Part 2
•─────⋅ ⋅─────•
A bright green-haired woman gave a courteous bow to her Prince. Her tight, dark, olive green stayed in place. ""Crimson Rubeus has failed us. He has allowed the Rabbit and the Legendary Silver Crystal to get away from our Clan for the last time. I request permission to take his place."
Her amber brown eyes gazed upon the pale white-haired Prince sitting on his throne. She lowered her pink fan to the side and straightened up, her knee-length black heeled boots making a squeak on the clean floor.
Prince Demande picked up his glass of wine and examined the confident Esmeraude with interest. "And you are sure you would not repeat Rubeus' failures?"
"Of course not," Esmeraude pushed back a green curl over her shoulder. "Now that we have seen what forces these Sailor Scouts are arming up against us, I would never make the mistake of underestimating them."
"We expect you not to," a different voice warned. Esmeraude barely held the urge to roll her eyes at the Prince's younger brother, Saphir.
The blue-haired man walked into the room and snapped his fingers to project an image of Crystal Tokyo. There was still a black and purple barrier set over the city. "It would be wise to consider the elimination of the Queen who blocks us from forcing our Malefic Crystal into the city."
"Queen Reign has put up a fight with that barrier but she will not be able to sustain it much longer," Esmeraude assured. "Crimson Rubeus, while a failure, did manage to weaken some of the Crystal points that are now helping the Queen keep her barrier. However, I intend to use a different strategy."
"And what might that be?" Prince Demande rested a cheek on a palm.
"I am going to open the Black Gate which will allow us to bring in our Malefic Crystal into the past," she smirked despite the doubt from the two brothers. "There are several points in the 21st century that are radiating of negative energy. Once I collect the required energy we can use that to open the Black Gate, use the Malefic Crystal in the past and eliminate Queen Reign and all the others Royals before they can even blink."
Her piercing laughter filled the room.
•─────⋅ ⋅─────•
Just like the other Shadow Scouts, it took Sailor Circe a while to become stable after expelling her power in Rubeus' ship. The rest of her comrades were attentive while she rested and regained her power. When she was stable enough, she immediately requested a 'meeting' with Usagi and her friends.
Sailor Circe, now known as Nara, was two years older than the girls, and a year older than Azula and their scout team. As a sixteen year old, Nara was more reserved and put together than the rest of her comrades. It was easy to see why she was the leader of the Shadow Scouts besides her age difference. Unlike her predecessors, Nara didn't seem defensive nor hostile. Rather, she was relieved and they soon understood why.
Her dark eyes gazed over the group like she was in awe. They were together in the base, a place that Nara was truly impressed by. "I never met a Silver Millennium scout, much less the whole group," she explained her fascination. "I only ever saw Queen Serenity when she and Queen Nyx held meetings with each other."
"You met the moon queen?" Usagi said curiously.
Nara nodded, tearing her gaze off the incredibly wide screen. "As Queen Nyx's personal guard, and leader of the Shadow Scouts, I was privy to many of her personal doings. As such, I also know more about the last moments before Silver Millennium and Earth fell."
The rest of the group held their breaths with anticipation. All this time they had been searching for answers and it seemed like they were finally going to get some.
"I placed the sleeping spell on Asteria, Siren and myself upon Queen Nyx's orders," she declared and left the group dead silent. Her comrades especially, were shocked and, frankly, looking a bit betrayed by the news.
"You put us to sleep?" Emica gaped openly.
Asteria was just as shocked as her comrade. "But I — I distinctly remember it being Queen Nyx — the cryogenic stasis—"
"An illusion," said Nara, sighing, "I'm sorry. But it was better to have you believe it was our Queen who did it rather than me. You would have never gone so easily."
Emica's brow furrowed angrily. "But — we were fighting— we were—"
"Not going to win," Nara said with a finality in her voice, completely at peace with her decision. "So it was either we all slept for a millenia or we perished like the others and seeing as Reign would still need our help, the choice was clear."
"But Reign didn't 'sleep' like the others," Meroko said, sounding bitter, "Neither did I."
"You were already dead," said Nara lamentably. "Because you and Princess Reign died outside of Shadow, my power could not reach you."
"What about the Queen?" Emica gritted her teeth, fighting her emotions so that they didn't get the best of her. Beside her, Asteria was trying to calm her down too. "Were we not—?"
"You mistake your slumber as a punishment," Nara spoke over Emica, "and that was not it. Your slumber was to prevent your permanent death. I took care of us and Queen Nyx said that Queen Serenity would take care of Princess Reign and Sailor Hemera."
"Why?" asked Azula. "Why would a foreign Queen take care of people she didn't know?"
"Because Queen Serenity understood the necessity for Reign to live," Nara answered. "It was and still is important for Reign to live for the sake of the Shadow Dominion. Without Reign, the realm would crumble and cease to exist. The two Queens had long talked about this precise predicament."
"What do you mean?" Asteria asked in a rather demanding voice. "The Moon Queen knew about Reign and the situation?"
