"Ladies and gentleman, put your hands together to welcome the Three Lights featuring the lovely Michiru Kaioh!"
As the announcer walked off the stage, the audience roared with cheers and applause around Demande and Sapphir who remained still as they just simply stood and watched.
The lights gradually dimmed until darkness fell all around them causing the cheers to eventually fall into complete silence. The only thing Demande was able to hear now was the unevenness of his own breathing.
Just then, the loud crack of a single spotlight broke the dead silence as it illuminated on to Michiru who took center stage. Her hair was worn loose and wavy as usual but she adorned a fitted white dress accentuating her mature figure and stood poised with her violin positioned and ready to play.
She looked out into the audience then closed her eyes before drawing the bow, opening the concert with a melodic solo that was one of the most beautiful pieces of music Demande had ever heard. The sound drew both him and Sapphir in along with the rest of the crowd, with it still being completely silent in the audience.
Another spotlight then appeared beside her with Taiki on keyboard, another with Yaten playing bass and then lastly, Seiya on guitar who added to the melody. The mood of the music changed with the energy coming alive again and the crowd started to cheer once more.
As much as he didn't want to admit it to himself, Demande actually found that they were quite good with their instruments and it coincided well with her violin. The lighting began to change to different colors that did so in the same rhythm of the music, which was a fascinating touch.
But as the performance continued on, he started to notice something.
The four of them all gave off an aura that seemed to be feeding off of one another before being pushed outward to the crowd, and then to the sky, and even out to the stars. It was one of the bizarre things he had ever encountered before. The normal humans in the audience wouldn't have been able to register it in the same way he had, but as the concert continued, it was evident that there was some kind of message they were trying to send with their music. It was hard to pinpoint which energy was whose at this point.
Demande looked to Sapphir whose demeanor hadn't changed as he still seemed to be watching the performance calmly. He wondered if he too, noticed it.
Maybe if he concentrated hard enough, he would be able to detect what is was they were trying to say.
He focused with great intensity, trying to find clarity in the signal they were sending but it was difficult. So, he didn't decided that instead of focusing on the group as a whole, that he would focus solely on Michiru. That was when at that moment, he could have sworn that her eyes met his, singling him out of the hundreds of people that were there.
It was so brief that he was unsure if it really happened so he eventually brushed it off, thinking that it could have just been his imagination. But he was curious as to what connection these people had to each other. He was now certain that they were unlike the rest of these people in the same way that he and Sapphir were.
And now, he made it his mission to find out who they really are.
The encore performance finally came and finished with Michiru and the Three Lights giving one last bow to the crowd as they let out their final shouts of adoration, even himself and Sappir gave an enthusiastic round of applause.
After they walked off the stage, the lights came back on and everyone began to rise up from their seats to leave.
Sapphir turned to Demande.
"The show was quite splendid I thought." he commented to Demande.
"It was unlike anything I had ever experienced, that's for certain." Demande replied.
He wanted to know if Sapphir had picked up that energy at all but couldn't come right out and ask.
"Did you find anything peculiar about the concert at all?" Demande bluntly asked.
"Peculiar?" Sapphir answered.
"Maybe something that sort of took you by surprise?" he pressed on.
"Well…actually…" Sapphir started to say.
Demande leaned in close to him, "Yes?"
"I never anticipated someone with skills such as hers to turn out to be as beautiful as she was." Sapphir said with his cheeks giving a slight blush.
Demande gave an exhale of relief before giving a chuckle. "Same here I suppose."
They rose from their seats and as they turned to head toward the entrance, Demande happened to catch a glimpse of the tiny white haired lady scurrying towards the door in a clear hurry. He had forgotten all about her once the concert began but he was still as intent as ever in finding out who she was as well.
"Everyone's planning on meeting up outside the front entrance, that is, if they haven't gotten lost in this dense crowd." Sapphir chuckled.
Demande not having heard him, continued to follow her movements, contemplating on going after her.
"Nii-san?"
Demande heard him this time but didn't take his eyes off of her.
"Shinjiro, why don't you go find your friends while I go look at some of the merchandise they're selling?"
"Oh, it's no big deal, they'll wait for us. I'd like to see it as well." He said gleefully.
"Well..it's just.." Demande started to say.
Demande, still concentrating on the woman, saw that she hurried even faster, eventually slipping out of the seating area and was now out of his sight.
'Damn.' He thought.
"It's just that it'll be quicker if you find them first while I save us a spot in line." He told Sapphir, appearing somewhat flustered.
"Oh…alright then." Sapphir said looking questioningly at Demande.
