leader of their own and be corrupted by chaos. The new leader would take her name as the princess of the zodiac, which rightfully belonged to her, Sailor Midnight. She would have to be 'sacrificed' if she wanted her title and her senshi back. It was confusing and Midnight felt lightheaded just thinking about it.
"So, my only purpose in life is to mysteriously die and become leader and princess to a group of senshi I don't even know?" Midnight asked, her heart tearing. Selene knew this was hard on her.
"I'm sorry, Kei-chan," Selene whispered. "But this is the entire world we're talking about. Billions of lives are at stake here. If the sailor senshi found the truth, the evil will destroy them and the entire universe."
"No, no, no!" Midnight cried, burying her face in her hands. "I can't. I won't!" Selene shook her head as she nuzzled against the distraught soldier.
"Well, you know that in the past, soldiers have given up their lives to protect the princess and this earth," Selene reminded her. Midnight looked up at her. The others. Yes, she was sailor senshi, so that meant she had to fight along with Sailor Moon, the true princess, while she existed in this dimension.
"Who?"
"Well, just recently," Selene said, remembering what she had been told. "Around a year ago, the soldiers of the outer planets gave up their lives in order to protect the princess."
"Soldiers of the outer planets? Who on earth are they?"
"Sailors Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn." Midnight stared at Selene in horror. That was practically half the planets gone! Midnight, disgusted with her duty, quickly powered down. The gold button on her shirt turned backed into the kaleidoscope locket.
"So you're here to train me? I have to kill myself?"
"Oh, no," Selene assured. "Someone does that for you. You're a soldier of the revelation. Capricorn and Scorpio will be there to help you as I will be." Kei nodded, touching her locket.
"I'll try my best to fulfill my destiny and save this doomed planet," Kei said in a robotic voice. Selene saw the agony in Kei's eyes, but could do nothing to help her. Kei was fighting a battle inside and outside now, a battle that she could never win.
"Hmmph, the revelation has begun," snickered a voice from inside the shadows. The owner of the voice, a young girl with long black hair and a pale face stepped from the shadows. She wore a simple black sleeveless turtleneck dress with a slit that came to her thigh. Her harsh green eyes glistened. "They think they can outsmart me. No luck there. I have gained this title as princess of the zodiac. They will not get it back."
"Princess!" a voice called from the darkness. A figure ran from the darkness and to the young woman. Kneeling on knee, she bowed her head. "Urgent message. The gate between dimensions is open! The revelation has begun!"
"Really?" the girl asked, her voice harsh and bitter like the wind. Her eyes shone darkly. "I've already been aware of this, Sailor Pisces. You disgust me by how slow your system works." The teal-haired soldier lowered her head and bit her lip to keep from responding. Sometimes, she wished that they had found their true leader instead of this wanna-be.
"We can't go to the surface of that planet though," a richer voice noted dryly. Pisces got an impatient look on her face as a taller, pale blue-haired soldier sidled up to her. "The surface doesn't support our bodies. We'd die immediately. Probably something our soldier of discipline set up, heaven help her if I find her."
Pisces glared at Aquarius with all the hate and disgust she could muster. Aquarius grinned sarcastically.
"We need people from that planet to do our work," the Princess realized. She sighed. What fun was letting humans who could easily turn traitor do the work? The two senshi felt uneasy at the princess' troubled face. They walked back a step. Aquarius, too, sometimes did not like this leader...she angered too easily.
The princess sighed. "There have been rumors that that planet is being protected by rather strong forces. Anyone who has tried to take over has failed. Beryl, Death Phantom, Pharaoh 90, Nehelenia, and Galaxia and Chaos. All have fallen to those meddling sailor senshi of this planet." Pisces nodded.
"The sailor senshi are formidable," she announced. "We've been battling with them for ages, though our memories are slightly sketchy. All we know is that we're suppose to stop those girls of the revelation from getting the taboo talisman. If they get it, we will die." The Princess turned flaming green eyes towards Pisces. Aquarius cleared her throat.
"Strangely enough, the energy coming from that solar system is weak," she said. "It's as though some of the power from those planets there is gone. As if their guardians are dead."
The Princess regarded this for a second, her green eyes lost in thought. "So they wouldn't be as powerful. Hmmph. I guess we can go and attack." Concentrating, four shimmering lights shone in front of her. The light reflected off Pisces and Aquarius' faces.
"These are the four crystals of iniquity," Princess explained, her green eyes reflecting the light making her eyes cold and harsh. "Find four gullible humans and bring them back here." Aquarius and Pisces bowed elegantly.