When Nara nodded so certainly, Emica let out a small gasp. Shadow had lived in the dark, bound by Queen Nyx's orders to maintain their existence a secret. How could she have told Queen Serenity about them?
"Queen Nyx sought for our survival," explained Nara, "Reign was always being searched upon by different entities. This was a fail-safe plan and Queen Serenity was someone we could trust in."
"But Queen Nyx always demanded full discretion amongst our people," Asteria argued. "No one was to ever know about her location."
"Queen Nyx knew she needed at least one ally, and Queen Serenity had always done good. I'm sorry," Nara sighed. "I was forbidden to say anything to anyone."
"Well, what about the Earth kingdom?" Azula chimed in suddenly, glancing at Mamoru. "I thought Reign was besties with this guy?"
Mamoru rolled his eyes at her. Nara smiled at the redhead, amused with her way of speaking.
"The Earth Kingdom was powerful in its own way but Queen Serenity held a power that was unmatched. In order to protect Princess Reign, desperate measures had to be taken."
"So who the hell else knew about us?" Emica crossed her arms angrily.
Nara had no problem answering truthfully. "The Moon Kingdom, the Earth Kingdom, and the Obscurians."
"What!?" Meroko, Asteria and Emica all chorused together in outraged confusion.
"I knew it!" Azula was the only one to laugh and even throw a fist in the air. When everyone gave her disapproving looks, she quieted down and meekly smiled at Nara. "Sorry, it's just...I knew it." She couldn't stop being giddy about it. "I made this whole page of theories about the Obscurians and their fate. They survived the Sailor Wars didn't they?"
"Azula…" Minako and Rei hissed at the girl for prudence.
Nara was surprised that the curious human knew about that battle. "How do you know about that?"
"Well, Sailor Hemera mentioned it when we first met and then I asked Artemis and he told me the whole story."
"Artemis!" hissed Luna instantly. Not even Usagi knew about that!
"What, she had food!" cried Artemis defensively. Minako shook her head disapprovingly at him, muttering something about having a talk at home with him.
"Don't blame him, I just like learning about this stuff," said Azula with a light chuckle. "It's fascinating."
"Oh yeah," scoffed Emica, "real fascinating. Being kept in the dark and all…"
"Queen Nyx discovered about our sister civilization long after finding a safe haven on Earth," Nara said. "They still live today, I imagine. Along with descendants of our people." At the even more gawking faces of her comrades, she added. "Queen Nyx ordered me to get as many of our people to Obscurius before the darkness enveloped us."
"Anything else we should know about?" Emica was barely holding the urge to burst into a fit of rage. Asteria was still trying to ease her despite being quite angry herself.
"You're upset, I know, but these were orders and I had to follow them." Nara sighed and looked at the rest of the group. "Queen Nyx was sick, terribly sick by the time the darkness came, and she trusted in me the safety of our people. Reign was gone but she would come back and finally take the throne in a new era."
"Yeah, well here's the thing," Usagi began, leaning forwards, "she's apparently done that in the 30th century but the Black Moon Clan is trying to destroy her and what's left of her city."
"They're wreckless time travelers," Nara said worriedly. "They fail to realize that by destroying the past, they would destroy themselves in the future."
"Rewriting history," Azula said with an air of knowledge. "I said that it's a tricky thing." Nara gave her a curious look and Azula sheepishly smiled again. "I like space and time too."
Nara nodded. "We can get along just fine. But this Black Moon Clan you speak of...they can cause true disaster if they continue to mess with the past."
"Not to mention the fact Senka is still out there," Meroko sighed.
"Senka is a terrible Shadow creature who figured out how to multiply her form by three," explained Usagi, shuddering at the same time.
"Two," Rei corrected. "We recently took down one of them."
"Then the remainder has to be taken down as soon as possible," Nara declared. "We've got a lot of work to do."
Emica fumed at the words meant for both groups. "We are not working with them!"
"Emica, they saved us…" Asteria slowly began.
"We are not doing this senseless argument," Nara cut through the looming tension with a shake of her head. "The darkness is at fault for our deaths. We do not turn on each other when we are so clearly on the same side. And that," she pointed at the open mouthed Emica, "is final."
As leader of the Shadow Scouts, they knew her word was law.
Emica promptly closed her mouth.
~0~
It was no surprise that Emica did not show up to school the next day. Asteria left it at 'she's just cooling off'. Being sixteen meant that Nara was above everyone else's year, putting her in the same spot as Mamoru. He had the task of getting her integrated in terms of 'school'. But within one morning, he could tell that she was not interested.
"Everyone has to come here?" she said with a scrunched nose. They were walking down the hallway and she was using every second of it to examine her surroundings.
"Ideally," nodded Mamoru, eyeing her curiously. He didn't know it but he'd been doing that all day.
"In Shadow, I was rarely out of the palace. I suppose it will take me some time to get used to…all this…" She stopped unintentionally as an open door to a class gave the view of a math teacher in the middle of a lesson.
"Best to keep going or she'll shout," Mamoru said, gently tugging her away. "Trust me, you don't want to be on the receiving end of that. Ask Azula."
