En Route to Venus - Chapter 2: Angels ...Playing With my Heart
"Should I turn left here? No, I'll have to keep running for now, but how do I get out of this!?".
Luna was on the run – and after her was what seemed like a half of Minato's cat population. How she had ended up in this situation wasn't very important at the moment, but it had involved a wooden crate full of catnip left unattended behind a grocery store. As it turned out, there is a gang of cats controlling the underground catnip market on the area and they didn't take kindly to some puny house cat stepping on their paws, unwittingly or not.
After escaping through backstreets, Luna reached a parking lot. Unfortunately, it was the middle of the day and the lot was filled with parked cars of humans who were either busy at work or running errands. There was nowhere to slip quickly enough in this corridor of metal. And what's worse, in front of her, Luna was greeted by a tall concrete wall. Surrounded and with nowhere to escape, all she could do was stop and turn around. The cats facing her each revealed their claws one at a time. If this was West Side Story, it would've been the scene for an elaborate musical number, but Luna felt like these gangsters were way too serious for that.
Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a fish bone struck the ground between Luna and the mob. Luna turned her head up. On the roof of a lorry, against the midday sun stood an imposing figure. It was a male cat – and a very large one at that. The giant turned his sharp, narrow eyes at the gang – and without further ado, the whole mob slowly retreated back to the alley, with a look of pure horror on their faces.
Luna stared at the events unfolding with a dumbfounded expression. "I can't believe it! Is this cat supposed to be the feline Tuxedo Mask?", she thought.
The fat cat leapt down and struck the ground with impressive force. Luna could've sworn that the crack in the pavement right underneath him hadn't been there when she arrived. Much to her distress, the lone stranger was now the one approaching her in a menacing fashion. Luna reacted by backing off and pressing herself against the bumper of a car that was parked the opposite of the lorry. However, the longer she looked at the big cat's expression, the more she began to realise that he was being merely curious – glancing at her from high and low, sniffing the odours. Much to her own surprise, she even began to view him as rather attractive. This silent brute out of nowhere had saved her and now he was about to whisk her away to his lonely castle where no cat dared to go, almost like some Beauty and the Be-.
"Rhett Butler! Where are you?".
Suddenly, a child's voice came calling from somewhere beyond the concrete wall – and apparently it was calling for the stranger, as he promptly jumped on top of the wall and then disappeared in the small forest growing on top of it. Luna was once again left slightly dumbfounded, until she realised that something was attached to her tail. She turned around and noticed a small cat, likely just a kitten, gnawing the tip of her tail. She gave the little monster a very disapproving look, staring at them with narrowed eyes, until the cat thought to let go of the tail which had turned red and swollen beyond recognition.
"Absolutely no manners these days…!", Luna muttered in her mind.
The little one grinned, showing a row of impeccably sharp teeth which must've taken about half of all the available real estate on the cat's face. They then turned and ran to the same direction where the rest of the gang had gone moments ago.
After the nuisance had left, Luna's thoughts circled back to Rhett Butler again.
"That is some name...", she mused. Some cat owners seemed to have very odd tastes in naming their pets – indeed, during her time on Earth, Luna had received several nicknames of her own from all the people she couldn't talk to.
"Sometimes I forget how lucky I am that I was given a name by my real parents like a regular person.", she thought. "On the other hand, eccentric or not, I'm sure Rhett Butler's owner loves him very much.".
On the other side of the small woods, Rhett Butler jumped off the wall and landed in the arms of a young girl with red, curly hair.
"Oh, there you are! It's lunchtime, so let's get back home, shall we?", the girl asked rhetorically. The cat purred, showing clear enthusiasm with the idea.
However, little did they know that they were being watched. Over in the Dark Kingdom, Zoisite had seen the heartwarming scene unfold on his vision portal.
"Who would've thought that the holder of the seventh and final Rainbow Crystal would be a cute little girl?", he wondered. "Either way, that's good for me, since this should be super easy. It's almost like, how they say, taking a candy from a baby, ah-hah-haa!", he laughed before looking around and being suddenly rather grateful that no-one else was present to hear such a lame joke.
Raising his hand and moving it carefully across an imagined map of Tokyo, Zoisite began changing the location of the portal ever so slightly, until it stopped by the upstairs window of a single-family home, where an older girl with a long, blonde hair was sprawling on a sofa – apparently taking a nap – with the latest issue of Hot Pop Express resting on her chest. A white cat was likewise sleeping in a sunlit area on the floor just behind a door that led to a balcony. Zoisite took a long, hard look at the cat until he was able to spot a crescent-shaped mark on his forehead.
"Also, it should leave plenty of time for my other planned activities... It is a shame for having to make a schedule for such a beautiful Sunday, but what can you do?".
Zoisite thought about his plan for a while, before reaching forward again and enlarging the portal enough to allow him to fit through.
"Might as well visit her first, now that I'm here.", he argued to himself. "Looks like the door is already open!"
Zoisite's trademark flurry of cherry petals swept though the balcony, as he gently landed on it. Inadvertently, one of the petals found its way through the slightly opened door. Zoisite froze in his place as he watched the petal hovering up and down in tune with Artemis' breath, before it landed right on his nose.
"Meooww!"
With lightning-quick reflexes, the cat reacted and shoved the petal away. However, he quickly continued his sleep as if nothing had happened.
"Hm, looks like my flashy entrance almost cost me dearly...", Zoisite thought, as he cautiously opened the door even further.
He grabbed the two nearest corners of the doormat that Artemis was on, and gently pulled it through the door and onto the balcony. This time the cat barely moved a whisker. Then, Zoisite smoothly leapt inside and nudged the door behind him, which both closed and locked it. Finally, he snapped the fingers of the hand that wasn't in his pocket and suddenly, the blinds on both of the large windows fell down.
"Ka-csh!"
Minako opened her eyes and lifted her head. "Ah… are you an… angel?", she asked still half-asleep while rubbing her eyes.
