Tsukino Usagi
Despite being Guardians together, after that initial afternoon where they questioned Luna Usagi and Mizuno don't meet up again. Usagi starts noticing the other girl around school much more often, but they keep their distances. Mizuno barely even acknowledges her, and it starts to annoy and worry Usagi. The other girl was already hesitant enough about joining her in the first place, but Usagi feels that the longer they leave her alone the harder it will be to convince her to join them again. Luna shares similar concerns, but neither of them know what to do about it.
Over the next couple of days Usagi almost finds herself hoping that another monster will appear, just so she can have a reason to drag Mizuno back to the Guardians. She gets her wish nearly five days after Mizuno's transformation.
She comes home to find Miharu-san in a cleaning frenzy spanning the whole first floor. The hardwood flooring is shinier than Usagi's ever seen it before, the walls seem to be sparkling, and everything smells of fresh lemon. She looks around incredulously, but before she's even taken a couple of steps Miharu-san herself is appearing around the corner. "Take off your shoes! And make sure they're clean!" she orders, her expression bordering on manic.
Usagi complies without even realizing it. "Sorry," she mutters purely out of habit. Miharu-san, satisfied, heads back to the kitchen where Usagi, when she peeks in, can see her cleaning just about every dish they own. She frowns in confusion. "What's gotten into her?" she muses.
"She's been like this all day," Luna says by Usagi's feet, startling the teen. She looks down at the cat in annoyance, but Luna is intently watching Miharu-san. "She hasn't stopped cleaning since this morning after a conversation with your mom. I don't understand what's gotten into her."
"Maybe she's just on a cleaning kick after Mom told her the place looks messy or something," Usagi suggests as she heads up to her room. Miharu has done this before, Usagi recalls, though that was usually a seasonal thing.
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Usagi starts to think that maybe it isn't just Miharu-san when she gets to school the next day and finds the class practically empty just minutes before the bell is about to ring. Then when it actually does, Sakurada-sensei never shows and after 10 minutes of waiting she starts to realize something is definitely wrong. "Where's Sakurada-sensei?" she asks aloud, hoping one of the other students might hear and speculate. It's not like their teacher to be absent, after all.
Umino speaks up. "Oh, she left. Said she had four dates today to get ready for. Dismissed us all ages ago."
"What?" Usagi snaps, standing from her seat. "Then why are we even here? Why are you here if you heard her dismiss us?"
"Well," he grumbles, turning a little red and rubbing a hand across the back of his neck, "I was going to wait for you. I almost left because you were taking so long but I was rewarded for my patience when you finally showed!"
Usagi rolls her eyes and walks out, several other students following her lead. She figures she might as well head home; it's still early enough she can go back to sleep for a while. Well, if Luna lets her. The cat might decide this is the perfect opportunity for her to start training or something like that. Usagi is still concerned about her training, but she feels significantly better with Mizuno fighting beside her, yet another reason why she doesn't want the other girl to leave the Guardians.
When she gets back she doesn't bother calling out a greeting, just in case her family is around and they wonder why she isn't in school. There was a period of time in her first year of middle school where she started skipping school every once in a while, and when her parents found out it got her the worst lecture of her life and nearly three months grounded. She's learned her lesson now.
Luna is surprised to see her when she walks into her room, and though she asks why Usagi is home so soon Usagi is more concerned with what she's looking at on her table. "What is that?" she asks, ignoring the cat's questions.
Luna sighs when she gets no response. "It's Miharu-san's clock," she answers. "The very one your mother bought her yesterday."
"My mom bought her a clock?" Usagi asks, incredulous. Her mom isn't normally the giving type when it comes to her shopping, not even to her children.
"Yes, apparently she bought several," Luna replies. "They've both been acting odd lately, and I wondered if this had anything to do with it."
"Maybe," Usagi agrees, and then she tells the cat about what happened today at school and what she noticed with some of the students. "They're all acting kind of frenzied, aren't they?"