"As you wish, my princess," the two sailor senshi said. Aquarius took the opportunity to say, "Consider it done." Pisces glared over at the girl, who always was on the charming edge.
The two senshi disappeared in a shower of aqua and blue sparks. Princess smiled at the four lights in front of her. Soon, the revelation would be ruined and she would remain leader to the just as powerful counterparts to the most powerful soldiers in the universe...the sailor senshi.. Princess laughed mechanically, looking over at her picture of the solar system they were entering.
All hers.
"Oh, I'm so bored," Minako brooded, twirling her straw in her soda. Her blue eyes were tired as she looked over at Mako and Rei. "I need a boyfriend." Mako nodded in agreement.
"I agree," she muttered, sipping her soda. "And it's so hot today. Thank goodness there's no school." Rei sighed, resting her head in her hands. The last time she fell for a really, really cute guy…when was that? A month ago, she thought. Where were all the cute guys lately?
"Hi, guys!" Hogoshi chirped from behind. The three girls smiled a response. Luna and Artemis, who were with them, smiled also. "Wow, you guys looked so depressed. What's up?"
"Nothing!" Minako sobbed, folding her arms and pouting. "I'm as bored as can be and I don't have a boyfriend!" Hogoshi laughed and decided to joke about courting again.
"She doesn't want to court," Rei whispered to Hogoshi. She smiled. "Joking wouldn't be a very good idea." Hogoshi nodded and decided not to get Minako in one of her bad moods. Mako shrugged and groaned loudly.
"So, what do we do today?" she asked, complaining. She yawned. "This Sunday is so lazy." Hogoshi shrugged and decided that the girls could use some excitement.
"Come with me," Hogoshi declared, tugging at their seats. Minako groaned as Hogoshi propped her up against her chair. "We'll go down to Juuban District Court and check out some of the stores over there. By the way, where are Usagi, Chibiusa, and Ami?"
"Usagi-chan and Chibiusa-chan are at home napping and Ami-chan is at home studying for a test tomorrow," Mako muttered, standing up to stretch. She stared at Hogoshi. "Why?"
"Just asking."
"Excuse me," Rei interrupted, getting to her feet also. Minako stayed seated, pouting. "Does it matter why? It's something other to do than just sit here and mope."
"I wanna sit here and mope," Minako complained, but Artemis sat in front of her, his blue eyes glaring.
"You are going," he said, keeping his voice low. "'Cause I don't want to hear you complain all day that you're bored."
"Ugh, you're no fun Artemis."
"I know."
Minako got to her feet and stared down at the two cats. "I'm going. Tell Usagi and Chibiusa that we went down to Juuban District Court in case they want to come." Luna nodded and jumped from the outdoor café table. Artemis jumped off behind her.
"Bye, guys!" Luna called, running down the east side of the block. Artemis tore off after her. Hogoshi grinned and waved good-bye. She turned back to the other three girls.
"Okay, come on," Hogoshi urged, turning to the south block. Minako stomped off behind her. Rei and Mako looked at each other and sighed. She was going to be like this for the rest of the afternoon.
Kei looked down the street, Selene standing next to her. "Okay, so now what?" Selene groaned. She told Capricorn and Scorpio where to meet them. So where were they now?
"We'll just have to wait," Selene replied. She looked up at the violet-haired girl she had to guard. Kei was impatient, she knew that much. She knew Kei wanted to meet the mysterious senshi of the revelation. Sighing, Selene hoped she wouldn't start complaining about her duty.
"So, what part do they play in this big sacrifice again?" Kei asked, looking around once again for the sailor senshi. "I mean, I'm the one who gets to get 'murdered'. What do they do? Sit back and cheer me on?"
"No," Selene muttered, flinching at Kei's sarcasm. "They're the ones who start the revelation, search for the taboo talisman, and then end the revelation. To what they have to do, you have it pretty easy." Kei groaned.
"Yeah, real easy for me to leave everything I know here and become princess to a bunch of wayward senshi," she murmured. She shifted her wait to her left foot and checked her watch. "Gosh, they're taking so long."
Selene didn't say anything, but just sat patiently next to her owner's foot.
"Hey, Kei-chan!" a voice yelled from around a corner. Kei spun around and saw Hogoshi waving at her. Three other girls were in her tow as she raced toward the upset girl.
"Hi, Kei-chan. What are you doing?" Mako asked as they reach her. Kei smiled, but was eager for them to leave. If they stuck with her, then the other two sailor senshi would never know who she was.
"I'm waiting for someone," Kei replied, hoping that her tone of voice would imply that she didn't need company at the moment. Minako looked up in slight interest.
