Cyber Moon: Genesis.

Episode 8: Cloak And Dagger.

By Razor Knight

Last update: November 11, 2005

One full week had passed, and the Senshi had failed locating the necromancers that supposedly had their base in Arcana. If they were hiding, they were doing it too well.

"It's no use," Firea said. "We've run out of time."

Orion nodded. "Agreed. No traces of necro-mana anywhere."

"Then this mission was a failure," Lera muttered.

Moment frowned. "Not really."

"What do you mean?"

Hope nodded. "Moment's right. There's something definitely wrong with the peasants. Or even the soldiers and nobles we've seen while searching..."

Firea frowmed. "I didn't feel a thing..."

Moment shrugged. "I don't think you could see it, even with your psichic skills. But maybe the magic we're looking for isn't... Necromancy."

"Wish you could've told us that before," Firea muttered.

"It's not demonic magic either," Orion added. "I've scanned for it and found no traces in the area."

"Then what is it?" Hope asked.

Whatever it was, they couldn't stay in Arcana any longer. She didn't like to admit it, but her first mission as a Senshi had been a failure.

The general looked at the forest looming all around them and a shiver went down his spine. There was something about this whole mission that he didn't like. "Prince Kaeil, are you sure about this?"

Kaeil was a tall, dangerous-looking man. His platinum-white hair and white pupils made him look almost ghastly. Still, he was a known strategist, even at his young age. "Indeed, General Slark. Beryl informed my father, the King, that she knew the necromancers' exact location inside this forest."

"But..."

"You will be soundly rewarded once this mission's over."

"Why not call the Senshi to deal with them?"

"That would be a nuissance for our kingdoms. We can deal with a small band of necromancers."

Slark nodded as his batallion kept advancing through the Twilight Forest. A forest shared by three kingdoms, and a place no man liked to explore due to it's dense foliage, which gave the forest it's name. Right now, they could barely see the trees in front of them. He was well aware the sun was shinning over the forest, but inside the forest, it looked like a moonless night.

Kaeil didn't understand. Why would they be afraid? They were the best of Mu's troops, possibly the best infantry group in the Earth. There were no wild animals, no armies, no zombies that could scare them. And so, the squad marched forwards...

To their doom, Kaeil thought as his eyes took on a golden hue.

Soon, liquid-like shadows jumped out of the ground, fusing with each one of the soldiers as they screamed and tried to shoot at them. Everyone but Kaeil was affected. Kaeil, the Prince of Mu, had weeks ago been taken over by one of those. The Youma. Metallia's spawns, and something no magic or technologic scanners could detect. The perfect soldiers, the perfect spies...

Humans were so unaware of their existance, taking over the Earth would be fun. And the fun had just begun.

Kaeil's thoughts were interrupted by Beryl's voice. 'Kunzite, is the job done?'

'Indeed, my Queen. But... Won't the dissapearance of this batallion lead my father to send a bigger army?'

'That's just what Metallia wants. Host-less youma are useless for battle, but they're also undetectable. I want you to go back to your Kingdom and fool your father into sending even more troops here. My youma will be waiting for that.' Kaeil simply nodded. "Father's waiting for his son Kaeil's safe return. Such an idiot... Kaeil doesn't exist now, only Kunzite." And Kunzite was just one of many spies Beryl had all around the Earth... And the solar system.

One full month since her first mission had passed, and High Librarian Hope couldn't help but thinking about Arcana. There was something there... She had never been a skeptical one, and given the range of magic-related things that still had no logical explanation, she could easily guess this was yet another thing mages and scientists couldn't explain.

The existance of an unknown form of magic energy would make anyone controlling it virtually unspottable. If such a being was hiding in Arcana, then someone had to try and find it. But she was well aware that chasing shadows wasn't a Senshi's job. If she wanted to act, she'd have to wait for it to make the first move.

"Lady Hope?"

Hope looked at the man sitting in front of her and could feel a blush forming. She had to stop brooding so much. "I'm sorry, Gurel, it's just..."

"Oh no, by all means, take your time. You are the only worthy opponent I've found here, not counting your mother, your father, and that merchant that visited us some time ago."

Hope looked at the chess board in front of her and frowned. Indeed, a worthy opponent. The board was down to three pieces for each color, and literally no way to set a trap up for the other. "Thanatos, huh? A pity I didn't know he could play chess, or I would have challenged him."

Gurel passed a hand through his short brown hair and smiled. "Maybe we should call this a draw."

"And where's the fun in that?" Hope asked as she moved her only knight to a new position. "Check."

Gurel frowned. "Yes, indeed, where's the fun in that?"

A young man wearing a light blue robe walked in. "I'm sorry to interrupt your chess game, but your mother wants to see you immediately, Hope."

Hope nodded to the man. "Right. I'll be there in a minute. I wanted to speak to her anyways." She turned to Gurel and sighed. "Guess we'll have to finish this game later."

"I'll be waiting for that," Gurel said as the princess left the room.

Queen Siela, the Sage Librarian, had visitors. Hope didn't find that strange at all. She did, however, feel a bit of curiosity as she saw all four visitors were clad in Senshi uniforms. She knew two of them, Mars and Jupiter, but the other two...

