Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the canon characters. Miyako, Cleo, Lia, Harper, and Owen, as well as a few others, are only figments that have escaped from my imagination.
Chapter Seven: A Surprise Revelation
The rest of the Elemental Warriors and Serene Star weren't far behind the fiery blonde.
"Liking the new look," cheered Sailor Water, catching sight of Knight Aethyr.
With an almost silent groan, Sailor Element reached for her key to the Garden, but Knight Aethyr shook his head, slightly.
"Problems, Kaiyah?" Phantasm emerged from behind the bank's air conditioning unit, yawning as he walked. "Haven't changed much, I see. Still as temperamental as ever."
"Phantasm!" Squeaks came from Sailors Water and Air, though neither was as loud as Sailor Wood.
She dove forward, stocking covered feet silent on the roof. Wrapping her arms around the black wolf, she buried her face in his fur to hide the tears falling down her face.
"Is Rosebud still around, too?" Knight Metal asked, fidgeting with his new goggles.
Phantasm nodded over Sailor Wood's shoulder. "Indeed, though she stayed in the Garden. I merely came to help Motoki. After all, our meeting was just before he got his new powers."
How like Phantasm, thought Miyako. To stick to the truth, without saying everything. Then, aloud, she added, "And both Phantasm and Rosebud helped me get my upgrade, too."
The black wolf bobbed his head, as Sailor Wood released him and he dropped to sit at Knight Aethyr's feet.
"Do you know about our upgrades?" Fire demanded.
"They are unique to each warrior who achieves them. You, and you alone, hold the key to unlocking yours," explained the black wolf, chuckling. "Good luck!"
With that, he rose, turned, and vanished.
"Thanks for nothing!" Sailor Fire yelled after him. "Stupid wolf."
"Come on. We'd better go before someone sees us," ordered Sailor Element. "Meeting tomorrow as usual."
They split up and transformed back to normal. Lia stormed towards them, stopped only by a sudden phone call from her mother. She sent a glare at Miyako and Andrew, before she took off. Andrew waved before heading off towards the café.
"You know," Cleo sighed, walking over to her, "I think we're missing something. Something big involving Lia."
Miyako nodded. "I know things are bad between her and her mother, but this is worse than usual."
Usagi joined them and the three turned to walk towards the farmhouse, trying to appear just like three normal teenage girls walking home.
Her adopted sister sighed, before meeting her gaze. "I lied. I didn't accidentally slip up and tell Kyle about what's going on. It was killing me to keep secrets from him. Especially when I thought they might be able to help."
"Why are you telling me this, now?" The ebon-haired girl asked.
"Because I hoped it'd work." She fiddled with her ankh pendant. "I talked with the others, and I think all their upgrades have something in common. They all seem to occur after some kind of confession. You know, like Lizzie confronting Lia, or Melvin's private conversation with Molly. Isolde mentioned that she admitted how much she wishes she could spend more time with her dad, like they used to do. And even Molly said she admitted she didn't want to be the one hiding behind the rest of us, anymore. Of course, she said it wasn't like a thought-out confession, more of a split second realization. But you get what I'm talking about. It would explain why Phantasm said we hold the keys."
"So you confessed," murmured Miyako.
Usagi shook her head. "I think there's more to it. You'd already admitted this to yourself, hadn't you?" At Cleo's nod, she continued. "Yet the others came when they admitted something they'd been denying to themselves, even. I'm sure Lizzie wouldn't admit just how much Lia's attitude was getting to her. She probably thought she could just let it slide for now."
"I guess I'll have to give it some more thought," sighed Cleo.
Miyako grinned. "At least you're on the right track. I hope. Better than nothing to go on at all, right?"
The only other thing they had learned that day was that there were two more Ayakashi sisters, Calaveras and Petz. Both had been waiting with the droid downtown, vanishing when Sailor Sardonyx had destroyed it. Four sisters all together.
