On Today's Episode: The trinity arrives in Azabu Juuban, a seemingly normal Japanese city, only to find that this is actually the home town of Sailor Moon, the pretty soldier they helped out on their previous journey. Sailor Moon and her fellow Sailor Guardians are in for a lot of trouble, though, as a rather demonic tree has infested the area, and another member of the Organization seems ready to take advantage of the chaos...
For Today's World: We're returning to Sailor Moon for this trip, specifically to episodes 58 and 59, the climax of season two's anime-original Makai Tree arc. This time around, we'll probably get to see more of the other Sailor Guardians in action, considering what happened in the first re:Verse.
EDIT 12/9/2024: Edited some parts of the boss fight with Ail and Ann thanks to Lonnie's criticism. I never called myself the perfect writer, and I'm glad I have people like Lonnie to help me fix things when I unknowingly fark it up...
Episode 7: Legend in Moonlight
"Natsumi, wait up!" Seijuro Ginga exclaimed as he finally caught up with his sister at the steps of the apartment they shared. "Seriously, what about him is so special to you?"
"Well, what about her, Ail?" Natsumi Ginga shot back, knowing he would play that card.
To his credit, Seijuro stayed silent as they both entered the apartment, dropping their human disguises as they moved to check on the status of the Makai Tree, where leaves were falling in cascades from its branches.
"Why is this happening so suddenly?" Ann gasped.
"It really is quite bizarre," Ail admitted.
"It's probably reacting to you chasing after that Usagi girl," Ann groaned.
"Oh, look who's talking," Ail retorted. "What about all the chasing you've done?"
"...you know what will happen if the tree wilts and dies, right?" Ann sighed. "We'll lose our energy source if that happens. How can we go on without it?"
"I know that, but we don't have any other choice but to feed it," Ail responded. "Even if that means we need a lot more energy."
"I might be able to help you with that."
Ail and Ann turned around just in time to see a corridor of darkness open nearby, and a figure completely disguised in a black cloak stepped out of it, though they looked a little younger than other members of the Organization.
"And who the heck are you?" Ann growled.
"Patience," No. 11 replied. "I know your tree needs power to survive, and I know of a very easily exploitable power source."
No. 11 raised their hands, and a bunch of Heartless materialized around them.
"...they look like our Cardians," Ann quipped.
"That's the whole point," No. 11 chuckled. "If Sailor Moon or her Guardians try to interfere, they'll find that these things aren't the same monsters. They'll be no match."
"You seem to know much about us," Ail noted.
"I also know that you two need to be careful," No. 11 responded. "If you see a bunch of brats holding keyblades, you'd best steer clear of them. They've got a strange kind of magic that doesn't really belong in this world, and who knows what it'd do to you, especially when you're showing your true selves."
Ail and Ann both glanced at each other, hopeful that they could revive the Makai Tree sooner rather than later.
"This looks like your average, everyday city, huh?" Maylin quipped as the trinity began to explore the city they'd disembarked in.
"Yeah, but if we've learned anything from Jinbocho, it's that you can never really expect things to be that normal," Haruka chuckled, referencing the very first world they'd all been to as a team.
"Hey, what's going on over there?" Nick wondered as he glanced towards a nearby store down the street, where a sort of stage play appeared to be going on, with many of the actors dressed up as, of all things, Sailor Moon and the baddies she'd been fighting.
"Wait, wait, you think this is Sailor Moon's home town?" Maylin gasped.
"I'm more curious as to why there's a silly stage play about her," Nick quipped.
Suddenly, Sophia jumped out of the Gummiphone and looked up into the sky, where she could now see a strange Buddha-like figure hovering in the air above the play.
"Oh, who thinks that's any sort of good?" Nick groaned.
"That is weird, though," Sophia admitted. "I don't sense any dark energy nearby."
"You think it's just the local breed of monster?" Maylin asked.
"It can't possibly be the Dark Kingdom again," Haruka answered. "After all, we were all there to see Usagi vaporize Queen Beryl, right?"
"Regardless, we'd better get our butts over there quickly," Nick stated as everyone summoned their keyblades and charged towards the disturbance.
However, by the time they reached the stage, the strange monster had disappeared, leaving a large crowd of people completely unconscious.
"Wait, what the heck happened to them?" Maylin gasped, hoping they hadn't been too late again.
Sophia ducked down to check out one of the people. "...thankfully, they are just unconscious," Sophia answered.
"HEY THERE!"
Nick only had time to turn around before Usagi Tsukino lunged towards him to tackle him in a flying hug, having just come out of the nearby store.
"U-Usagi, is that really you?" Nick gasped once he'd regained his balance. "I kinda thought you'd, you know, died after you wiped out Queen Beryl..."
"Apparently, we were all revived, but we just lost our memories of everything that happened," Usagi admitted. "Luna and Artemis eventually restored our memories because we've had more trouble to deal with."
"Magical girls can never stay out of trouble, can they?" Nick chuckled. Inwardly, he remembered that pink-haired girl with a resemblance to Usagi that he'd met in Traverse Town after that, who had simply said that if Usagi had died, she wouldn't exist.
"Ugh, tell me about it," Usagi groaned. "But put that aside for a moment, what happened here?"
"It looks like they've all had their energy drained," Luna answered. "And this time, it seems like every last drop has been taken. That's never happened before, has it?"
"Sounds like we've got a situation," Maylin stated. "And if the Heartless are somehow involved, then it's a good thing we're here, huh?"
"Oh, jeez, I've gotta get to school!" Usagi exclaimed. "Are you guys gonna be all right by yourselves?"
"We'll be fine," Haruka chuckled. "We'll meet up with you after school, 'kay? We're going to take a look around the city and make sure that the Heartless aren't causing any trouble."
With that in mind, Usagi dashed off for school, and this left the trinity to walk around the city. Usagi had told them to meet up again later that day at the Juuban Odysseia apartment complex.