Nara chuckled and followed him. "I like her. She's very funny."
"Mm, she's something…" mumbled Mamoru. Nara followed him out to the courtyard. "The girls will be here soon for lunch."
"Thank you, but you know that babysitting me is not a requirement. I'm perfectly capable of moving around on my own."
"You walked into the janitor's closet twice…"
"And now I know I'm not supposed to do that!"
Mamoru gave her a look until she admitted that she did need a little bit of help.
"But you don't need to worry about me. You all have had such a hard patch with all these creatures and…I just don't want to be another burden when I know how my comrades have been before me."
"To be fair, I think the worst thing was when Meroko kidnapped Azula. Everything else was just emotions and that, we can deal with just fine."
"The long sleep and reincarnation makes us do some very questionable things and for that, I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," Mamoru said, recognizing guilt when he saw it. Nara carried the guilt of all her team's choices as a result of their long sleep. "You did what you did on orders and…for the sake of their existence. I'm sure Emica will understand that soon enough."
Nara half smiled at him. "Emica can hold grudges for a while, but she's professional above all. She wasn't our strategist for nothing."
"So I've been told…" Mamoru watched her step forwards and gaze at the sky.
"Shadow didn't have any suns," Nara said. "It was always dark."
"I can't imagine what that must have been like. Then again, I can't really imagine much considering I can't remember much about Princess Reign."
Nara sensed the sharpness in his tone and looked back at him. "That's not your fault either. The enchantment makes it difficult for anyone to remember her. I'm honestly surprised that you managed to remember her at all." Even then, she looked mighty confused about it. "No one is supposed to remember her."
"Senka does," Mamoru said. "As do her guardians."
"Senka's connected to Reign through the Shadow World. We, her Guardians, are that: her guardians. You're neither," Naru countered. "You must be special…"
"That's one way to put it," said Mamoru with a light shrug of his shoulders. Between him and Usagi, he remembered the most about Reign. Usagi had only been able to remember very small moments but even those were hard to decipher. He supposed it was his own abilities making the big difference.
Nara chuckled at his silence. "I'm sorry I can't explain more. I only wanted you to understand that not being able to remember more is not your fault. It's the enchantment."
"I just feel like a terrible friend not being able to remember more when she apparently trusted me so much. Isn't there someway to break the enchantment now that you're here?"
"Unfortunately, I would need Reign to be here to break it," Nara said lamentably. "But you know…you had already remembered part of her long before I showed up. I think that means there's hope that you can keep remembering her without my assistance."
"You think so?" Mamoru asked, sounding very unconvinced .
Nara nodded at him. "Very much. You are connected to this planet far more than any other person here. You can do things that you haven't even thought of. Reign was once part of this planet therefore, you can connect to her. It'll just take some time and perhaps a bit more work."
"I hope you're right," Mamoru said. So far, he felt like he was doing such a terrible job trying to remember the princess. If he could remember more, then maybe they would be able to find her more quickly.
~0~
After school, the girls invited Nara to a new cake shop opening up in the district. Since it was its grand opening, the shop was having an "all you can eat" special to promote themselves.
"They all smell so delicious!" Usagi had her face firmly planted against the shop's display window. Her blue eyes scanned the tables with promising cakes and couldn't wait until the shop finally opened. "I'm going to have one of every kind!"
"Shouldn't we be figuring out who Reign is and stopping all the villains?" Azula said, figuring time was now of the essence since they had the last Shadow Scouts with them.
Meanwhile, Nara was confusedly stared at the hungry-eyed crowd outside the shop.
"Of course, but we also deserve a little break," Makoto put her arms behind her head and released a big, tired sigh.
"But we shouldn't eat too much," Ami raised a finger. "Cake, while delicious, is also rather unhealthy."
"Oh but we deserve it and - THEY'RE OPENING!" Minako shouted and started pushing people to the sides to get to the door.
"Humans don't act like this often, right?" Nara asked the others who chuckled in response.
"No, that's just Minako - hey!" Azula was pushed by Usagi who was making a clean run inside. She rubbed her arm soothingly and mocked glared after Usagi. "And your local Moon princess, of course."
"Let's just go in," Rei disapprovingly shook her head and walked inside the shop.
They found an empty table across the buffet despite the place being crowded. Minako carelessly dropped Artemis' cat basket on the booth and ran with Usagi to the buffet. Artemis popped his head from the basket, quite offended with Minako, all the while hearing Luna's laughter.
"We really shouldn't overdo the cake," Ami warned as the rest of the girls went to get some plates.
"Oh, Ami, let go for a while," Makoto chuckled at her.
Everyone except Minako and Usagi had returned to the table with two plates in hand. They discovered each slice was more delicious than the last.
"You all should mind your eating," Artemis warned from the basket, giving a stern look at Minako beside him. "Don't forget you're Sailor Guardians and you need to be making constant healthy choices - AH!" he screeched when Minako slapped down the basket lid over him, sealing him inside.
"I'm getting some more!" Usagi exclaimed and darted for the buffet.
"It's really good, actually," Nara remarked after finishing up her slice of cherry cake.
