This chapter is guaranteed to meet or exceed your recommended daily allowance of creepy bad guys.
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon mine is not. (Nor Yoda mine is.)
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Night Of The Killer Bunny Slippers
by Jessyca Thornbrook
Chapter 7
Rei's skin was unnaturally pale, contrasting horribly with a dark streak running down her forehead. Blood, thought Sailor Moon, her stomach lurching. The creature was dragging the unconscious girl along by her hair, its movements surprisingly silent. The only noise was the scraping of Rei's one wooden sandal—the other must have fallen off—against the paving stones. The sound was something akin to fingernails on a chalkboard, and it seemed to shred Sailormoon's already-fraying nerves.
She started forward, her only thought to punish this creature that hurt her friend, but Tuxedo Kamen caught her arm.
"If we attack now, we might hit Rei-chan," he whispered. The small heroine paused, then nodded reluctantly, blinking back tears. He squeezed her arm sympathetically. "I'll go around that way," he pointed. "I'll have a clearer shot from there. Once it drops her—" he broke off as a new sound reached their ears. It was a low whistle, the same mournful note twice, followed by a higher pitch. Unpleasant prickles ran down Usagi's spine at the sound.
The monster raised its head and howled in response, and moved off in the direction of the call. The two heroes followed at a distance, darting from shadow to shadow. As they came around the corner of the house where Rei and her grandfather lived—Usagi now recalled that he was away for a few days—they could see several unfamiliar forms in the open space at the heart of the shrine. They slipped behind a large bush and peered through the leaves.
Two more of the disgusting patchwork creatures stood there, snuffling and slobbering, and a few dozen of the possessed bunny slippers skittered about as well. By far the strangest sight, though, were the two figures at the center of it all.
They were human-shaped, more or less, but stood about eight feet tall, though one hunched over, taking several inches off its true height. That one—it was impossible to determine its gender—had long, tangled pale-blue hair obscuring most of its face. Shapeless gray robes covered its body, except for long, bony, violet-skinned fingers that fidgeted continuously with a small black bag that hung round its neck. The bunny slippers frisked around the hem of the gray robe like some kind of demented pets.
The other figure stood straight and still, with the two patchwork monsters hulking nearby as if waiting for a command. He or she—again, it was hard to tell—had dark blue hair that fell straight to his/her ankles, and violet skin like the other. He/she was dressed in blue and silver, and one slender but strong-looking hand rested on the hilt of a long black sword. Sharp red eyes surveyed the courtyard, then fixed on the beast that approached, dragging Rei.
"Well?" the figure spoke coldly without moving. "Is it she?" At her voice—both of the hidden watchers decided the voice was female—the hunched person shuffled forward quickly, crouching beside the unconscious girl. The creature holding Rei gave a low growl, but at a word from its mistress, it dropped her and moved away. The hunchback took what looked like a crystal point, about the size of a human thumb, from the bag around its neck, and began moving it slowly through the air over Rei's body, muttering something incoherent but decidedly unpleasant.
Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen could now distinguish some facial features through the matted hair. The hooked nose, in combination with the voice, convinced them that the hunchback was probably male. He had the same red eyes as the other, but they seemed less aware and alert, gazing off into nothing as if he were more accustomed to using senses other than sight. Sailor Moon shivered suddenly, and Tuxedo Kamen wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
The crystal point began to glow dimly and emit a low humming sound. The tall woman's eyes glittered, and both the patchwork creatures and the bunny slippers moved restlessly, as if expecting something.
Nothing happened. The crystal continued to hum quietly, its glow neither increasing nor decreasing. The woman's eyes narrowed, and the hunchback began to look uncomfortable. Finally he stood, turning to face her with an apologetic expression.
"She is not the one."
The woman moved so quickly she was barely visible, delivering a blow to the side of his head that sent him sprawling. The bunny slippers clustered around him, seeming almost concerned. "I am sorry, cousin!" he whimpered, scrambling to his feet. "She has power, and I thought—"
"Silence!" she snapped, her voice cracking through the night air like a whip. "I grow tired of your failures, Nitha! First these pointless minions you created—" she kicked one of the bunny slippers, sending it sailing over the trees and into the blackness beyond.
"But the signs told me they would be useful!" Nitha protested. "I saw them in my vision! She is connected to this object!"
"—and now," the woman continued as if he had not spoken, "you have brought us to the wrong place, and the wrong girl. You are useless, Nitha. If you were not my cousin, I would have slain you long ago." Her hand tightened on the sword hilt.
"Please, Gorai," he groveled, "I swear to you, this place is significant! And the girl—she is, she may be. . ." his voice grew desperate, and then he seemed to be struck by a new thought. "She must be one of the warriors! Yes! She has power, as I said! She can lead us to the one we want!"
Gorai considered this for a long moment, during which Nitha didn't appear to breathe. "Wake her," Gorai finally ordered. Visibly trembling with relief, Nitha turned back to Rei. He shook her, and when that had no effect, slapped her across the face.
Which was about when Sailor Moon lost it. Pulling free of Tuxedo Kamen's restraining grip, she sprang into the open with a shout, fists clenched and eyes flashing.
"Nobody hits my friends! In the name of the Moon, I will PULVERIZE you!"
That may be her shortest speech ever, reflected a detached corner of Tuxedo Kamen's mind, even as he prepared to back her up.
Gorai and Nitha spun around in surprise, but the expression on Gorai's face quickly turned mocking. "And will you attack us all alone? How brave." She waved a hand negligently, and Sailor Moon suddenly found all three of the evil-smelling patchwork creatures and a few dozen bunny slippers bearing down on her at alarming speeds.
She barely had time to give a frightened shriek before several things happened at once. The closest monster suddenly stumbled and fell, a rose embedded in its skull. Another crashed down behind it, its legs tangled in a chain of heart-shaped links. The third howled in pain as lightning struck it. The bunny slippers halted in confusion, suddenly enveloped in a concentrated patch of fog.
"It's about time you guys got here!" yelled Sailor Moon, as Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus came running up. Jupiter was about to say something, but Tuxedo Kamen interrupted.
"Now, Sailor Moon!" She reached for her tiara, but before her fingers actually touched it, another voice sliced through the air.
"If any of you move, she dies!" Gorai stood calmly a few yards away, the point of her sword pressed against Rei's throat. No one moved or breathed.
"What do you want?" Tuxedo Kamen finally broke the horrified silence. Gorai's mouth curled in a slow, cruel smile.
"I want the heart of the Moon Princess. On a plate."