The Crystal Senshi

Savagekitty

Dedicated to those who are true senshi of the heart and spirit.

Chapter Five

Changes

The smaller group had returned to Tokyo with great sadness as they had to relay their horrible news to the others. Bonnie and Lauren didn't mourn as badly as Caty did, they didn't know Erin like she did. She and Erin had been best friends, even if it was over the internet. They sent each other Christmas presents, consoled each other over lost loves and laughed together over movies they found they were watching at the same time. There had to be a group meeting with the remaining senshi. Rei seemed more pissed then usual, Caty didn't blame her. This was a blow to their group. Three senshi gone. They all currently sat in Mamoru's apartment, sipping tea to calm their nerves.

"If they couldn't transform for weeks…" Makoto was saying.

"They had to have been those puppet youma, spying on us." Lauren said.

Caty had stayed silent during this exchange of ideas, her own brain going a hundred miles a minute. If their comrades had been captured weeks ago, then the Dark Kingdom had time enough to find out where they live. That much is true if those imposters had stayed with them for those long weeks, coming to know their habits, their identities and in some cases, their families.

"Oh my God."

Everyone looked at Caty as she stood up at her epiphany. Her hands shook as she covered her face with her hands, "They know where we live. They know who we really are. Who our families are and where they live." She uncovered her face, looking at them all, "They could come right now and kill us in our sleep."

That set off the uproar, Makoto shot up, looking out all the windows and locked the door, Rei prayed, Usagi buried her head further into Mamoru's shirt, sobbing. Bonnie looked white as Lauren got up, helping Makoto secure the apartment. Caty ran a hand through hair, "GUYS!" She whistled loudly for attention, "Look, we can just change out appearance and move. It doesn't sound easy, but it's easier then getting killed. Luna and Arty will help us. We'll split up. If we do it within the next day, they can't find us."

Mamoru looked around his apartment then to his friends and finally his soon to be wife, "Let's do it."

Caty stood behind the counter to the small bookstore she worked in. In this older part of Tokyo, she didn't get many customers, so she wasn't bothered. She could read all she wanted. Her hair was now to her shoulders and dyed a maroonish red. It was very flattering to her complexion. She was a good 20 pounds lighter, and shrinking.

Since the small group of senshi scattered throughout Tokyo, each one changing their habits and appearance, Caty had went on a fasting diet. The change was amazing; at least her friends said when they got together once a month for meetings. It had been three months. Three long and agonizing months where they took ground from the Dark Kingdom with blood and teeth. They were vicious now, and the Dark Kingdom responded. They found the body of Ami and Minako at their last battle. They had been used up. Sailor Emerald, Sailor Moon, and Sailor Jupiter had been at the scene when they found the bodies. It wasn't pretty. No word about Erin.

Caty looked up as the bell over the door twinkled. She greeted the person she couldn't see in Japanese and went back to her book. She looked up as the person stood at her counter and she gasped, dropping her book, "Zien?" The tall young man grinned, "Hi."

She hadn't seen or heard from him since they left the hotel where they found out Minako, Ami, and Erin were imposters. He was handsome, his complexion dark, his eyes a yellowish green. His black hair was long, past his shoulders, and tied back. High cheekbones and a snappy dresser to boot. Caty remembered him because he had been a very good kisser. She blinked a few times, smiling, "What are you doing here?"

Zien shrugged, "I needed a book? I saw you here a few days ago, leaving, and I knew it had to be you. You changed your hair and lost some weight, but I knew you," he smiled, "You look good."

She blushed, "Thanks. It was time for a change."

They went out for lunch after Caty closed shop. Her boss was out of town, and she had so few customers, she thought it was be alright. They ate at an American style diner, which Caty frequented often. They caught up with each other, how Zien's study of Japanese architecture went, and Caty giving the cover story about folk lore, "Yah the moon," she was saying, "The Japanese have a very deep a loyal tradition about the moon. They even have one about a kingdom on the moon," which was true enough, Rei had told her the stories. Zien looked very interested. They finished their lunch, Caty looking at her watch and gasping, "It's been three hours! I need to get back to the shop."

"Can we have dinner together? Tomorrow?" Zien looked up at her from the booth. She stood, putting her coat on, "Well…ok. I had something, but I can reschedule." She smiled at him. She tossed half the check plus tip down before he could protest and left. She was a modern woman. She didn't like guys paying her way.