"You should try this one!" Meroko pushed her plate of boysenberry cake. "It's soooo good!"
"Uh, oh, looks like someone is giving Usagi some competition," Azula suddenly said. She pointed her spoon at the buffet table where Usagi was practically stuffing her face along with a tall green-haired woman. "Do you think they're remembering to breathe?"
"How embarrassing," Rei groaned and got up from her table. "Minako, don't you dare follow!" She wagged a finger at the girl and stalked off towards Usagi.
"I want to get some more but I'm a little scared they'll mistake my hand for another slice…" Makoto chuckled and got up anyway. "Nara, you want to try another slice?"
"Yes!" the black-haired girl exclaimed and went along.
Azula, Meroko, Ami and Minako remained at the table to finish their own slices. Azula heard some scratching beside her and found Luna staring at the cat basket Artemis was trapped in.
"Are you not going to open that?" Azula asked Luna.
"I...I guess…" Luna swiped her paw and flipped open the basket.
Artemis immediately jumped out in case Minako had the same idea twice and trapped him again. "You girls are monsters!"
"And I swear to God if you ever embarrass us like that again, I will smack the moon out of you!" Rei was bringing Usagi back with her, the blonde cradling her plate of cake. "You thrive on this, don't you!?"
Usagi waved Rei off and plopped down beside Ami. "I wasn't the only one doing it!"
"Yeah, you and the old lady sure put on a show," Meroko laughed before taking a bite of her cake.
"At least she had the good sense to leave too," Azula nodded to the buffet table where no green-haired woman could be seen.
Indeed the green-haired woman was out of view in the front room...because in the back room she was up to business again.
Esmeraude planted one of her green crystal figurines in the direct spot of the negative energy point. She summoned up a droid to cater to the cake shop and ordered it to steal as much energy as possible.
"Now get to it!" Her laughter miraculously didn't echoe out into the front room.
~ 0 ~
"I don't think I could eat another slice…" Nara patted her stomach with an embarrassed smile on her face. "Humans always did make such delicious treats."
"Did you ever go into the human kingdom?" Ami inquired curiously. "Asteria and Emica said they didn't."
"Only once - Queen Nyx ordered me to see how Reign was doing when she first moved to the Prince's palace. I may have snuck in a treat or two while I was there…"
"I have a question," Azula sheepishly raised her spoon in the air. "We've talked a lot about Reign but...I'm sorry, I just can't get over the fact that no one ever saw her face! I mean like her actual face. Is that for real?"
Nara could see that it wasn't only Azula that shared the same disbelief. Everyone else seemed to be on the same page. "Unfortunately, yes."
"So no one really knew what she looked like?" Usagi had paused in her eating to hear. Everyone was eager to know about the princess.
"I can't remember," Nara apologetically said. "We saw her once upon a time, of course, before things got too dangerous. I cast the enchantment spell to hide her true face and I made sure that nobody would remember her…"
"Why would you do that?" said Minako. "Why would you all go through the trouble? It sounded like it was a priority. Was it really that dangerous to know her?"
"Very," Nara said gravely. "Her power was tempting, even to the most loyal guardians."
"You say it like it's already happened," noted Makoto, and by the way Nara looked, everyone else began to suspect it had happened before.
"The tale of the Forbidden Soldier," Meroko said quietly, lowering her head.
"Forbidden soldier?" Azula cocked her head to the side. "I've heard that before. Asteria mentioned it one time…while she was being angry…"
While the other girls chuckled knowing Asteria's temper, both Meroko and Nara remained quiet.
"What is it then?" asked Usagi, getting a bit nervous with such a serious atmosphere all of a sudden. "Sounds like the title of a scary story or something."
"It sort of is," nodded Meroko. She grabbed her spoon and started picking at her slice of cake. "The tale says that there was once a Shadow Guardian who became so obsessed with Reign's power, that she sought to kill the princess. Her own princess, the one she was sworn to protect!"
There was a collective round of gasps from the group.
"My God, what is so tempting about Reign's powers?" Azula said, and frankly shared the same sentiment with the rest of the girls. They just weren't brave enough to say it out loud.
"You ask as your friend over here," Meroko shot a look at Usagi who, with a mouth full of cake, startled, "has been attacked how many times for her crystal now?"
"She makes a point," Usagi said after swallowing. "Besides, I'm going to take a guess that most people would want Reign's power to get into that other realm."
"The Shadow Dominion," Nara said quietly, "You would be right. The realm is another world that only Reign can use, when she holds the Shadow Crystal. If someone were to gain control of it, they would have at their fingertips the ability to manipulate the souls of every creature that has ever existed."
"Why does a place like that need to exist in the first place?" Minako remarked.
"It's a balance measure," Rei was the one to answer, surprising the rest of her friends. "You guys said that the soul of every creature who has ever existed lives on that side…they're the counterparts to the living world, aren't they?"
Nara nodded at Rei. "Exactly. It's mirrored through the triage connection between Sailor Moon, Sailor Reign and the third soldier."
"How so?" Azula barely asked when a peculiar noise cut through the serious conversation.