"By any chance, is one of them a cute guy?" she asked, her pale blue eyes hopeful. Kei thought about that for a moment. A guy sailor soldier? That didn't sound right and she nearly giggled as a pictured entered her mind.
"No," Kei said, but immediately burst out into a row of giggles. Selene looked up at her in distaste. She knew she felt pity for this girl, but this was no laughing matter.
Suddenly, someone brushed against Rei's shoulder. She turned around to snap at the person for not saying 'excuse me'. But after looking at the person, her jaw dropped and her eyes sparked. "Oh, I'm, um...er...that is...excuse me."
Minako turned to see what Rei was babbling about and her jaw dropped as well. A very attractive young man with silver hair and gray eyes was staring at Rei oddly. A small girl with wavy red hair and heart-shaped odangos stood next to him. Minako looked at the guy and her eyes glittered.
"Hi!" she gasped, walking up towards the guy. "My name is Aino Minako, but you can call me Minako-chan or on a date." The guy blushed profusely.
"Um, nice Minako-chan," he said, his voice sounding awfully light, "but, I'm looking for someone and I need to get going." The small girl next to him tugged his hand. He looked down at her. "What is it, Megumi?" Hogoshi and Mako looked at the little girl.
"She's your sister?" Hogoshi asked the boy. Both he and the girl blushed and shook their heads. Selene looked up at the little girl and recognized her immediately.
"Meow!" Selene purred loudly, rubbing up against Megumi's leg. Megumi looked down and her green eyes widened.
"Selene-chan!" she said, picking up the tiny cat. Rei noticed the calico and stroked her under the chin. She also saw the symbol imprinted on its forehead.
"Wow, what a cute kitty," the boy said. He looked around. "Whom does she belong to?" Kei spoke up for the first time and pulled Minako away so she could talk to the boy face to face. Minako didn't mind, and the loving gaze never left her face.
"She's mine," Kei said. The boy and Megumi stared at Kei dumbfounded. Megumi tugged the boy's hand and gave Selene back to Kei. Kei stared at the two, confused. Selene perched herself on Kei's shoulder and brought her muzzle close to Kei's ear.
"Those are the two you're supposed to meet," she whispered. Kei's eyes widened. She looked at the boy. A guy sailor soldier? So, they really did exist.
"Um, let me introduce myself," the boy said, blushing. "My name Kano Yomicha." Selene tilted her head to the side. Yomicha, huh? What a pretty name.
"Michimichi-chan, we should leave now," Megumi whispered, tugging Yomicha's hand. Yomicha nodded as Minako giggled at the little girl's nickname for Yomicha. Kei took a step towards them, but Hogoshi looked at the purple-haired girl oddly.
"Kei-chan?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
"These are the two I'm supposed to meet," Kei quickly said, wanting to hurry up and meet these two senshi. She shrugged. "So I guess I'll see you around."
"Yeah, I guess." Hogoshi stared at the three retreating figures. Something about them was so mysterious, yet so comforting. It warmed her soul to see Kei and these two new figures. Then again, she bitterly thought, this warmed soul isn't even mine.
"C'mon," Rei urged, pulling Hogoshi's arm. Hogoshi nodded her head and the four girls left down to the district court.
"Yomicha-san," Kei began, leaning her head back against the park bench. She and the tall boy were sitting on a cold bench in a park near the beach that faced a beautiful, clear pond that was silver from the angle of the sun. Megumi was laughing cheerfully, chasing a large purple butterfly around the park. Her green eyes sparkled happily as she seemed to take on another spirit.
"Yes?" Yomicha asked. His gray blue eyes glittered. They were so haunting yet so solacing. He smiled gently. "Kei-chan, this must be awful for you. You shouldn't have to leave this world." Kei wanted to eagerly agree with him, but kept her mouth shut.
"Actually, I had another question," Kei whispered, brushing a purple curl from her eye. "Um, exactly...no...I mean, um...are you really a sailor soldier? I never knew that, er, guys could be...um...them." Yomicha stared at her quizzically. Selene, who was sitting under the bench, flinched.
"A g-guy?" Yomicha sputtered. "Oh, lord. I seriously do look like a guy then." Kei's eyes widened as Yomicha turned to her. "I'm not a guy. I never was and never will be. I'm one hundred percent female, okay?" The surprised look on Kei's face made Yomicha laughed.
"You look cute like that," she said, wiping a silver strand of hair from her face. Kei's expression didn't change. She just stared at the boy - no, girl - with an awed look on her face. She was blushing, no doubt. Her cheeks flushed rose.
