Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon . . . just sayin' . . . y'know, it's not like that's obvious or anything . . .


Emi frowned as she adjusted the green and purple tuxedo that she wore. "Why do we have to go through with this again?"

Akemi—who was in a blue dress and adorning her glasses—thumbed through the thick leather-bound book that she was currently reading; no doubt it was on mythology of some sorts. "Other than for Mother's job obligations, I have no clue."

"I don't know why we have to do this though," Akira grumbled. "Mother could've just said that she had no kids and was single, then call it a day!"

"You know that Mother isn't one to deceive, Akira," Akemi answered earnestly. "She and Mom are very proud of us; I believe that she wants to show us off."

Emi cast her gaze to the plane's window. "Maybe, but that doesn't make it fair to us or our sanity, we'll end up—"

"—dying from boredom!" Akira finished.

It may have just been solely Emi's imagination, but she thought she had seen a shadow or two pass by their row of seats in the corner of her eye; that had been happening as of late. Her frown deepened considerably. Why do I keep seeing shadows lately? Did Eri see that in the Crown Arcade, and was that the thing that freaked her out so much?

"Sis, are you alright?" Akira asked. "You suddenly got this weird look on your face," a pause and turn to Akemi, "Huh, maybe she was thinking of Eri or something . . ."

Akemi and Akira rudely began to break out into discreet quiet fits of laughter at their sister's blazing cheeks and small grin that was starting to cause her curve her lips to curl up in the most hilarious of times; they were so appalled by its humor, that they couldn't cease their laughter.

Emi's eyes fell to the ground as she began to smile casually. They loved to elicit reactions like that out of her whoever they got to chance to, with Akira being to one to do it far more than Akemi ever did in the past. She could tease her brother about Aiko, as they tended to cause him to fluster and shut up; Akemi had no possible object of her affections at the time. Her eyes glinted with mischievousness. If Akemi did, however, that would mean a whole new world of teasing optionsfor her; they would definitely be amusing for her to test out. She scowled, coming back to reality and her siblings' laughter. "Hey, cut it out you guys; that's so not cool!"

Akira smirked childishly; he seemed to be that as of late. "Never!"

Akemi groaned and went back to her back. She muttered, "Imbeciles."

"Hey!" Emi and Akira cried out indignation, waving their arms madly as if to prove their dislike of their sister's previous accusation. "We aren't imbeciles, Akemi!"

"Yes," Akemi pointed out stonily, "You are."

They were glaring at each other intensely, obviously abhorred by each of their respective opposing opinions.

"Are not!"

"You both so are; my studies of both of your sleep patterns theoretically prove it!"

"Wait, hold up for second, so that was the reason there was goop on my head a few years back?" Emi asked, astounded. She was sure her eyes a bulging out by then. "That gross stuff was yours?"

"I don't remember any of that," Akira stated coolly, as if he forgot his earlier burst of outrage. "But that sounds awesome!"

Emi scowled intensely in Akemi's direction. "Once you wake up with it all in your hair on a day full of picture-taking, you'll understand my grief."

"Emi," Akemi said amusedly, "I'm fairly sure that it's impossible for anyone to understand whatever occurs in your head; I know I cannot complete with such a feat."

Emi huffed and crossed her arms, facing the plane's window idly. She could briefly her mother, Makoto complaining to her other mother, Ami, in a terrified manner in the row of seats in front of her and her siblings, but couldn't relate. She never had any fear of planes; that didn't mean she enjoyed them thoroughly though. Her thought came back to Akemi and Akira. Yeah, I really need to find out any crushes of theirs whenever they have one.

~O~O~O~O~

Kumiko frowned as her eyes darted from side to side on the barren Tokyo suburban street. Large mansion-like houses lined them, and a few high-class profiles passed her, giving her slight nods of acknowledgement as they went by. Of course, the sightings of these rich residents began to wane as time went on, most likely due to the fact that it was getting darker and darker as the day progressed; it was around evening at the time she was walking at the current moment.

Her own house was as large as the ones in the neighborhood she was strolling down, if not larger than those. She sighed. Eri—Kumiko's best friend despite her temper problems—had no clue of her well-hidden secret. She wasn't gay, which wasn't exactly a bad thing, or a closet-jerk or anything like that; she believed that her position was almost as easy as those previous were to hide. Her family was, as odd as she would sound for it, unfortunately filthy rich.

Kumiko despised being rich; she would normally sound like a freak for merely thinking of that forbidden thought, but she had her reasons. She would always be tested differently if people knew; that was one of the worst things ever. It was almost like being a pop idol; most people just wanted to be a friend to the status, not the person. Kumiko frowned. She knew Eri wouldn't particularly care for her status, but she knew that her mother, Minako, definitely would.