"Great, I'm going to hurry so I can get as close to the front as possible." He said before quickly leaving Sapphir behind.
"I'll see you in a…bit!" Sapphir started to call out. But it was useless, Demande was already out of earshot.
Sapphir knew that there was something 'off' about his behavior just now. He too, was able to channel that mysterious energy that was emitting during the performance but didn't want to confirm it to his brother. It seems there was something to what Berthier had told him the other day about there possibly being a new presence here on Earth. For some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to let his brother know about this even though it was clear that Demande could see right through it.
There were three distinct energy's he could feel. Two were on the stage while a faint one was coming from somewhere in the crowd. The largest one that came from the stage was trying to communicate with someone; someone they were trying to find. He unfortunately was unable to determine who exactly it was coming from. However, it was the weaker one that was in the audience that concerned him above all others. It was dark and gave him an ominous foreboding feeling.
He couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen tonight that would change everything. He knew he needed to find his friends and then his brother as soon as possible.
Through the countless faces in the crowd, it was difficult to find a woman who was as small as she was but Demande was determined. He continued in the direction he last saw her in, aggressively shoving past people while getting a few angry shouts in return.
The energy became so faint at this point that eventually the trail went completely cold and he ran into a dead end.
"Dammit!" he said aloud in irritation.
When he turned around, he realized that he was in a vacant part of the venue that he didn't recognize. He was so focused on finding that lady that he hadn't paid attention to where he was even going.
He decided to just retrace his steps and locate Sapphir but, as he was on his way to do so, he felt a sudden spike of this strange energy coming from one of the doors in the hallway he was currently walking through. This was it, he had finally caught up to her.
Without hesitation he quickly turned and burst through the door.
To his surprise, it wasn't the white haired lady behind the door, but, rather Michiru.
She was sitting in front of a large, vanity mirror, staring up at him with the handheld mirror she always had with her in her hand.
One would think she would be alarmed with the way he came barging in like that, but her demeanor was calm and eventually she gently laid the mirror down and turned back to him.
The energy he had felt only seconds before, suddenly disappeared.
"I-I'm so sorry, I was looking for someone and thought she might be in here!" he said in a flustered manner.
"Do you always go looking for people in restricted sections Mister Satoshi-san?" Michiru asked.
"Restricted? I had no idea, I swear." He said honestly.
"You must have been in quite the hurry, to be able to slip past security like that." She said.
He tried to recall, but he had been so concentrated on that small lady's energy that he supposed he might have.
Michiru gave a faint smile and then continued, "Funny that you would check a room labled 'Kaioh Dressing Room' to look for this person."
Demande blushed. "Honestly, I hadn't even paid attention. She's this white haired lady that's short in stature, wearing sunglasses and a black business suit, have you seen her by any chance?"
"I'm afraid I haven't seen anyone fitting that description around here." She replied.
"I see." He said in disappointment. "I'll take my leave then. I apologize once again and hope you don't think of me so negatively after this."
"Wait." She called to him.
He stopped and looked back towards her.
"How did you like the show?" Michiru asked.
"I enjoyed myself, you're quite the virtuoso." He replied.
"Thank you. Normally I am far from nervous when I play, but, tonight was different for some reason." She mused.
"Well I couldn't tell. You exuded nothing but confidence on stage." He replied.
He noticed a clock hanging nearby. Nearly a half an hour had passed since the concert ended.
"I'm sorry, my brother is waiting for me, so I must be going now. Good evening to you." He nodded to her before turning to the door once again.
"Usagi is very important to all us, you know." She said to him out nowhere.
Demande turned and eyed her curiously.
"She is delicate and gullible like a small kitten that could easily find herself being snatched up and in the clutches of a wolf without her knowing it."
He then furrowed his brows, "Are you saying that I'm 'a wolf'?"
She shook her head. "All I'm saying is that we will be watching her closely and will do everything to ensure she is safe."
"As will I." he replied bitterly.
She gave him an acknowledging smile.
"There's something else." She told him.
"Yes?" he said.
She got up from her chair and walked towards him.
The scent of rose petals filled his senses and he became suddenly nervous.
When she was close enough, she turned her back to him and lifted her wavy hair, exposing the back of her neck.
"Before you leave, I was wondering if you assist me in helping me with my dress, I'm afraid the zipper is being stubborn." She looked back to him in a seducing manner, then looked forward again.
He was hesitant at first but then found his hand moving toward it without thinking.
As he started to undue the zipper, he once again felt that trace of dark energy which brought him back to reality. He had to seize it before it would disappear again.