On the way there to scope that place out, though, the trinity was accosted by another group of Heartless. This particular creature had a very small navy-blue body emblazoned with the Heartless emblem, two short legs at the bottom of its body, and a short, thin neck extending from the top to its round head, harboring two glowing, yellow eyes and a jagged maw. It wore a tall, conical blue hat with a bent tip and two yellow, spiral-like designs on the front.
"Oh, if that doesn't look goofy as heck," Nick chuckled as he summoned Starlight to his hands.
"That thing would be a Tornado Step," Haruka explained. "As you can probably tell, it likes to spin a lot and use those arms. If you can catch it during its super spin attack, you might be able to take it for a ride."
"Sounds like fun," Nick quipped as a Tornado Step flew towards him, swinging its arms in a wide sideways sweep attack. Nick raised Starlight to parry the blow before flashing out with a Counterguard, stunning the Tornado Step long enough for Sophia to throw Super Yo-Yo into its face in a manner reminiscent of Nick's old Strike Raid attack, destroying it handily.
Another Tornado Step began twirling towards Nick with both of its arms extended all the way out, but Nick parried the blow and jumped on top of the Tornado Step, deciding to take it for a ride and crash into the other Tornado Steps until the last few were gone. When he was finished, Nick jumped off of the one he was riding and split it in half with a diving slash.
"That was fun," Nick chuckled.
"All right-y, then, what do you make of this place?" Maylin wondered as she looked up at the Juuban Odysseia, the place Usagi had told them to meet her at.
"It looks like any normal apartment complex, but I'm getting bad vibes from it," Haruka admitted after glancing at it a few times. "I'm just not sure why..."
"Okay, so why did you drag us both out here to see if they're doing all right?"
Nick glanced down the street to see Usagi approaching alongside Ami Mizuno and Makoto Kino, two of her fellow Sailor Guardians.
'Aw, can't I just walk somewhere with my friends?" Usagi giggled.
"And you're sure Umino and Naru are going to be okay?" Ami wondered. After all, Umino and Naru had been affected by the energy-draining monster.
"Of course, but they had a lot of energy drained, so they'll need a lot of rest," Usagi answered.
"It seems like the enemy might be attacking in a different way now," Ami noted.
"...oh, yeah, I hadn't thought about that," Usagi admitted.
"Has this been happening a lot lately?" Nick wondered.
"Sadly, yes," Makoto answered. "And we're still not sure exactly who's behind it all, so..."
"This doesn't seem like the Heartless' modus operandi, if you ask me," Maylin quipped as they all headed inside the apartment complex to check on Natsumi and Seijuro.
Much to Usagi's surprise, they both answered the door looking quite fine, though Natsumi was slightly glaring at Seijuro.
"Hey, I didn't know you guys had matching clothes," Usagi gasped.
"Yeah, isn't that more of a boyfriend/girlfriend thing and not really a sibling thing?" Makoto quipped.
"Well, we did lose our parents when we were young, so we probably are a little closer than most siblings around here," Seijuro chuckled.
"All right, so what exactly are you doing here?" Natsumi retorted. "You know it's rude to just drop by without an invitation, right?"
"Oh, why don't you can the attitude, missy?" Maylin shot back. "Usagi was worried about you two, all right?"
"Maylin, be nice, okay?" Haruka responded.
"Well, since you've come all this way, why not come in for some tea?" Seijuro offered. "I insist."
While Usagi, Ami and Makoto did so, the trinity decided to explore the building to see if they could find the source of the bad vibes they'd been getting.
As they turned around a nearby corner, though, a corridor of darkness opened up in the hallway and another member of Organization XIII walked out of it.
"Oh, wonderful, another one of you loonies," Maylin groaned.
"You'd really go so far as to call us 'loony'?" No. 11 groaned, sounding like a younger child than Rei had. "It sounds like you're the villains here."
"Oh, don't even give us that crock of nonsense," Nick retorted as he aimed Starlight for No. 11. "You and the rest of your group are the ones causing chaos around the worlds."
"But of course," No. 11 chuckled. "We have a purpose for doing so, unlike your average villain. With the power of Kingdom Hearts, we can change everything. No longer will we be bound to the destiny we have suffered."
No. 11 chuckled at how funny she sounded. "Listen to me, I sound like a bad novel," No. 11 giggled. "I guess maybe it isn't that far out of left field..."
"Start making sense, you lunatic!" Maylin shouted.
"All I'm saying is that we need the power of Kingdom Hearts, and that's all you really deserve," No. 11 taunted. "But, really, should you be worried about me... or what's going to happen very soon?"
Before the trinity could get a word in edgewise, No. 11 vanished through another corridor of darkness.
"Do any of these nutballs make a lick of sense to you?" Maylin sighed.
"...wait, that girl may have been onto something," Haruka answered, turning back towards the previous hallway. "I'm sensing a strange dark power over there..."
"Let's go check it out," Sophia responded as the trinity all backtracked to Seijuro's complex, only to find that a group of Lance Soldiers had found their way in.
Knowing that Usagi and her fellow Guardians couldn't transform in front of Natsumi and Seijuro, they quickly decided to step in.
"W-What the hell are those things?!" Makoto exclaimed.
"Mako, I told you, those are Heartless!" Usagi exclaimed.
"Yeah, like that makes things any better!" Makoto shouted.
"Hey, lance boys, why don't you try us?!" Nick challenged, causing the Lance Soldiers to stop trying to attack Seijuro and Natsumi and turning their attention to the trinity.
Maylin swung Counterpoint to hit a Lance Soldier in the face before freezing it into a ice cube with a point-blank Blizzard spell and allowing Haruka to destroy it with an overhead chop from Divewing.
Another Lance Soldier tried to jump on top of Natsumi, but Nick grabbed its lance by the handle and started to yank it around before flying up and then slamming it into the floor, crushing that Lance Soldier and damaging a few others with the shockwave of the impact.
This allowed Sophia to summon Pandora and cast a Kougaon spell to finish off the two remaining Lance Soldiers.
"Whew... that was too close," Sophia sighed in relief.
"Are you all okay?" Nick asked once everything was calm again.
"That was scary," Natsumi admitted. "But thanks for the help anyway."