Kumiko sighed. Her fight with Eri a while back certainly proved to put a dent on their friendship. She didn't want to lost her friend; she'd even tolerate that temper of it meant saving it.

"Kumiko, why can't you act calm for once? It's so aggravating!"

She buried her head into her hands at the memory of Eri's cruel words freshly rung in her ears, allowing tears to brim the corners of her eyes. As mean as her friend could be at times, Kumiko was certain that she didn't truly mean it; she had faith in Eri.

"Oi, you alright?" a voice questioned. "Because you don't really look like it."

"I'm fine." Kumiko muttered while stray tears threatened to spill. She came to recognize the owner of the voice to be her school's newest transfer student, Kitano Kaede. From what she remembered, they had been friends since they were five; they met in their second years of grade school; they were enrolled at their clearly different respective schools at the time. At her friend's inspecting suspicious gaze, she smiled falsely. "Look, see; I'm doing just fine, seriously!"

Kaede made a face. "You know you don't look like it, right? You look like someone who just had their heartbroken by terms of adultery."

"I'm fine, Kaede," Kumiko sniffled. "Really, I am."

"And I'm a full blown idiot." Kaede scoffed at the notion. She flipped some of her silky hair over her uniform-clad shoulder. "Yeah, right. You and I both know that's a complete foolish lie. Tell the actual truth for once, will you?"

"Eri's temper had gotten the best of her and we fought; she had a few choice words to say to me," Kumiko admitted solemnly. "We haven't been talking for a while; I really miss her."

"She's says terrible things about you due to her temper," Kaede sounded like she couldn't believe what she was hearing, "And you miss her?"

"I do, a lot." Kumiko nodded slowly, her gaze becoming sentimental. "Despite how she acts at times, Eri's still my friend no matter what."

"You're far too loyal for your own good, Kumiko," Kaede grumbled under her breath.

Kumiko smiled. "And besides, I have to get over our fight sooner or later; I have to go to a party with my mom and dad for a hospital-thing. If anything, I can't really afford to be upset over it; I have to be the little socialite they raised me to be, there."

Kaede suddenly froze, and then paled. "I, um, have to go; see you soon!"

Kumiko frowned as her friend made her leave. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Something was off, and she knew it, too; she just ignored it. Getting to her home at the moment was a tad bit more important than pursuing some unexplainable feeling, though she knew that Eri would wholeheartedly disagree on the notion of her priorities.

But now, Kumiko couldn't seem to stop the tears from falling at the thought of her seemingly-lost temperamental best friend that she cared for with every fiber of her somber essence and whole sorrowful being.

~O~O~O~O~

Frowning internally, Eri swept the steps of the Hikawa Shrine with vigor. That say had not been going her way at all, to say the least. She and Aiko were forced to take up extra chores as of late, since her mothers had to plan for their upcoming Sailor Meeting; she hated it. If I hadn't had that damn dream, she thought glumly, and then maybe I wouldn't have to do all these stupid chores around the shrine and apartment with Aiko nagging me every two seconds!

"Hey, sis," Aiko began, startling Eri into jumping out of shock, "People were talking about being gay at school. What's being gay; is that like Mama and Mommy or something? But, isn't that normal, to be together with someone if you love them?"

Eri sighed. She knew that they'd have the conversation sooner later; she opted the for later rather than sooner option. Apparently, though, fate had felt that it wants to defy her desires once again in the lost suspecting ways possible; she despised when it tended to do that. "Well, um, being gay is when you like someone of the same gender—nothing's wrong with that; you know that I'm a bisexual myself and all, like Mom is."

"What's being bisexual?" Aiko cocked get head to the side immaturely, much like she was at that very moment. At Eri's scrutinizing gaze, she began to become defense over her obviously shown ignorance. Her face went red with embarrassment, and her cheeks puffed out humorously. "Hey, I've never grown up knowing these things, even though I've lived with it my entire life. Geez, Eri!"

Eri groaned. If there was anything she never wanted to be the one to explain to her sister, it had to be a long lesson on the LGBT community, despite that she and her mothers were definitely a part of it; there was no doubt about that. She internally scolded herself. I had to be the one to bring that up! Seriously, I must be going insane or something like that! Yeah, insanity—that has to be it.

Aiko's brows furrowed together, as if she were in a mockingly-deep thought, rather than a serious one. "Its's when someone likes boys and girls both, right?"