"It's definitely suspicious."
"Hey!" Usagi perks up, an idea popping into her head. "Why don't we take this to Mizuno-san so she can analyze it with her smart little computer? I'm sure it can tell us whether there's something with it and then we'll know for sure."
Luna looks surprised. "That's not a bad idea, Usagi-chan."
Usagi gives the cat a narrow-eyed look. "What's with that expression of yours?"
"Nothing," the cat is quick to reply. "We should go find Ami-chan now." Usagi purses her lips in displeasure but doesn't say anything else, instead picking up the clock and following Luna out of her room. They can take it to Mizuno, but first they've got to find her.
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They get lucky when they find Mizuno at the same park where they had their first discussion. She isn't at the school when they check there first, and for a second Usagi panics thinking they'll never find her because they definitely don't know where she lives or have any means of contacting her, but they get lucky at Luna's second idea. The genius girl is sitting at the fountain with her nose buried in her supercomputer.
"Mizuno!" Usagi calls out to draw her attention. When the girl looks up there's a bored expression on her face that irks Usagi, but she tries not to let it show.
"What do you want?" she asks once they've walked up to her.
Usagi shows her the clock they took from Miharu-san. "I'm sure you've noticed how everyone's been behaving today. We think this might have something to do with it," she briefly explains.
"And what am I supposed to do with it?" she asks, turning it over in her hands. "You two are the ones with the supernatural experience."
"You can use your supercomputer to run more thorough tests on it than we can," Luna says patiently.
Mizuno gives the computer a considering look. "I'll see what I can do."
Usagi and Luna settle down to wait for Mizuno to finish up as she starts clicking around on the keyboard of her supercomputer. She's completely absorbed in her task and doesn't hear Usagi when she tries to ask about what she's doing – that, or she's just ignoring her entirely. It's a boring twenty minutes or so for Usagi, who ends up looking for shapes in the clouds to ease her boredom.
Finally Mizuno looks up from her computer. "I may have found something." When she realizes Luna and Usagi are paying attention she continues. "There were some odd readings coming from it that I barely managed to analyze, since they vanished almost as soon as I opened the clock. But from what I did find I managed to gather enough data to figure out the clock's purpose. They gather energy, I'd assume by causing all this mania in people and then gathering the energy from all their movements."
"That sounds like Jadeite, all right," Luna remarks. "We have to put a stop to this."
"Have fun you two," Mizuno says. "I'm not going."
"What?" Usagi stops to look back at the other girl, who hasn't moved. "But you're a Guardian. It's our duty."
"Ami-chan, you have to come," Luna says. "You agreed to be a Guardian, and this is part of your responsibilities. If you don't, I'll revoke your access to the Mercury Supercomputer."
Mizuno's eyes narrow at Luna's ultimatum, and Usagi sees her grip tighten minutely on the mini computer in her hand. She seems to debate internally with herself for a minute or two before finally relenting. "Fine," she agrees, and it sounds like it pains her to admit it. "But once I've learned everything I wanted, I won't need this computer anymore. And then you can't make me join you."
"Whatever," Usagi interjects before Luna can say anything. "Let's go. I think I know where the shop is?"
Miraculously, in Usagi's opinion, neither of them says another thing as they follow her. Usagi leads them into the shopping district, though she doesn't know exactly where the shop is. They happen to stumble on it after a couple of minutes wandering around, but the store is closed. "Well, this is inconvenient," Usagi gripes.
"We can sneak in through the back," Mizuno suggests.
"A frontal approach will do, I think," Luna says. "You girls had better transform first, though."
Usagi nods. "Moon Prism Power Make Up!"
"Mercury Power Make Up!"
As soon as the two of them are changed Usagi reaches for her tiara. "Moon Tiara Action," she says, throwing it at the front door. It opens up a gap large enough for Usagi and Mizuno to slip through, but when she glances back the hole is shut before Luna manages to make it inside. Usagi frowns, concerned. "Should we open it up again for Luna?" she asks Mizuno.
