Well, I apologize for missing a few updates. It's not because I am not working on this fic, but more of a reflection of the fact January was a living hell for me. It started with the refrigerator falling through my kitchen floor and ended with a death sentence for my family car with my father being hospitalized for two weeks and going my annual salary in debt for all the repairs.
But now it's February, and I'm actually on a vacation now (paid for by my monster-in-law and booked long before the nightmare January). I'd hoped to post Tuesday, but I got swamped with trip prep. But I just docked at Key West (I'm on a Disney Cruise!), and saw my inbox full of reviews and Floraone is reading now? (Fangirl squeal!) so I am using my hubby's phone hotspot to update while the Toddler sleeps in.
So, I want to promise that the reveal will happen by Chapter 30. Probably. I have it written, but there's a few more complications before they can figure out their alter-egos. I also have a calendar where I've been keeping track of time passage in this story, which, if you were wondering, started in January and is now in April. Also, Chapter 24 is in beta-reading, so that one should be on time.
I want to send a super special thanks to emkyrialynch for beat-reading this chapter because it would have been riddled with misspellings and other issues. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I'll do a bett round up of thanks when I get home in a week.
Sailor Moon X by Starling Sinclair
Chapter 23: Jadeite's Advice
February 9, 2020
XXX
In the days following Yumeno's attack, life was great. Minako had eased up on Usagi just enough that her morning training wasn't quite as harsh. Work was good; Mamoru was better. Everything was looking up until one cool, especially spring morning when someone unexpected waltzed into Crown.
Usagi had been leaning against the gotchapons and staring at Itto, her coworker. He was shamelessly flirting with a couple of high school girls. She shook her head, reminiscing about the times she spent here as a teen, ogling Motoki or flirt/fighting with Mamoru before finally finding her place as an employee. With a fond smile, she had walked over to the change machine and scanned the little card on her lanyard to get a report on its holdings.
As she read the little paper read-out on how many bills were in the machine versus hundred-yen coins, the door chimed. She glanced up, then did a double-take as her brain realized just who walked in.
"Jadeite," Usagi whispered to herself. "What the hell is he doing here?"
He was nearly unrecognizable. His hair was unkempt in a stylish sort of way. He seemed meek and so very young in his jeans and an oversized graphic tee shirt. It was almost impossible to think that the man she'd fought on the tarmac not quite two weeks ago was the same person. His blue eyes looked around with purpose before finally landing on her.
As he moved towards her, she swallowed hard, not exactly afraid, but apprehensive. She glanced at Itto, who was still flirting with the girls. Great. She was about to face a former enemy who wanted to do god knows what to her and the dumb boy wouldn't even notice.
In a heartbeat, Jadeite stood before her. "I was hoping to find you here," he said, then added in a low voice no one else would hear, "Sailor Moon."
She crinkled her nose with distaste. It was the first time she'd ever been addressed by her Senshi identity in her civilian form, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Also, how did Jadeite of all people know her identity?
With another glance back at Itto, this time to see if he indeed wouldn't notice, Usagi took Jadeite's hand and walked out the back door into the ally. Nothing good ever happened in this alley, but at least it wouldn't happen in her newly renovated arcade. The door slammed behind her as she cased the alley, making sure it was clear of eavesdroppers and monsters.
"How do you know who I am?" Usagi said, turning and facing him.
Jadeite sighed, all puff and circumstance rolling off him as his shoulders sagged. "It's a long story, but when you healed me, you healed more than you know," he explained. "Your Senshi glamor no longer works on me, and I don't know the name you have in this life."
Usagi's eyes were wide. "This life?" Did he know about her past life? The one that only Luna seemed to know anything about? That she was a reincarnated warrior from some dead kingdom? Did that mean he was also from that kingdom? Oh god, this was all too much thinking for her.
A sadness crossed his face, and she realized he'd been hoping she'd remembered. Her heart twinged for him as she thought about what he must be facing. Memories from a life no one else knew; crimes that were committed because some darkness controlled him. The solitude at that magnitude would be a hell of a thing.
"I guess you know less than I thought," he said after a beat. "But I'm not here to hurt you. I want to help."
Help? Could she trust him?
"And I think you're the only one who will trust me," he continued. "I have a lot of sins to amend for, and I think if I help you, then maybe I can help ease this burden I have to carry."
"You are being very cryptic."
He smirked, and there was some ghost of the former villain in the man before her. That mischievousness must have always been part of his nature.
"I came here to help, and that's really all," he said. "I have insider information that might be of use to you."
"Okay, I'm listening," Usagi said, crossing her arms in front of her.