Eri nodded slowly. So, she didn't have to tell her sister in length, did she? She was certainly silently rejoicing at the revelation; no embarrassment for her. "Yeah, it is," an elongated pause and raised brow to entertain to the notion of amusement, "How did you know what that means if you have no idea what any of these terms are, anyway? You keep acting like you're a stupid blonde or something; I know you're not, but one can only question—"

"I'm not stupid!" Aiko cut off, flustered. "And stop being so grumpy! I know you hate doing these chores and you miss Emi a lot, but still!"

Eri huffed. She felt her cheeks burning, and she wasn't happy about the fact that it was visible for all to see, at all. She panicked. "Well, I—uh . . ."

"Have a huge crush?" a voice laughed. "Don't worry; I used to do that myself—more so in my younger years, actually—too."

Both Eri and Aiko alike jumped from the sudden intrusion.

Eri realized that it was the girl that she ran into that previous day, Kuroki Miyuki. Honestly, she didn't want to spend much time with the taller girl; she was a bit . . . off. Eri didn't know how to describe it exactly; possibly it had more to do with Miyuki's aura's blackness over personality, thoughts or actions if anything. Unfortunately, though, she couldn't quite place her finger on it.

"But, you don't need to call your sister stupid because of your frustrations," Miyuki finished. She had her arms crossed lazily, as if just to look cool; Eri believed that, at least. Miyuki smirked. "Though, there might be other reasons you might want t to call your sister a "dumb blonde"."

"Hey!" Aiko protested, sticking her tongue out at Miyuki. "I am so not stupid, stupid!"

Miyuki winked, much unlike she normally would. "Point proved right there."

"So not cool, person!" Red faced and fuming, Aiko huffed and stomped off. She was being extremely childish, if Eri had anything to say at all on the matter; she happened to have had a lot, but was forced to herself to hit her tongue in honor of respect, even though it was one of the hardest things that she had ever done in her life.

"Talk about immature." Miyuki frowned. She looked into the direction of which Aiko departed to. Her frowned seemed to deepen considerably; it was last me she was contemplating something extremely important, if not essential, for her to complete. "I can't stand people like that."

Eri glared dangerously. "That's my sister you're talking about."

"You know, in the future," Miyuki's gaze became distant as she completely ignored Eri's previous underlying threat that was most likely empty, "You need to train to prepare for something that could prove to possibly become a potential threat."

In the parallel world of understatement, Eri was merely confused. What did Miyuki mean by 'preparing for something that could prove to possibly become a potential threat in the future', she wondered, and why would she bother to say such things to her outright? She just couldn't wrap her mind around the strangeness of it all.

As Miyuki disappeared from the shrine grounds, Eri groaned inwardly. She needed to beg her parents to go to that party in Kyoto that Emi was attending. She snorted at the notion. As if Eri would be able to go there; her mothers would make it impossible for her to do so.

Though, she mused disappointedly, there was still the task of calming down Aiko, and she really didn't want to be forced to do it.

~O~O~O~O~

Emi officially hated parties.

The room, though extremely large, felt stuffy in comparison to the comfort of her family's apartment. The people, with the exception of her mothers and Akemi—not really Akira—were all extremely annoying; they continued to bump into her despite her tall frame, and she hated being present there at those exact moments with a passion.

Emi groaned as she poured herself a drink—hopefully water. Despite being strictly-business oriented, she noted that there were many people there—some under the adult age of twenty—binge drinking and partying madly; she was glad that her mothers and siblings weren't involved in the unfortunate fray of law-breaking imbeciles, in her opinion, and she herself wasn't, either.

She took a sip, and her nose wrinkled in disgust. Emi knew that water didn't take like what she was drinking, and her vision began to blur after a few moments; it had to be alcohol. But how did someone switch out her drink? She was sure that she had taken water, wasn't she? Emi blinked. She could briefly see others in the background, but the person that stood before her had her full and complete attention, even if she did happen to be slightly intoxicated.

It was a young woman who looked in approximately her late teenage years; she appeared to be around seventeen-years old. Her twin cotton-candy pig-tailed buns fell to the ground, and so did the green gown. She could've sworn that she had seen it before, an extremely long time ago, possibly. Huh, if it weren't green but rather white, it would've passed as the Serenity of this universes' dress!

Emi rubbed her temple warily. She didn't know anyone by the name of Arcane, did she? And why was she seeing and thinking absurd things now of all times? Was she drunk or something, or was she just going insane?

Giggling, a young child—possibly the young woman in the past—ran through a green meadow closely. Behind her, stood a towering jade palace lined with gold; it was obviously created for the highest ranking of royals. Her soft cerulean eyes was laughing, and rightfully so, as she seemed to be playing a game outdoors with another child.