When the girls looked around, they saw that the crowd had gone quiet and the noise that they heard was that of them freezing.
"Uuh...guys…?" Makoto slowly lowered her spoon to her plate and nodded towards the crowd that had suddenly gone quiet.
People were freezing in their places — literally. Some were frozen with their spoons either halfway up, or just inches from their mouths. The only person in the room that was moving was a waitress…
"She's not right…" Nara's eyes followed the woman around. She got up all of a sudden and flung her empty plate like a boomerang.
The waitress strategically deflected the plate and revealed her true self as a droid. "Marzipan!" she cried delightfully and started shooting at the girls.
They each scampered out of the table except for Azula who hid underneath and pulled the cat basket down with her, her hand then reaching above to find Luna and Artemis and get them to safety inside the basket.
"Not the basket! Not the basket!" Artemis meowed angrily as Azula stuffed him inside first.
"Shush! I'm keeping you safe!" the redhead scolded and then gently put Luna inside.
Thankfully, the girls transformed quickly and took on Marzipan and her deadly cake shots.
"She's turning cake into evilness! What a monster!" Sailor Moon almost legitimately cried on the spot.
"Marzipan!" the droid fired at her with a pastry spray. Sailor Moon squeaked and jumped out of the way, falling on her side.
"She's part of the Black Moon Clan?" Sailor Circe glanced at Sailor Hemera questioningly.
"This is what we've got to deal with whenever Senka isn't around," Sailor Hemera sprang forwards and threw her boomerang at Marzipan.
Marzipan did a somersault then morphed her two arms into piping bags that squirted cake filling at Sailor Hemera, gluing her to the wall. The filling then slowly began to tighten around her body.
"This is just a crime!" Sailor Moon growled.
"Then do something about it!" Sailor Mars ran past her along with Sailor Venus, attempting to get Marzipan from both sides.
The droid saw the incoming attack and started twirling around on the spot. Both Scouts were thrown back with cake pieces that wrapped around their bodies.
"What silly powers she has," Sailor Circe twirled her staff and pointed it at Marzipan, standing tall. "Pastries should be eaten not thrown! Magic Sparkle venom!"
Marzipan met the venom with her cake filling, drowning out the attack.
"Oh no you don't!" Sailor Jupiter saw the retaliation and commanded her thunder at once. Marzipan dodged it and quickly spewed out donut rings that captured the Scout.
"She's using pastries against them…" Azula murmured in thought before she gasped with a new idea. "Mercury!" the blue haired girl whipped her head after being called. "Sugar melts, doesn't it?"
"Yes it does," Sailor Mercury saw the idea before Azula could say more. "Sailor Moon, on my mark!"
Sailor Moon nodded and allowed Sailor Mercury to start the attack. Water wrapped itself around Sailor Mercury's hands then sprang onto Marzipan who screeched at the coldness.
"All frosty now!" Sailor Moon wielded her Moon Rod and attacked. "Moon Princess Halation!"
Marzipan's screams of agony carried out into the back room where Esmeraude watched the terrible ending. With Marzipan gone, the pastries around the Guardians vanished too. Azula crawled out from under the table with the cat basket in her arms.
"Thank God you guys are okay," Sailor Moon immediately went out to check on each of her friends.
"We're not alone," Luna spotted the green-haired woman from the open back door. Luna started running towards it, forcing the girls to follow.
Esmeraude wasn't exactly trying to get away as the incoming Guardians spotted her at the other end of the hallway. She blew her puffy pink fan in her face and laughed a shrieking laugh, making all the girls cover their ears.
"Let me guess, you're Rubeus' replacement?" Makoto slowly lowered her hands from her ears.
"Replacement?" Esmeraude was close to laughing again, making the girls raise their hands just in case she went through with it. "No, sweetie, I am the upgrade the Black Moon Clan needed. Rubeus was a foot soldier."
"Well, just a heads up, you're going to end up like poor old Rubeus did if you keep this up," Sailor Circe made the pass with a smirk.
Esmeraude lowered her fan to glare at them. "You think because you're the only Sailor Guardian still awake in the future that you have the power to stop us? Please. You couldn't even protect your Queen."
Sailor Circe gasped and quickly looked at the others. She wasn't exactly in the loop about everything that was apparently happening in the future. In fact, she didn't know anything at all!
"What are you talking about?" Sailor Hemera narrowed her eyes on the green lady.
"With every dark energy point that I take, I make it so that we're one step closer to weakening the city in the future and thus corrupt the barrier the Queen is holding," Esmeraude smirked and blew her fan again. "Once she's out of the way, the second Queen won't be a problem."
"Second Queen!?" went the entire group, alerting Esmeraude of her slip.
"You'll be seeing me more often!" she promised and quickly disappeared before she said anything else.
~ 0 ~
"A second Queen?" Mamoru warily repeated after listening to the girls' recount of the newest Black Moon Clan enemy. He slumped back on the park bench and rubbed his forehead. "I can't keep up with all this. We are really losing this battle."