"Nephrite has taken over several of my energy gathering operations throughout the city. One of them is at the fitness club not too far from here. Fitness Darque I believe," Jadeite continued.
"Why don't you stop them yourself?" Usagi asked.
He held up two fingers as he continued, "One, when you healed me, you removed all the Dark Kingdom's power over me and in me. That included my enhanced abilities. Right now, I'm not much against them on my own. And two, I would tip them off and then they'll move them. However, if I leaked you the info one at a time, and you and your Senshi could take care of them."
Well, it wasn't a terrible plan. Wasn't a great one either. Still, it was better than nothing. Maybe it could even help her stay in Minako's good graces.
Usagi nodded. "Okay, I'll do it."
"Thank you, Sailor Moon," he said with a sincere smile. It suited him.
"It's Usagi," she said. "Call me Usagi."
"Okay, Usagi."
She moved toward the backdoor but stopped just short of opening it for him. He knew things, maybe she could use this towards her advantage.
Turning, she asked, "Do you know anything about the rainbow crystals?"
Jadeite shook his head. "They're Zoisite's thing," he said dejectedly, "I'm afraid I don't know much."
Well, damn. Slowly, she wrapped her hand on the doorknob.
"Zoisite," she whispered. "Well, thanks for the info."
"Thank you," he said. She pulled open the door, and he paused to look at her. "Thank you, Usagi, for saving me. I hope that I can repay you one day."
Her heart warmed a little at the unexpected compliment. Minako may not have agreed with her, but at least that just reaffirmed that she did the right thing. With a smile, she said, "you're welcome, Jadeite."
XXX
Usagi wasn't entirely sure what to do with her newfound information, but she was sure she couldn't tell Minako. No matter how much it seemed like Jadeite had changed (and to Usagi, she was sure he had), the most experienced Senshi would not trust him (or anything he said). So, if she were going to pursue this lead, she would need to do it on her own. Mostly.
Makoto and Luna joined her at Ami's place (which was mostly picked because she had the biggest place of the three of them). Luna was on the roaster because she'd taken to staying at Ami's most nights to give Usagi "privacy." Plus, the doctor had even bought a kitty bed for her.
Makoto cooked them a simple dinner of yakisoba with fresh vegetables while Ami supplied a fancy red cabernet.
"A gym?" Makoto asked over the sizzle of the cast-iron wok. "And you're sure about this?"
"Yes," Usagi said. "I'm sure."
"Didn't you say this Jadeite guy was a bad guy?" Ami asked, swirling the wine in her glass. (Usagi was terrified that they were actually real crystal glasses, so she only carefully held hers.)
"Yeah, but I healed him."
"That was only like two weeks ago, Usa," Makoto added.
"Well, he found me…"
"That's another piece of concerning information," Luna added. "How did he find you?"
Usagi dropped her head on the table, arms outstretched but carefully clutching her wine glass. "You are all focusing on the wrong details!"
"Usa is right," Ami interjected. "Even if the source is suspicious, it's a tip worth investigating."
"Thank you," Usagi said emphatically.
Makoto set plates in front of the women and one in front of the cat. Carrying the wok in one hand, and cooking chopsticks in the other, she started serving everyone. After distributing the noodles, she brought over a smaller skillet that she'd prepared some fresh fish in for Luna.
While the brunette served, Ami pulled out her smartphone and did a quick google search on the name of the gym.
"It has excellent yelp reviews," she stated.
"Yelp reviews can be faked," Makoto added, taking a seat at the table. "I mean, that's what that guy in London did."
"Are you suggesting that the Dark Kingdom controls Yelp?" Usagi asked. "What a dastardly plan!"
"I believe she is just saying to be a bit skeptical of fantastic Yelp reviews," Ami said before taking a delicate bite of noodles.
"So clearly, this means we just need to go there in person and check it out," Usagi continued, then started shoveling noodles into her mouth.
"Because that worked so well last time," Luna scoffed.
"Hey! It worked out totally fine last time! And this time, I'm bringing back up!"
Luna looked over her plate of food at her Senshi ward skeptically.
"Oh? Does that mean we need to get Minako and Rei involved?" Ami asked.
"Um, no, you two are my back up."
The two darker-haired women exchanged a nervous glance while the talking cat snickered.
"Alright," Makoto said. "Then, when are we 'investigating?'"
"It's one of those twenty-four-hour places, so I thought we could do it after dinner!"
Makoto nearly choked on her wine while Ami groaned.
"Well, that sounds about as thought out as the House of Fortune," Luna said. "By the way, Makoto, this fish is delicious."