Zoisite was a little surprised. "I might have the face of an angel…", he began. "…but also the ferocity of a demon. After all, I am one of the four Generals of Earth."
He kneeled in front of Minako and gently took a hold of her hand. "I am the General of the North, Zoisite. It's a pleasure to meet you Aino-san…", he said and gave the hand a featherweight kiss.
"...or should I say, the Guardian of Venus.".
The last traces of sleep left Minako's bright blue eyes as they reached their usual dimensions.
"H-how do you…!?", she began the most obvious of questions, with her face red as a beet.
Zoisite stood up again. "We have been observing you for a while, Sailor Venus. Your skills have left a lasting impression on us.".
Minako sat up. The idol magazine slid off her chest and fell on the floor. The young male facing her was wearing an old-fashioned military uniform – in fact, it was like a fancier, more colourful version of the type of uniform the boys wore to her school. A light grey coat and matching trousers with green, gold and just a smidgen of red details. Was he some kind of a male Sailor Guardian?
"I didn't know that this planet had Generals. I mean, there are, but I'm sure most of them couldn't end up here without ringing the doorbell…", she pondered.
"Ah-hah! Pardon my unlawful entrance.", Zoisite bowed. "The truth is, there is a battle going on for the future of this planet. To win this battle, your help would be most valuable.".
"Eh!? I had no idea that things had gone so bad while I was away!", Minako gasped.
"You see, our enemy is the new princess of the Moon Kingdom, Serenity. Ever since her reincarnation, she has aggressively sought to install herself as the sole ruler of not only Moon, but Earth as well. I am myself acting on behalf of Queen Beryl, the rightful heir to the throne.".
Minako's imagination was already running wild. "No way! Why would the Moon Princess want to take over the whole Earth?".
"I'm glad you asked, for I have prepared a little show for you!", Zoisite said proudly, while creating a vision portal so large that the room around them virtually disappeared.
Minako watched in awe as she was immersed in a view of a lush green valley with a large medieval-style castle in the middle of it, surrounded by a bustling city. With its almost white stone walls and tall, pointy towers, the castle looked every inch the setting of a classic fairy tale. Zoisite flicked his fingers and the castle suddenly came much closer.
"A millennia ago, Earth was ruled by one benevolent Queen. Altough being easily the most habitable planet in our solar system, over time people from earth moved onto other planets and moons, creating their own kingdoms that were affiliated with Earth. It was still the era of wonder and magic was widely used in daily life.", Zoisite began his narration.
He flicked his fingers again, changing the view to a completely different location. Minako saw a desolate, rocky and dusty landscape. In the distance, there was a rather lonesome palace that seemed to combine elements of ancient Greek, more modern neo-classic and middle-eastern architecture.
"While the Moon Kingdom was the one closest to Earth, it was also one of the smallest of these colonies. The citizens of Moon tended to be quite envious of us Earthlings, not least their ruler Serenity.".
Zoisite switched the view back to Earth and into a huge hall inside the castle, where a large number of sharply dressed people had gathered, many of them dancing. Minako's eyes sparkled, especially after he noticed a young woman with a long, blonde hair on the stage, singing.
"Whoa! She looks just like me! And she sings so beautifully...", she gushed.
Zoisite nodded and winked. "In order to become Earth's next ruler, Serenity had decided to use her charms to claim the heart of Earth's crown prince, Endymion. While it's not up to me to say whether or not there was any love between them, Lady Beryl, a wise arch mage of the Earth Kingdom and one who truly loved Endymion, found out that Serenity had in fact used a love potion. The two ended up in a confrontation, after which Serenity was forced to flee back to the Moon.".
Minako saw two young women facing each other, one with pale blonde hair tied into twin tails and another with wavy red hair. On the dance floor between them, there was a broken glass bottle and a puddle of green liquid. An especially handsome man with long silver hair inspected the puddle.
"Ooh, a classic love triangle between the heroine, prince and villainess!", she pointed out.
Zoisite changed the view so that the two were practically floating in space between the Earth and Moon. He grabbed the green planet and spun it around for a while.
"Over the course of the next few years, Serenity plotted for a revenge. Using the negative sentiments that the citizens of other planets had towards Earth as well, she managed to build a large alliance and ultimately launched an attack on our planet.", he continued.
Suddenly, the Earth in front of them began glowing – a continent after another became engulfed in flames.
Minako looked horrified. "No! Why'd it have to end like that! Love is supposed to bring pleasure and fulfillment, not death and suffering!".
Zoisite closed the portal, bringing them back to Minako's room. "Love is a powerful thing. It can be used for good, but not all people think that way.", he said.
"Anyway, I see that you noticed someone much like you in the Earth Palace. She was also Sailor Venus, the past incarnation of you. She was both the ruler and the Guardian of the Kingdom of Venus. Other planets had their own Guardians as well, and just like you, they have also reincarnated on this planet around ten to twenty years ago. The Sailor Guardians were at the forefront of Serenity's doomed last grasp attempt at taking over the Earth and today, she is once again trying to woo them on her side.", Zoisite warned.
"So, she's going to woo me too…?", Minako wondered while leaning back on the sofa.
"It's only a matter of time. In order to attract the Sailor Guardians, Serenity has disguised herself as Sailor Moon. The Guardians who have already joined her are Mercury, Mars and Jupiter.
"You know, a few months ago I had this vision. The Dark Kingdom…". Minako tried to jog her memory. "…But I can't… maybe it was hazy, after all…".
She could've sworn that she had a clear memory of her past life, and that she had reminisced about it many times, but now it felt like that memory had been shrouded in fog. Even if she did remember, would it all be true anyway?
However, something – a real person she remembered – broke through the fog. "Oh right! Ace… he told me he was Adonis…".
Zoisite stroked his chin. "Hmm… I think I know who you mean. He served under us, but he was a fool who tried to take Earth all to himself. Maybe you were originally summoned to battle him?", he suggested.
"Oh, I see…".
"Anyways, for your convenience, I have gathered information for each of the Sailor Guardians in these files!", Zoisite said and tossed a rather thin pile of papers on her lap.
