"Rei-chan, are you really sure about what you are saying?" Luna asked, incredulous.
"I'm not, that's why I hesitated before mentioning it before," Rei began. "But after fighting against that thing, I'm starting to think it really is the case.
After the incident in the park, the inner senshi had reunited in their headquarter- the hidden room located below the arcade.
"You're telling us, that person… was possessed by Chaos!?" Makoto exclaimed, shocked.
"It's impossible!" Minako added. "Usagi-chan defeated it… right?"
"I did… Or at least, it shouldn't come back for a very long time," Usagi confirmed.
"I didn't say it was Chaos," Rei rectified. "Just that the dark energy possessing that person was similar to Chaos. Like some kind of remnant of its evil energy remained on Earth after you defeated it…"
"This is bad news," Luna said. "This requires further investigation."
"Maybe it was just that small energy and it's over now," Usagi proposed, trying to stay optimistic.
"I doubt it. I can feel something bigger lurking in the shadow," Rei said.
"Rei-chan no need to be so pessimistic!" Usagi reprimanded.
"I'm just stating the truth so we can be prepared."
"Regardless, now we know what to expect," Artemis added. "It seems like those chaos energies can possess people and turn them into some kind of shadow monster, but thankfully, Sailor Moon's power can heal them and turn them back to normal."
"I'll investigate those dark energies with Luna," Ami declared.
Luna nodded.
"For the rest, I'd advise remaining cautious. We don't know the extent of this new threat," Luna added.
"We will. It's not the first time we face something related to Chaos. And with Usagi-chan with us, we can't fail!" Minako said.
"Huh… right!" Usagi replied. "I won't let you down!"
Usagi sat on a bench and sighed. She thought she would finally have some rest but turned out, there was a new threat awaiting them. She might hope it was nothing serious, but if she was to believe Rei, it was bigger than just some dark rogue energies.
"At least Mamo-chan isn't in danger here…"
If it couldn't be Chaos, then what was it? Why would remnants of its energy be lurking on Earth, and what new threat could be behind it? Usagi wished she wouldn't have to ask herself all these questions.
"Hi, kitten."
Usagi nearly jolted. She turned back, surprised by who it was.
"Haruka-san!?"
"Sorry if I startled you," Haruka said with a smile.
"Ah, no…! I was just not expecting you here."
"Michiru had a bad feeling, so I decided to come to check on you. Is everything alright?" Haruka asked as she sat down next to her.
Just like Rei, it wasn't surprising if Michiru felt this new threat coming. Usagi told everything that had happened so far to Haruka, who listened to her with a concerned expression.
"Energy similar to Chaos lurking around and possessing people to turn them into monsters… that sure is alarming," Haruka said. "I was right to come here. Michiru's presentiment was justified."
"Luna and Ami-chan are currently looking into this dark energy."
"I should do the same too. With Michiru and Setsuna-san."
"Yeah. How are they doing-"
"Usagi-chan!"
They were suddenly interrupted by a certain black-haired girl.
"Ah, Nyanko-san…!"
"Who is she?" Haruka asked.
She was immediately smiling at Nyanko, as she did with every girl she met. Usagi really felt bad for Michiru sometimes for having such a flirt as a girlfriend.
"This is Suzu Nyanko, my classmate."
Nyanko, on the other hand, didn't pay any attention to Haruka, only having eyes for Usagi.
"I was looking for you! Your friends told me I could find you here!" Nyanko said.
"Oh, did they?" Usagi said, mentally cursing them.
"I was so worried for you! Especially after what happened earlier! I'm glad to see you're alright! That sure was scary! With all that happened, I didn't even have time to ask you what I wanted to for a while!"
Oh-oh. Usagi suddenly had a bad feeling about this. Taken by a sudden impulsion, she stood up and led Nyanko a little bit further from Haruka.
"Huh, I too, I've been meaning to tell you something," Usagi said.
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah… Actually, I… I have a boyfriend…"
Nyanko went silent. She looked at Usagi, then at Haruka- who seemed completely lost- then at Usagi again.
"Usagi-chan, I don't know if you noticed, but… that's actually a girl."
"What… no! I didn't mean Haruka-san! And of course, I know she's a girl… now. And she already has a girlfriend…"
"Ah. Cool."
"Wait… how did you figure out right away she was a girl?"
"You can't fool my girl-radar, even dressed in a masculine fashion," Nyanko bragged. "But then, if you aren't dating this person, where's your boyfriend?"
"He's studying abroad. In America."
"Ohhh. And why are you telling me that?"