XXX
Shiny was not usually the first word that came to mind when trying to describe a gym, but it was the best descriptor for Fitness Darque. Everything was made of chrome and mirrors, and it felt oddly like a high-end office waiting room. Ami had lent the two girls some acceptable work-out clothes. (Makoto had been happy she'd worn leggings to dinner because there was no way the tiny blue-haired woman would ever have had pants that would have fit her.)
The place was surprisingly busy for 8 pm on a Thursday night. Though, several of the patrons were wandering around in a trance-like state. Usagi cocked her head to the side and assessed that surely had to be a sign.
"Did she almost run into a wall?" Makoto whispered upon observing a very tired looking woman in an obnoxiously pink tank top and leggings nearly run into a wall she was so out of it.
"Perhaps the mirror confused her?" Ami tried.
"Or, her energy's been drained by the Dark Kingdom," Usagi retorted.
The other two girls rolled their eyes.
"Well," Makoto continued, "This is the strangest gym I've ever been to."
An extremely attractive woman sat behind a semi-circular and mirrored desk that was more at home in a movie about a high-end fashion magazine than a gym. (Usagi just chalked this up s another point that this had to be a Dark Kingdom scheme.) The woman was thin, super fit, and wearing a leotard like she was from some early nineties work-out video.
"Welcome to Fitness Darque. Do you have a membership?" she greeted in a politely disinterested voice.
"Someone could use some enthusiasm," Usagi grumbled under her breath.
Makoto jabbed her in the ribs before putting on her best customer service yes. "No, we don't. But we were looking to enroll."
"Would you be interested in our thirty-day free trial?" the woman said robotically.
At this, Usagi perked up. "Oooo! Very," she said. "Sign us up!"
Without looking at them, the woman handed over three clipboards. The Senshi stepped aside to fill them out.
"Yeah, Jadeite was right. This has to be a Dark Kingdom plot," Makoto whispered. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone less human working customer service."
Ami gasped as Usagi stooped behind the two women to set her duffle bag on the ground. With their provided cover, she unzipped her bag, and Luna crept out. With a sly smile between the two, Luna slunk off to look for clues. In retrospect, she probably didn't even need to hide to let the cat out of the bag because that receptionist probably wouldn't even notice if the apocalypse as happening in her storefront.
The girls returned their filled-out clipboards, and the robot girl gave them entry badges before leading them to a locker room.
"Free lockers?" Usagi observed. "Another sign this must be the Dark Kingdom."
"I think you two are being a little melodramatic here," Ami suggested as the girls crammed their belongings into a shared space.
"You just must be used to ritzy things, Ami, because free lockers are only available at ritzy places and the Ghibli Museum," Usagi explained.
As they walked back toward the gym, Usagi nearly ran face-first into a rather handsome personal trainer. Thankfully, Makoto grabbed her shoulder to prevent the collision.
He was quite tall with broad shoulders and long brown hair tied into a low ponytail. He seemed very familiar, but Usagi couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Welcome to Fitness Darque," he greeted, his voice dark and smooth. "I'll be your personal trainer. What are you lovely ladies looking for today?"
His voice was distinctly not robotic. Did that mean he probably wasn't a youma? Was he working for the Dark Kingdom or was he some poor, attractive bystander dragged into this mess?
"My friends and I were hoping to get more in shape, and maybe do some self-defense training," Makoto said, sliding up to the trainer with a flirty maneuver.
There was only a vague relaxation at the corners of his mouth to indicate that he was pleased with her answer. "I believe that can be arranged. Follow me."
When Usagi had suggested this sting, she hadn't thought through the consequences of her plan, aka, actually having to work out. Fifteen minutes in, and she realized her grave mistake. Not only did she absolutely hate working out, but like most physical activities, she was exceptionally bad at it. Five minutes in, and she'd nearly broken the weight machine. Ten minutes later with a shift in style and she managed to bust her lip open on the treadmill. After moving to yoga, where the trainer had believed that foam blocks and large balls couldn't possibly be problematic, Usagi had managed to roll off a ball and send it flying into a glass divider, shattering it.
"Perhaps we should try something completely different," the trainer said. "Would you be interested in trying our patented Shape Ray? It's designed for locking in the results from the workout, but perhaps it might just help keep you from gaining any more weight."
Usagi raised her eyebrows. Did he just say Shape Ray? Her eyes flickered over to Makoto and Ami. She had literally never heard of a more suspicious thing in her life. Guess that meant they were going to be checking it out.
"Sure," she conceded. "That sounds great."
He lead them around the broken glass, past the locker rooms, and down a hallway. He pointed to some stairs. "Just follow them to the bottom and pick whichever Shaping Chamber you'd prefer."
