Something scratched against Usagi's window, actively waking the girl and causing her body to tense in fear. It had started to rain and Usagi almost screamed as the first clash of thunder was heard and lightening illuminated the room. She never had shaken that particular fear and doubted if she ever would, even if she did somehow manage to become Neo-Queen Serenity now that her Mamo-Chan was...She shook her head to clear it and remembered the scratching on the window that had first startled her. Getting up, a little shakily at first, she moved over to it and despite the new wave of fear welling up inside that she was only just able to stem she opened it.
Something black and wet jumped past her and shook itself, flicking a fair amount of water onto Usagi in the process before it became recognizable as...
"Luna!" Instantly Usagi had her drenched companion in a death grip of a hug. After a muffled choking noise Usagi loosened her hold. "Luna..." she sobbed "what happened? Oh! I've been so worried... We searched for days trying to find you and now I'm stuck here and this must have been where you were taken and now...how did you find me?"
"Hush, Usagi-Chan...Calm down. It seems I can sense you here even more then I could back in our reality...I felt you come and was drawn here. I actually got here a while ago but after I saw that nurse yell at...where those Yugi-San's friends? Anyway I decided to wait until it was night...then you wouldn't wake up silly girl..." They both had tears in their eyes now, even if Luna was a bit more controlled.
"Why wont evil leave me alone Luna..."
"Oh Usagi-Chan...C'mon be positive, remember to never give up no matter how bad things get. We've beaten evil so many times it would be foolish to give up now."
Usagi sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Ha-hai. All right, we'll start our search first thing in the morning for anything unusual. But at the moment I'm tired..."
"Rei-Chan, Yugi-kun, its almost morning..." Ami shivered in the chill pre-dawn, moist air "Please, I can't find anything on my computer so chances that you'll find Usagi-Chan are slim..."
Makoto crossed her arms "I want to find them as much as you two do but Jou-San is freezing out here, see." She pointed at Jou who's skin was turning blue as he hadn't rugged up as much as the others had due to a lack of male clothes his size.
Yugi too was tired but Usagi had disappeared, he couldn't rest when he didn't know where she was or if she was safe. "I'm sorry, but I can't stop looking just yet."
"Me neither! Our princess is missing, we can't just sit around and do nothing." Rei's voice was starting to grow husky in the cold.
Yugi stopped walking for a second as what she had said sunk in "Princess...Usagi's a princess!" (Sorry, couldn't resist the quote.) He and Jou both looked very shocked at this new development Yugi in particular.
Minako nodded "Didn't she tell you? Oh wait, that's not something she likes to remember since Mamoru-San was...wait! I shouldn't be bring up her fiancé since you're her new love interest!" She waved her hands, palm facing Yugi, in front of her.
One of Yugi's eyes twitched 'oh yeah, Mamoru was her future husband wasn't he...wait...' "New love interest!"
Minako nodded again. "Haven't you seen the way she looks at you, the way you look at her..." the inner senshi all sighed "Why does she always get the guys attracted to her...Alan, Diamond...I'm sure there's others but they were hunkiest, even if they were both evil..."
Jou elbowed him in the chest gently a few times, looking sly. "Been busy here, eh bud?
Yugi blushed, Usagi seemed to be very popular and apparently she liked him as he realised that he liked her. When she had cheered up a little Usagi had been like a light in the dark, keeping hope alive inside of him even when his puzzle had been stolen. She had been firm in her quest to help him no matter what. These thoughts just made him want to find her more and set his resolve like concrete.
"We have to find her no matter what! We can't give up hope, that's not what she'd want!"
Rei crossed her arms and smirked "I like his attitude, reminds me of Usagi-Chan's old one. Kami know we need an optimist, other then me that is."
"Rei-Chan, don't be so arrogant!" Minako crossed her arms too and rolled her blue eyes.
"I'm not being arrogant, I'm just stating the facts in an unmodest way."
"Are not!"
"Are too!"
"Are not!"
"Are too!"
"Are not!"
"Are too!"