Usagi called them dark equivalents to her inner Senshi, what with the powers all four of them controlled.
Every time they appeared, five more times in the week since the secret of Aethyr had gotten out, the Ayakashi sisters had either retreated or the battle had been fought to a standstill, and the girl whisked away by one of her sisters. The only one who really hadn't fought back had been Petz, who had used her 'Dark Thunder' only to protect herself from an attack by Sailor Fire, before she'd retreated with Calaveras.
Sailor Sardonyx had showed all five times, twice only after Sailor Element had already destroyed the droid, thanks to the increased powers of the others. Aethyr had dropped back, playing a role much more like Tuxedo Mask. He either distracted the droid, so Element could finish it off, or he had pulled her out of the way of an attack, but he always vanished right after the battle.
Surprisingly, it had been Mrs. Greymere, Andrew and Lizzie's aunt, who had called up Harper and asked if he minded if she took over the bookstore and café, instead of Andrew. She claimed that she missed the life behind the counter. She'd grown up the way Andrew and Lizzie had, helping out in the family store. Since moving to Terrarose, she'd been more of a stay-at-home person, and she was ready to get back to work.
They were all grateful she had, freeing up Andrew to help in the fights. And, of course, for him to go walking through the Garden with Miyako, as they'd done the two nights they hadn't had to fight. No one mentioned this fact to Lia, however.
It had been at the last battle, however, when Usagi saw something that gave her pause. As Petz and Calaveras had fled, she'd caught the look on Sailor Sardonyx's face. She'd seen that look before. It was a look she'd seen in her dreams, during the fall of the Silver Millennium. It had been the look on Endymion's face when they realized the Shitennou had betrayed him. Or so they had thought at the time. Had the Ayakashi sisters once been friends with Sailor Sardonyx? Could they be set free from their evil ways?
She sat on the balcony, outside her room. The crescent moon shone down, as she turned the Star Wand over and over in her hands. She remembered the way the Crescent Wand had been able to heal people. Could the same be true of the Star Wand? She wished she could ask Kayden, but she hadn't seen him since he and her mother had revived her Silver Star Bracelet. She sighed, making another wish, that Darien was here to help.
"At most, another month left," she reminded herself. "He promised he'd be back by prom."
Slowly, she rose to her feet, preparing to go back inside. Just then, however, her charm bracelet began to blink, the light coming from the ankh charm that represented Cleo.
"Another attack." Miyako stepped out onto the balcony to join her.
A snap of her fingers brought Rosebud and Phantasm. The two bowed briefly, before they trotted inside to find Rini, Aki, and Takara.
"Rising Soul of the Void!"
"Serene Star Magic!"
And the two of them were off.
It was Koan, again, with another droid. Though this one appeared to be made from a mirror.
"Watch out," warned Sailor Earth. "It can reflect our attacks back at us."
Sailor Fire did look pretty singed, and there were quite a few dirt smudges on the green-clad scout.
Serene Star drew the Star Wand, calling out her attack as she flipped her way over the droid. It reflected the attack back, but by then she was well out of the path. At the same time, Sailor Fire sent another fiery blast at it. But that didn't reflect back. It barely phased the mirror droid, but it did leave a mark.
"We have to double-team it," realized Sailor Earth. "When it reflects one attack, it can't reflect back another."
Sailor Element nodded. "Serene Star, can you deal with Koan?"
The blonde nodded. Sailor Element motioned for Sailors Fire and Earth to attack the droid, as she drew her Rainbow Rose sword.
"Majestic Star Healing!"
Serene Star fired the attack at Koan, who merely dodged out of the way. Again and again she tried to get Koan with the blast of energy, but every time, she dodged. She needed some way to pin Koan down. Either that or she needed a move with a more widespread attack.
She tightened her grip on the wand, thinking. She reached out, feeling for the powers of the other warriors' virtues, thinking, perhaps, she could focus that attack through her wand.