"Maaan! Am I supposed to read all of these?", Minako groaned. "Couldn't this be a flashy presentation as well?".
Zoisite tried his best to hide his dismay. "Well, there are some very ...flashy pictures in there too.".
Minako skimmed through the papers, but stopped when she came across a picture of a girl with a long dark hair, dressed in a red and white sailor uniform.
"Oh! I like her!", she said. "You know, I saw a girl who looked a little like this, it was a couple of days ago. She was also very pretty!".
"She's one of the people who have chosen to side with Serenity – for now.", Zoisite tried to pick his words carefully. "Of course, a true master of war also seeks to court the members of the enemy side, at least those who are inclined to give, shall I say, the love a chance.".
Minako took a look at the notes Zoisite had written about Sailor Mars. "Love… inclined… I see.". She tried to unsuccessfully hide her blush as certain thoughts and possibilities rushed through her mind. The kind of thoughts that could paradoxically be described as both wonderfully pure and woefully impure. A feeling like that towards another girl was not new to her, but somehow it was more 'real' than ever before, more tangible. Maybe it was because usually crushing on someone had distracted Minako from more important tasks, but now an authority figure was encouraging her to do so. Maybe even the fate of the world depended on it. It felt both liberating and empowering. It felt like for the first time she truly saw a clear path towards unleashing her true power, the brilliance that had been hiding within.
Zoisite knew the time was ripe to make his move. He snapped his fingers and pointed at Minako.
"So, Aino-san, will you promise to help us?".
Minako collected herself. "Oh gosh, I mean, I have to ask...".
Zoisite took a step closer at her and raised his voice a little. "This is your past, your future, your life. The decision is all yours! Will you or will you not?". However, then his voice softened again: "You would like to perform at the Earth's palace once again, wouldn't you?".
Minako looked at her reflection in the dark television screen in front of her, until she suddenly threw the papers in the air. "Alright, alright! I promise, I'll help you!".
Zoisite bowed. "Thank you for your cooperation. For Earth...".
"...and for love.".
Zoisite peeked through the blinds, just in time to see Artemis looking alarmingly like he was about to wake up. Without hesitation, he rolled up the blinds and began briskly walking towards the door at the opposite end of the room.
"Anyways, I already have to rush to my next appointment. Have a lovely day!".
Minako looked a little dumbfounded. "Oh? Goodbye then.".
Right as the door slammed shut, Artemis crawled though the balcony door, still very much sleepy. "I don't recall falling asleep out on the balcony…".
Minako scrambled to pick up all the papers she had scattered around the room.
"Ah! Aren't you hungry, Artemis? I sure am. Let me fix up some food for us right away!".
Artemis rubbed his eyes. He thought Minako seemed a little different, getting on with something productive in such a hurry. Maybe a good daydream really does that to a girl?
Zoisite returned to the Dark Kingdom, where he was greeted by Kunzite.
"And so we embark on the path of lies and deception.", Kunzite snarked while folding his arms.
"Hm? I'd like to see you pull off something better.", Zoisite said teasingly. He stepped forward and reached for his love's cheek with his right hand.
"It was merely an observation. Everyone knows that the first victim of war are facts.", he replied and gently took a hold of the hand.
"In the end, it wasn't that far from the actual truth, right? For what we know...".
Kunzite didn't feel like delving into this subject too deeply. "Besides, I did say 'we', didn't I?". He ran Zoisite's hand right underneath his nose and took a deep breath.
"What a card you are...", Zoisite giggled.
There was still one thought which Kunzite knew he couldn't leave unattended in his mind. He briefly touched Zoisite's lips with his index finger. "So, these lips have kissed the palm of the one named Sailor Venus?".
"Wanna have a taste?".
Kunzite reached his hands around Zoisite's head, brought him forward and sunk his lips into the ones he had just touched.
Meanwhile – Ami, Luna and Usagi had gathered at a plaza on the outskirts of the Azabu-Juban shopping district. What used to be a breezy morning had taken a rather severe turn into a day that was already bordering on hot. While they were patiently waiting for Makoto, Luna was recounting her wild escape from earlier in the day, all while cooling down her tail in a small fountain.
"...and I swear, I had no idea the whole crate had been earmarked for this gang.".
"You certainly got dragged into a terrible mess.", Ami said while gently stroking the back of the black cat's head.
"No kidding!", Usagi agreed.
"I have no stake in turf wars among stray cats. I can only hope that they won't remember my face around those alleys.", Luna worried.
"Well, that might be a problem...", Usagi tilted her head while glancing at Luna. "I guess you can always dig up the old bandage, if everything else fails!".
While this conversation had taken place, Makoto had actually been waiting on the other side of the street right next to the plaza. The six lanes running along the district were some of the busiest around the neighbourhood, so waiting for a green light could feel like an eternity. Finally, however, she was able to come across and join the rest on the bench that wrapped around the fountain.
"Hi there! Thanks for waiting.", she greeted.
Makoto noticed that someone was missing: "Oh? Where's Rei?".
"Huh? Oh, um...", Ami began slowly. "She said that she wanted to go on a date because it's Sunday.".
"Oh… I'll be honest, that's a bit disappointing. I thought she'd get real with this.", Makoto replied.
"Grr… I bet she's going out with that Mamoru…", Usagi muttered while her eyes followed couples who were passing them by.
"But wasn't there no reason for you to care about all that?", Luna reminded.
There was a brief, but awkward silence. Well, as much of a silence as there can be in such a place.
Usagi threw her arms up. "Yeah, that's right! It's not like I like him, or, like, anything!".
Ami was starting up her Super Computer, a handheld device given to her by Luna – a machine which could almost instantly do things that ordinary home computers could barely even achieve.
"Maybe it's for the better that she's taking a day off, considering all the things that happened…".
"Brilliant".
"Distant".
"Jerk".
"Handsome".
"Ignorant".
"Princely".