Once Usagi, Ami and Makoto had left, Seijuro couldn't help but watch Usagi as she walked away, wondering what this odd feeling in his heart was.
He also couldn't help but be relieved that those other kids seemingly hadn't figured out that he and Natsumi were really aliens. After all, weren't they the keyblade wielders that the girl in the hood had warned him about?
Later on, in the area that housed the Makai Tree, Natsumi and Seijuro had noticed that a new branch was starting to grow on one of the larger branches.
"What do you make of that?" Natsumi wondered.
"Do you think the energy is finally having an effect?" Seijuro quipped.
"Here's the weird part, though," Natsumi admitted. "It hasn't been growing at all until now."
"Wait, Ann, what does that mean?" Seijuro asked.
"Remember when the tree grabbed Usagi, before those keyblade wielders came in?" Natsumi responded. "Taking her energy must have caused it to grow! That must mean we need to squeeze every last drop of energy from her in order to completely rejuvenate the Makai Tree!"
"Wait a minute," Seijuro quipped. "There's something I'd like to try first. Yamandaka, come out!"
The Buddha-like Cardian from the previous day floated over the sapling in question and released the energy that it had gathered directly into the sapling...
...only for it to wither away and die.
"...damn it, there goes the one break we had," Natsumi groaned.
"STOP."
Both Natsumi and Seijuro gasped in shock when they heard that, unsure if that had come from the Makai Tree or if they were just hearing things.
As the two of them discussed what exactly the Makai Tree was and why they needed it, they didn't notice No. 11 watching from the shadows.
"Hehehehe, this is too easy," No. 11 giggled to herself. "Just keep feeding it that worthless energy and see where it gets you."
Later that day, while they were out on patrol to preemptively deal with any Heartless threats, the trinity returned to the Juuban Odysseia.
"So, level with me here, ladies," Nick wondered. "Did any of you get weird vibes from those two siblings?"
"You mean Natsumi and Seijuro?" Haruka replied. "I'm not entirely sure. They didn't look all that suspicious to me."
"Yeah, but now that we know a member of the Organization's crawling around here, that might be some kind of trouble," Maylin quipped.
"You think the member we saw is trying to manipulate them in some fashion?" Sophia asked.
Before Nick could ponder that, a loud scream erupted from the apartment complex, and not a second later, multiple evil-looking tree branches broke out from the building and started constricting around it.
"Um, what the hell?!" Maylin gasped.
"That was Usagi who just screamed!" Sophia exclaimed.
"That settles it, we need to get in there and stop whatever's creating that demonic tree," Nick proclaimed.
Before they could charge in, though, they heard more voices approaching their location.
"Mercury Power..."
"Mars Power..."
"Jupiter Power..."
"Venus Power..."
"MAKE UP!" the four voices shouted in unison, a bright flash of mutli-colored light emanating from far off.
The trinity turned around just in time to see the other four Sailor Guardians arriving on the scene.
"Well, well, you all got here just in time," Nick quipped. "Looks like we've got trouble."
"Hey, aren't you the ones who helped Usagi defeat Queen Beryl?" Sailor Venus wondered.
"Is this really the time for that, Mina?" Sailor Mars retorted.
"Long story short, yes we are, but we'll give you details later," Haruka answered. "Right now, we've gotta bust in there before this gets even worse."
"There doesn't look like there's any way in with all of these thorns blocking the entrance," Sailor Mercury stated as she activated her visor to search for a weak spot in the thorn barrier.
"I really hope Usagi's okay in there..." Sailor Jupiter sighed.
"Let me give it a shot," Sophia proclaimed. "Shine, Pandora!"
Much to the Sailor Guardians' surprise, Sophia summoned Pandora, then swung her yo-yos around for a bit, striking the thorns multiple times, before switching back to her keyblade and pointing it forward, causing Pandora to shoot out five large beams of light energy in a fan shape, eventually causing an upward surge of light that dissolved the thorns blocking the entrance and allowing everyone to enter.
"That should do it," Sophia stated. "Let's move, everybody!"
Yamandaka grabbed Usagi with all six of its arms and dragged her into the room that held the Makai Tree, but as Yamandaka started to drain Usagi's energy, a loud voice that sounded like multiple voices speaking out all at once shouted loudly.
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE. ENOUGH. ENOUGH!"
Massive roots as thick as actual trees began to burst forth from the base of the Makai Tree, tearing through the building effortlessly.
"W-What the hell?!" Seijuro exclaimed.
"Th-that's not supposed to happen!" Natsumi shouted as one of the roots tore through the ground and carried her up with it, both siblings helpless to do anything as the Makai Tree held Usagi in its clutches.
The four Sailor Guardians continued to make their way through the thorn-infested building, the trinity right behind them.
"This is insane," Sailor Mars noted.
"We need to hurry," Luna responded. "If the Makai Tree grows too far out of control, it could suck up all of the energy on this planet!"
"There's gotta be a way through all of this," Sailor Mercury wondered, double-checking her visor. "But it looks like the thorns and the roots keep rearranging themselves."
"You think the tree itself is intelligent?" Maylin asked.
"That's gotta be the only logical explanation," Sailor Venus answered.
"Ami, look out!" Sailor Jupiter exclaimed, having seen a root rushing towards Sailor Mercury.
Before Sailor Mercury could jump out of the way, Nick lunged forward and swung Starlight to knock the root off course, then cast a Thunder spell to blast the root away.
However, more roots began to surround the group.
"Damn it, it was a trap!" Sailor Mars exclaimed.
"Then this tree really is intelligent," Sailor Venus realized. "It let us come in here so it could ambush us."
Plant pods started emerging from the walls and opened their shells to start spraying streams of acid towards the Sailor Guardians, who just barely managed to dodge each volley.
"All right, enough of this!" Sailor Mercury exclaimed, crossing her arms. "Bubble Spray Freezing!"
As more of the pods emerged, Sailor Mercury threw her arms out to unleash a barrage of bubbles that enveloped the plant pods and turn them all into ice statues.
"Nice move, Ami," Sailor Jupiter chuckled.
"Um, I don't think we're done yet," Haruka admitted, pointing towards a bunch of tree branches that were barreling towards them.
