"Nii-san, wake up." A faint voice called to him.
Demande was unresponsive at first but jerked awake when he felt his shoulders being violently shaken.
His vision was fuzzy, but once it cleared, he managed to recognize the outline of his brother standing over him.
"Sapphir.." he mumbled.
"Shh." Sapphir said pressing his finger over his mouth.
"What's going on, where am I?" Demande asked.
"We're outside the arena. Something's happened, you must get up now." He told him in a hurried tone.
Demande forced himself up but winced when he felt his entire body ache with pain.
He honestly couldn't remember how he got there, as if he awoke from a dream and couldn't quite recount the details from it. How long had he been lying here like this, he wondered.
"What do you mean?" he asked while wiping the cold sweat off of his forehead.
Sapphir held a finger to his mouth to silence him.
He then whispered, "When I found my friends and then went to look for you, people started running away, saying they could hear explosions going off. I told my friends to go on ahead so I could look for you and ran towards where the explosions were coming from, and that's when I found you lying here, as well as…."
Sapphir motioned to where the arena was and grabbed Demande to peer through the railings along with him.
There were 6 people in total on the stage of the arena. Four of them being who he had left here earlier but the other two…
"Stop it both of you!" Sailor Moon called out to the two unknown senshi as she stood in front of the three leather clad senshi, known as the Sailor Starlights.
The two senshi, one being a very tall woman with short, dirty blonde hair walked alongside another female with wavy flowing hair that shared the same color as sea water.
The scent of rose petals filled the air as they walked closer, close enough to get a real good look at them. There was something very familiar about the both of them.
"They're invaders from outside the solar system!" The tall one said sternly to sailor moon.
"What?" she gasped.
The two mystery senshi began to display a fighting stance, "We can't trust them!"
The Starlights clearly feeling threatened, began theirs as well.
Sailor Moon stood between them, blocking them with her outstretched arms.
"That's not so! These aren't bad people!" she pleaded to them.
The wavy haired senshi then yelled to her, "Get out of the way!"
Demande was confused at this point on if they were her allies or not.
"Forget it!" called out Sailor Star Fighter.
Sailor Moon turned to them in surprise.
"We won't force you to cooperate!" said Sailor Star Healer.
"We can fully take care of ourselves." Sailor Star Maker then said after.
Sailor Star Fighter then looked to Sailor Moon and told her in a voice that Demande and Sapphir were barely able to make out, "Maybe we're incompatible after all."
Sailor Moon clearly hurt by this said in desperation, "That's not so.."
But before she could finish her thought the Sailor Starlights took off without a second's notice.
"It isn't so." Sailor Moon said to herself. "I know we could've reached an understanding."
She then turned to the two unknown Senshi.
"Why? Why can't we fight alongside them?" she asked angrily.
The wavy haired senshi softened her expression.
"Our mission is to protect you from outside invaders." She told Sailor Moon.
"You are our Princess and we must keep you safe at all cost, try to understand, Sailor Moon." The tall one said.
"Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune…" Sailor Moon looked to each of them. "Please reconsider, I know they're good people and I really think they could help us in fighting the enemy."
"I'm sorry, but it is impossible." Sailor Neptune said.
"Go and find your friends, they're most likely very worried." Sailor Uranus told her.
The two of them turned to walk away.
As they began to approach the exit, Sailor Neptune, without the other one noticing, turned and looked directly to Demande and Sapphir as if she knew they were hiding there the entire time.
Demande and Sapphir immediately ducked out of sight and looked to each other before signaling to relocate before they would be caught.
They hurried to the other side of the building before stopping to catch their breaths.
"I don't believe it…two… more…Senshi…" Demande said while panting.
"It's impossible I tell you, in all my research, there was never any evidence of a 'Sailor Uranus or Sailor Neptune'." Sapphir replied breathlessly.
"Maybe you just missed it somehow. We never knew of the existence of Sailor Pluto until Black Lady informed us." Demande said.
"That was different because she resided inside the Queen's time portal. If she was on Earth at any point, I would have known about it, I assure you."
"But we didn't even know of Sailor Moon until Rubeus first came to the 20th century and reported her to us." Demande told Sapphir.
Sapphir didn't seem to be listening to Demande and instead was thinking to himself. "My research is never wrong. Unless…"
Sapphir paced back and forth, back and forth until he suddenly stopped.
"Yes…I don't know why it didn't occur to me before." He said aloud.
"What is it?" Demande asked.
Sapphir turned to him, "Do you remember what I said to you last night about how you courting the Queen could cause an alteration in the timeline?"
"I vaguely remember, but yes."
"Things have been happening around here that were never intended to have happened. After Sailor Moon defeated Wiseman, even more enemies have shown up since then."
"She defeated Wiseman?" Demande then shouted. "And you never told me?!"
