It may be slightly delayed but here it is! SMD chapter 4. This one is ok as far as my workmanship but from here on it only gets better, I promise. So please enjoy this installment and look out for next week's.
~SXS
Ganetto and Juunigatsu's Final Chance
At the Time Gates, a few days earlier
Her garnet eyes looked through the gray fog of nothingness. It was the ultimate peace in this place. There was no sound except for her breathing and nothing more than the thick darkness and the Gates to look at. Just stillness.
She waved her staff in front of the door and it parted to reveal a shimmering void of many colors that seemed too bright in such a place. Another wave showed the future that streamed from the timeline her companions were walking. Things did not look good from this angle.
She looked into the future that had once been set before them. Crystal towers graced the skyline. It was quite the pretty sight. In the palace throne room was the king and queen and their daughter, the princess. Surrounding the outside, the senshi stood, prepared for anything. At this point, the only way that this could come true would be if the decision was not the future queen's to make.
There was one last ending that only she knew would happen. It was similar to the future the senshi were all working for but there was one major difference. She had done the calculations and by the way things were going, because the moon senshi had free will, this would most likely be the outcome of their lives. That is, if they survived against Nenkaningen.
A small sound of clicking heels drew her attention away from the Gates. She whipped around and positioned herself for a fight. But as mysteriously as it had appeared, the sound stopped. Suspicious, she went to where she had heard it and checked for a sense of what it had been. When she found out, she gasped.
A Sailor senshi? The aura of whatever it was had been similar to that of her leader but much stronger. But how had another senshi gone by without her knowing?
More footsteps roused her from her thoughts.
"Whoever you are, come out right now!" she called to the emptyness. No one answered, but a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind, holding her in place.
"We've got you now, Sailor Pluto. And with you out of the way, we can travel anywhere we want in the timeline and destroy the future!" the one who was not holding Pluto said.
"Dead Scream!" Pluto attempted to blast her foe but misfired. "Who are you?!"
"We are future co-rulers of this world and all worlds! Under Nenkaningen-sama, we are Tanjouseki and Rekigetsu. You are now at our mercy," Rekigetsu said, tightening her grip on Pluto.
"You won't get away with this!" Pluto cried, but she knew it was no good. There was no one around to help her and no way to let anyone know she was in trouble. Tanjouseki came forward more and took Pluto's staff.
"This will be a lot easier without this little toy," he said as he broke the staff in two over his knee. "Come, Rekigetsu, we must return now that we have her."
"Indeed." They walked a little distance and dragged Pluto through a black portal.
The clicking of heels from before returned and a figure stepped in front of the Time Gates. She mended Pluto's staff and closed the Gates with a special seal. "Don't need anyone else getting here who shouldn't. The past is worse than I remember. I must continue until I find the correct point in time."
She ran off with Pluto's staff in tote, her long silver hair flowing behind her.
--
Ganetto and Juunigatsu were in their room. Each pair of minions under Nenkaningen, Tanjouseki, and Rekigetsu had a room to themselves where they would await orders. It was a dark and cramped space with only a set of bunk beds and a pair of small chairs in front of a table.
"We're toast for sure, Netto-chan!" Juunigatsu cried. "All three of the leaders will have our heads! I can't believe this is already the end! Goodbye cruel world!"
"Oh shut it and stop being overdramatic!" Ganetto said. "All we have to do is come up with a brilliant plan that will lure the Sailor senshi to us."
"Why? So they can kick our butts?"
"No. We're going to check their Kouhai Kesshous for the talisman. It's like what we were talking about with the leaders the other day. I think that one of them has it inside themselves and they don't realize it. If we get it out of them before they know, then we can bring it back to Nenkaningen-sama and be saved from death."
"Oh yeah. Sure. That'll be easy. How in all the universes are we going to accomplish something like that?" Juunigatsu threw her arms into the air in exasperation. She was extremely doubtful that they would survive into the next week.
"The Sailor senshi always come wherever there is trouble. All we need to do is lead them into fake trouble. Then we take them by surprise and attack! They'll never know what hit them and we can surely find the talisman." Ganetto had this all written out on a piece of paper.
"But what kind of fake trouble will we cause?" Ganetto smiled probably for the first time that Juunigatsu had ever seen. "Oh no! I'm not being bait!"
"It's the only way, Juunigatsu. Unless you want to be in real trouble with Nenkaningen-sama." At this, Juunigatsu's face was fearful. She thought for a few moments then agreed reluctantly.