That didn't seem suspicious at all. Usagi struggled not to roll her eyes. The women followed his instructions, taking the winding stairs down to the "Shaping Room."
"Right, did he just instruct us to go to a basement with some sort of ray? Like, right out of a 1950s American SciFi film?" Makoto said as they walked.
"Even I admit this is quite suspicious," Ami agreed.
The door at the bottom of the stairs was nondescript, so Usagi pushed it open with little thought of what could wait behind the door - which was clearly a Dark Kingdom plot. Several tubes that looked like they came right out of the afore-mentioned horror movies held gym patrons in a strange glowstick green light. The lighting in the rest of the basement was dim, so the pods cast an ominous glow over the whole area. Weird thick vines covered both the tubes and various spaces in the wall. It vaguely felt like the research facility at the beginning of Super Metroid. The vines were tendriled out of the pods and into a central hub that was glowing of its own accord.
"The real question," Makoto commented as she inspected the set-up, "Is how the hell they've talked anyone into getting into these tubes."
From behind one of the tubes, a small black cat appeared. "Your intel was right," she greeted. "It appears these pods are absorbing people's energy and storing it directly in that receptor. Much more efficient than the flowers since the power source is located right here."
"All right then," Usagi said. "Let's do something about it. Moon Prism Power Make-Up!"
They knocked out three pods before the youma showed up. It was indeed the robotic girl from the counter. She had shifted into some pink-haired, green skin beasty. What Sailor Moon hadn't expected was Nephrite joining the fight.
In hindsight, she should have put it together. There was a reason that their trainer had looked so familiar.
While Mercury was freeing victims (by actually releasing them and not just busting the tubes like Moon and Jupiter had been), Jupiter toyed with the youma like a cat with a mouse. Nephrite snuck up from behind and wrapped one strong arm around Moon's body, pinning her arms down. His other hand flew to her mouth, silencing her before she could scream and alter the others or release her sonic attack.
"I thought you looked familiar," Nephrite whispered in her ear.
Well shit. Guess she wasn't the only one good at recognizing faces.
"How did you find out about this place?" he growled in her ear.
How did he expect her to answer when he had his hand over her mouth anyway? It didn't matter because they were both suddenly tackled by Jupiter. Moon spilled from Nephrite's grip, rolling into a pod with a thump. Mercury was by her side quickly, hand out to help her up.
Moon looked over to see Jupiter attempting to pin Nephrite to the ground. She straddled him, her legs folded back and pinning his down. The muscles of her thighs flexed and reflecting her brute strength. Her hands wrestled with his wrists, and from the look of things, she had the upper hand.
"You stole our crystal, you bastard," Jupiter growled. "I think you should give it back."
"It's not my fault you Senshi brats are such idiots," Nephrite growled back.
Of course, while Jupiter was busy with Nephrite, they had forgotten about the Youma. It crashed into the green suited Senshi with a crash, knocking over an empty energy pod.
"Shit," Moon said, summoning her Moon Stick. If she didn't move quickly, she wouldn't be able to heal him.
Nephrite saw his chance, hurrying to his feet. He looked right at Moon and said, "I will not forget your face so easily next time, Sailor Moon." He lifted his hand to the air and a portal of darkness appeared beside him.
"Moon Healing…" her power shimmered around her.
Yet, before she could finish, he stepped through and was gone in an instant. Shit.
Pivoting, Moon shifted her attention towards the injured people and released her power. "Escalation!"
Her healing magic fell over the unconscious gym patrons like a restorative powder.
"Supreme Thunder!"
Electricity racked the room the other side of the room, and when Moon and Mercury looked back over, the youma was nothing but dust. Their surroundings started flickering, fading back into whatever Fitness Darque had been prior to the Dark Kingdom's magic - a derelict warehouse from the look of things. Mercury bustled about with the various injured patrons, making sure they would at least be able to get medical treatment before going home.
Moon stamped one booted foot. She may have thwarted the Dark Kingdom's plan, but she hadn't saved another General.
The Senshi quickly dropped their transformations as people started to come to. Ami placed the call to paramedics before the girls decided to leave before anyone thought too much of them. As they walked out the building, Luna padding beside them, they noticed that the building did have gym equipment, though Makoto informed them that it was no wonder Usagi broke it. They were in barely working condition. Usagi figured that probably explained why the yoga ball broke a window.
As they reached the street, Usagi sighed, "Well, that was quite the workout."
Ami and Makoto both rolled their eyes before wrapping their arms around her shoulders and heading towards the train station.