Everyone in the Minato ward seemed to have an opinion on Mamoru Chiba. Even the odd schoolgirl he only occasionally bumped into appeared to hold a very strong view on the quality of his character. However, their mistake was that they weren't him – how could they possibly know. In fact, it's not like Mamoru himself quite knew what he was or wanted to be. With his story thus far having been shaped by events out of his control, it felt like all he could do in life was react to the circumstances.
The tall young man with dark features sat on a broad window sill, overlooking the city from his roomy 16th floor apartment, far above the bustling streets. Mamoru knew that many would gladly take his place, but the truth is that losing both of your parents in an accident you survived leaves a deep, dark hole in one's soul, no matter the amount of inheritance received. He knew that filling such a hole would take something really special, something you only encounter once in a lifetime. A girl, perhaps? Approaching a girl, or any other person in friendly terms had proven to be difficult to Mamoru. He simply couldn't get over the defensive stance he took whenever meeting a stranger. There was something dark within telling him that everyone was out to get him, to take advantage of whatever he had left. No matter what, his thoughts seemed to eventually circle back to that fateful traffic accident. Doctors and everyone else touted his survival as a miracle, but to Mamoru it felt far from it.
To further complicate his matters, over time he had started having strange dreams. As often with dreams, it was difficult to explain what exactly were they about, but a recurring element seemed to be a gemstone called the Silver Crystal. Was it analogous to finding a purpose or love in one's life? Or was it just an escapist treasure hunt that his young mind had developed following the traumatic events? Mamoru felt like the dreams might even involve sleepwalking, as sometimes he would wake up feeling oddly worked-up.
On a, well, slightly lighter note, yesterday Mamoru had finally got his monster delivered to him. The monster in question was a red Alfa Romeo. The rare sports car, already infamous for its unusual style, had caught his eye when he was out touring the shops in Shinjuku. It was the day after the tenth anniversary of his parents' death and it was one of those days when he just wanted to run out and see people, things… anything. He knew it would be hard to explain it to anyone, but there simply was something about its ugly, yet powerful stance that spoke to him on that day. Add in the price tag which any sane person would call daylight robbery, in every sense it felt like a demon he just had to face, as a matter of destiny. As Mamoru was now looking down through the window, he could see the six eyes of the beast gleaming back at him from the depths of its cave – the parking garage across the street. Not that it would have anywhere else to go for the time being, it's not much that a 16-year-old could do with a car. The one downside of skipping a grade during middle school is that one can't graduate high school with a driving licence in the pocket. Anyways, as corny as it might sound, maybe if he learned to live with a monster, he could learn to live in peace with anyone?
Suddenly, the phone rang. It was right next to the door and Mamoru was at the very opposite end of the apartment, so he decided it was not the time to get up and answer. He simply waited for the answering machine to do its job. Who would it even be on such a day? He had no-
"Hi, it's Rei! How's it going?".
Mamoru sighed. "Oh, hi Rei...", he mumbled to himself.
"I've found this wonderful little café that has an unusual cake called tiramisu. I mean it might not be that unusual…".
"The seventh Rainbow Crystal...".
"...But I've never tasted it. I was wondering if we could go out and give it a try sometime...".
"The seventh Crystal...".
"...'cause oh you know, I'm the kind of girl who always keeps up with what's hot...".
Rei's words blended together into unintelligible background noise, as Mamoru had once again fallen deep into his thoughts while staring into the distance. It felt like the Silver Crystal was not solely in the realm of dreams anymore, as he was daydreaming about it while clearly awake.
"I've got to find it...".
Rei hanged the phone with the same kind of heavy, but measured grip a judge uses a gavel to confirm a verdict in court. Something that tends to signify a turning point – an end, but possibly also a new beginning, if one's positive enough. Rei had been keen on the idea of going out with Mamoru, if only for one last time, but now she was ready to give up for good.
"Unless he calls back...", a rather weak voice from somewhere inside her chimed in.
"Ugh, fine! If he'll act really nice, like offers to pay the bill...", Rei thought.
Then, a stronger voice inside her retorted: "Rubbish! You know what kind of guy he is. He's not really interested in you – he'll play boyfriend for a while before leaving for the next girl.".
"Honestly, that is probably right...".
"But isn't all this trivial anyway? After all, you're not interested in him either. It's all been a facade for you to show everyone how popular and mature you supposedly are. Do you know what's mature? To know what you truly love – and act like it!".
Knock knock*
Rei snapped back out of her thoughts and looked up. A middle-aged man in a grey suit was knocking on the glass of the phone booth, before impatiently pointing his watch. Rei left the booth and quickly walked off without saying a word, holding to her pink wide-brimmed hat. How embarrassing, was this because she had caught so little sleep since Friday?
Meanwhile at the shopping district square, Ami had become deeply occupied with her computer, seemingly deleting the splashes of the fountain, people and pretty much all of the surrounding activity out of her mind. Luna and Makoto followed her work closely over her shoulders. Usagi also looked on curiously. While she possessed magic of her own, the things Ami and Luna were able to do on computers felt like dark magic to her. Adding to the slightly eerie atmosphere were the rays of the afternoon sun, reflecting from the glasses which Ami had now put on.
"So, um, Ami... whatcha doin'?", Usagi asked while trying to peek a view of the display.
"I'm looking for the seventh Rainbow Crystal.", Ami said while barely moving her face.
"Huh, the Crystal? But my Moon Stick isn't responding to anything.".
"That's why we're using the computer to narrow down where the seventh Crystal might be.", Luna explained with a tone that suggested a struggle for patience. "Time is of the essence, so we must use every mean we have.".
"We finally got the data to do this.", Makoto added.
Suddenly, the steady stream of keystrokes ceased. "The data input is now finished!", Ami smiled.
The rest of the quartet gathered around her as close as they could to get their best view of the diminutive device. The display showed a blinking marker surrounded by a simple street map.
"Ah, so that's where the Crystal must be. It's not that far from where I was earlier today.", Luna said.
