"C-Crow-san, what… what are you doing?! Please, stop…!"
Seiren's voice was fearful but her eyes were desperate, still holding faith in the person she thought she knew. Crow answered her concerns with a wicked laughter, cracking her whip. The golden bracelets on her wrists shone in the light.
"What I was always meant to do all this time. Get your Sailor Crystal!"
As she said that, Crow swung her whip at Seiren.
"Crow-san, no…!"
"Seiren!?"
Crow woke up with a start. It took her a few seconds to realize it was nothing more than a dream- a dream close to a real event, but a dream nonetheless. A violent headache felt like it might split her head in half.
"Urgh… what happened…?"
She frantically looked around, which didn't help with her headache. She was in her bedroom and the light coming from her closed curtains revealed that it was daytime. But she didn't recall going to bed…
Her head kept pounding painfully. She remembered now. She drank too much and got wasted. She had a headache to remind her of this. But this wasn't the only thing she remembered.
"Shit- Nyanko!"
Crow quickly rushed outside her room. As soon as she stepped outside she was instantly shocked by how clean her apartment was.
That wasn't right. She perfectly remembered how messy it used to be. She was worried for an instant she might still be dreaming. The last time she saw her place this tidy was when Seiren was still living here.
"... Seiren?" Crow called softly.
She knew she had no right to have this kind of hope. Not after what she did to Seiren.
"I'm afraid that it's only me, Crow."
Anger arose inside her when she recognized that voice. She ran to the living room, immediately spotting the intruder.
"Nyanko!"
"Crow- woah…!?"
Nyanko didn't even have the time to react before Crow had pinned her against the wall.
"What are you still doing here!?"
"What do you think? Haven't you looked around? I spent all night cleaning your place."
Crow glared at Nyanko, confused. "Why?"
"Because your place was a mess."
"Not that! Why didn't you escape? Why would you even stay here after I… ugh…"
Nyanko hesitated for a moment before answering. "Honestly, I'm not sure myself. I should have escaped. But I just… I don't know, felt bad for you? So I decided to stay to clean up a bit."
Crow scoffed. "Felt bad, for me? Don't make me laugh! And I certainly don't need your pity!"
She continued to pin Nyanko against the wall and noticed the bruises on her body- the bruises she caused her.
"... why are you… being so nice to me? After how I treated you?"
"You have every right to despise me- I despise myself too for what I've done. So I won't hold it against you if you want to get revenge. But what I won't stand for is you getting other people involved. If you want to hurt me, be my guest, but leave Mouse alone."
Crow stared at Nyanko for a moment before she finally let her go.
"Trust me, I still want to hurt you- but it doesn't seem as pleasant as I thought anymore. You're just not fun to torture," Crow replied. "And I have no reason to go after Mouse either."
Nyanko sighed in relief. Crow walked away and sat on her couch.
"Do you think Seiren will come back?" Crow absentmindedly asked.
"... huh?"
"Now that it isn't a mess here anymore, do you think she will come back?"
"Uh… maybe? I don't know. But it sure won't do you any harm to clean up from time to time."
"I see."
Crow let out a deep sigh, grabbing her head with her hands. "I wouldn't blame her if she didn't want to come back. Not after what I've done to her…"
Nyanko raised an eyebrow. "What you've done to her? As far as I remember, she's the one who brainwashed you…"
"I deceived her first. It's only fair that she did the same to me. At least she did it to protect me, while I… didn't always have the best intentions towards her."
"What… what do you mean by that…?"
Crow sighed. "It's my fault that she joined Shadow Galactica in the first place, and even before that, I… ugh, it doesn't matter. What's done is done. And I can't blame her for never forgiving me."
"Woah, woah… I don't think Seiren resents you for anything. I don't know what you did, but clearly, if she couldn't forgive you, she wouldn't have done all she did to protect you. I think you are terribly mistaken about how she must feel right now…"
"How would you know about that!? Do you even know how it feels to have a rival!?" Crow snapped.
"I… can't say I do…?"
Crow grunted, rubbing her temples. "Thought so. Urgh…"
Nyanko took a careful step towards Crow. "Are you… alright?"
"Just a headache."
"Ah. So a hangover. You got any aspirin or something like that? You should also drink some water…"
"Why are you still here? Just… go already. I want to be alone."
Nyanko hesitated for a moment and nodded. "Alright. Just… take care, okay?"
