Akari! Yanei!' Summoned by an authoritative bellow, their forms wavered into reality; the first was a short female dressed in a pale gold officer's uniform, with long red hair, orange eyes, a slender, well-formed body, and a childish whim. The second, a slightly taller male, was dressed in a pale blue uniform opposite the woman beside him. His stocky build, dark blue hair and lighter eyes contrasted hers beautifully as if designed carefully to strike that effect between them.

Immediately, before speaking, they bowed before their elder.

'What would you require of us, sensei?' the man requested respectfully in Japanese. It was true; he was their teacher, having trained the both of them since they were old enough to wield weapons.

He trusted them more than even the foolish Queen Beryl, who had failed so recently. Hand-picked Senshi had its advantages. He was not confident in Galaxia's religious selection of so-called 'champions' who had more faith than brains, power, or fighting capability. To her, it was not a matter of capability, merely servitude. Many centuries ago, he had decided to entrust the knowledge of war with his senshi, and it had earned him much respect in the eyes of his Queen. Enough respect to command several small armies. Not that he had lacked any faith in her on his terms. He merely had a more efficient method of dealing with those who were deemed her 'enemies.'

Even knowing that list included 'everyone.'

So far, all was going well. The lion demon Yalen had successfully neutralized the Sailor Senshi, making the struggle to send them to another dimension much less… costly. He occasionally paid attention to their apparent dilemma when he felt like a good laugh. He found their struggles quite humorous, and the changes were the most interesting. One thing surprised him; none of them were yet dead. Many of them had come close, but they still survived.

Is it possible I have underestimated them? he mused thoughtfully. It is true that the Moon Princess only seems to gain strength from such events, yet I was sure this would crush her soul…

'What is it, sensei?' asked a gentle female voice.

'Hm? Oh. I was thinking about the success of my plan,' he replied evenly. He stood and drew his staff in assistance to his step. 'I have a task for the both of you. One which I am quite sure you will experience no difficulty with.'

Akari smiled lightly, eager to see action. 'Anything!'

The man read the eagerness in his student's eyes. 'You are my most pliant students, if not the brightest. No matter. I do not expect you to trouble yourselves with many variables.'

Akari merely awaited his command. Yanei, on the other hand, pouted. 'You think us fools? Old man, you confuse us with Beryl's asinine fledglings.'

The man merely smiled. 'No, dear Yanei. If you were my equal, would I make use of you? Think about that. And no, I would not.' She bowed her head, pout fading to a frown. He continued, 'But not now. I have other matters of greater concern.'

'Hai, Uraki-sama,' she replied sullenly.

The man hobbled up to his two champions and examined them, eyes gazing over their forms. 'I have eliminated the Bishojo Sailor Senshi as a factor in our war. They are no longer a concern to us.' He turned away and began pacing slowly, unevenly. 'There is only one person who is concerned about me now. It is the Earth Guardian, Mamoru. He is stronger now since Beryl lost him to Usagi.'

He shook his head—idiot woman. Why Galaxia entrusted her with the task of destroying them, I still cannot fathom, he lamented in his mind. He could no longer count how many times he had remarked on her inability.

'I want you to lure him to the Moon and then destroy him.' His voice hung on the second to last word in emphasis. 'How you do this is not my concern. You will not fail me. Hai?'

'We would sooner perish,' Akari replied in earnest.

'I would advise you to be watchful of this… wildcard… as well.' He waved his hardwood staff vaguely, creating a circular portal of second sight. Within it appeared a simple girl with waist-length brunette hair and an energetic countenance. She sprinted home adorned in her school's grey sailor suit uniform as she tossed a glaringly green tennis ball between her long-fingered hands.

'What problem might she pose, as lovely as she is?' Akari queried.

'She is pretty, indeed. It seems that it is our enemies' way of being continuously attractive. Nonetheless, for a reason I cannot fathom, she has been deemed a threat. So much o that I would have you capture her.'

Yanei rolled her eyes. 'Her beauty pales to mine, wouldn't you say, Akari?' she yawned, undoing buttons enough of her tunic to reveal several sundry inches of her more than mid-sized cleavage.

Akari failed to notice, his eyes locked upon the vital body of the youth.

'Akari!' He faced her, eyes dropping to the displayed flesh.

