Chapter One
Usagi skipped aimlessly down the streets of Juuban toward the mall. The other girls were already there, no doubt, since the young blonde had been far too late to see everyone still at the temple.
Ah, well, what was another missed meeting? The others would be used to it by now. But at least this time it hadn’t really been her fault. Under normal circumstances, she would have at least claimed responsibility; but this time it was something even the other girls would understand --chores.
Ah yes, the bane of every teenaged existence had, once again, rained on her day and left her spirits dampened. But hardly anytime had passed before a happy little tune made its way past her lips and she had continued on rather joyfully. They were to meet to go shopping today, like every other Saturday, and so were bound to be downtown at the mall. Of course, they’d all left WITHOUT her again, despite promises not to. A slight flare of anger passed through the little blond before she brushed it away and continued on.
“Hey Odango!” someone called and she spun around, not watching where she was going, and slammed into an innocent bystander. With a yelp of surprise, and a rather impressive display of wind milling arms, she fell hard and wailed as loud as possible to inform the entire street of her pain.
“Gomen! Gomen nasai!” She muttered profusely, jumping to her feet and bowing to the stranger.
“It’s always ‘gomen’ with you, Odango Atama! If you’d just stop doing it, you wouldn’t have to worry about apologizing!” she looked up slowly, following well-built legs to a more impressive chest before finally meeting dark cobalt eyes. Fury surged within her, causing Usagi’s face to turn red.
“Oh, its just you, Mamoru-baka!” she screeched, waving a fist in his face.
“Besides, I’m sure the cement would like to put in a word or two more than I since you’re constantly landing on it.”
Steam slowly began to blow out her ears as another hand took her arm --Rei to the rescue!
“Come on, you Odango. We’ve got more important things to do than watch you fight with poor Mamoru-san.” She was dragged bodily away from the college student, screaming profanities at him as he laughed and continued on his way down the sidewalk.
“I don’t know why you bother talking to him, Usagi-chan; all you guys ever do is fight.” Ami pointed out calmly, a hand to her face as Makoto grinned, pumping a fist. They’d met only yesterday and the taller girl remained a mystery to her. She’d asked to meet the other girls, and had obviously done so earlier.
“I’d love to see you beat that jerk up, Usagi-chan! You could take him!” Makoto paused and looked rather sheepish. “Even if he is hot,” Her face darkened and she looked down.
“Actually hit him?” a shiver crawled slowly up her spine at the thought. They’d never been violent toward each other. Something told her he’d never do anything to really hurt her. She glanced back at him, but he’d disappeared into the crowd.
~~~~~~
The world was dark,
The air was stale and filled with choking smoke,
The land had been dead for far too long and the murmur of many voices rose as if from the dust to complain.
Queen Beryl sat rather graciously at her throne, staring down at her court with a steely eye of determination. Not one of her generals had been successful in bringing her energy or the ginzuishou. Already, three Senshi had awakened and stood ready to fight, and Sailor Moon had grown more powerful with each battle. It was obvious there would be some conflict with that girl later on. She swept flaming red curls back with her hand, fingering a lock in contemplation. It wouldn’t be long now before Metallia would also awaken and wreak havoc on the world above. But to do so meant vast stores of energy -energy that could only be harvested in small amounts from humans. Each trial had failed in the face of the three warriors, and Beryl was growing weary of it.
“Zoicite! Come forward!” her voice echoed across the room as one general stood out from the others.
“Hai, Queen Beryl-sama?” he spoke softly, long blond hair pulled back from his dark blue eyes in a low ponytail.
“Bring me Nephrite! He has much to answer for,” a wicked smile played across the young general’s face as he bowed.
“Hai,” a laugh echoed along the room, startling everyone even as the dark minion began to disappear.
“Konechiwa, Queen Beryl-sama.” His voice was dark and powerful, sensual in a way. The Queen stood, glancing along the length of the room to spot the intruder. “I have a proposition to make.”
~~~~~~
“Mako-chan!!! Not another one!” Usagi whined, her feet nearly giving out beneath her. They’d traversed the entire length and breadth of the mall and still the Amazonian girl hadn’t found a dress that would fit right. Usagi was beginning to think Makoto complained just to spend more time with them.
“Usagi, you’re such a baby!” Rei muttered under her breath and followed Makoto into another store.
“Youma!!” Someone screeched behind them and Usagi turned, eyes going wide in terror. A very blue, very demonic looking monster had several people by the throat and was draining energy as fast is it could. Dozens of bystanders were screaming and running in panic, while others stood in shock on the sidelines, obviously waiting for the Senshi to arrive. Rei shot Usagi a look and they both nodded.