That night, she lay in her bed in the apartment she shared with Makoto and stared up at the ceiling. Zien. She smiled to herself, the first real guy really interested in her.

The changes were rampant through all the senshi. They had to protect their families and friends. So they cut off al ties with them. The little they heard, all family and friends were safe and sound so maybe the Dark Kingdom didn't know about their families. It was better to be safe then sorry. They sat around the table in a better off part of Tokyo, in Luna and Artemis's antique shop. Caty looked at each of her friends. Luna and Artemis didn't change, they refused. They said they had lived long enough , they weren't scared of the Dark Kingdom. Usagi had cut her hair to her shoulders and she wore contacts to make her eyes green. Mamoru had died his hair brown. Makoto was tanner, her long curly hair now a dirty blonde. Rei was a priestess in another temple, cutting her hair back to below her ears. Lauren and Bonnie didn't change much, Bonnie refusing to cut her hair. Lauren dyed her a brighter blonde. Caty didn't wait for the updates, "Guys, I need to go…"

Usagi looked at her, squinting, "Why?"

Caty blushed, "Um… I have a date?"

Usagi frowned, "A date? We see each other socially once a month and you have a date?"

Caty frowned back, "Makoto can fill me in on updates. I mean, he just got into town and is leaving tomorrow…" She fudged it a little, but thought she could worm her way pout of it. She wanted a breather from senshi business. Usagi looked angry but waved her away.

Caty left, her hippie skirt flaring around her thighs as she walked to the diner they would meet at again. She put a hand on the handle of the door when her pendant flared with light. This only happened when she was summoned to fight. She could have cried. She could see Zien on the inside of the Diner. She sighed and walked away, she would have to apologize later. Maybe treat him to a movie. Since their third date was ruined.

Ducking into an alleyway, she transformed. She used a drainpipe and climbed to the rooftops to travel quicker through the city where she was needed. As she ran, she couldn't help but think of Zien. She hated to stand him up like that, but he was a sweet sport and would understand. She would make it up to him. Maybe she would cook him dinner. Yah, that's it. She would cook him dinner. Something very American, he had been saying how homesick he was for Boston. She stood at the edge of a savings and loan looking into a parking lot where Sailors Ruby and Sapphire stood, facing off with what looked like some kind of snake. But where the head should have been was a man with a very muscular chest, arms, and a cobra's head. It was at least 30 feet long.

Sapphire moved her hands and Emerald could see she had two large fans in her hand. Not just some lady's fans either. Emerald had held those things. They were five pounds each made of strong steel. They had a bright blue band of silk like material between the steel ribs and the wide top edge, which unfurled, was as sharp as any knife. One in each hand, she moved gracefully with her deadly weapons. Spinning like a top as the snake rolled its tail under her, she sliced into it, a spay of blood coating the ground and it immediately started to eat through concrete. The other end of the snake as went for Ruby, tossing a car like a toy on top of her. Emerald watched as it landed on her, bouncing on the tires and she waited, holding her breath. She didn't have to worry, because the small senshi raised the car above her head and threw it back to the youma's dismay. The car pinned it to a wall as it screeched, lashing its tail like a whip. Sapphire dipped her knees and jumped into the air. She came down on the tail of the snake youma, cutting it in half. The youma was angry by now, the car was thrust away and it moved awkwardly without half its tail for movement. Ruby and Sapphire backed away, avoiding the spray of acid blood the tail was still spraying everywhere. Ruby yelped, dancing back as she got some on her boot. Emerald decided to jump in. She took the element of surprise and beheaded the beast as it moved under where she stood. It stopped moving, its head rolling to bump Sapphire's boot. Ruby still danced around, her boot smoking now until she turned back into Lauren and the smoking was gone. Emerald looked at the youma as it crumpled to dust. Sapphire smiled, "Hey, didn't think you'd come."

Emerald looked at her and shrugged, her face stony, "I cant ignore a call. I'm going back now." She turned and Sapphire gripped her arm, "Emerald, look, we're sorry. You didn't HAVE to come."

Emerald looked at her friend, "And risk loosing another one of my friends? What if this youma had been here to steal one of you? They would know our new identities. I wont let that happen. I won't loose another friend." She smiled at Sapphire, "Better get back now, tell the others what happened. Like I said, I have a date."