"I'll explain it all that later, please try listen to what I have to say." Sapphir replied. "Yes, she defeated Wiseman. The problem with that, was that Wiseman was never supposed to have been part of the original timeline in the first place, as well the Jakokusuishou, the Black Moon clan, even the Rabbit. I think the reason these new senshi exist here and now, is because of the repercussions from the altered timeline caused dark forces from outside the solar system to enter here. "
Demande continued to listen.
"It is true that I had made one error in my research in not knowing Sailor Moon's existence and her connection to the Queen, however, after we had discovered who she was, I was able to hack into a part of Crystal Tokyo's main database that I was unable to access before and found out many things we hadn't known." Sapphir told him.
"Such as what?" Demande asked.
"Records dating back to this time. Two years ago she awakened her power, as well as fighting one life threatening battle with Queen Beryl, a former enemy that resided in the time of the Silver Millennium. This battle was destined to be followed by another millennia of peace. In her 22nd year, she will have ascended the throne, unlocking the full power of the Silver Crystal, on the night of her courtship to King Endymion, and in one hundred years will give birth to her one and only child, the Rabbit. There's so much more, even information on the kingdom from the Silver Millennium."
"How come you never relayed this information to me before?" Demande asked irritably.
"It's not that I was withholding the information from you, but, I had suspected that Wiseman had corrupted you beyond return by that point and I didn't want him to get a hold of any it." Sapphir assured him.
Demande didn't respond, he always felt a tinge of guilt whenever Wiseman's betrayal was brought up.
"I never could have imagined that messing with time travel could reap such consequences. Dear God, what future is there going to be for us?" Sapphir said seemingly to himself.
"Let's discuss this more when we return home, clearly you've come upon the news of Wiseman's demise and I'm curious to know how." Demande said.
"You're right, there is something I've been keeping from you. Let's get out of here and I'll tell you everything." Sapphir replied.
They both walked side by side, back towards the entrance where there would be a bus stop not much further ahead. Just as they turned the corner of the building, Michiru happened to be coming from the opposite way and both parties stopped immediately when one became aware of the other's presence.
"So we meet again, Mr. Satoshi-san." Michiru said to Demande with a smile.
When Sapphir realized that the woman who was clearly familiar with his brother was the famous violinist that they had watched perform only an hour earlier, he realized that Demande had been hiding something from him as well.
"I was just now able to find my brother with all the commotion going on." He told her casually.
"Unfortunately for me, I got separated from Haruka as we were searching for some people we know and that's who I'm trying to find." Michiru continued.
"I see, then we won't keep you any longer then." Demande said.
She continued to smile and looked to both of them now.
"I hope you both enjoyed the entertainment this evening." She said politely.
Sapphir blushed then began to say nervously. "Oh-yes, the music was absolutely..wonderful." Immediately feeling awkward afterwards.
She then narrowed her eyes suspiciously to each one as if she was looking right through them and then let out a soft giggle. "Yes….the music…."
As she walked away, Sapphir and Demande looked at each other questioningly before it occurred to Demande as he stared after her, that he realized now why one of the senshi looked so familiar to him.
The smell of rose petals…the hair color of sea water…Michiru Kaioh wasn't simply just a good friend of Usagi's, but was one of Usagi's guardian senshi….Sailor Neptune.
Sapphir and Demande returned home, immediately after the encounter. They didn't speak the entire way but they both knew they had many things to discuss.
They sat on either end of their couch at home and kept quiet for several minutes. It was apparent that each of the brothers were processing all that had just taken place an hour earlier.
Both looked to each other and opened their mouths as if to speak but stopped when each one noticed it.
"Go ahead." Demande gestured towards Sapphir.
"I'll tell you now about how I know about Wiseman." He told Demande.
"Go on." Demande said.
"I should also let you know that I've known there have been recent attacks from various creatures around town that the sailor senshi have been fighting against. It's not that I was purposely keeping it from you, but, it was only hearsay and I honestly refused to believe it. All these things she told me that have happened are just simply impossible and never took place according to my research." Sapphir said before trailing off into his thoughts.
"Who is she?" Demande asked.
Sapphir guiltily looked away, avoiding eye contact.
"Berthier knows about us. That we're alive and assuming new identities."
"You mean…Berthier of the Spectre Sisters?" Demande raised his voice.
"Yes, there was a lot that happened that night I stormed out of here, I'll tell you everything even though I'm definitely not proud of all that I did." Sapphir told him.
Demande leaned in to listen intently has Sapphir recounted all that took place, from him getting blackmailed from those women into drinking himself into a drunken stupor, to then passing out near the sidewalk that Berthier happened to walk by.
He explained all the things she had told him, omitting the things about Petz that Sapphir wanted to keep blocked off in his mind for now.