'Hai, my beloved. Much more…' he murmured distractedly.

'Enough games!' Uraki declared impatiently. 'You will see her captured and brought to me. I will give you a week of respite with which to question her as you might but do not kill her. I have a sense she may be of use.'

Both bowed deeply.

'Of course, my lord.'

'Ours is only to serve,' Yanei added.

'Then there is nothing more to be said here. Go.'

Both students bowed and returned to the faded state from which they had come.

—

There was a somewhat distressed regard upon that young woman's face as she strode quickly towards her appointed destination: Central Tokyo. She had been told the Kei-san had gone into hiding due to the recent threat.

Hiding? If she gets to hide, what are we supposed to do? she thought, terribly upset by the recent culmination of events. Even hardball hadn't helped, even though she'd tromped Cale, Ayla, Meizu, and most notably, Masurani, among others of lesser notice. It was those four in the game that had interested her most greatly. It was coming so close to the final selections, and she was being set aside like this? It was confusing.

There was a noise, somewhat like the strangled mew of a kitten. A flash of alarm tore through Xalia and the fact that the freedom of the world itself was being threatened ceased to matter beyond the sudden search for a petrified-sounding baby cat. As she rounded the corner, a startled voice caught her off guard.

'Xalia!' exclaimed the tones of a voice the target dully recognized as her sensei.

'Nasura-sensei?' she queried, peering about swiftly. 'I'm looking for a lost kitten. Have you seen.. uh.. oh!'

The tortoise shell-coloured cat squeaked as she was swept into the young woman's arms.

'Cute!' she spouted, briefly tossing the frightened cat into the air before hugging her tightly.

'Shimatta! Xalia! Stop!' protested the little feline desperately, its voice choked by Xalia's smothering attentions. Just as she had begun, she halted, holding the cat to gaze into its yellow eyes.

'Nasura?!' she gasped, stunned.

'Hai! Would you put me down? You scared the living daylights out of me!'

'So sorry, Kei-san!' she bowed, setting her down.

'Never mind, Xalia-chan,' she replied, 'We have matters of greater import to attend to.'

'Sensei-san, may I ask a question?'

'Hai.'

'Why are you a cat?'

'It shields me from their detection, young one,' replied. 'Oh, I have decided to Knight you.'

'Um, are you sure this is such a good idea? Not that I'm about to refuse or anything openly…'

'Such a good idea? I'm afraid there's no choice.'

She glanced curiously at the brown and silver-haired cat perched on the pavement at her feet. The feline returned the regard, but somehow much more seriously than any ordinary cat might. 'Don't forget why you were sent here,' she scolded, pawing the young woman's leg. 'It's your duty to…'

'Sssh! Someone's coming.' With a congenial smile, she took the cat into her arms and stroked her gently. A fellow with short dark hair, silk pants and a black sweater approached with sunglasses and a dark expression on his face. 'Oh no! It's Mamoru!'

'Don't worry!' the feline whispered. 'He doesn't know… mmph!'

Feeling her gaze upon him, he glanced up only to see her giggling and waving nervously. Usually, he would have passed her by, but he wasn't taking any chances due to recent events.

'Hi,' he began, half-smiling. 'Do I know you?'

Is this some stupid pickup line? Somehow, I doubt it…

'Uh,' she giggled. 'No.'

He pulled his hands out of his pants pockets and folded them across his chest as if readying for further interrogation when a scream tore through the small business sector.

'Oh, that's my cue!' she exclaimed, bowing her head quickly and making a mad dash towards the source of the noise. As she tore down the sidewalk, the cat matching her running pace tersely commented:

'Why did you have to say that? Do you want to get caught?'

'Nasura! What was I supposed to say?'

'Anything else! Just not that!'

She rolled her brown eyes, her waist-length brunette hair flying out behind her. 'Too late now.'

'I suppose so. Okay, stop!' she commanded, drawing to a halt in front of a restaurant, which seemed relatively vacant. The small feline closed her eyes and bowed her head, after which a palm-sized shining jade crystal appeared on the pavement at her feet.

'Take it,' she commanded, and after she did so, ordered: 'Hold it and say: Sailor Ether - Sugoi Henshin!'