Ganetto was deperately hoping that her plan would work. If not, it was the end for the both of them. She promised herself that no matter what happened, she would not fail Juunigatsu. She always put so much trust in her that she couldn't bear to let her down. She could only hope that the Sailor senshi were easier to deal with than they had been.
--
I decided to visit Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru since I hadn't seen them much since the end of the school year. Setsuna wasn't with them. Apparently she was at the Time Gates making sure that things weren't going wrong in the space-time continuim.
"So, Koneko-chan, what have you been doing with yourself lately?" Haruka asked me when we were all seated in the living room. She and Michiru were on the sofa, Hotaru was on the floor in front of them, and I was in a chair they brought from the kitchen.
"Well, I've been singing regularly with the Three Lights. I have the ability to contact the talisman better than the three of them combined. I have no idea how but I can." It had been a few weeks since I had sang that first concert with the Three Lights and I had been singing with them ever since. Seiya kept saying that the talisman was near, and we all felt it, but we just couldn't seem to see it.
"Doesn't that mean you're spending a lot of time with Seiya?" Haruka spat his name like a bad taste.
"Yes. Why?" I was confused.
"Haruka still isn't too fond of Seiya-kun. She worries about you," Michiru explained.
"Haruka-san, please don't worry. You can trust Seiya. He takes good care of me." I smiled. Her face softened from my words. She looked at me a moment longer then smiled and looked away.
"So trusting. Even when we first met them. Even when you first met us. Someday that might get you into some trouble, Koneko-chan." Haruka got up and patted my hair, then walked into the kitchen.
There was a silence that followed. I wanted to ask a question but I wasn't sure if I would like the answer. Really, there was no way to avoid it, so I had to say it. "Has...Has Setsuna-san found anything new in the future?" Michiru's face went from pleasent to upset. She was hesitant to answer. Hotaru's eyes filled with tears, probably remembering that Chibiusa was still not around.
Haruka had heard me and came back into the room with a tray of tea. "Apparently nothing has changed, good or bad," she answered. "I guess the outcome all depends on the decisions we make and the way we fight."
Flashbacks of my recurring nightmare came to me. I shivered on the inside. I also remembered the last battle we had at the concert where I lost my transformation and turned into Super Sailor Moon. I was always fearful that it would happen again, and at the worst time.
"Right..." I said, taking the warm tea cup in my hand. I sipped a little to calm myself. Michiru sensed my distress and turned the TV on.
We continued to talk for a while about nothing in particular, just to keep off of the subject of the future and battling. After a while, a show we were watching was interrupted by a frantic breaking news signal.
"That looks like Ichi no Hashi park," Haruka said.
My eyes went wide with terror when I saw a red glow in the distance and heard people screaming. "This cannot be good..."
--
The two girls positioned themselves in the park. One was dressed as a Japanese civilian. The other waited in the shadows for the time when she should 'attack' her partner.
There were some people around but not nearly enough. They would have to wait, hopefully unseen, until the moment was right to execute their plan. When finally a large enough crowd had assembled, the disguised one got up and started to wander around.
"Oh, what a lovely day," she said in a manner that sounded extremely fake. "Nothing could possibly go wrong on such a wonderful day as this."
From the darkness, her partner jumped out. "Your day is about to be changed," she said and tied a rope around her loosely.
"Oh help! Someone help!"
"Put some more enthusiasm in it, Juunigatsu," the one whispered.
"Help! HELP ME!" Juunigatsu cried. The people started to look to see what the trouble was. A few of the men ran over and tried to help Juunigatsu escape while some women were running around looking for help.
Ganetto laughed. "Now you're all trapped!" She let go of the ropes that were holding Juunigatsu and they fell limp to the ground. Then she raised her arms and a red forcefield surrounded all of the park goers. Juunigatsu sprinted out of the dome quickly and made her way to the front of the park.
"It's time to see which of you has the talisman!" Ganetto thrust her hand forward and a Koyomi appeared. It opened and out came a huge, tree-like monster with branches and roots flailing everywhere. There wasn't a spot in the park where you couldn't hear the screaming people.
Juunigatsu ran with all her strength to the park entrence. She knew that soon, news people would be ariving. Her mission now was to get the attention of the Sailor senshi. She would lead them to the park but by then, Ganetto would have released the other people. Then, in the senshi's confusion, Ganetto and Juunigatsu would capture them in the same dome that was now over the park goers. They would be powerless and the two girls could find the talisman easy.
As if on cue, a media team came with trucks full of cameras just as Juunigatsu reached the front of the park.