Not after long, the four had reached their target location – after all, it was just a few blocks away from the square. The house that the map led them to was very similar to the kind of two-floor house Usagi lived in, but certainly a little larger.
"So, that's the house where the seventh Crystal currently is?", Usagi confirmed.
"Well, either inside it or somewhere close by, if we keep the margin of error in mind.", Ami clarified.
Luna, sitting in Makoto's arms, inspected the building carefully, until she noticed an unusually large, grey cat in one of the second floor windows. She froze in her place – there was no question it was the strange cat she had met earlier!
"Okay, what are we waiting for then? Let's go check it out!", Makoto rushed.
Luna felt her heart trying to escape her chest as she was struck by the fight-or-flight reaction, mostly of the flight variety. "W-wait, I think I'll wait here!".
"Luna! This is an important mission! You should be more aware of that!", Usagi jested at her, putting up a rather ambitious impression of both her voice and mannerisms.
"Excuse me, but I'm not that ugly!", Luna hissed. "Anyway, I just thought that I could stay here... in case something shows up.".
"That's a good idea. Not even Luna needs to be dragged everywhere with us, right?", Ami complimented.
"Meow… perhaps we'll have to give her this one time off!", Usagi said, still in character.
"Also, Usagi, squinting your eyes like that doesn't add to the comedy in any way. I can't say I'm even offended, it's just… odd.", Luna roasted her impression.
"Alright, alright you… miss… comedy critic. Now, don't you move anywhere, while we're there!", Usagi quipped while the three were already heading towards the front door.
"Heh, I wish that girl could always do these things with such initiative…", Luna mused.
Her break was not to be for long however, as she noticed very familiar-looking shadows forming on the pavement around her. She looked up on the stone fence that was lining the street and saw dozens of cats gathering all along it. Then she looked on the other side and to her terror witnessed much of the same. She was practically surrounded.
"Oh no! They've found me again!".
Meanwhile at the house, Usagi and Makoto were waiting further back as Ami rang the doorbell. Soon, a young red-haired girl opened the door. In her arms, she was holding the large grey cat.
"Hi! Sorry to bother you…", Ami began. "…but is your mother or father home?".
"No, they aren't.", the girl answered. "They will be away until the evening.".
Usagi noticed that her Moon Stick was alerting – the stone in the middle of it was flashing red light.
"Could that little girl really be the monster?", Makoto whispered.
Suddenly, the cat's narrow eyes opened a lot more, as if he was struck by something. He fought himself free from the girl's arms and jumped out on the street at a speed which would have to be seen to be believed. With her pink and white dress swaying in the wind, the girl ran after him.
"Rhett Butler!".
The two disappeared into a narrow alley two blocks away from the house. However, soon Usagi, Ami and Makoto heard a loud scream.
"Oh no! Let's hope it's not-", Usagi said while the trio was running to the alley.
The fears were shown to be true, as there they saw Zoisite with the girl collapsed in front of him.
"I should've known it!", Zoisite said in disappointment.
"Stop right there!", Sailor Moon shouted from the start of the alley.
"With us here, you won't be getting your way Zoisite!", Sailor Mercury said.
"We wont let you turn this girl into a monster!", Sailor Jupiter continued behind the two.
"And what's, ugh… most important… in the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!", Sailor Moon concluded. She was having real trouble performing her usual moves, as in an obvious tactical error, the three Guardians had attempted to enter the barely one person wide alley at the same time.
"How perfectly annoying.", Zoisite snorted, slightly amused. He extended his arm to begin a preemptive attack: "Zoi!".
Before Zoisite would be able to launch the attack, Mercury rushed to protect her friends.
"Bubble-".
However, before she could finish, she tripped on Sailor Moon's leg and fell on her face.
"Moon! You're in my way!", she shouted in frustration.
"M-moon…?", blushing Jupiter repeated quietly, finding herself awfully distracted by the all-new side of Mercury that had now opened beneath her eyes.
"Yommffwme!", Sailor Moon tried to voice her own view on the situation, while having her face squashed between Mercury's boot and a concrete wall.
As if in an act of mercy, Zoisite called off his attack and sighed. "Unfortunately, I have better things to do than watch how many clowns you can fit in Tokyo's smallest alley. Gotta go!".
"Oh, no you won't now!", Jupiter shouted while a small lightning rod extended from her tiara. "Supreme…".
Panic filled the minds of both Mercury and Moon, as the two were scrambling to quickly get somewhere, anywhere else. Being so close in front of Jupiter at this time would surely mean electrocution!
Zoisite performed an impossibly tall-looking backflip and escaped, leaving the young girl laying on the pavement, still unconscious. Jupiter stopped charging her attack, while both Mercury and Moon wiped sweat off their foreheads, slightly relieved all things considered. However, first and foremost the girl had to be helped.
Meanwhile in the other alley, Luna's troubles with the cat gang were turning worse by the minute. She was now in the middle of the street, while the mob had formed a circle around her – well, to be precise, the mob had filled the entire street, save for a little cat-free space around Luna, which was shaped like a circle. After some meowing and a show of teeth, one of the gangsters, an orange cat with black stripes, decided to make his move. He jumped high in the air and towards Luna – however, just as his paws were about to reach her black fur, a sudden force grabbed and carried her way above everyone else. Soon, Luna found herself hanging next to the edge of the concrete wall where the mob cats had previously stood. But where was she hanging from? Who had saved her for now? She turned her head and looked behind.
"Oh, Rhett Butler!".
The fur at the back of her neck was firmly in the mouth of the large grey cat. However, he was starting to lose his grip – not from Luna, but from the concrete wall. The mob beneath them watched in complete silence, each and everyone holding their breath. After struggling for balance, Rhett Butler made his final, fateful tilt forward, after which both he and Luna fell down.
"Don't forget this was not because of my weeeiiight…!", Luna screamed.
However, as cats do, they managed to land on their feet. Unfortunately, it was not over, as the spot they landed on happened to be a broken manhole cover. The cast iron plate began slowly tilting – from the side Rhett Butler stood on – until it reached its tipping point, sending both of them falling into the depths of Azabu-Juban's sewers. The cat gang stared on dumbfounded as the lone manhole cover rattled in its place for a while, before total silence fell on the alley.