"Because I thought… Nevermind. What were you gonna tell me?"
"I was just wondering if you'd like to hang out someday, at your place maybe?"
"Oh… Oh! Huh, yeah, sure!"
Usagi felt a little bit dumb to have made such an assumption, but at the same time, at least Nyanko now knew she wasn't available.
"Great! Then, I'll leave you to your 'date'," Nyanko said with a smile as she walked away.
"Okay… Wait, I already told you! I wasn't talking about Haruka-san!"
"What about me?" Haruka asked.
"Ah, nothing…! It's just my friends teasing me about Nyanko-san having a crush on me. Ridiculous, I know-"
"Oh, she's definitely into you, kitten. You can trust me on that."
Usagi remained speechless while Haruka chuckled at her reaction.
"Congratulation, Usagi-chan," Haruka teased. "And it looks like I got some competition now."
As she was on her way home, Haruka walking with her, Usagi had received a phone call from Ami telling her Luna and she had detected a similar dark energy at the local plaza. Usagi hung up the phone and immediately told Haruka.
"There could be another monster like the one you told me about," Haruka said. "Let's go! I'll warn Michiru and Setsuna-san on our way there!"
Usagi nodded and rushed there, followed by Haruka, who was calling her allies. When they arrived at the plaza, the inner senshi were already there, but there didn't seem to have any monsters. At least, not yet.
"Where is it? Where's the monster?" Usagi asked?
"We just detected a similar energy yet- Wait, Haruka-san?" Rei asked before understanding. "Right, Michiru-san probably had a premonition too."
"That's exactly that, and she's on her way too," Haruka replied.
"Does it mean someone here might turn into a monster?" Makoto asked.
"Possibly," Ami answered. "We need to remain vigilant."
"And ready to transform at any moment!" Minako added.
"We need to be ready to evacuate people too," Makoto said.
The senshi remained on guard, watching over the area. Rei could feel the dark energy somewhere, suddenly making its way towards a random woman.
"Over there!" Rei exclaimed.
The evil energy got inside the woman. The latter let out a scream before she ended up fully consumed by the dark aura, turning into a shadowy creature with red glowy eyes, and her previous scream turned into a primal growl.
"Ahhh! A monster!" shouted a passerby.
Panic started to rise in the plaza. Everyone started to run away from the shadowy monster while screaming. The inner and Haruka nodded in unison, heading to a secluded area.
"Moon Eternal, Make Up!"
"Mercury Crystal Power, Make Up!
"Mars Crystal Power, Make Up!"
"Jupiter Crystal Power, Make Up!"
"Venus Crystal Power, Make Up!"
"Uranus Crystal Power, Make Up!"
Usagi suddenly turned into Sailor Moon, followed by her fellow Sailor Senshi into their respective form.
"You monster! How dare you disturb the peace of the plaza and frighten those innocent people!" Sailor Moon began, striking her usual pose. "In the name of the Moon, I shall punish you!"
The shadowy creature looked at them with its glowing red eyes. It then roared a dark shock wave at them that knocked them down.
"Aghh!"
The senshi struggled to get back on their feet as the monster continued to roar dark waves at them, pinning them to the ground.
Ring-a-ling.
A sudden ringing resounded. It sounded like a small bell. Or the kind that was tied to a cat collar.
"Tinkle Resonance!"
A sudden sound wave hit the monster, neutralizing their own shock wave by the process.
"Now is your chance, Sailor Moon!"
It was the same voice as before. It sounded like a woman. Sailor Moon didn't take the time to overthink it and conjured the Eternal Tiare and aimed at the monster.
"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"
Pink light flared at the top of the Tiare and streamed toward the monster in multiple waves which hit it directly.
"Purify!" the monster screamed.
The dark aura disappeared and the creature returned to be the woman it once was. Sailor Neptune, Pluto and Saturn arrived just in time to see this.
As Mercury and Mars went to check on the woman, Sailor Moon looked around to find the source of the voice who came to their help. She then spotted a peculiar figure with feline traits, dressed like a white cat and wearing a thin red mask covering her eyes to conceal her identity. Two long black braids were coming from her cat-eared hat, and she had a cat tail of the same colour, contrasting with her overall white outfit.
"W-who… who are you!?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Who I am doesn't matter," the cat girl replied before smiling. "So let's just say… that I'm your new ally, Sailor Moon."
And right after she said that the cat girl simply left, leaving the group with more questions than answers.
Oh geeze, I wonder who is this girl dressed as a white cat...
Please let me know what you think in a review!