"This is Hoshi Kiyoraka for channel five news and I'm here at Ichi no Hashi park where there seems to be a disturbance. Apparently, an evil being is holding a group of people hostage. Lord only knows why." The reporter and her camera crew headed toward the giant dome.
"Hello? Hello, Hoshi-san?" Juunigatsu attempted to get her attention. "HEY OVER HERE!" Kiyoraka stopped and looked back at her. "I have information on what that evil person is doing and what she wants."
"I'm here live with a survivor of the attacks. Here's..."
"Usotsuki Juuni. The evil person wants the Sailor senshi's attention. She thought I was one of them but I'm not. I mangaed to escape before it was too late. I ran here as fast as I could to try and find some help." Juunigatsu attempted a fake cry but she sounded more like she was laughing.
"Usotsuki-san, how do you know all this?"
"She was explaining it to me when she found out I wasn't a Sailor senshi. Oh Sailor Moon-tachi! Please come and help us!!" Juunigatsu pleaded into the camera.
"Sailor senshi, if you're out there watching, we need you!" Kiyoraka said. "We'll keep everyone updated on the situation as we get information."
--
We all rushed to the park from the house, fully transformed. We didn't bother to contact anyone else; we were strong enough to handle this on our own. At the entrence to the park, the media team we had seen on TV was there and so was the girl who had said we needed to come.
The reporter grabbed me and pulled me in front of the camera. "Sailor Moon, you're here. Say hi to all your fans!"
"Wha-What? I don't really have time for this." I sheepishly waved to the camera.
"But don't you want to tell something to all of the people in Tokyo? It's not often that you get to be on TV." She held the mic up to my face and I stared blankly at the camera lens.
"Uh...Hi mom?"
"Sailor senshi!" the survivor girl cried and ran over to us. "Thank goodness you've finally arrived! Come, I'll lead you to your doo- I mean...the dome."
Releaved to be free of the news people, I followed the girl with Uranus, Neptune and Saturn behind me. She took us to the center of the park but there seemed to be no trouble at all.
"Where's the dome?" Saturn asked.
"It's right above you!" a new voice sounded from the trees. Suddenly the forcefield was coming down around us.
"What's happeneing?" I started to punch and kick the dome but there wasn't even a scratch left over.
"World Shaking!"
"Deep Submerge!"
Uranus and Neptune's attacks were no good either. I was suddenly very fearful of what we were going to be faced with. A large boom, like a giant footstep, came from somewhere nearby in the dome. We all turned to see a giant tree-like creature heading in our direction. In its branches were Ganetto and Juunigatsu.
Juunigatsu's shrill laugh filled the entire space. "You are trapped once and for all, Sailor senshi. How easily you are fooled. Now, we shall obtain the talisman from you. Cooperate and we may go easy on you later."
"We don't have the talisman! We have no idea where it is!" Uranus said.
"It's inside one of you, but not for long," Ganetto said. "Kigi, it is time to carry out your duty. Extract the Kouhai Kesshous of these four and then when we find the talisman, destroy them."
Branches sprawled out all over the place and grabbed each of us tight. As they squeezed I could feel something leaving me, probably my Kouhai Kesshou. Uranus was hacking at her branch with the Space Sword and Saturn with her glaive but anywhere they would cut would regenerate just as quickly. Is it really going to end like this?
Suddenly, we were all dropped and the tree creature screamed and shrunk into a tiny stick. Juunigatsu and Ganetto dropped from where they were perched on its branches. Had someone come to save us? I looked up and saw the dome disappearing. Two new figures jumped from a tree nearby and landed in front of our adversaries.
"Shinju! Shichigatsu!" the two girls cried at once.
"Your work here is over, failures," the girl of the new pair said. She had her white hair up on a bun on top of her head that was covered in netting and tied down with a band of pearls and her silver eyes gleamed with evil. Six streaks of hair come down in front of her face. She was wearing a two piece dress with a white halter top, tied around her neck with pearls, with a black traingle on the bottom and four stripes going up to the top. On her arms were weird triangle things, two on each. Her hands had lace gloves. The skirt was the same white as the top with a triangle at the top and four stripes coming out of it going toward the bottom. She also had on high heels.
The man next to her was more plainly dressed. He had medium length ruby-red hair and a tuxedo of sorts which was also red. The shirt beneath it was white and the tie was black. His eyes were the same shade as his hair. He smirked cockily while Juunigatsu and Ganetto fretted about what they were going to do next.
"Prepare to die," he said and brought forth a Koyomi. It was pointed at Juunigatsu who was so surprised she couldn't move. Just as a beam was about to hit her, Ganetto pushed her out of the way and got hit herself.
"Netto-chan!"