'Uh, sure,' she replied, raising the crystal above her head and pronouncing: 'Sailor Ether - Sugoi Henshin!'

As she did, swirls of energy produced a uniform that suited her every desire as to how she envisioned herself as one of the Bishojo Sailor Senshi. As she fell into her final pose, adorned in the greens and white of her uniform, she gave herself a once-over glance.

'Eeek!' she exclaimed, pushing at the micro skirt. 'It's so short!'

'It's what you wanted!' Nasura explained. 'This is how you envisioned yourself as a Sailor Senshi.'

'Great,' she sighed, then spotted the stylish dark green mid-calf length boots upon her feet. 'Oh, cool!'

'Don't forget, you've got a job to do!'

'Oh, right,' she blinked, snapping out of her trance. 'How do I stomp it?'

'You control the wind and have incredible speed. You run fast enough that the human eye cannot detect you. You can also fly.'

'Huh?' she muttered, practically drooling.

'Fly. You have wings, you ninny! And you can't be seen when you run,' she stated on a flat, slightly disappointed-sounding note. 'Don't be afraid to use your kickboxing or to get creative with your powers. Nothing is defined yet. It's all up to you.'

'Oh, wings!' she laughed, flapping them experimentally. Her expression turned to puzzlement, which slowly found Nasura. 'What do I throw at it?'

'When you want to throw something, just shout "Wind Blade - Slice" and act like you're throwing your strikeout fastball,' she hinted, sulking. 'But don't be afraid to experiment. Play with your powers.'

'Oh, sure.' Whatever that means. She made a single running step and was gone.

'Look! It's Sailor V! She'll save us!'

To the four dozen men and women trapped in the demon-besieged restaurant, she was both recognizable - in a vague fashion, despite the unusual hair colour and undeniable presence of wings - and their only saviour.

'Halt beast of the NegaVerse! Release that woman!' The rotund sumo wrestler-like black-skinned creature smiled a toothy, blood-filled smile and proceeded to tear the woman in two. Before it could complete the task, the young woman proclaimed, "Sailor V" shouted:

'Wind Blade - Slice!"

Despite the strangeness of the declaration, four cloud-like free-flying chakram blades rapidly sought the distracted demon. As the new Senshi landed on her feet, the hands attempting to segment the victim fell to the ground, allowing the internally rented woman to collapse in agony.

'I am Sailor Ether! I live to destroy all evil! I won't stand by and watch you harm another living being! Prepare to be punished!'

'You think you can beat me, little girl?' growled the beast gutturally, swinging its abruptly regenerated clawed hands and quickly decapitating a nearby business-suited man as it laughed loudly. With a lunging toss, he hurled the grimacing head at her. Deftly, she dodged the attack, leaping towards the creature.

As she did, she seemed to disappear.

'It's no use hiding! I'll ge-aaaaagggh!'

The beast fell to the earth, its collapsed skull rolling free from its gutted body. The gory spray of blood turned into a fine grey dust as the creature dissipated, banished from the realm to which it had been summoned.

'So who's hiding?' she smirked, holding a blackened crystal in her hand, watching uninterestedly as it turned to powder in her palm.

—

Mid-summer heat brought little comfort to those in their offices. Appreciation of the brilliant weather was passed down to beach-dwellers, of which there were many that day. What better way to spend the restlessly hot day than in the sun? The calm waters lapping at the edge of the beach drew a misty breeze to those who had accepted the offer of the weather.

They were, in part, interested in gathering individuals and why they nestled in groups and such heat. Yet more distinct was their interest in how this collective might serve them.

'Uraki-sama was right,' Akari observed. 'The girl has become a problem.'

'Of course, he was right. She can wait, however. We have greater concerns right now to deal with.'

Akari and Yanei had spied their lure. Neither expected their task to be an easy one. In the past, Mamoru had not been easily fooled. Defeated and simply overpowered, but not fooled. He was considered to be a worthy opponent.

'So we must draw his attention,' Yanei observed, her gaze settled on the iridescent pool of seeing.

Akari nodded. 'I will summon a gem-beast. It will steal the energy of the fool humans on the beach. Mamoru will have no choice but to respond.' He smiled, quite proud of himself. 'Uraki-Ayo would be pleased.'

'Even if it does take time,' Yanei added.