And then they started to blow raspberries at each other, foreheads pressed together in a war of spit and tongues.
Makoto smiled "Isn't that sweet of Mina-Chan..."
Ami nodded.
Yugi tilted his head to the side "Hu?"
Ami giggled. "Usagi-Chan and Rei-Chan have always had some sort of war going similar to this. It's their way of showing they care about each other. Minako-Chan is just trying to make Rei-Chan feel better by taking Usagi's role in battle for a while."
"Oooohhh..." Yugi laughed, a huge sweatdrop appearing on the back of his head.
The two dukeing it out turned to face away from the other with a 'humph' each. Though Yugi could have sworn he saw the ghost of a smile gracing each teen's lips despite their annoyed expressions.
The first rays of sunlight began to edge their way over the horizon and they resumed their search, new hope blossoming in all of them.
Usagi woke to birds singing outside her window and a particularly loud yell protesting being kept in one spot. The door crashed open and Mokuba rushed in followed closely behind by the mean nurse from the day before and less closely by his brother Seto who lingered at the door once he reached it.
"Usagi-San! You're awake! See I told you she was and that it'd be alright to come in, let me go!"
Usagi stifled a giggle by placing a hand over her mouth at the boy trying to get out of the nurse's hold eventually doing so and also at his brother's slightly embarrassed expression.
"Ne, it's alright. He can stay just let me get dress first, ok."
The three nodded and left her to put on one of the outfits Anzu had left for her the day before.
"Alright." Usagi walked up and down the line of people she had gathered to search, Luna following in her wake. All of Yugi's friends she had met yesterday were there along with one face she didn't recognize. "Today we must search for anything out of the ordinary. Do not leave a nook or cranny of this city unearthed!" She stopped on her way back down the line half way, faced them and giggled. "I thank you all for being as kind as to help me with this. We will have your Yugi-kun and Jou-San back here in no time."
Idly playing with one of her pony-tails as she surveyed them all, Usagi came to a decision. "Yugi's grandpa, Anzu-chan and Honda-san, will be one group. Ryou-San, Serenity-Chan and Mokuba-kun, you're another and Kaiba-San will come with me along with...er..." She stopped in front of a man with black hair and startling green eyes and stood on her tiptoes to get a good look at his face. "Hello, we weren't introduced." Settling back down she held out a hand to him. "I'm Usagi."
Gracefully he took her hand and bent down to kiss it, causing a slight blush to spread over Usagi's cheeks. "Hello Usagi-San. I am Ryuuji Otogi. It is a pleasure to meet and be able to assist you."
Usagi laughed uneasily and eased her hand out of his grip. "Sorry, but I already kinda have a boyfriend." She'd have to ask Yugi about that one later.
They all parted ways, going in their three separate directions to scan the city. Without the help of Ami's computer Usagi knew it would be a lot harder since they would have to manually search everything but she didn't mind. It wasn't that bad actually getting back into the whole evil fighting thing now that she wasn't as depressed as before. Otogi seemed very eager to talk, quite the opposite of Kaiba who showed no interest at all in this whole affair. In truth Usagi didn't really know why he was helping at all but she was still glad that he was alone. Something about him made her feel safe, same with Mokuba. She felt an instant liking to the both of them.
"If we get attacked then please look for anything that resembles a portal. I will probably be able to fend whatever it is off with my powers but I'll be completely distracted by keeping you guys safe."
Kaiba noticeably bristled indignantly at her words and crossed his arms. "I don't need some princess in a sailor suit too small for her to protect me. I can look after myself."
Otogi smirked, brushing his fringe out of his eyes. "I don't know about that, you look like you've been getting soft. If you hadn't then your brother wouldn't have been able to drag you out on this search."
"Shut up, baka!"
"Takes one to know one."
"Men! This is no way to behave in a lady's presence." Usagi held her head high in mock regalness.
"Oh, sorry Usagi-San. I meant no disrespect." Otogi said. Kaiba merely looked away in a huff that made her smile.