We all gasped. I finally found my legs and was able to get up and run over to Ganetto who was on the ground in a mess of blood.
"Netto-chan! Please don't die!" Juunigatsu cried.
"I won't...die...But I didn't want you to either...You have to...run and get out of here...before they get you too! Go, Juunigatsu..." She let her head go limp and went unconcious. Juunigatsu wouldn't run at first, but when the new pair got another Koyomi, she sprinted through the trees.
"What a coward!" the woman said. Then she turned to us. "Sailor senshi, remember these names. They will surely be in your future. I am Shinju and this is Shichigatsu! We shall rule beside Nenkaningen-sama, Tanjouseki-sama, and Rekigetsu-sama. Watch your backs." And with that, they disappeared.
"What should we do to help her?" Saturn asked running to where I was.
"Try to heal her, Hotaru-chan." Saturn nodded and stepped forward. She put her hand out to where the blood was coming from and closed her eyes. The wound healed and the rest of the blood disappeared. She was still unconcious, but I knew she would be alright. I picked her up and prepared to carry her somewhere when Juunigatsu came out of the trees where she had been hiding.
"I can take her from here," she said as she took Ganetto in her arms.
"Where will you go?" I asked.
"I'm not sure. If we return to Nenkaningen-sama, we will surely die. But if we don't we have nowhere to go. I guess we go nowhere." She started to walk off when I called for her to stop.
"I can make you free. You can join us and we'll find a place for you to go. You don't have to die or go off somewhere. Let me heal you."
"You...would do that? Even after what we've done to you?" Juunigatsu's face looked shocked.
"Yes. No one has to be evil. Everyone has good somewhere inside themselves and I know that you do, otherwise you wouldn't care so much for your friend. Will you let me do it?" I took my tier out and smiled.
She seemed to think it over for a moment. She looked at her, friend limp in her arms. Then she said, "Y-Yes...do it!" But just as I was about to, the sky grew dark. Two figures formed from a shadow and menacingly looked at Juunigatsu.
"Juunigatsu! You and Ganetto have failed for the last time!" one said. I couldn't see her face but I knew she was female.
"No! Rekigetsu-sama please! It was Shinju and Shichigatsu! They framed us! They ruined our plan! Please don't!" The figure shook its head and she and the other firgure thrust their hands forward and white beams shot out.
I tried to intercept. "Silver Moon Crystal-" but just as I was about to finish, my fuku started to flicker again. "Oh no! Not again!" This time, instead of downgrading, I completely lost my transformation.
It was too late for even Uranus, Neptune, or Saturn to help because Juunigatsu and Ganetto had disappeared. I hadn't seen what exactly happened, but I could guess they were vaporized.
"This will be you if you continue to resist, Sailor senshi," the second figure said. Then the two disappeared and the sky returned to its normal hue.
"Usagi, what happened?" Michiru asked. "Why did you change back?"
"It wasn't voluntary..." I whispered. Michiru and Haruka looked to each other worriedly.
"Why don't we go see Luna. I'm sure she knows something about what's going on," Haruka said. Both of them offered me a hand and I took them. We went to Luna and she said that we should summon everyone and let them know what was going on. We met at Hikawa shirne and my fear only grew. What is wrong with me?
--
"Ganetto and Juunigatsu got what they deserved," Nenkaningen boomed to the piar standing in front of him.
"Indeed," Rekigetsu agreed. "Please assure me that you will not earn the same consequences."
"Of course, Rekigetsu-sama. Nenkaningen-sama. Tanjouseki-sama. We shall not fail you," Shinju replied. The whole room shook once again with the evil laughter of the ones who believed they would rule the future. Their prisoner watched in silence and desperation.
"And let us not forget phase two of the capturing of the prisoners. Go, Rekigetsu and Tanjouseki! To the red-haired princess," Nenkaningen commanded.
"Yes, Nenkaningen-sama," the two replied and disappeared.
The prisoner was very scared now. She couldn't think of anyone that it would be besides one person. What other red-haired princess was there other than the one they knew from another galaxy? But what did he want with her?
Ooooh. Way to leave the readers in suspense. Don't forget to review and look out for next week's chapter. Here's a summary:
Usagi finally finds out why the Silver Crystal isn't working and runs off to someplace she hasn't been in a long time: Crown's Arcade. While she calms down there, Mamoru tells Seiya something that he can't believe. How will Usagi handle this new information when she find out? What's in store for our heroes? Find out next week in Worries for the Future; the Silver Crystal Losing Power. Until next time, ja ne! And remember, destiny is not set in stone.