Sighing, Yomicha turned back toward Megumi, her grayish eyes sad. The girl had ignored the butterfly and was now chasing a glowing bug, what was it? Peering closely, the silver-haired girl realized it was a firefly. A stinging pain erupted from her heart as a word escaped from her lips.
"Hotaru-chan…" The wind slightly carried the words away from her and towards the red-haired girl. Yomicha stared oddly at the tiny one and seemed confused for a moment. Who on earth was Hotaru? Shrugging the care off easily, she turned back towards Kei.
"You know the mission?" Yomicha asked as Selene hopped up towards her mistress' lap. Kei nodded.
"Hai."
"Are you willing to undergo any sacrifice and find the taboo talisman?" Kei stared at the desolate eyes and shrugged. No, she was not ready and would never be. There was no way she could face her death with the courage and honor the senshi she imagined would have.
"I guess so," she lied.
"Don't do that," Yomicha warned, staring back at Megumi. "Don't lie to me. Now answer me correctly: are you willing to under go any sacrifice and find the taboo talisman? Tell me, Kei-chan." Yomicha gently cupped Kei's chin in her hand. The red eyes shone like rubies. "Tell me, Kei-chan. Tell me about yourself. We soldiers of the revelation are one. Tell me what's under those pretty curls. There's something missing. Tell me, Kei-chan. Don't be scared."
Kei looked into those sorrowful eyes and her heart broke. The feelings that she had kept bottled up inside started spilling over. Her red eyes filled with tears as she grabbed Yomicha's green jacket and clung to it desperately. She felt strangely safe when she was in the presence of these two. They were still practically strangers, knowing each other for barely an hour. A weird warm feeling spread through the young woman. Could this be...no. She would not fall in love with another girl.
Kei's tears spilled steadily from her face. "My life is so screwed, but I can't find anything wrong with it. My father is very wealthy and he loves me very much. We're rich and live in a penthouse in a very lovely neighborhood. I'm at the top socially and academically. I know I'm pretty, people tell me so. But there's something missing to that. Like I'm supposed to be wanted in something other then in this reality façade. I know that this is reality, but I don't belong here. I belong somewhere else, in a fantasy world maybe. I don't belong here, I just don't need to be here. I'm..." The effort for Kei to say these words was tremendous and more tears flowed from her glossy red eyes, "...not wanted."
"Kei-chan, Kei-chan," Yomicha whispered, her voice wavering. She held the girl close in a hug. Kei was crying softly in the arms of the boyish looking girl. "You are wanted. You are needed."
"For what!?" Kei screeched, pulling away. Some of her wanted to run away and tear the locket away from her chest. But the other part wanted to stay close to Yomicha's protective arms. "I'm the soldier of sacrifice if you hadn't noticed. I have to die, leave everything I know and become Princess to people I never heard about until yesterday! Is that my want? My need? Is that it? Is that it!?" Yomicha stared at the girl.
"Is it?" she asked, her gray eyes sorrowful. "Is it really?" Kei fell back into the girl's arms. That haunting voice soothed her and she felt her skin tingle from her touch.
"Don't do this to me, Yomicha-san," Kei said, more tears falling. "I don't want this duty. I can't."
"You can," Yomicha whispered, her lips close to the distraught girl's ear. "I know you can. You may think of yourself as weak, but your aura is powerful and beautiful and strong."
"It's not, it's not," Kei sobbed. Yomicha pulled Kei slowly away from her as Megumi ran up to them. The two girls stared at the tiny child as she opened her palms. A firefly glowed within them. Megumi grinned childishly as she stared wide-eyed at them.
"Firefly. Fire soul."
Author's Note: The second chapter of knowing Kei, and she's already falling for Yomicha? (P.S. Yomicha is NOT a Japanese name, if you haven't guessed). Is she still Mary Sue? Or any of the revelation senshi really stereotypical? Please tell me. I might actually do something about it, if you READ AND REVIEW! Bum-bum-BUM!!!
I think there was a parallel somewhere in this chapter, when Makoto and Minako were complaining about a lack of boyfriends. In my mind, I was thinking about one scene from the dub which I believe is probably one of the funniest moments ever from the dubbed version of Sailor Moon. The scene goes somewhat as the following:
Mina: (bored) I can't believe this. Serena's with Darien, Amy's studying, Raye's working...everybody has something to do except us!
Artemis: (teasing) And neither of you have a boyfriend so you're stuck here with us cats! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
The funny part was Artemis' comment, after he burst into laughter and was absolutely dying over it while Mina, Lita, and Luna gave him these dark looks. I'm sorry, but I thought it was the most hilarious thing...
Anyway, I'll see y'all in the next Author's Note!