Akari blinked, confused. 'Time? Why should it?'

'How will he know to reach us? It may take months to bait him, my darling, sufficiently,' Yanei explained lovingly.

'I see your point, beloved. Is there nothing we can do to alter this delay?'

For a moment, she was silent with thought. Her finger twirled several wayward lengths of orange hair absently.

'Ah!' she grinned. 'We can tempt him directly. It will cost us valuable energy, but I am certain it will be worth it. An appearance, however brief, will certainly motivate Luna and Artemis, hai?'

'Hai! You are much wiser than I, my sweet, and I love you for it,' Akari smiled, taking her hand and pressing his lips to it briefly. Childishly, she blushed, a pleasant smile warming her young face.

Akari bowed his blue-haired head and mumbled a series of words under his breath. Moments later, the pool of seeing fogged, the image on the surface swirling and fading into grey. Several slivers of light rippled from the edges of the pool to the center, where they gathered into a physical substance. As the process continued, a small opaque object began to take form. Akari stopped his chanting and let the spell complete itself. His hand reached and picked up the crimson-tinted gem in two fingers.

'It is your turn, my beloved,' he said, not looking at Yanei.

She said nothing as she closed her eyes. The image of the beach returned and shifted, as if panning, like a camera. The image moved to the strip of the park that strode the length of the sandy surface of the land.

Now, Yanei thought.

Akari's fingers appeared to let the gem slip. The gem disappeared into the waters. When it reappeared, it seemed to have landed on the pavement pictured in the pool.

'It only requires a touch, and they will bring forth the beast within.' Akari smiled and leaned backwards. 'We have only to wait.'

'What about the girl?'

'I think I have a gem that will work beautifully for our cute little warrior…'

—

He landed effortlessly on the ground. A small black feline ran aside the formally dressed man, calling out his name: 'Tuxedo Kamen!'

He looked at her behind his white mask.

'How do you expect me to defeat this creature, Luna-chan? I can't banish them the way Usagi did.' Irritation and anxiety rang in his voice.

She halted suddenly. 'I d-don't know.'

A small white cat followed up behind her. "We can't just let it roam free!"

His words came as more of a command than advice. Tuxedo Kamen had no choice in the matter, and he knew it. For a moment, he watched the beast, its humanoid qualities, as it grabbed and stole life energy from the scattering people on the beach.

Hardly efficient, he decided suspiciously. It was taking much too long, terrorizing single victims before seizing their energy and playing with them as one does with food.

It appeared to be primarily humanoid, aside from the claw-like appendages in the place of arms. He decided that if he was going to act, he had to do it carefully. Perhaps he could scare it off? He grumbled discontentedly, placing himself before the beast, preparing for the confrontation.

'I am Tuxedo Kamen!' he declared, expecting rage from the creature as a reaction. 'What did Usako use to say?' he muttered under his breath. 'Uh… In the name of… uh… oh hell, prepare to get your ass kicked!'

The creature spied him and paused. 'Tuxedo Kamen?' a guttural voice mumbled. A profound war cry tore loose from the beast's throat, assaulting his ears. 'You will die!'

Without further ado, the beast charged at him. Tuxedo Kamen aptly sidestepped the attack, swatting the beast with his cane. The beast fell over, causing a brief explosion of sand. He decided there was no question as to who the superior fighter was here.

With a growl, the beast rose to his feet. It did not move; it merely stood, seeming to gauge the opponent it faced. The question suddenly gripped the oddly formally dressed man: was it thinking ahead? He nearly laughed at the concept. When the gembeast saw his distraction, it struck. Tendrils from the creature grabbed him by the arm, latching on tightly. Tuxedo Kamen gasped at the unexpected movement and also when he realized he was about to be seriously hurt.

'Damn,' Luna cursed, then jumped at the creature. Claws raked across the dark blue skin of the beast's face, drawing blood and rendering it sightless. The creature wailed out in agony and dropped the weakening Tuxedo Kamen.

'Thank you, Luna-chan,' he gasped.

Artemis ran up to Luna. 'How do you suppose he defeats the demon, Luna-chan?' he asked.

Luna's eyes narrowed. 'I have a thought, but I'm not sure it will work.'

'Whatever you're thinking has got to be better than not trying at all,' Artemis stated flatly.