Like the power she'd collected to fight Romera of the Anti-Elements, she could feel the courage, the mercy, the generosity from her fellow fighters. But it didn't focus into an attack, like she expected. Instead, she could feel the wand shift in her hands, as it surged with power. The handle slightly lengthened, though not by much. A pale violet crescent moon, tilted at the same angle as the moon on her Crescent Wand, grew behind the star, until it was only slightly bigger than the pink star.
She spun around, lifting the wand overhead the same way she had the Crescent Wand.
"Serene Healing Radiance!"
A rainbow of light blue, light purple, white, and hot pink light shot out in a ring from the wand, catching Koan as she tried to leap away. She began to glow with a violet light, shrinking down, morphing, until she dropped to the ground. Instead of the woman they had fought, a small child stood before them. Same hair color and style, the same wide eyes, though no longer narrowed in anger, but she now wore a sleeveless light purple leotard and dark purple wrap skirt, over lilac tights. Black tap shoes covered her feet.
"Koan?" Sailor Element gasped.
Serene Star hadn't even noticed the three of them take down the droid. They too, must have been caught in the blast, as the scorch marks were gone from Sailor Fire and the smudges from Sailor Earth.
Koan blinked a few times, before her eyes drifted shut and she fell forward. Knight Aethyr arrived just in time to catch her.
"A kid?" Sailor Fire demanded. "Are you telling me that our enemies might be nothing more than kids?"
"What do we do with her?" Sailor Element asked the more pressing question.
"We can't risk taking her to any of our homes, and that rules out the barn, too." Sailor Earth paced back and forth. "But she has to be somewhere where she can be supervised."
"I will take her," declared Sailor Sardonyx, materializing out of the darkness.
Knight Aethyr rose, holding Koan protectively. "We'd rather you didn't."
"Your aura may be blindingly bright," added Sailor Element, nodding to Sailor Fire and Serene Star, who'd both seen it, "but we don't completely trust you."
"And you expect me to trust you with someone as precious as her?" Sailor Sardonyx fired back.
Serene Star stepped forward, her wand still loosely held in her hands. "Are the others like her? Children turned to darkness?"
Sardonyx stared at her.
"I healed Koan. Can the others be stopped the same way?" The blonde pressed.
"I don't know if you will be strong enough to heal the others," sighed Sardonyx. "They have been held in the darkness far longer than Koan."
"You care a great deal about them," stated the former Moon Princess.
"Petz, Calaveras, Berthier, Koan. They are all very close to my heart. Their brother, Rubeus, as well," admitted the white-haired warrior.
Serene Star nodded. "Then we will do our best to help them. Aethyr, let her take Koan."
Sailor Fire opened her mouth to object, but Sailor Element lifted her hand.
Carefully, Sardonyx took the girl, resting the violet head against her shoulder. "Thank you, Serene Star. This may not be your fight, but I thank you all the same."
"You're welcome."
Sardonyx turned, disappearing once more.
"Are you crazy?" Sailor Fire burst out.
"No, I'm not. I know how much Koan means to her." Serene Star smiled. "I trust Sardonyx."
"Well, if you trust her," scoffed the fire warrior, before she took off.
Sailor Earth crossed her arms. "Someone's got to do something about her. This is really getting out of hand."
"I'll talk to her." Sailor Element grimaced. "For all the good it may do."
Alright, another chapter down. It might surprise you to learn Lia wasn't this aggravating when I originally planned out this story. She's just taken over and gotten worse and worse. Hopefully that will change soon, though. It all depends on how willing she is to cooperate. Planning to try and get at least one more chapter done before November, but it looks like this won't get finished before then, though.
I'm surprised no one made a comment about Sailor Sardonyx, though. What do you think of her? Just curious. I know no one really knows much about her, unless you went over to my DeviantArt account and found her, but, that's kind of a spoiler, if you read that.
See you in the next chapter!
Bookworm0913