"I'm sorry, I-I have to go." He brought his hand back and quickly exited the room.
The dark aura that he had sensed grew stronger, and eventually led him outside, back where the arena was where they had performed. By now there was no one left inside.
It was hard to believe how empty this place was now compared to earlier and wondered if Sapphir had figured out by now that he wasn't waiting in line like he had told him. No doubt he was furious with him.
He did noticed one bystander in the arena still. An older gentlemen, wearing a tuxedo was standing on the stage and looking out into the empty stands. Demande recognized him as the main conductor of the concert as he had close enough seats to tell.
The dark aura was quite heavy in this area yet all he could see was the old man, mumbling to himself and rubbing his head looking angry about something.
Just then, someone approached the man from behind.
As Demande moved his way closer to him, staying out of sight, he could see that it was the lady he had been searching for.
She said something to him that he was unable to hear but could see she was struggling to look for something inside her suit pockets.
After letting out an exacerbated groan on her end, she then ripped off the business suit and sunglasses she was wearing, revealing another outfit she had been wearing underneath which took the man by surprise as much as it did Demande.
She was wearing a poofy white costume and without her hat and glasses, she wasn't a tiny older woman like he had assumed this whole time but rather a young girl. The old man began to stand back in confusion when she took a stance and brought up her arms that had large gold bracelets on each one.
"Give me your star seed!" he could clearly hear her call out to the old man.
Two orbs of light glowed from each one before shooting out towards him.
The conductor was suddenly engulfed in the light as he screamed in agony. Then, just as quickly as the light came, it soon disappeared.
A gem appeared to come out of him that contained a light within itself and the man immediately fell unconscious.
The girl seemed pleased and was 'ooohing and aweing' over it's splendid glow.
Seconds later the gem's glow faded and turned completely black, with the girl's mood turning into that of disappointment.
"Awe it's just a normal one." She pouted.
Hardly given time to react to this, a voice called out to them that he couldn't ever mistake.
"Hold it right there!"
Sailor moon appeared from the door that led backstage and made her way towards the incapacitated old man and the young girl.
As Sailor Moon gave her introductory speech, the girl appeared to be completely ignoring her and instead, began to walk away towards the exit in a calm manner.
"Wait! Where do you think you're going, Sailor Iron Mouse?!" Sailor Moon called out.
"I don't have time to play with you today." Sailor Iron Mouse replied.
She snapped her fingers and continued to walk away.
As Sailor Moon started after her, a dark ball of energy appeared above the old man and wrapped itself all around him. When it disappeared, the old man was now transformed into a droid-like creature and started to attack Sailor Moon.
Sailor Conductor, as he introduced himself, started to attack Sailor Moon in instrument themed attacks, throwing violin bows at her like a game of darts. He was conflicted because she was alone out there without any of her fellow senshi and he wanted to help her but was afraid it would reveal himself.
The creature had eventually trapped Sailor Moon into a corner and shot another bow, this time traveling directly towards her.
"Star Serious Laser!" a voice called out.
That was when a light source intercepted bow, knocking it down to the ground.
He looked to the source of the attack and was relieved to know that the three leather clad senshi he saw that time back at the school had shown up.
"Breaking through the darkness of the night…Traveling unchained across the atmosphere…The three sacred shooting stars!"
"Sailor Star Fighter!" the black haired leader called out.
"Sailor Star Maker!" the tall, brunette called.
"Sailor Star Healer!" the white haired, pretty one lastly called out.
"Sailor Starlights!" they all shouted together. "Stage On!"
Now that they were here, she'd be able to have the help she needed and this was his only chance to catch up to this 'Sailor Iron Mouse' and deal with her in his way.
Demande looked towards them one last time. "Please, keep her safe." He said quietly before leaving.
He took off through one of the exits that she had walked out of and ran as fast as he could toward the dark energy which was much easier this time since it was at it's peak and not faint as it was earlier.
It led him to a clearing that had trees sparsely placed in the area, where he found her pacing back and forth, clearly frustrated at her failed attempt at whatever it was she was trying to gain.
"Galaxia-sama already warned me that if I screwed up again, I was done for. And those bitches Iron-Crow and Aluminum-Siren are going to be so smug about it too, I just know it." She then started to run her hands frantically through her hair, "Gah! This pisses me off!"
She sat still, thinking really hard, he could tell.
"I know!" she perked up, "I'll tell Galaxia-sama that I know for sure this time who the next target is, then she'll have to at least let me have one more chance."
Demande reached in his pocket and put on his black crystal earrings.