"Do you really think we can trust her not to tell the Senshi?" Demande asked.
"We have no choice but to believe her. She said that she rarely keeps in contact with them due to their business anyway and she hasn't run to them thus far so I think as long as we don't give her a reason to, she won't." Sapphir said.
"I can't believe that you wouldn't tell me about Wiseman of all things knowing how much I worried about him returning." Demande said in aggravation.
"I'm sorry brother, I know it was selfish of me to do." Sapphir said.
Demande exhaled, "I'm just relieved that it's something I can finally put out of the back of my mind and never worry about again."
"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, what was it you were going to tell me?" Sapphir asked Demande.
"I can say with absolute certainty that the violinist, Michiru Kaioh, and the 'Sailor Neptune' we witnessed tonight are in fact one in the same." Demande said with the upmost seriousness.
Saphir stood up from the couch.
"How can you know that? As a matter of fact, how do you two know each other in the first place? You can't tell me this is the first time you've ever met her, she knew you by name and everything."
Demande thought about it for a few minutes, what he would tell Sapphir of how it all took place.
He knew Sapphir would be upset if he told him that Usagi and him were hanging out with each other outside of the school so instead, he lied and said that he walked inside the arcade to use the facilities on his way home and that was how he accidentally ran into Usagi, and the rest were the events that had actually taken place.
"I can't explain it Sapphir, from the moment I met Miss Kaioh and the young man she was with, I could feel this strange tension between the three of us. As if she knew something about me that I didn't. I could sense a powerful aura between the two of them that was unlike anything I ever sensed before. Who are these people?"
"I don't know but, I think you should quit your job." Sapphir said bluntly.
"Quit my job? I can't do that, it's the only income we have at the moment. The money we received for the gems won't last forever, you know? Demande said furiously.
"Find another one. You heard what they said. The Starlights showed no hostility toward "their princess" and yet they were willing to blow them up in a second. Those two senshi had a much greater power then the ones we knew of, we wouldn't have a chance if they suspected us."
"I hardly have any contact with Usagi at all as it is, I'm nothing but the school librarian to her and they aren't even students at this school so none of us would even cross paths, what happened yesterday was a pure coincidence and it would be unlikely that we would all ever be in the same room again."
Sapphir rolled his eyes. "Nii-san I only suggest this because I don't want any harm to come to you. If what you said happened in the way you described it to me, it's clear that Michiru or rather, Sailor Neptune is suspicious of you, can't you see that?"
"I promise, nothing is going to happen to me. I will continue my job at the school and everything will continue as normal. Now if we're done here I think I shall go to bed." Demande said dismissively, turning to his bedroom.
"There's one more very important thing I must ask you before you do that." Sapphir said.
Demande was tired and felt his head started to pound, he was exhausted and hardly had the energy to continue the discussion as he had suffered a serious black out earlier that was still troubling to him. But, he turned back around to him anyway.
"What is it?" he asked.
"The visions. You've been having them too, yes?" Sapphir asked.
Demande stood back in surprise.
"I thought so." Sappir said.
"With all that's happened I haven't even had time to ponder on it." Demande commented.
"The first time I experienced it, I was early to one of my classes and the only other person inside was a woman who was crying. I walked up to her to try and comfort her but, the moment I placed my hand on her shoulder, fragments of her memory played into my head of a man hitting her over and over. It scared the hell out of me and since that time I've had similar experiences with a couple of other people with the memories becoming more vivid each time."
"It's the same with me as well. I don't understand how this is happening." Demande admitted.
"I believe it has to do with how the black crystal is adapting to the Earth. Because we took the crystal away from it's home planet to one with different atmospheric conditions such as what Earth has." Sappir said.
"So you're saying we could gain powers that weren't possible before?" Demande asked.
"Yes, but it could also evolve in a way that could be hard to control down the line. I suggest that we focus our time and energy on reviving Rubeus and Esmeraude and destroy the black crystal as soon as possible."
"I agree. If it's okay, I'd like to retire to my room now, I'm very tired and have much to think about. Goodnight."
"Goodnight-" Sapphir started to say back but Demande had already shut himself inside his bedroom.
"….Nii-san."
The next day at the school proved to be a long one as Demande was hardly able to get any sleep the night before. There was something in the back of his mind that had been bothering him, a crucial memory and he knew it was essential that he'd remember it, but it was no use. The last thing he remembered before his blackout was chasing Sailor Iron Mouse into the wooded area near the venue. She was pacing frantically before he soon confronted her and then…his mind only goes blank after that.
It was useless, for now, he needed to concentrate on finding all he could about the senshi he saw that night.
He took advantage of using the school's internet to investigate while students were in their classes, leaving the library completely empty.