Luna opened her eyes, but it was still quite dark. She realised that she was on something soft – of course, it was Rhett Butler. She jumped quickly on her feet, while her companion climbed up slowly and without a word, as usual. In addition to being dark, the sewer was also rather cold and above all, smelly, with some clearly used water running next to them in a constant stream. At least for Luna, it was indeed lucky they had landed on the narrow concrete sidewalk that runs along the sewage. Luna noticed a red patch on Rhett Butler's leg.
"Come to think of it, you've risked a lot now that you've saved me not once, but twice.", she said. "Could that mean that you… um… like me?".
The grey cat obviously could not respond with words, but his cheeks definitely turned red. Luna buried his face in her paws in embarrassment.
"Ow, this all feels so… conflicting! I just never thought it would be like this for me!".
The moment of peace was not to last for long, however, as a human appeared behind the corner in front of them – and what a human, for it was no other than Zoisite!
"Hah! Finally! The signal never lies, after all.".
Zoisite looked, in all fairness, miserable. The lower half of his body was soaked with sewer water, while a layer of dust covered his hair and shoulders. In his hand, he was holding his trusty dark gemstone.
"If only I would've known earlier that the Crystal was inside that cursed animal, I could've avoided ruining my Sunday afternoon – and my hair – down here!", he lamented while running towards the cats.
"What!? You have the seventh Crystal that we've all been trying to find?", Luna reacted surprised. She looked around and noticed a small hole – possibly an air vent – in the wall close to them. "Quick, get inside! We have no time to lose! I'll try to explain you later.".
The question was, would Rhett Butler be able to fit in the hole fast enough?
Rei was drifting along the streets of the Azabu-Juban shopping district. What would she need to do to not spend such a fine day alone? Would she have to resort to finding Usagi and the rest? To her luck however, she soon noticed a familiar face waiting at the lights. Well, a very familiar mane of a hair and a rather familiar lower-half of a face.
"Oh, hi Yuichiro!", Rei raised her voice. She waved at him with both of her arms like a shipwrecked sailor upon seeing a rescue boat.
"Ah, Rei! What a nice surprise!", Yuichiro said. "Going somewhere?".
"Um, nowhere in particular. Just looking at shops and… things.", Rei pieced together an answer of sorts. "You know what? I was thinking if you'd like to have me read your fortune! What would you say, later this afternoon, perhaps?".
"Uh, fortune?".
"Yeah! Now, I don't mean to brag, but more often than not my predictions have turned out to be surprisingly accurate… But you know, just for fun!".
"Sorry, Rei! I'll have this meeting with those couple of people from the magazines we met on Friday. I thought it would only be fair to give everyone a quick update on what I've been up to.", Yuichiro scratched the back of his head. "Anyways, I'll probably be gone for the rest of the day…".
"Oh, by all mea-".
"Ah, the light's gone green! See ya!", Yuichiro waved while already on his way across the street.
"See… ya…", Rei waved back from the corner and sighed. "Interviews on Sunday, huh? It's like today everyone's just… gone with the wind.".
Meanwhile at Minako's home, Artemis was busy with the family computer. While on most days he would conduct his work from the secret underground facility located in a closed-off portion of Game Center Crown's basement, he had also established a connection between the facility and the house.
Minako walked into the room. If Artemis was on the computer on a day like this, that must've meant there was something unusual going on.
"Oh, here you are! Is there a new monster on the loose?", she asked.
"Not yet… But I'm receiving a strong signal from what has to be the seventh Rainbow Crystal!", he said and pointed at the monitor, which showed a city map with one constantly moving, blinking dot on it. "I've noticed that for whatever reason the Crystal's holder is travelling in the sewers. Based on the direction, I suspect that they might surface here.", Artemis pointed at a canal on the map, located east of Tokyo Tower. "One of the sewer network's overflow pipes ends there.", he explained.
Minako became excited. "So then, if we want to be useful, we should get going already, huh?".
"It wouldn't hurt to go and see if something happens.", Artemis nodded and added: "Even if it's a miss, we shouldn't be far from the real action.".
"On to the scene it is then!".
At the Ohara residence, with what being the name of the little girl Usagi, Ami and Makoto had saved from the alley, the girl was still resting, but now safely in her own bed.
Makoto was standing by the open window. "I hope An-chan will get well soon…". Worriedly, she glanced out of the window. "Preferably before her parents show up! Do you realise how dead we'll be if they come back and see us here like this? It's gonna be-".
"Game over!? Aargh!", Usagi unwittingly finished the sentence. She had found out that An also owned a home console version of her old favourite, the Sailor V video game – and had now spent the last 20 minutes on the floor glued in front of the television.
Ami was inspecting the Moon Stick and grew increasingly alarmed. "Oh no! I wish I would've noticed this sooner, but the Stick isn't reacting at all, despite being here in the same room as her!".
"Wait… but it was alerting earlier when she was at the door.", Makoto remembered. "That could only mean…".
"The Crystal was in the cat this whole time!", the two shouted at each other in unison.
Between them, Usagi fell on her back looking completely dejected. "All that work! And for what? Absolutely nothing!", she moaned with her arms flailing around.
"Hey, at least we're on the right track-", Makoto tried.
"Will I ever beat Sailor V on Ultra Hard!?", Usagi wailed.
Ami fought the urge to remind Usagi about how games are only saved on cartridges and how she couldn't constantly bring friends to look at her high score in some half-stranger's house. However, she felt like that was a job for Luna or Rei, not her. Also, she was now busy reloading the program on the Super Computer to give them a clue on the current whereabouts of the Crystal. Luckily for the trio, An was finally showing signs of waking up.
"Okay, that's our cue! Let's hurry!", Makoto clapped her hands.
"Have a good day, An! Thanks for the game!", Usagi waved goodbye from the door.