"No," Mizuno says, shaking her head. "If they don't already know we're here then opening it again will definitely tell them. Best to continue as quickly as possible to give them less time to come up with a plan of attack."
Usagi nods. "Alright. Forwards it is then." They take off running down the hall. It's a pretty long hall given the size of the building, Usagi thinks, until she finally sees a door at the end. She and Mercury burst through, entering a large room. The only thing of note inside is a massive grandfather clock standing opposite the window. A woman in a red dress stands before it.
She turns when they enter. "Who are you?" she asks, eyeing them.
"I am Sailor Moon," Usagi says, "Guardian of Love and Justice. In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you."
"And I am Sailor Mercury," Usagi is surprised to hear Mizuno chime in next, "Guardian of Water and Intelligence. Douse yourself in water and repent!"
"I don't know what that means, and I don't care!" she shouts as her form changes. She pales as her hair lengthens, and red vertical slash marks appear through her eyes. A single black star rests on her lower right cheek. "No one can beat the passing of time." She waves her hand and something invisible forces them forward. The grandfather clock before them glows as she and Mizuno are sucked in.
The area they end up in looks like gray fuzz. There's no difference between the ceiling and the floor and Usagi definitely can't see any walls. There's a space behind them that looks like a door back, but before Usagi can reach for it it's being absorbed into the rest of the environment. "What the hell is this?"
"It might be some kind of time warp, if I had to guess," Mizuno replies. She presses at one of the piercings in her left ear and blue goggles appear across her face.
"Woah," Usagi mutters.
Mizuno ignores her and pulls out her minicomputer, typing away at it while she glances around. Usagi has no idea what she's doing but she lets the other girl work in silence, staring around the area herself. She definitely doesn't subtly try touching one of her earrings to see if she'll get cool goggles like that. There's nothing to look at, though, just like there wasn't anything to look at five minutes ago. She tries not to show how bored she is but she can't help fidgeting.
Finally Mizuno speaks up. "We need to go this way to get out." Then she starts walking off. Usagi has no choice but to follow. She has no idea how Mizuno knows where she's going in all this gray fuzz, but it's better than whatever she would've guessed if the other girl actually has a destination in mind.
They walk for however long, until suddenly the scenery changes. Gone is the gray fuzz, replaced with a red, white, and blue streaked area. She looks around curiously, but save for the color change it's almost exactly like the last area. "What the hell is this?" she mutters. "How are we going to get out?"
"It's a time warp, Sailor Moon," Mizuno reiterates, and is that exasperation Usagi detects in her voice? "We'll need to find the monster in order to get out, and according to my readings she's this way. Unless you have a better idea?"
Usagi makes vague grumbling sounds but doesn't outright reply. Mizuno seems to understand anyways and starts walking. Usagi trails dutifully behind, bored out of her mind. All the other monster's she's fought so far were way more interesting than this one is. She can't even appreciate the monster's time powers because she isn't a nerd like Mizuno, who's probably having a blast using her computer and goggles. Why doesn't she have goggles?
While she contemplates asking Luna how she can get some, Usagi feels an odd sensation as she walks, only really noticing it when Mizuno seems to grow taller. "Hey, what's going on?" she asks, and then her eyes widen as she hears how high her voice has gotten. But it does catch Mizuno's attention, who looks back at her.
"What the hell?" she exclaims, looking at her computer and typing away furiously. Usagi looks down at herself and realizes that it wasn't Mizuno who got taller, but her who got smaller, or perhaps younger, since her Guardian uniform is massively oversized on her small figure. "It's just the fluctuating time in this space," Mizuno says moments later, calmer. "If you keep moving you should return to normal at some point."
"At some point?" she repeats incredulously, her voice even higher.
"Just keep moving," Mizuno instructs, turning back.