She glanced at Artemis briefly. 'Hai. Of course.' She looked at the kneeling Tuxedo Kamen. 'Try to pierce its heart with your rose!'

He gave her a strange look but nodded. 'Summoning crystal?' Artemis whispered, voicing his suspicion.

'Hai,' she replied. 'That's my thought. If not, then we're in trouble.'

Tuxedo Kamen got to his feet to face a severely angry and equally disoriented gem-beast. It tossed and struck out unthinkingly, hoping to grasp something from which it could steal energy. He moved like liquid lighting, and his action was only apparent when completed. The stem of a full red rose sat embedded in the creature's chest, which cried out in further pain and dissipated with a cool hiss.

'Good work, Tuxedo Ka…' she fell short when she realized her tone. This was not the klutzy Usagi she was used to dealing with! Luna cleared her throat. 'So sorry, Tuxedo Kamen.'

'No, Luna-chan, don't worry about it,' he replied somewhat sorrowfully. He turned, preparing to leave the scene.

'Konnichi wa, ronin Tuxedo Kamen. Where are your lovely Senshi when they are needed most, neh?'

He turned sharply in response to the voice. Suspended several feet from the ground was a transparent image of a stocky humanoid male, dressed in a purple gi. Standing beside him was a short woman dressed in a gi of pale orange.

'Nan desu ka!' Mamoru demanded curtly, drawing his cane from thin air and hefting it threateningly.

'I am Akari. This is my beloved, Yanei,' he began. 'We are here to destroy you.'

'Tsk, tsk, love,' the woman said. 'So blunt! Do you recall that is not our purpose?'

He gazed at her and smiled. 'Hai. You are right. My desire proceeded before my wit.' His dark blue eyes turned on his opponent, narrowed and cold. 'Perhaps you are wondering about your missing Sailor Senshi? You might be interested in learning that they no longer exist.'

Tuxedo Kamen felt a brief bolt of fear and panic. 'No! You lie!'

'Do I? Perhaps if you can find us, you can reach what you seek.' The image waned and faded as the man laughed boldly.

Tuxedo Kamen sank to his knees, tears trailing in abundance from his eyes, and whispered, 'Iye, Usako…'

'Tuxedo Kamen?' queried a gentle female voice. He wiped his eyes and stood, presenting strength where none he felt. The girl was not smiling as she greeted him. 'I'm Sailor Ether; I'm here to help you.'

He looked at her for a while as if realizing she was standing there, exceptionally pretty and on his side. On the other hand, Luna neared him and glared up at the stranger.

'If you are a royal senshi of the Moon Kingdom, then why don't I recognize you?'

The girl shrugged. 'I was given a crystal and told to help. That's all I know.'

'By whom?'

'She asked me not to tell you. I'm sorry,' she replied, fidgeting with her hands at her skirt.

' "She?" ' Luna prodded. With that, the strange girl turned and flew up into the air.

'Forget it! I've said too much already! I just wanted you to know I'll be around to help! I'll take care of things!' she called as her slender, winged figure disappeared.

—

Several days later, after many lost hours of sleep, Mamoru sat up with Luna and Artemis in his apartment. Days of speculation it had shed no light. The only reasonable explanation was that these two were from the NegaVerse. How could that be? Had Usagi not defeated Queen Beryl, banishing her and the NegaForce back to the dimension from which it had come? There seemed no logic to the source if it was them.

'I'm sure they're lying,' Luna offered weakly. The slender black cat the voice issued from jumped on the young man's lap. He refused to pet her. He was too angry. He had remained quite angry since losing this battle.

'You don't sound sure,' Artemis replied tentatively. Luna could say nothing, nor could she meet his gaze.

'Where could the Sailor Senshi be if Akari and Yanei aren't lying, Luna-chan? They can't have just disappeared from Tokyo.'

The Japanese youth scowled. He ran a hand through his short black hair, the knowledge of his greatest fear born to reality consuming him from the inside out. He did not know where the Sailors were and could not protect them. How could it get worse?

'If these two… Akari and Yanei… are as powerful as I seem to feel they are, as they could have been, Mamoru. We don't know what we're up against.' Luna was feigning calmness. She had already spent her tears some days ago. Her most significant failure was losing the Moon Princess to an unknown force. Luna was quite sure that it was Akari and his consort, Yanei. She could not belay the darkness she felt when she regarded the situation. She was lying to Mamoru and herself in the hopes that she was wrong.