The only subject he had to research at the moment was Michiru Kaioh. It was unlikely he would find out anything in relation to her being a senshi as he was sure her identity was kept secret, but, since she was famous, there would be a lot of information about her and it was possible he may be able to find something he could use.
It wouldn't be as easy to do this for him as it would for a human in this time. 20th century internet was definitely more complicated than he had expected as it since his first time ever using it.
When he entered her name into the search bar, there were several fan web pages that popped up that were dedicated to her, just as he had anticipated. He clicked the first one and read intently.
She was a third year high school student at Mugen Gakuen where she first debuted her talent as a violinist. She also excels at painting and swimming, so much so that the Mugen Gakuen's swimming team expressed great interest in making her captain but she turned the offer down due to 'not having the time', the website says.
He continued to read through the article, however, most of it was useless drivel, talking about her favorite tv shows, composers, and makeup brands.
'Michiru Kaoih also says her favorite activities include walking on the beach with her important partner, Haruka Tenoh.'
Demande zeroed in on the name. That was the man at the arcade accompanying her, the one who also carried an unknown and highly suspicious aura.
'Michiru is very private about their relationship and it is currently unknown how long they have been together. But based on the first photograph our fan base has taken of the two of them together, it is estimated that they been dating for almost two years and are by far the most beautiful yet mysterious couple in Juuban right now.'
Demande exited out of the fan page and now typed Haruka's name into the search bar.
Several web pages and articles of Haruka popped up, in fact it seemed as if he was even more known than Michiru.
Demande clicked on the first link.
A picture of Haruka appeared on the screen wearing a professional driver's uniform, holding a helmet in one arm with a trophy in the other.
Apparently Haruka is a world renowned professional racecar driver that has competed all across Asia, Europe and North America and even competes occasionally in Motocross.
Demande, being as tired as he was from the restless evening before began to find the screen blurry and hard to focus on, causing him to religiously sip on the coffee he held in one hand as he scrolled through the web page with the other.
'First competing barely as a freshmen in high school, Haruka Tenoh displayed remarkable talent in the Grand Prix 1993, breaking records not only for the quickest time finished but also for being the youngest winner in Japan.'
'When Haruka isn't competing or practicing on the tracks, she spends most of her time with girlfriend and violinist, Michiru Kaoih. They keep very private, and not much is known about either's personal life.'
Demande reread the sentence again and noticed a curious detail.
She?
He choked and spit out the coffee he had been sipping on as he accidentally gasped and cupped his hand over his mouth. He really needed to fix this new bad habit he had developed.
Haruka was a female?
This was something unheard of to him, a woman who dressed as a man. Nemesis never people like this…or at least this is what he was brought up to believe. Even people of the same sex being romantically involved was nonexistent.
There was no reason to harbor on this new concept, the real revelation in this fact put all the pieces of the puzzle in place for him.
He remembered the familiarity he felt towards the other senshi that was with Sailor Neptune that night. The very tall, short haired senshi, that was called, Sailor Uranus.
Demande started to smile and even laughed slightly.
'Haruka Tenoh and Michiru Kaioh…no….Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. In less than 24 hours upon seeing you for the first time I have managed to figure out both of your identities and yet you have absolutely nothing on me.' He thought to himself. 'I know from now on to be wary of the two of you and it'll only be a matter of time until I find the identities of the other possible threats, the Sailor Starlights.'
Just then, a book dropped onto his desk, startling him. He looked down to the cover of 'Romeo & Juliet' and then onto it's owner.
Seiya stood and glared down at him
"I'm finished with my book and wanted to return it." He said indifferently.
"Good for you." Demande replied, "Miss Tsukino is nearly finished writing your book report, but it's great that you can finally contribute at least one sentence to it."
Seiya, clearly irked by the comment, opened his mouth to say something but then stopped and brushed his hair with his fingers trying to keep his composure.
"That's fine with me." Seiya smirked to Demande. "It'll give us more time for 'other things' on our outing we have planned this weekend."
Demande stood up out of his chair without thinking.
He wanted nothing more than to blast this bastard's head off right here and now but he knew that he was only trying to get a reaction out of him and didn't want to give him that satisfaction.
Instead Demande calmly sat back down and smiled back at him.
"I wonder if she knows about this." He replied back to Seiya.
"Oh believe me." Seiya then looked at Demande straight in the eyes. "She does."
A strange energy passed between the two of them, a strange and almost threatening energy.
Seiya turned away from him and walked out of the library without saying another word, taking the strange energy with him.
'Just who are you, really?' Demande thought to himself.
He then went back to his computer and angrily typed in a new name into the search bar:
'Seiya Kou'
Author's Note: Thank you all for continuing to follow my story! I hope you like the direction it's going in so far and would appreciate your reviews and opinions on it. Stay tuned for the next chapter!