“Mako-chan, quick! In here!” Usagi gripped her much taller friend’s arm tightly and began tugging her toward the shop. But the brunette was frozen in place, staring at the youma with a glassy look to her eyes. Rei and Ami had both disappeared as Usagi tried again to pull Makoto into the store. A part of her already knew, by looking at her friend, what was happening.
As if bidden by her thoughts, Makoto ran forward, ripping her arm from Usagi’s hand, ran forward, and dove directly at the monster, screaming a war cry and punching it as hard as she could.
Usagi swore and leapt behind an overturned vendor before transforming and running to join the fray. Already, Makoto had knocked the monster down and was hefting it over her head when the green insignia blazed forth from her brow. Usagi’s heart sunk.
“Jupiter!” Luna screamed, having somehow known there would be a battle.
Usagi threw her tiara at the monster, trying desperately to distract is as Luna explained the situation to Makoto.
“Fire Soul!” Mars yelled over the sound of groaning bodies. A fireball whizzed passed Moon’s head as she ducked beneath a flying axe. Every hair stood on end as the air charged with force. Vibrant green lights flashed across the walls and store fronts, exploding in bursts light as Jupiter’s hoarse voice shattered the silence.
“Supreme thunder!” Her voice bounced off the rafters with power as lightning tore through the roof and down the small antennae to arch toward the youma in question. It exploded spectacularly as Moon sunk to her knees, another sailor…. She’d suspected as much when Makoto had saved her from that bully earlier, for she had given off very strange vibes. A part of her wept for her new friend. No one should have to live a life like this.
“Seems you were right, Mars.” Luna stated forcefully and the other two leapt forward, joining their new comrade. Moon stood, her knees still weak, and ran to Jupiter, weeping like a small child. She had seemed so familiar right from the beginning, but she’d kept those suspicions to herself, if the others knew….
“Jupiter. I’m so glad you’re here.” she whispered, more relieved than she really should have been.
Maybe it was the growing agitation of the other Senshi, but she was suddenly very uneasy. 300 feet away, Tuxedo Kamen watched the girls with a slight twitch of the mouth. The youma hadn’t been terribly difficult this time. He turned to leave when a sudden chill violently swept through him. Whipping around –almost in slow motion, he watched as a ball of dark energy raced toward Sailor Moon. He was too far away, and the sphere was moving too fast to even attempt a rescue.
He cursed the layout of this damn mall and leapt, throwing roses as fast as he could, but yet again, he was too slow. The attack hit full force, knocking both girls back against the wall. Jupiter took the brunt of the bricks, but the skin on Moon’s back was cut and bleeding. She hadn’t screamed. Fearing the worst, he jumped toward them, leaving Mercury and Mars to fight the new enemy.
As he got closer, he could tell she was struggling to stand up. Jupiter had shaken her, trying to get a response. The blond obviously had done her best. Carefully, he touched her bruise-free shoulder.
“Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon! Are you alright?” She gazed up at him with pain in her eyes –one lip split open, but she offered an ironic smile.
“Hai, Tuxedo Kamen-sama, Go ahead, Jupiter, I’m going to need to catch my breath.” The brunette nodded quietly, handed the leader to Tuxedo and leapt into the fight. Sailor Moon had nearly lost consciousness at the exchange, her back felt broken in many places, though she couldn’t bring herself to scream.
“Gomen nasai. I wasn’t here in time, Moon,” he whispered, surveying the damage with a critical eye. Even as he watched, the smaller cuts began to mend themselves. The ironic smile never left her face as he helped her into a sitting position.
“Eiie, Tuxedo Kamen-sama, it’s my fault for not watching. I’ll be ok once I catch my breath,” she gasped again, this time the smaller cuts had disappeared.
“Are you sure, is there something I can help with?” she shook her head-- shoulders heaving with mirth. Kami, he was so kawaii when he was concerned about her; his top hat cocked to one side, daring to fall off and the blue of his eyes shone through the mask. Her heart fluttered in response to that look and she smiled.
“Help me stand?” He nodded instantly, helping her to her feet. It amazed him every time at how light she was, how effortless and…familiar it felt to lift her. Gripping her shoulders cautiously, he supported her weight and turned so that she was facing the brunette general. Her back honestly couldn’t take that kind of abuse, but she seemed insistent on the position.
Mars screamed her attack, hurtling fire toward the general as he smirked in disdain. The fight seemed hopeless. It had been months since Jedite disappeared and this newer, stronger general had appeared in the wake. He was seemingly invincible and Moon had begun to lose hope of ever defeating him.
At least, until now; an idea was even now beginning to form in her mind as she motioned to the others.