"MOVE IT!" Sailor Venus shouted, and everybody started running towards a nearby elevator. But when Sailor Mercury tried to push the button to take them up to the higher levels, it wouldn't respond, no doubt due to the Makai Tree overtaking the building.
"Come on, why won't you work?!" Sailor Mercury shouted.
"Here they come!" Sailor Mars exclaimed.
Just before the branches could rush forward and impale the Sailor Guardians, Maylin stepped forward and cast Reflect, surrounding them with a glass-like barrier that pushed the branches back.
"Might wanna hurry, ladies," Maylin gasped. "I don't know how long I can keep this spell up!"
"Hey, there's an escape hatch up there!" Nick responded.
Sailor Jupiter did the honors and kicked the escape hatch open so they could all jump out to the top of the elevator and get away from the thorns just as the Reflect barrier faded and the thorns surged into the elevator.
"...that was way too close," Sailor Venus admitted.
"Wait, what's that up there?" Artemis wondered.
A group of Air Soldiers were descending from the elevator shaft.
"Oh, I don't think so!" Maylin exclaimed, casting Thunder and dropping a barrage of lightning bolts to fry the Air Soldiers. "We've got more than enough problems right now!"
"Okay, so how do we get up there quickly?" Sailor Mercury asked. "Because I've got a bad feeling that we're running out of time."
"Let me try something," Maylin responded, raising Counterpoint and casting the Aero spell underneath them, creating a gust of wind that quickly lifted them all up the elevator shaft.
"Hold on, Usagi, we're on our way," Nick proclaimed.
"Stop draining Usagi's energy, Makai Tree!" Ail proclaimed. "That's my Usagi!"
"W-Wait, you just called her 'your Usagi'," Ann growled. "Are you saying you love her more than you love me?!"
As both Ail and Ann continued to bicker, the Makai Tree suddenly roared loudly and unleashed a pulse wave that knocked them both back.
"W-What was that for?" Ann gasped.
"Why do you disobey us, Makai Tree?!" Ail asked.
"Stop right there, nut loaf!"
Ail and Ann both snapped their gazes out to see that the Sailor Guardians and the trinity had reached their location.
"What have you done to Usagi?!" Sailor Jupiter shouted.
"Oh, it's you again," Ann groaned. "You want to fight, then let's fight!"
Ann immediately rushed down from the sky to try and strike Sailor Mercury, but Nick quickly parried the blow before hitting Ann with a spinning slash to knock her back.
"You're dealing with us," Nick proclaimed.
"You all go and help Usagi," Maylin stated to the Sailor Guardians. "We'll take care of these two."
As the Sailor Guardians rushed over to make sure Usagi was all right, the trinity faced off with Ail and Ann.
"So, you're the little brats that we were warned about," Ail taunted.
"Wait, you knew we were here?" Haruka gasped.
"Of course, that little girl in the hood told us about you," Ann laughed.
"I should have known the Organization had a hand in all of this," Nick quipped.
"But you won't be living long enough to do anything about it," Ail bellowed as he unleashed a powerful shockwave that blew the four keyblade wielders backwards.
Sophia juked around the tree roots that were randomly sprouting from the ground, even whacking one aside with Super Yo-Yo before jumping up to meet Ann, and though she tried to defend herself, Sophia charged her keyblade with light magic and slammed it into Ann's head, unleashing a great burst of light upon impact that sent Ann plummeting to the ground.
"How dare you hurt my sister?!" Ail snarled as he opened his palms to generate a burst of lightning from his hands. Maylin raised a Reflect barrier to defend herself even as Ail continued to batter the shield with lightning bolts, floating closer with each one he fired. "You can't hide in there forever, little mage!"
"...that's your mistake for thinking I was hiding," Maylin taunted.
Before Ail could figure out what that meant, Maylin snapped Counterpoint down, and this caused the Reflect barrier to shatter, a burst of lights exploding outwards and severely damaging Ail with the recoil.
'Why can't you just let us have this?!" Ann exclaimed as she flew into the air and buffeted the keyblade wielders with more and more shockwaves. "We must revive our Makai Tree! It's our only source of life!"
"But there's gotta be a better way than this, and you know it!" Nick exclaimed as he jumped to the side of one of the shockwaves. "Do you seriously think that draining innocent peoples' energy, possibly killing them, is really going to make things any better?!"
"Are you even listening to me?!" Ann exclaimed.
"I'm starting to think you're not listening to us," Nick retorted. "Maylin, wanna go Wisdom Form and get them to listen?"
"Oh, you know it!" Maylin laughed as she rushed up to join hands with Nick so they could unite into Wisdom Form.
"W-What did you do now?!" Ail shouted.
"Oh, you wanna keep screwing with us and find out?!" Wisdom Form Nick retorted as he started gliding around the area, shooting flurries of magical bullets from Starlight to keep Ail in place.
After a bit of this, Wisdom Form Nick cast a souped-up Firaga spell that pushed him towards Ail, ravaging him with the revolving rings of fire and sending him flying backwards.
However, Ail and Ann recovered quickly and teleported towards the other Sailor Guardians, blasting them all into a nearby wall and continuing to blast them relentlessly.
Before Wisdom Form Nick could go back on the offensive, though, Usagi finally found the strength to get back onto her feet.
"Oh, that is it!" Usagi growled. "I've had all I can stands, and I can't stands no more! Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!"
A bright red flash of light erupted, followed by a stream of feathers and ribbons, and Usagi had transformed into Sailor Moon.
"Wait, Usagi is also Sailor Moon?!" Ail shouted.
"No wonder both of their clumsy antics seemed so similar," Ann admitted.
"You two seriously need to be stopped," Sailor Moon proclaimed. "Plants are vital to all living things! They're supposed to be friends with everyone! In case you need a refresher on who I am, I am the pretty guardian in a sailor suit who fights for love and for justice. I am Sailor Moon, and in the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"
"...ugh, that catchphrase is annoying," Ann groaned. "Ail, take her out right now!"