Usagi sat beside him and sighed, completely agreeing with him. They had made no remarkable progress in their search for Reign, and the Black Moon Clan seemed to be spewing out new members like there was no tomorrow.
Not to mention…
"Chibiusa you can't go into the fountain!" Usagi shouted just as Chibiusa put one foot on the park's fountain ledge. The pink-haired girl flinched at the loud call and quickly retracted her shoe. "Minako says we have to make Chibiusa talk," Usagi then said quietly as Chibiusa walked back towards them.
"That fountain is still there in my city," Chibiusa revealed with a wide smile, but it wasn't enough to make either teen smile at her. "What's wrong?"
Usagi tried her hand first. She would just be honest and control her frustration. Maybe that would be enough to get Chibiusa to talk. "We met a new Black Moon Clan member...her name is Esmeraude, and she said something interesting."
Chibiusa cradled her Luna P ball, her eyes flashing with newfound fear after hearing about Esmeraude. "She has a weird laugh…"
"She's here, and she's going to keep coming…"
"She mentioned a second queen in your time," Mamoru gently brought it up. "Can you tell us if that's true?"
Chibiusa's eyes filled with tears rather quick, but even then she nodded her head. "Crystal Tokyo is ruled by two Queens and two Kings. But when the Black Moon Clan destroyed everything, only Queen Reign was left awake."
"And you," Mamoru said, gesturing to her. "And Sailor Circe. How was that possible?"
Chibiusa looked at her Luna P ball but she continued to talk. "Queen Reign was protected by her Shadows when the first Malefic Crystal entered the city. It acted like a barrier. Everyone else fell asleep."
"And the second Queen?" asked Usagi. "What happened to her?"
Chibiusa couldn't help her sniffles. "She...she was put to sleep too...but...not like the others. But she still won't wake up anyways."
"And that's why you came here, then. Is that also why you took the Crystal? To wake up the Queen?"
"Mhm," Chibiusa nodded her head. "I just don't know what to do. I don't...I don't even know if there's anything to do anymore."
"You know," Mamoru leaned on his seat and gave Chibiusa a warm smile, "we would do anything to help your family. We just need the information to know what we're dealing with."
"I'm not supposed to say anything about the future. Those are the rules," Chibiusa said, sounding like she truly lamented it. "I only came here to take the crystal and return home, but I got scared along the way."
"Well, who put up those rules anyways?" Usagi huffed and crossed her arms.
"Sailor Pluto, and Queen Serenity of the Moon!" Chibiusa said angrily at Usagi's careless tone.
Usagi's mouth fell open. Had Chibiusa just said…?
Chibiusa covered her mouth when she realized her mistake. "I'm not supposed to say!" she dashed off.
"No, Chibiusa, wait!" Mamoru called after her but it was no use. "We need to go find her."
"But did you just hear what she said?" Usagi was still trying to process. "She knows about my mother. And... who's Sailor Pluto?"
Mamoru wished he had the answers. He wished he had all the answers, but unfortunately it all laid with Chibiusa. "C'mon," he took Usagi's hand and helped her up, "we need to go find her."
~0~
Azula sat on the couch before her father and sister who were having a go at her. Apparently, they had noticed a very concerning change in her behavior or something like that. She wasn't listening very much. She was focusing on not snapping.
"You've been ditching school!" Keiko yelled. "I heard you had a tutor because your grades were slipping!"
"My grades are fine—" Azula began to say when Keiko brandished her latest history test in her face.
So maybe 'fine' wasn't the most accurate label but it wasn't her fault she'd forgotten about the history test. The Black Moon Clan had attacked the night before. And maybe she had been focusing more on the missions rather than school, but she was doing her part to save the world! She would think that was slightly more important at the moment.
Azula sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, so I've been off my game for a bit—"
"A bit?" This time it was her father yelling. "You've been acting completely different lately! Not to mention, you've been blowing your curfew!"
"And how would you know? It's not like you're here a lot!" snapped Azula. Uh oh, she was losing control.
"Azula!" Keiko exclaimed.
"What? If you're both going to accuse me, then I'm just playing the game!"
"Except this is not a game!" Kaito boomed. "I may not be here a lot but I do what I have to to keep this family going. And I would appreciate it if you took your school duties seriously."
"And what about her curfew?" Keiko reminded him. "She's been coming home late so many nights now! Where are you going?"
"I'm sorry, I've been getting carried away. That's my fault."
"I don't know what is happening to you, but if you need to talk, we're here," Kaito gestured to himself and Keiko.
Azula knew it would be wonderful to tell them everything that was going on. She hated keeping the biggest secrets of her life from them. Unfortunately, it was just the way things needed to be.
"I need to go," she grabbed her bag off the couch.
"And where are you going now?" Keiko called after her.
"Out!" And she slammed the door on her way out. Because if she stayed, Azula was sure she would end up shouting and really, who wanted that?
She just needed to cool down.
With no purpose of a destination, Azula wandered on the streets hoping that time would pass by and her father would be gone from the house so she could make a clean streak into her bedroom. She could handle Keiko from the other side of her room.