“Matte, minna! Fall back!” Jupiter and Mars stared at their leader long enough to see her expression and did just that, grabbing Mercury even as she prepared to launch an attack. All three gathered around her cautiously and Tuxedo Kamen stiffened in response to the close proximity. He knew the others had never trusted him and deep down wished he wouldn’t show at the battles. This situation was awkward enough, and so he kept his mouth shut tightly, ready to do anything the little blond asked of him.
“Nani, Moon?” Mars asked irritably, throwing a fireball toward the general and blocking an attack shot their way.
“We hold back, then attack all at once. Tuxedo Kamen-sama, can you distract him enough to let us get behind him?” Warily, he nodded. He was unsure if she could hold herself up long enough to hurl the tiara again. “All right, while he’s out there, girls, we’ve got to power up all together and strike from behind. Jupiter, I want your attack to take the lead, Mars’ will blend with mine. Mercury-chan, I need a wall of mist so he can’t see us when we go for it, k?”
“Hai,” they answered unanimously.
Nephrite hardly knew what was happening as an impenetrable wall of mist and bubbles sprouted up out of nowhere, followed closely by steel tipped roses. The earlier contempt of which he’d held the Sailor Senshi was now gone, in its place a writhing black hatred. The roses stung, and one implanted itself firmly in his left arm, causing him to release a shriek of pain.
Tuxedo Kamen flew out of the mist, a blow aimed at the General’s head. Nephrite had seen this attack before and turned to block that while simultaneously glancing over his shoulder. It came, just as he’d expected, and Tuxedo flew out of the way. The lightning in itself would have caused minimal damage, had it not been for the third attack coming from the direction Tuxedo Kamen had gone. Somewhat shocked at the both of them, he had not the time to recover and block both.
His painful scream lit the mall in an eerie glow as both lighting and flaming discus bit into flesh. Jupiter stepped from the mist as it dissipated to survey the damage. Nephrite was laying down on the tiled floor, breathing heavily and dazed. Both brunettes stared at each other before the Amazon stepped forward to lay a hand against his forehead. The look in his eye was soft and kind for the first time ever, but she did not hesitate.
“Jupiter, I always knew you would destroy me,” he whispered even as electricity began to build up around them.
“Supreme thunder.” she stated, almost as if it were the most natural thing to do. The lightning tore through ceiling once more, traveling down her arm as she directed it toward the evil minion of the Dark Kingdom.
“My love.” he whispered it once before his body trembled and smoke rose as the result of the heavy electrical shock. Tears streamed down Jupiter’s face as she stared at him.
~~~~~~
“I still don’t understand it, Usagi-chan.” Makoto confessed as they sat at Crown Parlor. “Why would he say that to me? And that look in his eye…as if he knew me,” the brunette shivered at the memory, racking herself with guilt. Usagi couldn’t think of anything to say as the brunette spoke, it seemed that nothing she thought of would explain or give comfort to her new friend. They hadn’t even discussed how Makoto felt being a Senshi, which no doubt had to weigh on her mind considerably. Her appearance didn’t seem to help the situation, as questions still seemed to be unanswered. Tuxedo Kamen had disappeared as always, just before the mist cleared and left them to help the survivors, and the Youma continued to attack the city without any sense of direction.
“Hai, very strange.” she murmured, still lost in her own thoughts.
Rei set her cup down lightly, staring at the new Senshi. Something had felt off about her from the very beginning …something perhaps that might be explained by Nephrite’s sudden declaration of love? Earlier that week, Rei had felt a sudden shift in power, leaving her dizzy and weak. Something felt…intrusive.
“Didn’t you say you had planned to leave your home much later than this? What made you come early?” green eyes glanced up from her glass as she shrugged.
“I honestly don’t know, Rei-chan. I hadn’t planned on moving for another two weeks, but this sudden…sense of urgency came over me. I can’t really describe what it felt like, other than the wind blew me here.” Rei nodded sagely, glancing at their ‘fearless’ leader as she stared out the window into the bright afternoon traffic. Her blue eyes were glazed over, proving beyond a doubt that the Odango was off in dream land. Dark lavender eyes rolled skyward and anger began to build up in her chest. Usagi was never the one to react to statements like that with any sense of duty.
“I’ve felt strange this past week, like something big is coming.” Rei stated quietly, glancing from Ami to Makoto.
It seemed automatic that the little blond was left out of the conversation. Makoto glanced her way as if to affirm this fact, but the blonde was long gone in her own little world. Inside, Makoto was smiling. Usagi may be a day dreamer, and somewhat of a klutz, but she’d proved her strategy skills in that last fight rather well.
“Hai. My Mercury computer has been picking up some strange signs since Tuesday and I can’t figure out what’s going on with it. It’s almost like its malfunctioning.” She also glanced at the blond in curiosity. Was it just her, or was Usagi much worse than usual?