'B-But... that's still Usagi down there..." Ail gasped.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Ann shouted. "Tell me something, brother, if your precious 'miss Tsukino' was really madly in love with you as you say, then why is she currently trying to stop us?!"
That seemed to get through to Ail, who gasped in shock.
"I'm starting to think this sounds really familiar," Haruka quipped.
"OH, SHUT UP!" Ann snarled, throwing out a shockwave that sent everyone flying, even powerful enough to force Nick and Maylin out of Wisdom Form. "You don't know anything about our struggles!"
"And you call what you're talking about 'love'," Nick quipped. "Don't you understand that love is much more than just wanting something you can never have?"
"He's right," Sailor Jupiter groaned as the Sailor Guardians picked themselves back up. "When two people are truly in love, it can give them the power to overcome any obstacle in their path."
"Come off it! You bastards could never understand the pain we've been through!" Ann shouted. "We've wandered the universe, alone for so long, with nobody ever caring for us!"
"Ann..." Ail gasped.
"Um, does anybody else feel that?" Maylin wondered.
"Yeah, I just sensed a huge surge of darkness nearby," Nick answered. "I sincerely hope the Heartless aren't being drawn here, because we've already got enough to deal with right now..."
"We had to take whatever we could get our hands on, otherwise we wouldn't have survived!" Ann exclaimed.
"I'm probably the last person to talk about stealing, considering I'm a Phantom Thief," Sophia responded. "But think about this. Is it really worth all of this death and destruction? I understand stealing to survive, but there's got to be a line somewhere."
Sophia couldn't help but flash back to the moment when the Phantom Thieves had discovered what had happened to Akira Konoe in his past, what had put him on the path he had. Though the Thieves sympathized with him, they had also agreed that it still didn't excuse what he was doing with EMMA.
"When does it turn from just trying to survive to indiscriminately taking things that cannot be replaced, like people's lives?" Sophia wondered.
"I SAID SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" Ann screamed, unleashing a series of lightning bolts for Sophia...
...only for them to be blocked by a rampaging root from the Makai Tree.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha... the Makai Tree has awakened," Ann cackled. "Now you are all finished!"
"Um, lady, the tree blocked your own attack," Nick retorted. "I don't think the Makai Tree is in a very discerning mood right now."
Sure enough, the Makai Tree roared loudly, almost like it was in pain, and its roots began lashing out at everything in sight, even Ail and Ann.
"Oh, that's definitely not good," Maylin stated. "I just sensed another huge surge of darkness coming from the tree. We've gotta stop it, you guys!"
"B-But that's our life source!" Ann exclaimed even while still dodging the rampaging roots. "What will happen to us if you destroy it?!"
"Ann, if we don't do something, that tree is going to destroy all of us, even you!" Nick shouted. "Sweat the details once we've gotten it to calm down!"
"Yeah, we've got a job to do, in case you missed that memo," Haruka stated.
("Moonlight Densetsu –Cosmos ver.-" by Kotono Mitsuishi, Hisako Kanemoto, Rina Sato, Ami Koshimizu and Shizuka Ito plays)
The Makai Tree roared again and unleashed a barrage of razor-sharp leaves to attack everyone in sight, but Maylin raised Counterpoint to cast a Magnet spell that sucked all of the leaves into it.
While this was happening, Nick and Sophia moved in to attack the Makai Tree itself, jumping over roots that tried to grab them from below, before getting close enough to the tree to start striking it rapidly.
Nick finished with a somersaulting spin attack while Sophia jumped into the air before coming down with a Blitz-style overhead strike charged with light energy. The Makai Tree swung its nearest root and forced them both to jump backwards.
"Okay, so we're going to play that game, are we?" Maylin growled as she started running around the Makai Tree and rapidly launching Fire spells into its right side.
In response to this, the Makai Tree snapped one of its upper branches down and unleashed a storm of black lightning bolts across the battlefield.
One of the roots sharpened its tip into a lethal-looking spike and thrust itself towards Haruka, who easily swung Divewing upwards to parry the attack before lunging downward with an overhead chop to slash the offending root apart.
Much to Haruka's surprise, though, the chopped root quickly regenerated itself and lashed out faster than she could defend, sending her crashing into a nearby wall.
"Oh, jeez, you okay, Haruka?!" Maylin shouted.
"You know what I've been hit by, Maylin, I'm fine," Haruka chuckled. "We need to find some way to get this thing to calm down before it annihilates this whole building, or worse, the city itself."
Another storm of razor leaves started flying towards Maylin and Haruka before they could react.
"Bubble Spray Freezing!" Sailor Mercury exclaimed as she threw her hands out and unleashed a barrage of bubbles that froze the leaves into harmless blocks of ice that crashed to the ground and broke.
As the Makai Tree continued to rampage, Creeper Plants began to spawn all around the battlefield, no doubt drawn by the darkness the Makai Tree was exuding.
"Oh, come on with this! We have enough to deal with right now!" Maylin exclaimed.
"Fire Soul Bird!" Sailor Mars exclaimed, throwing a strip of paper that quickly became a large bird made entirely of flames. The flaming bird soared through the area and incinerated the Creeper Plants.
"I think we might need a little more force to subdue this thing," Nick quipped.
"Hey, I was thinking the same thing," Haruka chuckled as she ran up to Nick and took his hand so they could merge into Valor Form, dual-wielding Divewing and Starlight.
Valor Form Nick dashed towards the Makai Tree, able to run much faster while in Valor Form, and started wildly slashing at the tree, eventually hitting it with a Brave Shot that seemed to cause the Makai Tree to bellow in agony.
"Stop it!" Ann growled as she flew down to try and attack, only for Valor Form Nick to cross both keyblades to parry the blow before knocking Ann back with a double X-strike. "Stop trying to destroy the only thing we have left!"
"Ann, what part of 'if we don't calm this thing down we're all dead' isn't getting through to you?!" Valor Form Nick shouted. "Now back off!"
Ann simply ignored him and attempted to blast him away from the Makai Tree, but Valor Form Nick had finally had enough, turning around and striking Ann a few times before finishing with a Brave Beat that sent her flying backwards.