When she got to the diner, Zien was gone, but the waitress had a note from him. He said he was sorry, but something had come up and he couldn't make their date, which Caty sighed with relief. He would meet her at the bookstore tomorrow and they could make plans for another date.

She leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling, counting the tiles again. It was a wet and rainy afternoon. If sunny days were slow, rainy days were dead. She was bored. Bored was an understatement to how bored she was. She was uttering this little mantra when the door dinged. She sat up, leaning to the right past a row of books and smiled, "Zien!" He made his way through the shelves and leaned on her counter, his hair dripping. He smiled and she laughed, tearing some towels off a roll of paper towels and laid it over his head, "You're dripping on my comic book." He looked down at the open book that was a manga of Sailor Moon. He lifted it and laughed, "You read this trash?" She blushed, "Something to do on a rainy day. There was a back pile of them I was sorting through and got to looking at them."

Which was true enough, though, really, she was catching up on the Silver Millennium. She was trying to erk as much information about the Dark Kingdom as she could out of the thin paper books. Zien tossed it aside and whipped a bag onto the counter, "To make up for my being such a cad and missing our third and wonderful date, I bought lunch."

She made a sound very close to being a squee and looked into the bag, "OH MY GOD!" She pulled out fried mushrooms with ranch and a sloppy hamburger, "How did you know?" She very unlady like stuffed a mushroom into her mouth and closed her eyes.

He laughed, "You seemed the type to like them." He leaned forward and poked her stomach, which still had some ways to go before it was safe to wear a bikini, but she wasn't loosing weight for that reason. She squeaked and half choked on her mushroom.

She coughed, half laughing, "You are going to be the only person I will ever allowed to do it."

"I'll only do it on special occasions, then." He picked a mushroom and stuck it in his mouth, chewing slowly. She wiped her mouth on a napkin that had been in the bag and looked at him as he went through the bag, setting out the burgers and drinks. She took in the lines of his face, the way his nose was slightly curved with a small bump in the middle, it had been broken before. High cheekbones, his hair had a slight widows peek and even at a young age, he had silver threads through his hair. He looked at her, staring at him, "What?" She blushed and coughed, "Nothing." He smiled warmly and leaned across the counter. She didn't move, or even register what he was doing until his lips met hers and she almost fizzed over like a shook up soda. The bell over the door rang and she gasped, falling backward, missing her chair and landing on her butt. She smacked her head on the chair's seat and cussed loudly in English. A bubbly Japanese voice laughed and said in Japanese, "Yup, she's here."

Caty pulled herself up, leaning on the counter. Zien had his back to her, looking at Makoto. Makoto looked over his shoulder at Caty, who was rubbing her head, "Hello there." Zien half turned and grinned, a faint flush to his face, "Welcome back." Caty blushed, "Um…hi." Makoto laughed, almost dropping her bag, "I came to see if you wanted some lunch since you didn't take yours, but I see you have it covered." Caty blushed harder, rubbing her cheeks with both hands, "Yah…oh. Zien, this is my roommate Makoto. Makoto, this is Zien. We met at the hotel in the mountains." Something in Makoto's eyes flashed and her face grew a little dark, but her smile stayed as dazzling as ever. She shook his hand, "Pleased to meet you. Caty told me nothing about you. " She looked at Caty with a wink, "I'll see you at home later." She turned and left, leaving Caty sighing and sitting down, her head barley coming above the counter, "Jesus." Zien covered his mouth, laughing, "Well… maybe we can try that again later. We can lock the door." Caty looked up at him and shook her head, "You're so bad, Zien."

Life was as normal as it was going to get for a group of senshi. It was, until the antique shop was attacked. Later, Caty really wondered what had taken so long. That shop had been standing there longer then Usagi had even been a senshi on Earth. Caty was woken from a dead sleep by Sailor Jupiter. She blinked at the Amazonian senshi, her long curly hair and little rosebud earrings. Their change in appearance in one form didn't seem to affect the other, the girls happily found out. Though, Usagi had been a little disappointed Tuxedo Kamen didn't come out a blonde.

Caty rolled over and rubbed her eyes, "What…why are you in uniform?" She sat up as Jupiter turned her light on, "We need to go, Caty. Transform. The… Luna and Artemis were attack."