“Odango Atama!” a dark voice called from the doorway and Usagi sat up instantly, face going red. “Had to settle any damage suits in court yet today?” A fire lit in those blue eyes and she stood, nearly throwing Ami off the chair in her haste to get to the annoyingly superior college student.
“No, Mamoru-baka! In fact, I was having a great klutz-free day until YOU showed up!” as if to accent her words, someone got up to leave and Usagi bashed into him on her way to the front counter and the devil himself.
“Oh, yeah. I can definitely tell, Odango. You’ve never been more graceful.”
Suddenly, the short little wisp of a blond seemed much more intimidating as pure fire burned in her eyes and she readied another insult. And, just as suddenly, she was being dragged out of the arcade by three very embarrassed looking friends. Mamoru could only laugh deep down. Oh yeah, she was not caught in the crossfire at the mall. It was a well known hang out for Usagi & co. on a Saturday afternoon. He almost laughed at his own foolishness. There was no way that little kid would try anything stupid on a monster. She’d probably run as fast as her little feet could carry her –which in Usagi’s case could actually prove fast enough to get away.
“Mamoru-kun, you’re so mean to her.” Motoki sighed from behind the counter and cracked open a Coke for his buddy. Mamoru just grinned at himself and shrugged.
“She deserves it. How’s O-Chem. coming?” an ashen look crossed his good friend’s face and he winced inside. That would be him next semester.
“Oh Mamoru-kun. Whatever you do, do NOT take Tsukino-sensei’s class. I swear that man is the devil! Finals are KILLING me…and Reika-san.” the last part of his statement was tinged with a bit of bitterness his old friend rarely showed. Deep concern began to root itself in Mamoru at the sight. Motoki should never feel…bitter. That was Mamoru’s job.
“Matte, Motoki-kun. It can’t be that bad, is it?” the blond nodded sagely and reached up to brush the hair from his eyes, a signature Mamoru move and tried to give the same killer smile.
“Oh but I’ll make it through, Mamoru-kun. I can do anything.” the darker man rolled his eyes and went back to his Coke. With that matter settled, he returned to his earlier brooding over the blond Senshi. She’d been badly wounded in that fight. He wondered if any of her comrades were pre med students… the sight of her back torn to shreds and the attempted brave smile she’d given him in the first few moments had almost frozen his heart. If anything were to happen to Sailor Moon, he’d never forgive himself.
He opened the news paper Motoki had thoughtfully handed him and flipped through a few pages. There, on the second page was an advertisement for a costume party. Something inside him shifted, just looking at the picture. Princess Diamond’s private collection of jewels would be present. Would she have the legendary ginzuishou?
“Motoki-kun, are you going to this?” he asked quietly as his friend returned from helping another customer.
“That thing? Yeah, I already told you I’d come last week.” Mamoru glanced up at him, curious now. Had he already asked? But he’d only barely seen the advertisement… Motoki sighed and pointed down at the paper again.
“Don’t tell me you forgot about it.” Mamoru stared, following his friends finger to the musical guest.
~~~~~~
“Minna? Is it just me, or is traffic swamped today?” Usagi asked out of nowhere, causing the other girls to stop their gossip. Rei looked around for the first time, noticing how many cars were packed bumper-to-bumper on the main road.
“Hai… wow, I never really looked at it. Is this what you’ve been watching all day, Usagi-chan?” The blond nodded distantly before spotting a police officer a block away.
“Oh! I’ll go ask him what’s going on really quick, stay here!” she shouted gleefully before racing off down the road.
Makoto laughed quietly and pointed to a shop window. “She could have simply looked here, see? It says ‘Princess Diamond’s personal collection to be shown at the Tokyo Hilton in the north ballroom. It starts at 8 o’clock tonight.” the girls crowded around the small poster and grinned. The girl in the advertisement was beautiful, all covered in diamonds and laughing against a dinner gloved-hand.
“Wow, I want to go to that…” Rei breathed and then grunted. “Too bad I told grandpa I’d help clean the temple tonight. There’s no way I’d get to go, especially on the excuse of Senshi business. I bet the ginzuishou is there, too. What about you, Ami-chan, going to go with your mom?”
“Eiie, Rei-chan. My mom’s in France this week and I’m not far enough ahead in my classes to waste more than today. Even if I wanted to, the exams are coming up soon and if my mom found out, she’d skin me alive. What about you, Mako-chan?” The blue-haired girl turned and smiled.
“I haven’t got anything better to do tonight. Besides, maybe I can get Usagi-chan to come with me.” At that thought, all turned to see exactly where the other girl had gone, but they were alone on the street.