"Ann, you need to stop this!" Ail exclaimed. "You can clearly see that something isn't right!"
"They're trying to ruin us, Ail!" Ann shouted, clearly lost in her rage as she spun around to try and attack the Sailor Guardians again.
"Supreme Thunder Dragon!" Sailor Jupiter exclaimed, her tiara unleashing a massive dragon's head made of electricity that blasted Ann away.
Large spores of a wicked-looking pollen fell from the Makai Tree's upper branches and started falling towards the Sailor Guardians.
"Crescent Beam Shower!" Sailor Venus exclaimed, raising her finger and firing a barrage of Crescent Beams from her fingertip that blasted away the spores.
While all of this was happening, Valor Form Nick jumped on top of a root that had tried to smash him and started running up it to whack the Makai Tree in what would normally be its face.
The Makai Tree roared again and formed another trio of razor-sharp roots before firing them at Valor Form Nick, who easily jumped over them thanks to being able to jump much higher in this form...
...but the roots continued to sail towards the unaware Ail.
"Look out!" Ann shouted as she placed herself in front of Ail, only for the roots to all stab her in the chest instead.
Everyone was shocked to see this happen, but none more so than Ail, who quickly moved to catch Ann.
"W-Why... why did you do that, Ann?" Ail gasped.
"I... I did it... because... because I love you," Ann answered. "Y-You were right, you know... love... is not something we can steal... I only wish... I'd realized sooner..."
With that, Ann had spoken her last, her body going limp in Ail's arms.
The Makai Tree created another razor-tipped root and launched it towards Ail, who simply bowed his head and accepted his fate.
"I'll be joining you soon, Ann..." Ail sighed.
"Dude, get the heck out of the way! Do you want to get skewered, too?!" Maylin shouted.
Valor Form Nick ran forward as fast as he could, but it seemed like even his Drive Form-enhanced speed wouldn't get him there in time. However...
"PLEASE JUST STOOOOOOOOP!" Sailor Moon screamed out.
Much to everybody's amazement, the Makai Tree did stop, the root freezing in place just short of Ail.
"So, you finally understand."
"...who said that?" Sailor Moon gasped.
All of a sudden, the Makai Tree began to shine with an incredibly bright light before displaying an image of a distant planet. The image changed to what appeared to be a more benevolent-looking Makai Tree on an island in the middle of the ocean.
"Eons ago, on a certain planet, there was naught but the ocean and me," the Makai Tree proclaimed. "I was alone for the longest time, but I wanted someone to talk to."
On the island, the tree opened a pod that revealed alien life forms very much resembling Ail and Ann.
Wait... did the Makai Tree give birth to my people? Ail thought.
"I loved and cared for each and every one of them, and that care was repaid in kind with their own kindness and respect," the Makai Tree stated. "We lived in a world of harmony, and I miss those days dearly."
"...but it didn't last, did it?" Nick asked after he and Haruka had split off from Valor Form.
"My people eventually grew selfish, allowed darkness into their hearts, and began to fight over who would lay claim to my energy," the Makai Tree explained. "They slowly lost their respect for me, turning to vain and hateful creatures driven only by greed. But I still held faith in them, hopeful that we could live in harmony like we used to. ...but they continued to escalate their growing wars to the point that they destroyed their own planet."
"Our own worst enemy if often ourselves," Sophia admitted. "I have seen much of that during my time with the Phantom Thieves."
"I took the only survivors and wandered the cosmos, traveling to many different planets and worlds," the Makai Tree continued. "But we could never find a place to call home. As the years continued, my people began to perish, until only two remained."
Nick looked back at Ail and Ann, having realized it himself.
"The two of you never knew what love truly was, so you had to rely only on your strength and abilities to keep on surviving," the Makai Tree stated. "You thought I needed energy to survive, but what I actually needed... was love."
"...you poor thing," Maylin answered, slightly emotional from learning about the Makai Tree's history.
"I purposely withered myself, trying to send you both a signal, but you never understood what I truly wanted."
"Oh, Makai Tree... please forgive our foolishness," Ail sighed.
"Do not despair. You have finally discovered what true love actually is, truly caring for one another. Sailor Moon, I have a request for you. Please purify my body and heart with your power of love."
"Of course," Sailor Moon proclaimed without hesitation, reaching for her Cutie Moon Rod and aiming it for the Makai Tree. "Moon Princess Halation!"
A bright burst of light and crescent moons erupted from the Cutie Moon Rod and surrounded the Makai Tree with light, growing brighter until the tree itself completely vanished.
When the light finally dissipated, the Juuban Odysseia was still standing, though the upper floors were still wrecked from the battle they had just fought.
Ail continued to hold Ann in his arms, though her body was starting to glow. After a few seconds, Ann opened her eyes.
"A-Ann?!" Ail gasped. "You... you came back?"
"H-Hey, look," Sophia stated, pointing to a spot on the floor where the Makai Tree had once stood. In its place was a small sapling, glowing softly. "What is that?"
"It's a sapling for a new Makai Tree," Ann gasped.
"Why don't we take care of her on another planet, Ann?" Ail offered.
"Yeah. With the power of our love, she'll definitely grow big and strong," Ann giggled.
However, before Ail and Ann could leave, the tree sapling began glowing brighter. Nick summoned Starlight to his hands when he saw the glow.
"Don't worry, you two," Nick stated to Ail and Ann. "This should only take a few seconds."
Nick held Starlight aloft as light energy began to swirl around the keyblade's teeth before projecting the image of a crown symbol, same as his pendant, underneath him.
Wind began to swirl around Nick until he found himself in the middle of a rusty-orange starry sky. The sapling shined brightly before firing a burst of light into the sky that eventually formed into a large keyhole.
Nick jumped back and twirled Starlight around a couple times before firing a beam of light from the keyblade into the keyhole. Reality seemed to shatter around the keyhole for a brief moment before light began to shine from it, and after a loud "CLICK" resounded, Nick found himself back in the ruined Juuban Odysseia.
"You two should probably get going, too," Nick stated. "After all... you lovebirds have a tree to grow, right?"