Those plans were put on a temporary pause when Azula spotted a familiar pink-haired girl staring at a family portrait shop's display window. Azula looked around to see if Usagi or Mamoru were anywhere near, but they weren't. Chibiusa looked significantly upset and it drew Azula in.
"Chibiusa?" she softly called to the child yet saw the unusual wince Chibiusa gave from it. "Let me guess, you got into another fight with Usagi?"
"Not a fight, but…" Chibiusa shook her head. Her gaze returned to the family portrait in the center of the display window.
Azula stared at the portrait too and felt her stomach churn. Family wasn't the easiest concept, and she figured Chibiusa might be on the same boat. "I had a fight too. My Dad and my sister each had a go at me."
Chibiusa looked up at the girl with curious eyes. "What happened?"
"Oh, I've been slacking off on my work because of the Black Moon Clan and Senka. I guess you can hide things for only so long because they've definitely began to notice my odd absences and lack of effort in school."
"Do you feel alone in your own home?" The manner in which Chibiusa asked the question made Azula wonder if this was a sentiment Chibiusa often went through.
"Sometimes," Azula answered honestly. "My Dad works really long hours and my sister has her own life. She's so much older than me, of course she doesn't always have time for me. To be honest, sometimes I wish I still lived with my Mom in America. It used to be just me and her so there was always time to be together."
"She's dead, right?"
Azula decided to skip the 'how did you know that?' in favor of keeping Chibiusa talking. You couldn't be direct with the girl or she would shut down. "My Dad picked me up when I was seven - your age actually - and I've lived with him and Keiko ever since. It's hard sometimes because I miss her so much."
"I feel alone sometimes too…" Chibiusa admitted. Azula noticed the way Chibiusa gripped her Luna P ball. She suspected that the ball was a connection to Chibiusa's family. "My Mommy and Daddy are sometimes so busy that they don't get to tuck me in at night. One time they had to miss my birthday. They celebrated it the day after but...I still missed them."
"Are your parents one of the Kings and Queens of Crystal Tokyo?" Azula asked, even though she suspected she already knew the answer.
It seemed like Chibiusa was finally going to open up, but as luck would have it... something interrupted them.
Shrill screams made Azula whirl around. The sky was darkening as Senka's form appeared in the air. Her black tendrils started snatching people at random, searching for the Shadow Crystal at once.
Azula was in awe at the fresh new power Senka was exhibiting. She wasn't that powerful the last time she showed up. "How did she do that? Unless…" Her mind started to wander back to Esmeraude's power. Perhaps dark power aided dark power no matter who it went to. "The dark energy that Esmeraude is commanding is also going into her…"
Senka would have that luck.
"She's hurting all these people!" Chibiusa cried as countless human bodies were raised up into the air.
Senka matched the cry of the child to the only two people who remained out of her grasp. "You again," her eyes narrowed on Azula. "You have become a pain in my existence!"
"I share the sentiment, don't worry," Azula promised. She flicked her communicator and activated the alert signal. "And you're gonna stop hurting these people now!"
Senka laughed deliriously at her. "We'll see!"
Azula's eyes widened when she saw dark energy swirling around Senka's hands. "Chibiusa, run!" she screamed and took the girl's hand to run together.
Senka shot twice before actually hitting close to them. "This time, no matter what, you're dead!"
Azula kept running with Chibiusa and was horrified to see so many crystals in the air coming from the people. It was by the mass! Senka had practically cleared an entire block and Reign wasn't anywhere to be seen!
"Sparkling wide pressure!"
Senka momentarily screamed as thunder clapped against her.
"You two okay?" Sailor Mercury stopped by Azula and Chibiusa who were panting for breath.
"I'm tired, I can move anymore," Chibiusa leaned on Azula for support. "And my leg hurts."
Sailor Mercury spotted a trail of blood on Chibiusa's leg. She bent down and saw it was a mild cut from one of Senka's attacks. "You're going to be fine," Sailor Mercury said before Chibiusa panicked.
"All these people…" Sailor Jupiter was almost awed by the shower of crystals in the air twinkling gold.
"And this time I won't stop until I find what I'm searching for!" Senka rose higher in the ground and did the unthinkable - she split into two.
"Did she just…?" Azula gasped.
One form of Senka carried the staff and the other seemed to be wearing some type of bracelets. "It's time to die!"
Senka put her balled fists side by side and released energy from her bracelets. Sailor Jupiter had to jump back several times before she could retaliate.
"Burning Mandala!" Sailor Mars surprised from behind.
Sailor Asteria also came running from the sides swatting silver stars at the Shadows.
"Time to run!" Sailor Mercury told Azula and Chibiusa.
"But my leg…" Chibiusa said but Azula bent down in front of her, her back to Chibiusa.
"Climb on and hold on tight!"
Chibiusa did as told.
"You're not getting away!" Senka warned and the staff-bearing Shadow chased after Azula.
"Mercury Aqua Mist!" Sailor Mercury spread her thick mist to allow Azula a clean break. She still, however, felt a strong gust of wind streak past her. "She's going after them!" she shouted for the others to hear.