Crow didn't reply, her head still buried in her hands. Nyanko stood there for a moment before finally leaving the apartment.
Crow laid down on the couch, still deep in her sorrow. Time passed without her realizing it. She could have stayed lost in her thoughts even longer if she didn't notice her phone vibrating on the table. She had just received a text message.
"Huh? Who could be writing to me…?"
She finally stood up, picking up her phone. She didn't recognize the number of the sender, but it wasn't her main concern. Not once she read the first sentence of the message:
"I know where Seiren is."
Usagi couldn't focus in class. Her attention was solely put on the empty desk near her. She didn't even hear the bell ring so much she was distracted.
"Usagi-chan? Class is over," Ami softly called.
Usagi jolted, noticing people leaving the classroom. "Oh! Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts…"
"Nyanko-san didn't come to school today too, huh," Makoto remarked.
Usagi glanced at the desk once again, Nyanko's desk. "I hope she's alright…"
Minako shrugged. "Being a student here was just a cover for her. I don't think it's that much of a big deal if she's absent."
"I'm not so sure about that," Makotoi began. "After her encounter with Crow, she might still be in danger. Who knows what happened next when she stayed at her place."
"We could check up on her after school," Ami proposed.
Usagi weakly nodded. "Yeah…"
Minako sighed. "I need to go to the bathroom. Are we meeting up on the rooftop?"
"The forecast said it was going to rain today," Ami replied.
"But it's so sunny outside! It's probably for later. We still have time," Minako argued. "Anyway, I really have to go now. Usagi, you're coming with me?"
"Eh? Oh, sure…!"
While Usagi and Minako headed to the girls' bathroom, Makoto and Ami went to the rooftop.
"There's such a bright sky," Makoto commented. "It's hard to believe it's going to rain today."
Ami pointed at the cloud not so far away. "Look at these. The rain is coming. I wouldn't be surprised if it starts raining before the end of the break."
"Should we have brought an umbrella then?"
"I doubt some rain is going to hurt us."
Like on cue, droplets of water began to fall from the sky.
"Yeah, I knew it," Ami said.
"It's still not that strong of a rain. We should be alright," Makoto added. "As you said, some rain ain't gonna hurt us-"
"Oh, you'd be surprised."
Both Ami and Makoto jolted and turned back when they heard a third voice on the rooftop.
"You…!?" Makoto exclaimed.
Seiren grinned. "Normally I would introduce myself and exchange business cards but I think we can skip that step. We know each other well enough already."
Makoto pulled out her transformation tool. "What do you want!?"
Seiren pointed at them. "You two. I've been waiting for a while for you to get isolated from the others. Normally I would have waited for either of you to be alone, but since you two are together, why not take this opportunity to get you both."
Ami instinctively put her hand on her own transformation device, still hidden in her pocket. "Seiren, we can still talk this through-"
"I'm afraid I cannot. I haven't come to talk."
"Crow-san has been worried sick about you!" Ami immediately added.
Seiren frowned. "I'd rather you not mention her."
"Why? Are you ashamed of what you did to her!?" Makoto snapped.
"Mako-chan, please, don't provoke her…!"
The rain began to intensify. Seiren let out a sinister chuckle.
"Now you've done it. You made me quite mad…"
Makoto clenched her fist. "Well, the feeling is mutual!"
She then raised her transformation device. "Jupiter Planet Power, Make up!"
Ami sighed, resigning herself to fight too. "Mercury Planet Power, Make up!"
In an instant, they had transformed into their Sailor Senshi form.
"Let's get this over with!" Jupiter exclaimed. "Flower-"
"Mermaid Wave!"
The rain suddenly stopped. Or rather, it continued to pour but the droplets stopped reaching the rooftop, instead the water was accumulating in Seiren's hands. It then turned into a wave that was launched towards them.
"Run!" Jupiter let out.
Jupiter and Mercury turned around and began to run but the wave was faster and they got caught in the powerful stream of water.
"Agh…!"
It almost felt like the water was wrapping around them, keeping them prisoner of the wave. In normal circumstances Jupiter would have just resumed her attack, but with both of them trapped in water, she didn't want to also electrocute Mercury.
"Now then…" Seiren smirked. "Mermaid Blizzard!"
The air got incredibly colder as the wave froze, trapping Mercury and Jupiter into solid ice. The frozen wave was wrapped around their body from feet to shoulder.