Ail and Ann just nodded as they started floating into the air, taking the Makai Tree sapling with them. They both waved to the Sailor Guardians before disappearing in a flash of light.
"...whew, am I glad that's over," Sailor Moon sighed in relief as everyone reverted to their normal selves.
"Um, question," Ami wondered. "Who's gonna have to explain what happened to the building?"
"...oh, crapbaskets, I didn't think of that," Maylin chuckled. After all, the Juuban Odysseia had gotten pretty thoroughly wrecked by the Makai Tree's rampage.
"We'll leave it for someone else," Usagi laughed. "I've kinda had enough of today."
With that in mind, everyone left the building so they could head home.
"I really want to thank you guys for helping me out again, you know," Usagi stated. The other four Sailor Guardians had all headed home themselves, desperately needing some rest after what a stressful night this had been.
"Hey, that's just what we do, Usagi," Nick answered. "Don't worry about a thing."
"Well, I gotta give you something, and I'm pretty sure I know something you can actually use in your own travels," Usagi quipped, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a charm shaped like Usagi's star-shaped locket. "Luna told me that you know what to do with this."
Nick reached out to claim the trinket before attaching it to his keyblade and swinging it horizontally. As always, the keyblade transformed mid-swing. Like Moon Stick before it, this keyblade had a relatively simple design, with its handle, shaft and upper orb all resembling Usagi's Cutie Moon Rod, with the teeth shaped like a large crescent moon, the handleguard being a pair of tree roots resembling those of the Makai Tree, a hilt resembling Usagi's new Crystal Heart Compact, and the token connected to the weapon by a keychain made of silver crescent moons. The words Moon Scepter came to mind as Nick studied the weapon.
"Ooh, it can transform like that?" Usagi gasped.
"Oh, right, you weren't there for that," Nick chuckled. "Yeah, usually, I just have to attach a token like that to my keyblade, and it'll usually give it a new form and powers. It's actually very convenient."
"Oh, hey, Usagi, where's Mamoru?" Maylin wondered. "I kinda figured you'd be all over him after everything that happened with the Dark Kingdom."
"It's... complicated," Usagi sighed. "He lost his memories like I did, but he hasn't gotten them back yet, and it's really frustrating me, especially considering Ann kept trying to come onto him right in front of me..."
"Hell truly hath no fury like a woman scorned," Haruka laughed.
"I'm just hoping he remembers soon," Usagi stated.
However, just as they reached the Tsukino household and were about to part ways, a corridor of darkness opened up, and out stepped the same Organization member they'd confronted in the Juuban Odysseia.
"Oh, good, you're back," Maylin taunted. "That means it's time for you to get stomped on."
"I kinda expected Rei wouldn't last long against you," No. 11 chuckled. "After all, she's much too passive to truly poise a threat, especially after her troubled history. I, on the other hand, won't be as easy to deal with."
"Usagi, get in your house and get some sleep, okay?" Nick stated. "We can handle this character."
Usagi nodded and retreated into her house, ready to sleep this long night away.
"I must applaud you for surviving against the Makai Tree as long as you did, especially considering how... 'berserk' it went," No. 11 quipped.
"...wait, were you the reason the Makai Tree went on a rampage?" Haruka retorted. "Because I sensed a huge surge of darkness right before it attacked us."
"Kinda funny that you only figure this out after the fact," No. 11 laughed as she reached out to pull her hood down, revealing a young girl with long wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin with a blue scarf wrapped around her neck. "Name's Mary, by the way."
"What did you mean earlier when you said you were trying to change your destiny?" Nick wondered. "Is that why you need the power of Kingdom Hearts?"
"I thought I already told you this, but I might as well indulge you," Mary responded. "As you might know, we're Nobodies, essentially empty shells. The power of Kingdom Hearts will allow us a second chance to change the fates we've had to suffer through."
Mary raised her right hand up to the sky. "And in case you're wondering why I bothered to tell you that..." Mary taunted. "It's because you won't be a thorn in our side any longer."
Flower petals surrounded Mary's right hand before eventually forming into a scythe with a long and curved pastel green handle, with two small gold rings near the top of the handle, a small black section at the base of the handle, and an equally small gold section just above that. The main blade was curved, dandelion yellow, and had black under edges, with another, vaguely oval-shaped blade attached to the top of the handle, this smaller blade also dandelion yellow with black edges, and the two blades were connected by a cross shape that resembled the top half of the Nobody logo that was white with gold and dark rose pink edges.
"I'll see to that myself," Mary laughed as she brandished Graceful Dahlia and lunged forward.
"Hit the deck!" Nick shouted as everyone ducked to the ground when Mary swung her scythe, the blade just barely missing them.
"What, cowering already?!" Mary cackled as she slashed Graceful Dahlia downwards, sending a wave of yellow energy across the ground and forcing Haruka to jump over it.
Mary immediately attempted to slice Haruka in half mid-jump, but Nick was already over there, raising Moon Scepter to parry the blow, then flashing out with a Counterguard to stun Mary and leave her vulnerable.
But Mary recovered quicker than Nick expected and swung Graceful Dahlia twice, each swing sending out a curved yellow energy blade that spread out but joined back in to knock Nick away from her.
While Nick was trying to recover, Mary started warping around, slashing her scythe at him three times in a row. Nick just barely managed to block each strike before Mary jumped over him, intending to cut him apart in mid-air.
"Oh, no you don't!" Sophia shouted, summoning Pandora and casting a Kougaon spell just in time to send Mary stumbling back, having taken a lot of damage from that spell.
"Oh, we'll just see who's laughing when I'm done!" Mary exclaimed as she twirled her scythe above her head. A whirlwind effect happened during this, drawing all four wielders towards it.
Once everyone was close enough, Mary went into a spinning attack that ended with a flourish of Graceful Dahlia, sending everyone flying back.
Nick recovered in time to jump off of the nearby light pole and use the momentum to throw himself towards Mary, stepping on her scythe to pin it to the ground before jumping off of it, spinning Moon Scepter, and striking her with a three-hit combo that sent her into the air. Nick turned around and finished with a mighty backswing that sent Mary tumbling down the street.