The similarly slender, white cat regarded Mamoru sternly.

'I don't know what's going to get done with you guys just sitting around,' Artemis' cool, deep voice stated evenly; his eyes then met the disillusioned young man. 'You've got to face them.'

'How?' Though he had successfully destroyed six gem beasts since their initial appearance, the idea of fighting their creators made him somewhat hesitant. Quickly, he brushed that hesitation aside. If Akari and Yanei had the Sailor Senshi, he would save them!

'Go to the moon. I think that between the three of us, we can channel enough energy to get there,' Luna said, her tail twitching nervously.

Mamoru could only nod.

'What about this… new Sailor? They call her "Sailor V," but it's not her. I would know,' Artemis stated a timbre of fine unease in his usually cool voice.

'Of course it's not,' Luna replied. 'I don't know who it is. I don't recognize her as one of the Inner Senshi. She's not familiar.'

'Do you think she might be from the NegaVerse?'

'It's not their style,' Luna observed. 'They wouldn't try the same trick twice after Zoisite fouled it up first.'

'Hai, I agree, but neither is capturing our senshi,' Artemis tersely frowned. 'We can't be sure what they'll do anymore.'

'I'm sure I would know,' Luna shook her head morosely. 'Especially under the current circumstances.'

'I don't think she's evil. She's been helping too much. We've even talked to her, and she was honest.'

'As far as we know, Mamoru,' Luna pointed out, lying down slowly. 'But I think you're right. She did say she wasn't Sailor V.'

'The title "Sailor Ether" doesn't ring any bells, if you know what I mean,' Artemis commented.

'There were senshi from other dimensions, you know,' Luna said, glancing at Artemis. 'I'm pretty sure we can't have known all of them.'

'I suppose. I say we forget about her. She can take care of things here while we're gone. She's destroyed over a dozen creatures during the last week on her own! I think we can trust her.'

'I don't know…' Luna hesitated. 'It's awfully risky.'

'Anything we do is. Even if we didn't have this stranger helping us out, leaving would endanger everyone in Tokyo.'

'There's no choice,' Mamoru agreed firmly. 'We go. Without Usagi, we don't stand a chance.'

Luna remained silent for a time. 'I'm still not sure,' she began. 'But what else can we do…?'

—

'Dance-ance-ance! Or you won't be stayin' alive-ive-ive!'

The camerawoman hiked her skirt up awkwardly, moving her feet to avoid the spikes of metal which shattered the tile underneath her. With a frown at the woman's success, the patchwork clown of red eye and black tooth took her by the throat, laid a claw about her waist suggestively, and began draining her energy.

'Drop her, fiend!' commanded a slight but loud voice. It ignored the request but glanced about, seeking its source.

'Cannot fool-ool-ool the clown of NegaForce! Come forward, Sailor Girl! Let me drain you!'

There was an echoed nervous clearing of throat. 'Your innuendo doesn't scare me,' she replied defiantly. But you being a clown doesn't exactly help! 'I said let her go!'

The body from which the voice originated appeared as defiant as the vocal weapon, hands upon her hips, snarl upon her face, adorned prettily in a green body suit with an even deeper green microskirt. The suit was coated by a thin layer of mystic armour, whereas upon her naked arms and legs were armlets and shin guards of white. However, the expression upon her face denoted extreme distaste, even while she harboured similarly inclined anger at the creature's very presence.

'Why should-ould-ould eye,' it pointed to the optic organ of which it spoke. 'Little greenie?'

'Because I am Sailor Ether! I live to destroy all evil! And I won't stand by and watch you harm another living being! Prepare to be punished!'

The crowd cheered, filling the young woman with confidence.

'Oh really-ally-ally?' it sneered, tossing the woman across the news desk and reaching, extending its arms with such speed towards Xalia that she found herself held by waist and thigh before she could move. She gripped the limbs and pried, finding little give despite her augmented strength.

She screamed despite herself, the following words trailing into the high-pitched exclamation. 'Let… go… Stop! Let go of me!'