Caty was awake and up in an instant, pulled on jeans, "Please tell me this was a hate crime, Jupiter. Tell me it wasn't the Dark Kingdom and they found us again."

Jupiter shook her head, her arms folded over her front bow, "I cant, because that wasn't what it was. It was the Dark Kingdom. Usagi and Mamoru were there for dinner when it happened. They held off the youma. It…it.." Jupiter covered her eyes with one hand. Caty stopped her hasty dressing to look at the senshi of thunder, "It what, Jupiter."

"It killed Luna."

Caty felt numb as she held her sneaker in her hand, her night shirt half ticked into her jeans. She sat down, staring at the floor until the blurred. She finally closed her eyes and stood, "Crystal Crisis MAKEUP!" She yelled and in a flash, she was Sailor Emerald. She fisted her hands and looked at Jupiter, rage filling her eyes, "Lets go. Now." She strode to the front door and out, not caring who saw her as she walked down the apartment hallway. Jupiter followed after locking the door. Together they arrived at the Silver Moon Antiques Shoppe. The glass front was broke and it looked like a small fire had been set and put out. They strode through gawking neighbors and police. Usagi and Mamoru stood, Usagi sobbing into Mamoru's shirt as he held her. Artemis sat in a chair, his face pale and his eyes staring at nothing. His hands gripped the chairs arms, his knuckles white. Emerald kneeled in front of him as Jupiter talked to the police. She put a hand on his, "Arty."

His gaze shifted from the floor to her, "She's dead."

"I know Artemis. I know." Tear glistened on her cheeks but her eyes were still rage filled, "We'll find who did this. We will find them."

"It was Kunzite. I saw him… it was his youma. But I couldn't… Luna was… Oh God…" He covered his face with his long delicate hands and sobbed. Emerald stood, "Sailor Jupiter."

Jupiter turned from the police, "Yes, Sailor Emerald?" In front of authorities and civilians, they addressed each other as if they were in the Secret Service. All calm, business like, and not showing a bit of emotion. Robots.

"I have questioned the witness, I have a clue, and we should go now." she glances over at Mamoru who gave a slight nod. Jupiter nodded, saying something softly to the cop and joined Emerald as they strode away from the scene, "The others will meet us in the park, what did Arty say?"

"It was Kunzite."

In the park, they met with Sapphire, Ruby, Mars and Moon joined them as soon as she could get away from the police. Mamoru stayed with Artemis. The group of women stood in a circle, not saying anything at first. Mars finally burst, "I WANT TO KILL THEM!"

Emerald crossed her arms, "They have taken three of us. Now they have killed three of us and still one of us is missing in action. How much longer do we wait until we go after them?"

Sailor Moon, who still looked horrified with grief, shuttered, "NO!" She walked across the circle and slapped Emerald. Emerald reeled back, a hand going to her face as the smaller girl stared at her angrily, "I will not loose another friend! I will NOT!"

"And just standing here is helping anything! THREE, Sailor Moon, three of us has been killed! Or don't you remember finding Ami's body? He was missing and ARM! And Minako couldn't have an open casket! We still haven't found Erin yet! They could be doing God knows what to one of my best friends and you want to just sit around? Well I won't! I refuse!" Emerald turned on her boot heel and started to walk away. Sailor Moon raised her voice, "I forbid you, as princess of the Moon and next in line to the Moon Kingdom throne. I forbid you, guardian senshi Emerald of the Moon Kingdom. I forbid you to go after the Dark Kingdom to find them." Emerald stopped. Her shoulders shook with angry as she slowly turned, her face so rage filled, Ruby gasped, never seeing her friend this way. Sailor Moon's head was down, her hair covering her face. She was on the ground, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Emerald didn't move, she couldn't. If she did, something would seriously be harmed in her angry state. She stared at Sailor Moon, her jaw clenched,

"You forbid me? Then let another one of our friends die, Princess." She spat onto the ground. She turned and walked away from the group. From the park. Two AM saw her sitting on the rooftop of her apartment, as Caty now, looking over the city. She looked down at the item in her lap. It was the pendant that made her Sailor Emerald. She closed her eyes and put it in her pocket. She would have to find her friend herself. As Caty. Sailor Emerald could be no help to her now.

End Chapter Five

Changes