"Eh…?", the girl waved back, still a little sleepy.
Meanwhile, Rei had arrived in Kaigan. Located next to the seafront, it felt like the last stop in her quest to find something worthwhile to do on that day. She leaned on the railing next the bank of a canal that runs through the area.
"Finally some different views. Maybe I'll rest here for a while and then turn back.".
She looked at a lonesome cloud sailing past, then her eyes followed a boat, which was carrying tourists, as well as some couples. In the corner of her eye, Rei saw a girl walking a bicycle and then stopping by the railing close to her. A little too close, considering her current mood.
Unexpectedly, the girl started talking: "Seen anything interesting?".
Rei turned her head to get a proper look. "No, I haven't. Not anywhere, all day…", she sighed.
The girl had a long, blonde hair with a red bow on it. She was wearing a simple blue and white dress with a denim jacket on top. Rei also saw a white cat sitting in a basket at the front of the bike. However, it almost looked like it was avoiding contact, persistently looking in another direction. The girl on the other hand, was looking straight into Rei's eyes. The look in her blue eyes reminded of Usagi's, but overall it was just a little more mature. Rei found herself distractingly attracted to the stranger. She was good-looking in that angelic kind of way. It felt like she was popular around her school. Should Rei try to know her better?
Upon seeing her head-on, the girl seemed to almost know her from before, that's how familiar she began acting. "I really like your hair, it's very pretty – because it's the same style as mine, minus the colour, ha-ha!", she continued.
"Uh, maybe we go to the same place or something…". Rei fought hard to not blush, before getting more confident: "You know, it's easy to be impressed when you use yourself as the point of reference.".
"You're funny! I'm Minako Aino by the way, what's yours?".
"Eh…? I'm Rei…". So, not only did the girl brush off her jab like nothing, now they had apparently moved to introductions. Rei was taken aback by this Minako person's impudence to… break into her life. "Rei Hino…".
Rei wasn't that sure anymore if she'd like to know her better. "Now that I think of it, she's really annoying. She's not my type at all.", she thought.
Rei's attention was caught the sight of two cats running along the opposite side of the canal – one of them very familiar.
"Well, looks like someone's got lucky!", Rei said, before thinking to herself: "I didn't know Luna had a boyfriend. She's pretty sly!".
Rei glanced back towards Minako and to her amusement saw the white cat burying its head deep into the basket, as if it was upset.
"While some of us… didn't. So, you're a cat person, Aino…-chan?".
"Maybe, but I'd rather say that the cat here is a me-person!", Minako smiled.
"Huh, that figures…". Rei noticed that the cat turned its head back at Minako, as if it knew what they were talking about.
Their cat-talk was cut short however, as Minako saw an actual cloud of other animals bursting out of a sewer pipe on the opposite side of the canal. It was a cloud of rats!
"Uwaah! What's happening in here!", she shouted.
The rat cloud passed the rather slow-moving pair of cats, forcing them to stop. Then, the formation started rising upwards, becoming a tower. A few of the rats near the top moved aside, revealing a hole – and much to everyone's surprise, in that hole appeared a human face.
"Mwa-ha-ha! What do you say about this? I learnt to embrace the elements and it's made me stronger than ever before!".
"I can't believe it, it's Zoisite!", Rei thought. "What does he want from Luna and her companion?".
Both Rei and Minako found themselves frozen in place, as they were trying to think of how to act.
Rei could feel the transformation pen burning in the pocket of her violet blazer. "I must find some way to transform without her noticing – and quickly!", she thought.
"Oh wow! I think I must go find a phone and call my friend… in a newspaper. I bet they'll want to see this!", Rei blurted and set off running away and behind a street corner.
"That's… yeah, you do that while I'll stay here and watch!", Minako pointed at her.
On the opposite side, Zoisite was towering menacingly over Luna and Rhett Butler. Capturing the Crystal would surely now be a matter of time.
"Fire Soul!", a loud voice from above suddenly announced. In a split second, a hot shockwave struck everyone, and the narrow piece of ground between Zoisite and the cats burst into flames. Only briefly though, as there was nothing flammable on the slightly damp concrete surface. While Zoisite and Rhett Butler were only knocked on their backs, the shockwave sent Luna tumbling uncontrollably further down the embankment.
Zoisite looked up, where he saw Sailor Mars. She was kneeling and facing away from them. "Sailor Mars, the pretty Guardian who fights for love and for justice is here…", she began, before turning her head in a dramatic fashion. "…to save the day!". Then she stood up. "I won't let you get in the way of their beautiful cat love!".
"It's not what it looks like, it's complicated!", Luna chimed in while attempting to climb back up.
"The flames of love are burning! The flames of justice are burning! I can't forgive those who get in the way of… love – between people and all living creatures!", Mars continued and then pointed at Zoisite. "So, in the name of Mars, I'll chastise you!". While she had found herself sometimes wincing at Sailor Moon's speeches, she had to admit that trying one out did make her feel pretty great.
Zoisite looked amused, but only for a while. "Looks like I'll have to fight all you fools today…", he said, before throwing the dark crystal in the air. "Zoi!".
"The… the others?". Sailor Mars became distressed. What about them? Also, she didn't expect Zoisite to react so quickly and nonchalantly.
"You should carve up a plan before showing up and posing around!", Luna scolded her.
However, it turned out Zoisite's attack wasn't aimed at her, but instead the crystal was left hovering above Rhett Butler – who was still on his back. Zoisite reached for the stone, which began emitting bright light. Suddenly, the poor cat began twitching in pain and physically stretching upwards, as if Zoisite was trying to use a vaccuum cleaner to get something from inside him. Then it appeared – a large pink crystal. There was no doubt that it was the seventh Rainbow Crystal. Zoisite grabbed the spinning gem and retreated back.
While the Crystal was gone, Rhett Butler was still screaming in agony. The cat was surrounded by an ominous circle of dust, eventually hiding him out of sight. It was time for Rhett Butler to turn into a monster.
Rei landed on the lower platform. "Oh no!".