Usagi struggles to hurry after her, her short legs and the clothes hanging off of her giving her trouble. But just as the other girl said she would, in a couple of feet she feels that sensation again and starts getting taller. When she's back to her normal size she breathes a sigh of relief, noting Mizuno's glance back at her. "We're all okay back here," she informs her.
"Good," Mizuno replies. "I think we're almost there."
Just after she says this the scenery changes again around them, forming green and yellow columns that remind Usagi of organ pipes. Across from them the woman stands, watching. "So you've found me," she says, grinning. "I'm surprised, but it shouldn't be much longer before time starts to catch up to you."
"What do you mean?" Usagi asks.
The monster gives her a considering look. "I think you'll be the one to go first," she says cryptically.
"Hey," Usagi says, stepping forward, but as she does her movements start to become sluggish and unresponsive to her commands, until she can't move a single thing. "What –" She suddenly breaks off as her lips no longer respond. She shoots a wide-eyed look to Mizuno, who's glancing all over her with those goggles of hers activated.
"Won't be much longer until all of your organs start shutting down as well," the monster cackles.
"Mercury Bubble Spray!"
Mist fills the area, obscuring Usagi's sight of the monster and even Mizuno. She nearly panics, wondering if the other girl has abandoned her, until she feels a touch on her arm. Her eyes dart over to catch a glimpse of her companion. "Hopefully this will give us some time if she can't see us to attack us, but I'm starting to feel the effects as well and if we don't get out soon we're toast, Sailor Moon," she whispers urgently.
'Shit,' Usagi thinks, because that's all she can manage at this time. Breathing is starting to become a struggle as well and she'd probably start to panic if she had the air to spare for it.
The mist Mizuno generated is starting to thin and Usagi knows their time is running out. She'd thought defeating these monsters would get easier with Sailor Mercury at her side but apparently not even the two of them are enough to keep up with these minions of Jadeite. She almost feels bad for dragging Mizuno into this; of the two of them, Mizuno was really the one with the future, but now that'll never come to be. And what will Luna think when neither of them ever returns?
All of a sudden the monster's scream breaks through Usagi's morose thoughts and she jerks her attention forward. The mist vanishes entirely, along with the odd environment, and with joy Usagi realizes she can move again. She looks around incredulously, finding Mizuno behind her able to move as well. "The clock," she says, jerking her head towards the grandfather clock from the store. "It's broken."
"Sailor Moon! Now it's your turn; finish her," she hears a voice say, and Usagi doesn't hesitate.
"Moon Tiara Action!" The tiara goes sailing towards the despairing monster unhindered, striking her through her stomach. She screams again before turning into dust, and when she vanishes so does the building around them. Usagi looks around incredulously until they're found standing in the lot where the building once stood.
"Well that's new," she remarks as Luna bounds up to them, seemingly pleased to see them.
"Girls! I'm glad you're okay!"
"Mostly," Mizuno grumbles, before rounding on Usagi. "Who was that guy? Is he another Guardian? He must've thrown the rose that broke us free, but why wasn't he there from the beginning?"
Usagi shrugs. "I call him Tuxedo Mask, but he's not one of us," she explains. "He just shows up every once in a while and helps me out sometimes. I'd probably be dead if it weren't for him."
Mizuno scoffs. "That's not exactly comforting. We nearly died back in there."
"We'll really need to start focusing on your training," Luna remarks. "This is far too many close calls for my preference."
"This is insane," Mizuno mutters.
"But you promised," Usagi reminds her. "And hey, if we die, we'll die together."
Mizuno rolls her eyes. "Wonderful." Then she starts to head off, her Sailor Mercury uniform fading back into her school uniform. "I'm leaving. I have things to do."
"I suppose we can't ask for much more than that," Luna sighs as they watch her go.
"At least she was here in the first place. I'd have had a lot more trouble without her, that's for sure."
Luna nods in agreement, though Usagi is learning not to take it personally. "We need to hurry and find the rest of your comrades. I fear the two of you won't be enough, soon."