"That should keep you still," Seiren sneered. "Now, if you'd excuse me…"
They tried to break free from the ice, in vain.
"Please, Seiren, we can still talk…!" Mercury tried to plead.
Seiren raised her arms. "No more talking. Give me your Sailor Crystals!"
They noticed too late the golden bracelets on each of Seiren's wrists, now flashing bright.
"Seiren, no! Stop!"
Usagi had suddenly arrived at the rooftop, closely followed by Minako.
"Mercury, Jupiter!" Minako exclaimed.
But it was too late. Seiren fired the beam from her bracelets, hitting both Mercury and Jupiter.
"No!" both Usagi and Minako shouted.
Two crystals, one emerald green and the other blue sapphire came out from Jupiter and Mercury's bodies, who had lost consciousness on the impact. Seiren quickly seized both of them.
"You… How dare you!? Give those back!" Minako ordered, pulling out her transformation device.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Seiren taunted, bringing her claws near Jupiter's neck. "Unless you don't care what happens to your friends…"
Minako clenched her fist. "They won't have a body left to hurt if you don't give them back their star seed!"
Seiren grinned, one of her claws starting to draw some blood from Jupiter's throat. "Do you really want to take that risk?"
Minako began to panic. "Don't you dare…!"
"Thought so. Just be a good girl and there won't be any unnecessary blood shed."
"Please, Seiren, you don't have to do this!" Usagi tried to plead. "I know you don't want to actually hurt anyone…!"
Seiren shrugged. "You're right. I don't want to hurt you. But I have to. And I won't hesitate if it's what needs to be done."
She then looked at the two Sailor Crystals she had extracted. "Well, that is to say if I knew what I should do now…"
"What are you talking about!? Why are you even doing all of this!?" Minako exclaimed.
"I… huh…"
"Don't bother explaining to them. That'd just be a waste of time."
Sailor Pewter Fox had suddenly appeared on the rooftop. She stood right next to Seiren, glancing at the crystals.
"You…!?" Minako let out.
"Those are not the Sailor Crystal we are looking for," Fox declared.
"Really? How can you tell?"
"They don't fit the description," Fox replied. "Didn't you ask what it looked like before coming here?"
"Huh… no? I forgot…"
Fox sighed. "Anyway, at least we can cross off two of them among the potential holders- "
"Then we won't be needing these anymore!"
"Indeed… wait, Seiren…!"
Seiren didn't wait and shoved back in the two Sailor Crystals, much to everyone's surprise.
"There. Almost good as new," Seiren commented.
"Why would you do this!?" Fox exclaimed.
"... Because they'd die if they got it back…?"
"Exactly! That's the point…!"
Seiren cocked her head. "I don't get it. You said neither of them was the crystal we were looking for, so we didn't need those anymore. What else was I supposed to do?"
"Geez, I don't know… maybe NOT save our enemies' lives!?"
"Ohhhh... Oops…?" Seiren then shrugged. "But is it really saving their lives if I'm the one who endangered them first? That only seemed fair to give them back."
Fox let out a deep sigh. "You aren't the sharpest tool in the shed, are you."
Seiren raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a tool…?"
"Thank you for proving my point."
"What are you two up to!?" Minako suddenly interrupted them. "Seiren, what's the meaning of this? What would Crow-san think if she sees you working with another partner?"
Seiren frowned, her gaze turning as cold as ice. "You people really need to keep Crow-san's name out of your mouth."
"Please, Seiren, let my friends go! There's no need to fight," Usagi pleaded.
Seiren looked like she was hesitating for a moment.
"Seiren!?"
Seiren winced when she heard that voice. Usagi and Minako looked behind them, surprised by who it was.
"What are you doing!?" Crow exclaimed.
"C-Crow-san, it's not what you think…!"
Crow looked absolutely mortified once she noticed the Galactica Bracelets on Seiren's wrist. "Seiren… what have you done…!?"
"Let me explain…! This isn't as bad as you think-"
"Why would you rejoin Shadow Galactica!?"
"Phantom Galactica," Fox corrected.
"You, shut up!" Crow snapped. "Seiren, what were you thinking…!?"
"This isn't what it looks like…!" Seiren continued to argue.
Fox took on a smug expression, leaning against Seiren.
"This is exactly what it looks like," Fox sneered. "You've been replaced. Seiren got a new partner."