"It's okay, Circe, Siren and Venus are coming that way!" Sailor Hemera assured. "Bright Sun attack!" Her golden light cleared Mercury's misty fog and left the view of Senka.
"Release these people at once!" Sailor Asteria ordered, once again holding her silver stars in hands.
Senka snapped her fingers and returned the crystals to their rightful owners. "None of these creatures possess my Shadow Crystal. But let's see if the next block does."
"You're not going anywhere," Sailor Mars warned.
There was absolutely no way in hell she was going to search again.
~0~
"She's still coming, Azula!" Chibiusa cried with terror as Azula did her best to carry them both down the block.
Azula could see glimpses of Senka's failed shots beside her and wondered how far their combined luck could get them.
"Put me down! Put me down!" Chibiusa hit Azula on the back until Azula listened. Before Azula even asked what Chibiusa was planning on, Chibiusa bounced her Luna P ball. "Luna P transform!"
The ball bounced high in the air and puffed out pink smoke. A bright pink shield appeared between them.
"How did—?" Azula blinked in awe. Chibiusa swiped the shield off the ground and wielded it against an incoming attack. Azula squeaked and took hold of the shield immediately after.
Sailor Siren's sonic cry filled the air, forcing Chibiusa and Azula to cover their ears and drop the shield at the same time. Fortunately, it also meant that Senka had to do the same thing.
"Venus love me chain!" Sailor Venus captured the Shadow with her golden chain.
Tuxedo Mask appeared and covered Chibusa and Azula. "Are you two okay?"
"We're good, we're okay," Azula said then saw the girls struggling to keep Senka chained up with Venus' power. "But they're not!"
"Sailor Moon, try the Moon Rod!" Sailor Circe told the blonde.
"But I've tried that already — eek!" Sailor Moon ducked after Senka had freed herself and began throwing her energy blows at them.
Senka dropped directly in front of her and swatted her staff like a lasso, trying to go through Sailor Moon.
"You need to go and help her," Azula then told Tuxedo Mask. "We're fine," she motioned to herself and Chibiusa. "I promise!"
Reluctantly, Tuxedo Mask left them to go help Sailor Moon who was flimsy avoiding being hit.
"Look over there," Sailor Siren pointed at the second Senka flying over the street. "You have got to be kidding me. She can do that!?"
Sailor Circe didn't look as astonished as the rest. "She has two Shadow bodies living inside her - she can split into two. They each represent the individual forms."
"Yeah, we can see that…" Sailor Venus took cover as the Senka with the bracelets fired at anything that moved.
Meanwhile, Tuxedo Mask had finally given Sailor Moon the opportunity to use her attack without being cornered. She raised her Moon Rod and said the magic words. "Moon Princess Halation!"
Senka retreated when she heard the familiar words. The golden energy followed her in the straight line she was flying in and ultimately snatched her figure.
"No!" the second Senka shouted and quickly zoomed back to her other self to rejoin before disappearing completely.
"Is everyone okay?" Sailor Mars called to the group afterwards.
"Yeah, just...freaked out…" Sailor Jupiter admitted. She scratched her head and tried to process the fact this enemy could multiply herself all while still being herself.
Azula bent down in front of Chibiusa and smiled at the girl who still looked mildly afraid. "Everything's okay now, Chibiusa. You're safe now."
But Chibiusa was frantically looking around like there was still something else. "I-I remember this...the Queen...she said…"
Azula's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What?"
"I wasn't meant to hear but Reyna and I were playing and I was hiding! Queen Reign walked into the room and…" Chibiusa gasped. She remembered perfectly what the Queen had said; the story she told...it was of this particular attack.
The group didn't know what to make of it, but Azula chalked it off as part of Chibiusa's fear of Senka. She smiled at Chibiusa and gently grabbed her hands. "It's okay. The Sailor Scouts are here. You're safe now," she promised and got back on her feet. She made the turn and came face-to-face with Senka herself who plunged her staff directly into Azula's stomach.
"Didn't think I'd forgotten about you, I hope," Senka devilishly smiled and laughed. Azula gasped as the staff was twisted inside her.
"AZULA!" cried the others.
Azula's fingers barely grazed the staff when Senka yanked it out of her. "No more messing with my plans now!" Senka said triumphantly and disappeared.
The girls dashed towards their friend who'd collapsed on the ground. While they crowded around her, Chibiusa backtracked several steps with her Luna P ball in arms again. Her eyes widened when she realized it was all her fault. She'd brought Azula to the street, she hadn't been quick enough to take Azula away before Senka returned…
"Can we heal her!?" Sailor Mars was heard amongst the commotion.
"The wound is too big! I'm not sure if it's possible!" Sailor Moon frantically examined her Moon Rod.
"We have to do something or she'll bleed out!" went Sailor Hemera.
"Azula!?"
"Azula stay with us!"
Azula!"
•─────⋅ ⋅─────•
Author's Note:
This is where things get rooooough!
As always, I have AO3/Wattpad accounts under "noblecrescent" and a tumblr account under "saiilorstars" if you'd like to follow :)