There was a small sea of gasps, accompanied by a somewhat distinctive: "Drop her, you damn ugly clown!"

With a suitably unsightly frown, it turned upon the small gathering of people and uttered a wail of a challenge so powerful that the crowd shattered like warming mercury, fleeing as if on a downhill slope. A high-pitched laugh rang through her skull, its multi-toned falsetto taunting her as much as threatening a major headache.

'Helpless, little greenie-eenie-eenie is helpless! At my mercy-ercy-ercy!'

'That's what you'd like,' she snarled hatefully. 'Hurricane!'

The spinning of wind began, tossing her hair and pulling at the creature, threatening it with untold violence… until it halted unduly, sputtering like a car on empty. With an unearthly, toothy grin, it locked its metal claw hand around her neck, forming a simple collar. The long-limbed clown-like creature tore at her bow, and the crystal embedded within it sheared away these items quickly. Her uniform flickered and disappeared, leaving her dressed in black tights and a loose, short-sleeved green top. The miniature jade stone flipped away with the rending motion and landed on the floor with a glass-like tink.

"Oh damn!" she cried, thrashing against the restraining monster, her 'ordinary' strength a far cry from sufficient.

Oh no! Nasura gasped. She's losing! I haven't worked through this scenario!

It raised the nullified senshi into the air, draining energy as it did. 'Sailor Ether - or should this clown say Xalia! - Is lost for good-ood-ood! Never stood a chance-ance-ance!'

'No…' she uttered faintly, feeling her strength waning.

How does it know? Nasura wondered, dashing towards the creature and leaping for its face. With a scowl, it swatted her aside and then aptly landed on her feet.

'Face it, girl-irl-irl, you don't have the goods!'

It drew her forward, grabbing her right breast and placing an unwelcome kiss upon her lax lips. Struggling nigh uselessly, her mind rang out in scintillating shards of pain as tears formed in her squinted eyes. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Nasura! You can't help her as a cat!

'But then again-ain-ain,' it taunted, pulling away, 'there may be hope-ope-ope for you yet…'

'Drop her!' declared a voice in unquestionable, selfless, fear-spurred anger.

The clown swivelled about to face a glowing woman adorned in a grey kimono and flaring waist-length purple hair. 'Catch,' she issued, tossing a silver crystal at the creature, who caught it with a free hand. Suddenly, it gave a withered cry as she clenched her hands and lightly flared like the interior of a sun. The crystal in its hand exploded, and as it dropped its prey, it fell forward and turned to dust, scattering on the wind inspired by Xalia's limited recovery.

'You know we hadn't anticipated this,' stated a relatively calm male baritone, considering the event. 'Magi do so complicate things.'

'Akari! Yanei!' Nasura snapped, whirling upon the semi-transparent pair.

'Don't look so bloody shocked, Nasura," Yanei snarled, stepping forward, hands on her slender hips. "You knew we were behind this. I'm just hoping we'd forget about your cute senshi. Not when she's toting power of that kind around!'

'What do you want?' she snarled, gracefully positioning her hands to summon manna.

'Isn't it obvious?' she replied, then balked thoughtfully. 'Well, I suppose not. You know, you are quite pretty. For your age,' she commented thoughtfully, hands upon her slender hips. 'No matter. We've done our research, channeller. We know you are useless without a portal to focus your power.'

'Is that so,' she snarled coldly, straightening her posture and reciting a brief spell.

The lovers dropped to their knees as if she had lit a fire in their bellies. Yanei held her eyes with an unfeigned expression of newfound respect while she executed a counter-spell. They recovered, and Yanei gasped thusly: 'Damn it. It's not over, witch!' she issued, their forms slowly washing out of that reality. 'We will have her, sooner or later, then you will have truly lost.'

Her echoed laugh as they faded away brought a dark unease to Nasura as she touched Xalia's limp form, waking the pale-looking young woman.

'Nasura, it…' she curled against her, weeping quietly.

'I know. I am sorry,' she replied sympathetically. What are they playing at? Sexual effrontery was never part of their ploys in the past. Who is leading now? It cannot be Beryl.

Gazing up into the sallow sky, she could glean no answer and knew not how much longer they could last without the Bishojo Sailor Senshi. Hurry Mamoru! The Earth needs the Senshi!