"Rhett Butler…", Luna called his name in fear.
The dust settled and revealed a tall cat-like creature standing on its hind legs. Instead of being a tame domestic cat, this blue and grey beast looked every bit wild and ferocious. Hanging around its neck was a giant wind chime, which when mixed with its growling, seemed to produce some truly hellish sounds.
"Bakene! Get rid of them!", Zoisite commanded and pointed at Mars and Luna. Sure of victory, he turned around to begin his way out of the scene.
"With no backup in sight, they should be done for… o-ho-ho-ho!", he raised his hand by his mouth and laughed, admiring the Crystal in his left hand.
Suddenly, the hand was hit by something sharp that came flying past. Zoisite only saw a green and red blur – and then he let the Crystal fall off his hand as it was struck by unimaginable pain.
He collapsed on his knees and looked to his right – a thorny rose was sticking off the grey concrete. "Auugh… Tuxedo Mask!"
The gentleman thief in his dark cape landed in from of him. "I'll be taking this. Farewell!", he said and set off running along the canal bank in the same direction Zoisite had just intended to retreat.
"No, it's mine! Come back!", Zoisite shouted in frustration and chased after him.
Bakene walked close to Luna and much to her terror, grabbed her in its arms. Then, the monster started climbing up the embankment, towards the city streets.
"So now it's King Kong, huh!?", Luna thought.
Sailor Mars managed to slow Bakene down by launching another Fire Soul at its feet. Luckily however, backup had arrived.
"Sailor Moon! You know what to do, right?", Mars greeted.
"You betcha! Moon Healing Escalation time!".
Meanwhile, just as Tuxedo Mask was about to cross under one of the bridges that went over the canal, he saw a familiar, yet unfamiliar figure standing on it. Even with his mask on, Tuxedo Mask appeared very surprised. While Sailor Venus' outfit was the same as last time around, her sudden appearance was news to him.
"How dare you steal a hard-earned jewel this noble prince was going to present his benevolent Queen! Arsène Lupin may tolerate your antics, but I, Sailor Venus, won't stand for it!", the Guardian of Venus boasted, before continuing: "The friend of good and noble men everywhere - I am the pretty sailor-suited soldier of justice, Sailor Venus, and I'm here on the scene!".
Venus landed in front of Tuxedo Mask – and before he could even begin thinking of dodging, she lifted her leg into a kick and aimed for the Rainbow Crystal.
"Venus Kick!".
The Crystal flew and spun high up in the air. Venus jumped after it, grabbed it and somersaulted backwards, back onto the bridge.
Zoisite was ecstatic about the sudden turn. "Bravo! What a fabulous move!".
"You don't know what you're talking about! Give it back!", Tuxedo Mask shouted.
"Sorry, I have my reasons for not trusting masked thieves!".
"Thieves? How about looking in the mirror then!".
Sailor Venus revealed her Crescent Compact. "Well, I have one right here! But it might be you whose reflectio-".
She was interrupted by the sight of Sailor Mars in the corner of her eye.
"You should listen to what he has to say, blondie!", she suggested.
Sailor Venus' expression changed. She smiled at Mars. "I like you – we should work together.", she winked confidently, pointed at her and continued: "If you can keep up with me!".
Venus turned around, ran a little and performed a gigantic leap on top of a moving lorry. Then, she continued by jumping on the roof of a four-story building and disappeared.
While on the outside, Sailor Mars wasn't really reacting by much, inside two conflicting emotions were clashing.
"She's everything Sailor Moon should be: skilled, proactive and more mature in every way. Athletic too…", Mars thought. "On the other hand, I can't stand her cocky attitude – the nerve of that girl!". In spite of the rage-inducing aspects of the new Sailor Guardian, she found herself deeply admiring her many qualities for the most part. "Screw Usagi, why can't I be like that!?".
While Mars had barged into their confrontation in the middle of it, she could already tell that Sailor Venus and Tuxedo Mask were not on very good terms. Were they rivals? Perhaps the most likely scenario was that Venus was simply going to keep the Crystal to herself for the time being.
Also, there was a weird familiar feeling she got from Venus, but she wasn't exactly sure why. Sailor Mars knew their outfits contained magic that concealed their true identities, even when features like hair and eyes were clear to see. She could recall Luna explaining that the magic muddles up the aura each Sailor Guardian gives off, making it practically impossible for the mind to make the connection without any "hard" evidence, like witnessing the transformation, for example. Or simply being told by the person themselves.
She looked around and noticed that everyone else near the bridge had vanished as well. "Hmph, men. Always running away from having to deal with consequences…".
Then, Sailor Mars looked further back at the place where she and Minako Aino had had a chat before the incident. She was nowhere to be seen, but the bicycle was still leaning on the railing, seemingly abandoned.
"Odd… I might have to keep an eye on this Minako girl as well. I am sensing something unusual about her. That aura…", she told herself.
Rei rejoined others. Makoto was holding the healed Rhett Butler in her arms, while Usagi was holding Luna next to him.
Luna opened her voice. "Now, I hope you'll understand, it just couldn't work between us two. It's like… well, we practically are different species.", she said.
Rhett Butler nodded in acceptance, but there would be no way to mistake the obvious sadness in his body language for anything else.
Meanwhile in the Dark Kingdom, Kunzite and Zoisite were recounting the events of the day.
"So, one of the Crystals is in the hands of Sailor Venus now?".
"For now, it's not the optimal outcome…", Zoisite began. "…but if we manage to convince her well enough, her Crystals are as good as ours!".
"Indeed, let's not forget the hardest part that begins now – getting a hold of all the other Crystals as well. In that game, any extra piece at our end of the table will most definitely be beneficial.", Kunzite said.
"Now that you mentioned, I encouraged Venus to seek allies of her own – and that is clearly bearing fruit as well.".
"Ah yes, Sailor Mars. Somehow I'm not surprised – what was true back then, seems to still hold true now.", Kunzite mused with a hint of melancholy in his voice. "Opposites do attract, after all…".