Emi froze. Why did this seem familiar for her, and why did she feel an instant connection with a woman and child that she didn't even know? She recognized that environment too; she just couldn't place her finger on where she saw it before.

The child that followed the other one was creepily identical to Emi. Her blue eyes sparkled in the sun that was shining in the overhead. She looked around eleven-years old, if anything were to be said, and she wore a determined expression that equally matched her precise movements.

"Valorous," the first girl squealed as she tackled the second girl—Valorous, if Emi was correct, "I win!"

Valorous groaned. "You only win once, got it, Arcane?"

Arcane grinned cheekily; she was definitely an adorable six or seven-year old. "Finally, you admit it!"

Valorous stared at the sun. "Why do I even put up with you?"

"Because I'm a princess!" Arcane smiled goofily. "And we're best friends!"

Emi held her head. She knew that she didn't drink so much to feel such effects; her underage drinking was purely accidental and light, and they were also probably the cause of her odd vision and hallucination.

"Emi, are you doing alright?" Ami—one of her mothers—asked softly. "You look as if you're going to pass out."

Emi frowned. She forced herself to regain her balance, even though her vision with blurry and she felt as if she could fall over any moment. Her frown deepened. Even with her distorted vision, she could see that her mother and the rest of the crowd were experiencing the same symptoms. "I'm fine," a pause, "Don't worry, Mother."

"Alright, but if you need me tell me, alright?" Ami nodded slowly before walking off.

"Alright everyone, settle down!" a voice ordered amidst the loud drunken chatter. The owner of the voice—a young man no older than the age of seventeen—was frowning despite the positive tone in his voice; Emi knew that he was faking the tolerance for the crowd. "We're going to have a few contests for the most energetic person in the room! Is everyone prepared?"

Emi groaned. The last thing she wanted to do was to go through with any physical activities, given her current somatic state; all she wanted to do was sit down and stare watch anime or read manga for the entire rest of the day.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two people—a girl in a plain black dress, and the other a male in a tuxedo—staring at him in disdain like he were their enemy of some sorts; Emi could feel their animosity for him from where she was standing.

"Emi, I 'wanna go home," Akira mumbled by her side. He was rubbing his eyes tiredly, and she wouldn't be shocked if he was. "I don't like it here."

"Me neither," Emi said solemnly. "Something isn't right . . ."

"That man," Akemi began, appearing in between them groggily, "Something about his posture is extraordinarily off; I don't have confidence in that he has healthy thoughts about either us or the rest of the crowd."

"Yeah." Akira dragged Akemi off to the nearest corner to sleep, in which she obediently obliged. "Now I 'wanna sleep."

Akemi yawned loudly; under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have normally done that, but that moment was an abrupt exception. "Agreed."

Emi scowled as the dozed off the sleep together. They were right about that guy, she noted, and she needed to do something about it to protect her family; her other mother directly raised her into fiercely believing that, if she had the power, she should always defend those she held dear, no matter what. Emi adjusted the gloves that she wore. She wasn't going to sit around and wait for someone else to do it; she needed to act now, not later, after all.

Emi immediately went to take cover as a tremor shook the ball room. Apparently, she thought, I don't have to wait for my time to shine, do I?

~O~O~O~O~

"Your, Valo—no, Emi—friend is in grave danger."

"How can I trust you?" Eri glared at the white cat in front of her. "All you do is tell me stuff, and then run away to some random place!"

Selene grimaced. "I assure you that it would only be one time; it won't happen again—"

"It's two, actually!" Eri snapped; she had gotten to be under a lot of stress ever since that first Youma visited her; it just so happened to be that she was unfortunately under a lot extra stress that particular day. "Remember that time you left after I first transformed? I was, like, five right?"

"Six, actually," Selene muttered under his breath. "But you have to trust me right now of all times! I swear on the Moon Princess and Earth Prince's life that my Intel and I aren't lying! Please trust me, for your friend, at least!"

Eri played with her hands; her face was gradually getting redder as the minutes passed by quickly. "Alright. Just for Emi."

"You'll need a faster way to get there," someone in the shadows said, "And I can provide it."

Eri looked over. "Who are you?"

"I am Sailor Regulus." Regulus walked out of the darkness. "Sailor Eros, Selene is right; your friend is in definite danger. You need to transform."

"Wait, hold up!" Eri's eyes narrowed. "How do you know?"

"I know many things," Regulus said. "Like how you need to transform now!"

"Alright," Eri grumbled. She didn't quite understand why she trusted Regulus so quickly, nor why she was about to oblige to her request. She shook off the strange feeling in her gut and raised her transformation stick. "Eros Asteroid Power, Make-Up!"