"I don't care about that! The bracelets! Seiren, why…!?"
"I… I'm sorry…"
Without warning, Seiren simply jumped down the rooftop like it was nothing and ran away.
"Seiren!? Come back here!"
Crow popped out her wings, ready to jump.
"She clearly doesn't want to talk to you. Can't you take a hint?" Fox taunted.
Crow ignored her remark and flew away, going after Seiren. Fox shrugged.
"All according to plan," the canine senshi whispered.
Fox then looked at the two still frozen Sailor Senshi with sinister intentions. "I guess I could take care of these two…"
"Don't you dare lay even a single finger on them!" Minako threatened.
"Or what? What could you possibly do against me?" Fox grinned.
"Mars Flame Sniper!"
Out of the blue, an arrow made of fire was launched towards Fox. The latter noticed it last second and narrowly dodged the fiery attack.
"How dare you try to harm two defenseless girls!?" In the name of Mars, I shall chastise you!"
Fox growled. "Another pest has shown up…! Tsk! I don't have time for more nuisances!"
She glared at Mars then glanced at the other senshi. "I think that's my cue to leave. I'll be back to finish you off!"
On those words, Fox also jumped down from the rooftop. Once she was gone, they could safely reach Jupiter and Mercury.
"I'm sorry for taking so long, I was still at school when I received your message," Mars told Minako.
"Their bodies are so cold!" Usagi exclaimed as she softly touched Mercury's cheek.
"That's bad! They could die of hypothermia!" Minako added.
Now that Seiren was gone, the ice was starting to melt, but not quick enough.
"Stand back," Mars suddenly said, her hands igniting. "I'll take care of this pesky ice!"
"Seiren, wait!"
Crow had chased down Seiren into an empty parking lot. Before Seiren could jump up to the building nearby, Crow suddenly swung her whip at her.
"I said wait!"
The whip successfully wrapped around Seiren, tying up her arms to her waist and preventing her from going anywhere.
"Why are you running away!?" Crow yelled.
Seiren stood back to her for a moment before she finally turned back to face her old partner.
"Crow-san, let me go," Seiren said calmly.
"I can't! Not until you explain what you are doing!"
Seiren looked down. "I…I can't. Not right now. I'm not ready for this."
Crow gripped her whip tighter. "Yes, right now! Do you have any idea how worried I was? How could you do something like this!? Even for you it's far too stupid…!"
"Crow-san…"
"What were you thinking!? After everything that happened, how could you get those bracelets put on you once again!? Are you really that stupid? Or did you do this just to spite me?"
"That's not…!"
"Do you actually resent me? Is that why!? Do you hate me…?"
"Of course not! Crow-san, this really isn't what you think, it's different from last time-"
"You sold your soul. You gave up on your starseed. Do you have any idea how foolish this was-"
"I haven't! I still have my Sailor Crystal! Those bracelets are merely weapons now, not shackles…! She's not like Galaxia!"
Crow raised an eyebrow. "She?"
Seiren froze. By the look on her face, she knew she shouldn't have said that.
"Who's she?" Crow asked.
Seiren remained quiet.
"Who's she, Seiren?"
Seiren looked away. Crow was starting to lose her patience.
"Answer me Seiren!"
"I said too much. Forget about it."
"How could I forget about it!? Who put those bracelets on you? Tell me now!"
"No! I can't tell you now!"
Seiren did a few steps as if she was going to walk away, but of course the whip wrapped around her kept her in place. All she could do was pull on it.
"Crow-san, let me go," Seiren demanded.
"Not until you tell me who did this to you!"
"I won't tell you, let me go…!"
"I won't lose you again!"
"You won't! I'm doing this for you…"
"You don't need to do anything for me! You don't even know what's best for you! But I do! So please, just… just come back…! Stay with me!"
Seiren looked like she was hesitating for a moment but ultimately resolved herself to her initial decision.
"I'm sorry, Crow-san. I can't. For once, I know what's best. Not for me, not for you, but for us. All this time you've been looking out for me, and I'm grateful to you. But now, it is my turn to look out for you."
Crow was surprised for a moment at Seiren's declaration. "But I didn't- ugh. Not like that. Not like that again… please…"
Before Seiren could answer anything they were interrupted by a bunch of footsteps rushing toward them.
"There you are!" Venus exclaimed.
The Inner Senshi had caught up to them, standing a few meters behind Seiren.