"If I hurry now, I can research on who will be the carrier of the perfect star seed."
She then summoned a telephone booth that appeared out of nowhere and although he didn't have a plan, he knew that this was his only chance to act.
When she closed the booth's door behind her, she was alarmed to find that Prince Demande had teleported inside the booth with her.
"Going up?" he quipped.
"What the-who are you? Earthlings aren't able to see this phone booth, what's going on?!" she shouted.
"I want you to take me to who's in charge. Now." He told her.
"Like hell I will!" she exclaimed.
She brought her gold bracelets together and a glow, that same glow he saw before, started to form in each one. But soon enough, they ended up disappearing.
Shock spread over her face.
"Th-This has never happened before, I don't understand!" She said in a panic.
"I'm not going to say it again. Take me to your superior now."
His third eye appeared on his forehead, and she couldn't help but look up at it, getting trapped in it's hypnotic effect.
The pupils of her eyes disappeared and she stared blankly up at him.
"Yes, Prince Demande-sama." She said cooperatively.
The phone booth then disappeared into the night.
Immediately, they had reached their destination, if one could call it that.
When he stepped out of the phone booth, he could hardly believe the place they were in, it was indescribable.
There was no floor, no ceiling, no set of boundaries at all. When he looked down at his feet, it was as if he was floating in space itself, yet he could feel that his feet were planted on an invisible ground. Everywhere he turned showed thousands, if not millions of stars that spanned endlessly in every direction.
Where in the world was this place?
"Sailor Iron Mouse, what is the meaning of this?" called a woman's voice.
Sailor Iron Mouse's eyes were still glazed over in a daze, but began to regain life in them once she heard the woman's voice. It took her a few moments to register what was going on around her and once she did, she started to panic.
She rushed out of the phone booth and dropped to her knees as the phone booth disappeared behind her.
"Ma-Madame Galaxia-sama, please let me explain…" Iron Mouse pleaded.
"Not only have you failed in collecting a single true Star Seed since arriving on Earth, but now you have the audacity to bring an outsider to my lair?!" the woman's voice grew louder.
Demande now could see that among all stars, in a distance sat a woman on a throne.
She wore an outfit that was almost similar to that of the senshi's, but, it was made from gold, like it was armored. Her beauty was beyond an Earth woman's, however, the first thing he picked up from her was her powerful demeanor that was so intense, it was frightening even to him.
There was no doubt, she was the leader.
He could then hear giggling coming from both sides of them. When he looked around, he noticed two figures that he was only able to make out the silhouette of. After concentrating further, each of their eyes glowed back at him, one with the color of red and the other, the color blue.
The giggling continued, "How will she ever get out of this one, I wonder." One of them said.
"It's so pathetic, I can hardly watch." The other one replied.
"Galaxia-sama, I don't know how it happened! He appeared out of thin air into the phone booth, which you yourself stated that no mortal Earthling would be able to see and then somehow he forced me to take him here. I tried to eliminate him with the gold armlets but, for some reason they wouldn't work, I swear!" Sailor Iron said.
"It is not that the armlets don't work, it is simply that you are weak!"
Sailor Iron Mouse bowed her head to the ground and started to whimper.
"I will deal with you shortly!" Galaxia said before turning her attention toward Demande.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Demande was completely unprepared for what was to come.
"My name is Tohru." He replied.
"Lies." She said.
"No, it's not, that is my name." he countered.
"That is not your real name. You are in my territory now so you will drop this façade. Step forward!" she commanded.
He did as she asked, walking towards her until she signaled him to stop.
"Just as I thought." She said to him.
He didn't know what she meant until he looked down at his feet and curiously enough, he wasn't wearing the same shoes as he was wearing before. As he looked to his pants, then arms and chest, he found that he wasn't wearing the clothes he came in at all, but rather his white suit that he always wore on Nemesis. As his hair fell into his face, he noticed that is was no longer blonde but his natural, white color.
"Now, I'll ask you for the last time. Who are you? I know that you are no ordinary Earthling." She said impatiently.
He saw no point in hiding the truth.
"You're right, I am not from Earth originally. I come from a planet I governed over that no longer exists…or rather hasn't existed yet. You see, I'm not from this time as well and I now live in this century because I am unable to go back to my time. I know it's an incredible story but…"
"No need to say anymore, I believe you." She said uninterestedly.
She appeared bored now and brought up a gem in her hand that had a luminous glow to it, she started to look at it and could tell it mesmerized her.