Regulus raised her gloved hand, and a vortex appeared, shocking Sailor Eros but not the cat that was beside her. "This should lead you to Kyoto. Now, hurry!"

"You're not coming with me?" Eros asked. "Why?"

"Reasons," Regulus replied wearily. The energy that was draining from her to hold that portal seemed to really be taking a toll on her. "Just go!"

Eros nodded and leaped through the portal.

If only you knew the truth, Selene smiled and hopped off into the vortex; making sure that he was behind his young charge, about your friend and Valorous.

~O~O~O~O~

In all truth, Emi was terrified. She had never dealt with a giant human-bull that breathed fire, and why should she have to in her lifetime? Didn't she have enough problems with crushes and school, much less human-eating monstrosities?

Emi swallowed. She had no idea what to do. Her family—and innocents as well—were in danger because of some satanic demon-thing, and she was plain out terrified.

It appeared to be an evil hybrid of a bull and human, with its black and brown fur, the fact that it stood on its hind legs, its beady red eyes, the ring that pierced its animalistic nose, and the wooden club that it held; she thought that it looked a lot like the Minotaur from Greek mythology.

The man that had changed from his tuxedo to an odd set of robes while she was distracted and his facial expression was visibly blank; there was a glint of insanity in his eyes emerald eyes. "Sailor Eros, I know you're here somewhere; show yourself!"

Emi paled. She, like every other person in Japan, knew who the Sailor Soldiers were; they were apart of Japanese history, the way they saved Tokyo's residents multiple times in the past. She was always curious on why they stopped appearing; she always thought that they were stationed in another universe to fight a greater evil, as a kid.

Emi realized that all the teenage and children—excluding her—were unconscious, and some of the younger-looking adults were beginning to fall too. She felt groggy, but she didn't pass out like the others did? Why? Was she special or something?

Emi's eyes fell upon a girl who was in a comatose state nearby. Her glasses had fallen off, and her cinnamon colored dress was wrinkled. Through the sheet of brown hair that covered her face, Emi could tell that was Eri's best friend, Kumiko. She had never been close to the girl, but she knew how the revelation would affect her friend, and she began to feel angry.

Emi couldn't allow someone she cared about to feel sorrow; she swore she'd never. She stood—albeit weakly—and glared at the strange beast and young man. She couldn't allow that to happen; she'd work to make everyone around her happy until her final breath. "Hey," she shouted over to the Minotaur—who was hovering over a small child at the time—with a determined expression, "Hammy, over here; pick on someone your own size!"

The Minotaur turned its head slowly in Emi's direction, and then it lunged. She was pinned down by the Youma, and began to perspire nervously. This is it; I'm as good as dead, right now . . .

"Hold it right there!" a person announced firmly. "You won't ever touch Emi again! I am the Soldier of Mystery; Sailor Eros is on the scene!" Sailor Eros made herself known to a shocked Emi. "And as my current rank, and for the Asteroid 433 Eros, I will punish you, Youma scum! Now, Eros Resistant Charm!"

The Youma stared at the red beam that was flying towards it; then it was disintegrated by that same offensive attack.

"You've finally arrived, Eros." The man descended down the ball room's crystal steps smoothly. At her slight surprised jump, his lips began to curl up into a smile. "If you do not know me already, I am one of the Generals of Chaos, Alexandrite."

Eros glared. "You work for that Sphene guy, don't you?"

"Lord Sphene is my master . . . but not the one I serve," Alexandrite said coolly. "But enough of that. My mission is to end your existence, and I plan to do that now. Say goodbye to your life, Sailor Eros of Asteroid 433 Eros!" He raised his arm and grinned insanely. "Dark Power Strike!"

"Eros!" Selene cried in a corner as a large beam of darkness neared the Sailor Soldier.

Arcane smiling happily at Valorous . . . a shadowed girl in an older Valorous' arms . . .

No! I can't let her get hurt because of me! Emi's eyes went wide, and she immediately stood up. She briefly felt something burn on her forehead, but otherwise felt nothing because of the numbness she currently felt. I can't let her die because of me!

"No way," Selene muttered. "It's her . . ."

A laughing girl . . . the flash of a red and black gown in a jade palace . . .

"It won't let you hurt her!" Emi's eyes narrowed in Alexandrite's direction as a foreign pen materialized in her hand. She raised her arms. Her eyes glowed with the intensity of her raw hatred and power. "Bacchus Planet Power, Make-Up!"


A/N: Who knew that working on a laptop would be more productive than doing so on a phone? I sure didn't. But, d'you 'wanna know what I love more than cliffhangers?

Reviews.

~NeroJove