"What are you doing here!?" Crow let out.
"What do you mean!? We are here to stop Seiren, just like you!" Venus replied.
"That's not what I'm trying to do!" Crow protested.
Venus looked at Crow, then at Seiren, focusing on the whip imprisoning her.
"Then what are you trying to do…?" Venus asked suspiciously.
"... Obviously not whatever you are thinking about right now," Crow replied.
"Regardless, we are here to stop her!" Jupiter exclaimed.
"Tsk, what do you people still want with me…" Seiren said.
"Excuse me? You literally attempted to kill us!" Jupiter let out.
"Oh, did I? You both look fine to me," Seiren dismissed. "You still care about that? That was a while ago…"
"It was literally five minutes ago!"
"Yeah? What's your point? Get over it already…"
"What…!" Jupiter was getting even more angry.
"Anyway, we can't let her get away with this," Mars chimed in. "She's with the enemy now."
"I'm handling her already!" Crow let out. "This isn't your business…!"
"It started being our business once she attacked us!" Venus replied.
"I don't care, she's coming with me!" Crow shouted.
"I'm not going with anyone! I already told you I can't!" Seiren shouted back.
"And I don't care what you want, I'm taking you with me whether you like it or not!"
Seiren started pulling on the whip once again. "I said let me go, Crow-san!"
Crow pulled back. "And I said I won't let you go!"
"Crow-san, s-stop…!"
"No…!"
Crow pulled a little too hard and Seiren tripped to the ground, unable to keep her balance with her arms restrained.
"...ouch…" Seiren whimpered on the ground.
"...oops…"
There was a silence for a moment until they heard a soft sobbing.
"S-Seiren, are you alright…? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…!" Crow quickly panicked. "Please don't cry…!"
Seiren raised her head. Her eyes were completely dry.
"I'm not a child anymore, Crow-san. I wouldn't be crying just for a scratch," Seiren almost looked offended at that implication.
Crow looked confused. "Then who…?"
"Uh… who's that?" Mercury suddenly asked, pointing behind Crow.
Crow realized that the sobbing was indeed coming from behind her. She quickly turned back, surprised to discover a woman- a woman she knew.
"You…?" Crow exclaimed. "How…!?"
The woman didn't react, continuing to sob softly.
"Huh… miss? Madam? Are you… alright?" Sailor Moon instinctively asked.
"This is just so sad," the woman said between two sobs. "Such display of love between two people who cannot be together, as if the entire world- no, universe, is standing between them. It's just so… moving. It's so tragic! It just makes me wanna c-cry…!"
She wasn't just sobbing anymore- she was breaking into heavy tears. The Sailor Senshi simply looked at her, feeling both awkward and confused by such a display of crying.
"... Um… I'm sorry to bother you ma'am but… who are you?" Mercury asked.
The woman wiped her tears. Sailor Moon noticed that no matter how much she cried, the tears didn't ruin her makeup. She was curious about what kind of brand would be this waterproof.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. Just don't mind me and keep going."
A single tear remained on her finger as she finished to wipe her eyes. The Inner Senshi continued to stare at her with confusion until they noticed what she was wearing on her wrists.
"Are those… Galactica Bracelets!?" Mars exclaimed.
"Is she the enemy!?" Venus added.
The woman's sadden expression quickly turned wicked. The tear on her finger suddenly took the form of a butterfly.
"Who are you!?" Jupiter demanded.
The butterfly on her finger suddenly turned into fire. She pointed it at the Inner Senshi and in a split-second, the fire hit the ground. It then formed a circle around the senshi, trapping them inside a barrier of fire.
"What's that!?" Jupiter shouted.
"We're trapped by that woman!" Mars exclaimed.
Crow looked at the flames then at the mystery woman.
"What are you doing here? How are you still alive…!?" Crow exclaimed.
"You know her!?" Venus let out.
The woman grinned. "Long time no see, Sailor Lead Crow- or is it Sailor Coronis? Eh, it doesn't really matter anyway."
"I am sorry for taking so long to introduce myself," the woman began as she politely bowed down. "My name is Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon, Papillon for short. It's a pleasure meeting you."
Hey there! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I just wanted to let you know that this year too, I'm on the team organizing the Sailor Moon LGBTQ Week event! If you are interested in participating or simply curious about the event, feel free to check out our blog! It's smlgbtqweek on Tumblr.