Demande recognized it because it resembled the same gem that Sailor Iron Mouse brought out of the conductor. But, this gem's glow was far more beautiful and as he looked around, he could now see that what he thought were stars all around them was actually thousands of those tiny gems that held the same intensity to that of actual stars.
"Might I ask what these jewels are that surround us?" he asked her.
"They are not the jewels, to call them that is an insult." She then raised the one she was holding higher as if to display it. "These are Star Seeds."
"Star Seeds?" he asked.
"It is the life source of a person or even an object that has been crystallized into a form such as this. Without it, the person will cease to exist. This one, I had acquired when I first came to this planet and is by far my most favorite and precious Star Seed." She looked to it affectionately.
"Here, behold it's magnificence." She threw it towards him.
"Madam Galaxia, you shouldn't, this man clearly can't be trusted!" Sailor Iron Mouse interjected.
"Silence!" she shouted back to her. "How much of a fool do you think I am?"
Sailor Iron Mouse bowed her head to the ground once again.
Demande caught it and held the aura surrounding it in both his hands. The light of it was almost blinding and there was definitely something much different about it than the two he had seen before.
What Earthling could this have possibly belonged to for it to give off a light such as this, he wondered.
Just then a vision came to him.
The horrified looked of a man's face that grew closer, then closer, then closer now to where he could see that it was…
He couldn't believe it. This Star Seed belonged to King Endymion!
He was so overcome with shock that he had even realized that she had summoned the Star Seed back towards her and that he was holding nothing but air.
"Beautiful, isn't it." Galaxia commented.
"I heard you say something about a 'true Star Seed', is that what this is?" he asked her.
"Yes." She replied.
"And what do you do with them, once you have them?"
"Once I have collected what I need, I will be able to revive our long lost master. When I have collected all that Earth has to offer, I will move on to the next planet. A few sacrifices, yes, but all for a great cause." She said.
"Why are you telling me all this?" he asked her.
She smiled at him deviously.
"Because you will never leave this place here alive."
She then set the star see aside and raised her arms up towards him, showing the gold armlets that wrapped around her wrists.
He took a step back and felt a panic surge through him.
Sailor Iron Mouse peaked her head up while the two, black figures continued to giggle.
"I could have killed you immediately but, you reminded me somewhat of myself, a lonely traveler that crossed the galaxy in search of a new way of life. Only, you ended up at the wrong place in the wrong time. Don't be sad, you will go to the grave with knowledge that no other mortal man will ever possess and that is my farewell gift to you."
The armlets began to form the glowing orbs inside each of them and he braced himself for what would happen next as he closed his eyes and shielded himself with his cape.
Moments passed, but nothing happened.
"What's this?" she said to herself.
He looked up to find that the glowing orbs had disappeared.
"That!" Sailor Iron Mouse pointed at her. "That's the same thing that happened to me!"
Galaxia looked to Demande.
"You…are a child of Chaos." She told him.
"A child of what?" he asked her in confusion.
Both the figures and Sailor Iron Mouse gasped at the same time.
"Interesting…" Galaxia said in delight.
"I don't understand, who is this, Chaos." Demande asked again.
"It is no matter. He wishes for me to spare your life and that is what I must do." She replied.
"Just like that? What does all of this mean?" He asked impatiently.
"It means that as long as you stay out of my way, you will be spared from what is to come as well as anyone who carries the same blood as you." She said.
She summoned the phone booth that immediately spawned behind him.
"This will take you back to where you came from, but you will never enter this place again. Be lucky that because of who you are, you will live to see another day." Galaxia told him.
"Please tell me what-" Demande started to say.
He stopped midsentence as his head began to pound ruthlessly and his vision became foggy. The earrings of the Jakokusuishou that he was still wearing started to glow on and off uncontrollably and he started to lose himself again just as he had before the concert started.
Galaxia leaned forward in anticipation, unaware of what was happening as did the rest.
She noticed that whatever was causing his pain stopped and he lifted his head up and seemingly regained his composure.
There was a noticeable change in his demeanor. The earrings that were dull and black before, glowed a bright purple as did his eyes.
"Tell our master that Prince Demande of Nemesis gives his thanks and will do his best to ensure that his reign will come once again."
Galaxia looked at him in surprise but then smiled her devious smile once again and replied, "That's more like it."
"Now if you'll excuse me, I seemed to have overstayed my welcome, it's been a pleasure." He bowed towards Galaxia and walked inside the phone booth before it disappeared from the unknown place.
Galaxia began to laugh maniacally and then turned her attention toward Sailor Iron Mouse.
"Now…what to do with you."