One had long, blonde hair and blue eyes, and her uniform had orange skirt and blue bow. She'd heard of her, Princess Aphrodite from Venus, Sailor Venus.

The other was tall, and had enough muscles in her to make her look like she could beat most male warriors Hope had met... Without using her Senshi powers. She had black hair and grey eyes, and her uniform had grey skirt and dark grey bow. Sailor Earth?

"Hello mother," Hope said as the others turned to look at her.

"Good day, daughter. These are..."

"The Inner Senshi, or most of them at least," Hope said. "No Sailor Moon?"

Firea nodded. "Queen Serenity is a busy woman, and her daughter is waiting for her eighteenth birthday to receive her own Ginzuishou. "

That was a lunar tradition, one Hope didn't quite understand. Moon Senshi were only allowed to use their powers after their eighteenth birthday.

Lera shrugged. "We're here because you and Pluto were right."

"What?" Hope was quite surprised by that statement. Did that mean...

Firea nodded. "Arcana's dropped the mask. Beryl has Kaeil, Zoel and Nereos as her army's Generals now."

"Kaeil betrayed Mu?" Hope asked. That couldn't be, she'd heard stories about Kaeil's unmatched love for his own kingdom.

"It's more complicated than that," Firea explained. "We're sure whatever was you noticed in Arcana, took over Kaeil and the others. The kingdoms of Mu, Xanadu and Atlantis are under Beryl's control now."

"The Earth's spiralling into a full-scale war," Sailor Earth said. "Beryl's army grows larger with every battle, and it's already taken over three kingdoms. We need to put an end to her madness."

"Serenity's worried about it. She's detected a magic that matches that of the Ginzuishou in Beryl."

A magic as strong as the Ginzuishou? Impossible. "What can we do about it?"

"We've been summoned to Queen Serenity's palace," Firea explained.

"All of the Neo Senshi?"

Venus nodded. "Yeah. See, the Princess' birthday is only one week away... Once she gets permission to use her Senshi powers, we'll be able to fight Beryl."

"I say screw it," Earth muttered.

"Karen?" Firea asked with a frown.

"I can't just sit around and let Beryl take over the Earth. My father and brother are getting ready for war, and I'm supposed to help them."

"Beryl's main target is not the Earth, but the Moon." Everyone turned to the voice. Sailor Pluto was standing there, looking as neutral as ever.

"Moment? We didn't hear you walk in," Venus said.

"Dear Aphrodite, you should know I don't need to walk somewhere to be there. Anyways... Karen, listen. Beryl won't stop with the Earth. She wants the Moon too, and possibly all the other planets."

"So, we let her run over the Earth, slaughter millions and take over Camelot, and then after she's done, we fight her on the Moon?" Karen asked. "Sorry, but I can't do that."

Moment nodded. "I understand that. There are three others that don't agree with Serenity's plan. You will find them in Camelot when you return to the Earth."

"So... Aren't you going to force me to go to the Moon?"

Pluto shook her head. "No. Serenity will understand."

"Then I think... We should all go there," Mars said.

"Firea?"

Hope nodded. "I agree. We could stop Beryl there and then, before it's too late."

Pluto opened her mouth to say something, but then sighed. "I see. I will send a message to Serenity, and I'll join you all in Camelot once I'm done." With that, she vanished.

"Okay then... Let's go to the Earth," Karen said. The others nodded.

"Good luck, daughter," Siela said. Hope smiled at her before vanishing. The Queen stood up and walked out of the room. Beryl... She remembered her as a child. Back then she looked innocent and calm. So different from the evil, power-thirsty woman she'd become.

Hope blinked and looked around. The castle of Camelot was much like her home in Mercury, but the throne room was much smaller. She could see four other Senshi in there, along with the king of Camelot, King Endymion, a tall, eldery man, and the prince, as tall and strong-looking as his sister Karen.

"Welcome back, Karen," the prince said.

Karen nodded to him, then turned to the other Senshi. "Girls, this is Hope, the new Mercury."

"Good to have some reinforcements," the Senshi in dark blue skirt and yellow bow, Sailor Uranus, said, "but weren't you girls supposed to go to the Moon?"

"A good soldier doesn't only follow orders," Firea said. "We have a chance to stop Beryl here and now, let's not waste it."

"That's good to hear." This Senshi's suit was different, as it was completely black. Her short red hair was adorned with a black bow that had a skull-shaped brooch in it's center. "Camelot's scouts last saw the Arcanian army about to cross the border between Lemuria and Tir Na Nog."

The king nodded. "They're drawing close. My army's ready..."

Firea shook her head. "We'll go alone. We can get there in a matter of seconds, and our attacks work better if there's no friendly armies in the zone, since we can use them to take down several enemies in one shot."

Endymion considered her words then nodded. "I understand. Good luck, Sailor Senshi."

"We'll need lots of it," Firea said before they all closed their eyes and vanished.

A/N: And this is where things start getting complicated. If you're wondering who Zoel and Nereos are, just think of the Generals that shared their names' first letter with them. As for the other generals, they'll show up later on.
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is a creation of Naoko Takeuchi, and I thank her for creating such wonderful universe.