Usagi held up her hand to stop their march. Something had caught her eye from a moment and she was sure she had heard the jangle of metal against metal. Straining her ears to hear more her head snapped to the side and she let out a small gasp. The muscles on the man clad in armor enough for two people were huge. The giant sword he carried was obviously meant to be a two handed one but he griped it easily with one. The large shield on his other arm was left at his side but the way he tensed suggested he was ready to either strike or defend at any moment. In an instant she had transformed into Eternalsailormoon.
"Kaiba-San, which card is it and does it have a special effect?" Usagi snapped in an authoritative tone that left no room for argument. Who answered her though was not who she had asked.
"Absolute Defense General!" Yelled Otogi in awe. "How the heck is he alive when he's just a card?"
Kaiba sent him a quick glare. "He can attack with his defense points. Though if you can get through his defenses then he's easy pickings. His attack power is only 1550."
"And defense?" Usagi asked timidly.
"2500."
Usagi didn't know much about the game but she did know enough to know that that was a fairly powerful monster. Taking out the Dark Magician card that was Yugi's she stiffened as she saw its attack power. "What happens when a card's power is the same as the one it's attacking?"
"Both monsters are destroyed." Kaiba was catching on as he caught a glance of the card she held but Otogi was still completely clueless. He had no clue of her powers and neither knew she could harness the power of the cards as her own though she presumed Kaiba guess as much by what she was asking.
"Red eyes black dragon has the attack power of only 2400, ne?" After a nod from both men she continued. "Then if I attack this monster I'll be destroyed along with it because it's defending at the moment. And if it attacks me I'll die too." She was amazed at how calm she was in this situation and at how much she had remembered of what Yugi had told her. She didn't have time to wonder at her mental capacity or maturity as the thing began to advance on them. She couldn't risk drawing power from another monster at this stage when she didn't know if it'd work. Then another part of the game came back to her. "Magic cards! Kaiba, I need a magic card to up both the attack and defense of the Dark Magician!"
She felt the power of Yugi's monster card flow threw her as she threw up her arms over her face and braced herself. Through cracks between her arms she watched the General bare down on her with his sword. Something heavy materialized in her hands and with a small yelp of surprise she moved her other hand to grab onto the hilt of the sword. She felt its power run through her too adding to that of the Magician and grinned in triumph. She had gotten through to Seto. With all her might she parried up with the weapon to block the attacking monster's own and found herself a match for it.
"Usagi-San! I used the magic card Sword of Deep-Seated! It increases your attack and defense by 500 points each. You can beat it now, attack!"
Overpowering the large human-like creature she took a few steps back to distance herself slightly. It couldn't move as fast as she could. In a flash she had raised the sword above her head and closed her eyes, gathering energy for the attack. "Mirrored magic power, transform!" She yelled and slashed downward in the direction of the now defending monster. The strip of power that she sent out of the blade hit the monster straight on and she laughed in satisfaction when it was turned to dust leaving only the dark crystal and a pile of dust as a reminder of what had happened.
Walking up to the crystal she picked it up and turned it over in her hands. Going back to the two men she smiled up at Kaiba. "Thank you Seto-San. You are good at keeping your head in a bad situation. And you too Otogi-san you gave me some of the information I needed and since you didn't know about this and didn't run away I'm saying you have a lot of courage, or you froze, either way I'm happy about."
Kaiba blushed a very faint red and looked away quickly. "I've dealt with things like this before. I've had to rescue Mokuba a couple of times so it's really not a big deal."
Usagi nodded. "Alright. I've just had an idea. If this actually works don't follow me and go tell the others to stop searching and that I'll have your friends back in no time, k. Oh, and I'm borrowing this Seto-San. I'll send it back with Yugi-kun." She held up the sword indicating what she meant.
It was a far-fetched idea but it was worth a try. Calling on the power of the Dark Magician, Kaiba's magic card and her Imperium Silver Crystal she searched the crystal for any traces of dark magic to form portals. Her heart skipped a beat when she opened her eyes and threw the thing into the air and it expanded into a huge oval of darkness. Taking in a deep breath she smiled at the men and jumped in, Luna trailing behind.