"What was that crack about us not being a thorn in your side?" Maylin taunted.
"I wouldn't push your luck if I were you," Mary cackled as she raised her free hand to summon three tornadoes of yellow energy around Nick. No matter which way he tried to move, though, the tornadoes would follow him, until they all converged on each other to form one massive tornado, trapping Nick in the center of it.
Mary leaped into the air and slashed through Nick with Graceful Dahlia, sending him crashing back to the ground.
"I did warn you," Mary chuckled, only to jump back to avoid a swing from Haruka.
Maylin raced over to Nick's side and cast Cura on him to get him back in fighting shape.
"You're not gonna get that lucky again," Nick taunted once he was back on his feet.
"We shall we, won't we?" Mary giggled as she started teleporting around rapidly.
"Stop running, you little demon!" Maylin shouted.
"Your heart shall be scattered!" Mary exclaimed as she warped towards Nick and slashed at him three times, with Nick parrying each blow. Mary then warped to near the center of the street and raised Graceful Dahlia.
"Hang on, everyone!" Haruka shouted.
"Sink in the ever-blooming darkness!" Mary bellowed as she slammed Graceful Dahlia into the ground and unleashed two gigantic shockwaves of flower petals. Maylin swiftly cast Reflect on everybody, and though the Blossom Shower blast shattered the shields easily, it still protected them from damage.
"Whew, that was close," Maylin sighed.
"I wouldn't celebrate just yet," Mary laughed as she twirled her scythe above her and performed her whirlwind spinning slash again, though this time everyone had enough time to guard against it.
Nick was slightly pushed back by the last slash, but he noticed that he was closer to the blade of Graceful Dahlia, and he thought of a wicked idea on how to end this fight. Before Mary could recover and start attacking again, Nick swung Moon Scepter upwards, knocking the scythe out of Mary's hands and jumping up to catch it himself.
"Yeah, see how you like it!" Nick shouted as he slashed at Mary with three wide, sweeping strikes before jumping back and throwing the scythe spinning back into Mary, which collided and popped her up into the air.
Nick leaped after her, only for time to slow down and the teeth of Moon Scepter to start sparkling, which usually meant he'd learned something.
Deciding that now was a perfect time to try this new ability out, Nick swung Moon Scepter in a diagonal downward slash, a left sweeping slash, and a right turning slash, each swing causing light to trail behind Moon Scepter's teeth, before finishing with a vicious overhead swing that appeared to deal the finishing blow to Mary.
Nick landed back on the ground as Mary collapsed to her knees, wisps of darkness falling off of her body. Graceful Dahlia crashed to the ground as well, vanishing in a burst of flower petals.
"Whew... we got 'em," Maylin sighed.
However, the trinity could now easily see that, much like Rei had when they'd defeated her, Mary now looked very sad. And this in itself was strange, since Eris had told them that Nobodies weren't able to feel emotions due to having lost their hearts.
But Mary was starting to cry, tears actually falling from her eyes, and to Nick, she now looked much more like the child she probably actually was, scared and confused.
"I... I can't... let it end like this..." Mary gasped, futilely reaching out. "I... I have to... find Ib... and tell her... tell her that I always wanted to be her..."
Eventually, Mary couldn't get the words out anymore through her tears.
And Nick wasn't sure exactly what it was, but he decided to give in to that impulse, and walked over to hug Mary.
Naturally, she was surprised at this, considering she had just tried to destroy them, but something stopped her from voicing that concern when she felt a strange feeling.
Her time now spent, Mary simply offered to return Nick's hug before she faded back into the darkness, looking unashamedly content.
"...Nick?" Maylin asked, appropriately confused. "Why did you do that?"
"It's just a feeling I have," Nick answered. "Lady Eris told us that Nobodies can't feel anything because they don't have hearts, but you all clearly saw that, right?"
"Yeah, Rei acted pretty similar when we defeated her," Haruka admitted.
"And Mary herself told us that they need the power of Kingdom Hearts for a 'second chance' at something," Nick continued.
"You think they're trying to use Kingdom Hearts to fix some tragedy or mistake that happened when they were normal people?" Sophia wondered.
"That's the pattern I'm picking up on," Nick responded.
"But here's what's really bugging me," Maylin stated. "I know what Lady Eris said, and she's usually never wrong, but..."
"Maybe she just didn't have enough information," Haruka quipped. "After all, we don't really know much else about Nobodies besides what Lady Eris told us."
"It seems we've still got a lot of mysteries to solve," Nick stated as Haruka used her wrist device to teleport them all back to the Gummi Ship, the events of that battle still running through their heads.
There were indeed quite a lot of things they hadn't expected to learn about Organization XIII.
And it seemed that for every answer they found, they were just as quickly presented with a bunch of new questions.
And they weren't sure if some of them even had an answer to them.
To be continued...
Keyblade acquired!
Moon Scepter
Strength: 3
Magic: 5
Length: 135
Ability: MP Hastera (Increases MP restoration speed by 50% after MP is fully consumed. Equip more to increase the effect.)
Description: A keyblade that brings to mind a pretty guardian who fights for love and justice.
On the next episode...
Maylin: Oof, this place is weird, isn't it?
Haruka: Does it kinda feel like something's trying to push down on us and keep us from going up? But I don't feel anything when I do go up, though.
Nick: Hey, look over there, ladies. Is that Prushka?
Maylin: I think she's happy to see you, Nick.
Prushka: You made it back! I just knew you would! Come on, I gotta introduce you to my dad!
Nick: Ah, we finally get to meet the 'famous' Bondrewd the Novel, huh?
Sophia: ...I don't know, Nick, I'm getting some bad vibes from all of this.
Haruka: Hold on, he does what?!
Maylin: Come on, Nick, hold yourself together!
Nick: That's gonna be hard, consider what I want to do to this guy, next time on Kingdom Hearts: Key to Her Heart re:Verse II, "Abyss Walkers"!
Nick, Maylin, Haruka, and Sophia: May your hearts be your guiding key!