Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Chaos no Ageshio (Tides of Chaos) ❯ Episode 1: A fateful encounter ( Chapter 1 )

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Chaos no Ageshio

(Tides of Chaos)

by P.H. Wise

key:

" " represents Japanese

< > represents English

* * is telepathy

. o O ( ) is thoughts

and [ ] is panda signs, which won't be appearing in this story. 8)

Episode 1: A fateful encounter

It's the year 2008, and the Sailor Senshi have enjoyed a long

period of peace. Unfortunately, that peace is about to be shattered

by the arrival of a new enemy...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chiba Usagi walked slowly through the airport terminal, headed

for gate twelve. She was lost in thought (it was unfamiliar territory,

after all). At least, that's what it looked like, with the distant

expression she had on her face. With her hair cut at shoulder length

and no longer in its distinctive 'meatball' style, those who had known

her in high school would have a hard time recognizing her now. Instead

of a cute young girl, here was a beautiful twenty-something woman.

Gone was the awkward clumsiness of her youth; in its place was a regal

sort of grace that filled her every step.

~~ "Usako..." Mamoru whispered as he swept her off her feet.

~~

~~ "Mamo-chan!"

~~

~~ "Usako, I'm sorry for being away for so long, but I have a

~~ surprise for you!"

~~

~~ "A surprise?" Usagi asked, her eyes shining.

~~

~~ Mamoru smiled and presented her with a small box with a ribbon

~~ tied around it. Tied to the ribbon was one of his signature red

~~ roses.

~~

~~ "What is it, Mamo-chan?"

~~

~~ "Open it and see!"
~~

~~ Usagi did, and when she had, she found two first class tickets to

~~ the Bahama islands. She gasped in surprise, a wide smile

~~ appearing on her face. "Mamo-chan! Aishiteru!"

~~

~~ Mamoru's smile grew wider and... well, more tender. "Aishiteru,

~~ Usako. Let's go to the Bahamas together!" He drew her close for

~~ a kiss, and then...

And then, because she was concentrating on her fantasy and not paying

attention to where she was going, she tripped over her own feet and

fell face first on the floor. Yeah. Regal grace and all that.

Usagi flushed with embarrassment, and was somewhat surprised (but

very grateful) when a stranger extended a hand to help her up. With

the stranger's help, she quickly got back to her feet.

"Arigatou," she said, looking at the person who had helped her.

The one who had come to her aid was a beautiful young foreign

woman. Although her skin was dark enough to stand out, she didn't

possess the features indicative of African descent. She looked at least

half Greek, but it was impossible to identify what the other half might

be. Whatever it was, it looked very exotic. Her eyes were probably her

most striking feature; they were a deep blood red. Even so, they didn't

look frightening. They looked... soft. Kind, almost.

The woman smiled. "You're welcome," she responded, with only the

barest hint of a California accent in her pleasant, mid-alto voice.

"You should be more careful, though. It's not wise to go around

oblivious to the world when you're in an airport."

Usagi nodded, sweatdropping heavily. "Gomen." she said.

The woman paused, looking at Usagi curiously. '...How

strange...' she thought, 'I sense a warm and gentle power…'

After a moment, she smiled and said, "I'm Sulia. Sulia Ward."

"Ano, I'm Chiba Usagi! Nice to meet you!"

"Ne, Chiba-san, do you live in Tokyo?"

Usagi nodded enthusiastically. "Hai. I've lived here all my

life!"

"Is it true what they say about Juuban?"

"Eh?" Usagi asked. "Nani nani?"

"Well, that there used to be all sorts of monster attacks there?"

Usagi nodded. "There used to be, but the Sailor Senshi put a stop

to that a couple years ago. They would always show up to help when the

monster attacks were happening! Their leader (and the coolest one out

of all of them) was called Sailor Moon!"

"Sailor Senshi? Are they still around?"

Usagi nodded. "Even though they haven't been seen lately, I'm

sure that they're still around. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I'm going to be moving to Juuban, and I was curious

about some of the stories I had heard about the place, that's all."

Usagi nodded and then glanced around to get her bearings. She

was near one of the gates... oh, gate 12! Mamoru's plane had not yet

come in, though. A look of disappointment crossed her face.

"Are you waiting for someone?" Sulia asked.

She nodded. "Hai! I'm waiting for my muffin!"

Sulia bigsweatted, her embarrassment plain to the sensible

observer. That categorization, of course, excludes one Chiba Usagi.

"Hai! My husband, Mamoru! He's been away for almost a week, and I

miss him."

"A husband, huh? He must be happy that you're here to

greet him."

Soon, the two were chatting pleasantly. Usagi was glad to have

someone to talk to while she waited for Mamoru's arrival, and Sulia was

amazed to find that she rather liked Usagi. The two of them talked

together until Mamoru's plane finally arrived ten minutes later. As

the passengers began to disembark, good-byes were exchanged, and

Sulia departed, saying that she hoped to see Usagi around.

******

Despite his first class accommodations, the flight had been long

and uncomfortable, and Chiba Mamoru was very, very tired. His flight

had been nonstop from Germany, where he had been meeting with a group

of scientists who were doing research on possible ways to harness the

energy of the planet's mana field. While the mana field theory was

still scoffed at by most scientists, the occasional 'newtype' had sparked

some researchers' interest. Breakthroughs were still few and far between,

and mainstream recognition seemed far-off, but the

potential appeared limitless. Since the mana field theory had been

developed by Mamoru himself, he was the most obvious person to consult

on the matter. They had wanted him to join their project, and he had

given them an appropriately noncommittal response. Privately, however,

he realized that it was very unlikely that Usagi would agree to move to

Europe, and he was not about to leave her behind in Tokyo.

Mamoru shook his head to clear his thoughts as he collected his

luggage from the overhead compartment and made his way to the front of

the airplane. None of that was important right now; what was important

was the Princess that he knew was here to greet him. He could sense

that she was close, and despite the knowledge that she would probably

cause a scene and that everyone would stare at them, the thought of

being with her lightened his heart, quickened his step, and brought a

smile to his face.

He stepped out into the airport terminal and immediately began

looking for Usagi. A few seconds later, their eyes met, and Usagi's

face lit up with a beautiful smile as she waved to him and called,

"Mamo-chan!" before running to meet him. He moved to meet her,

sweeping her up into a heartfelt embrace.

"Mamo-chan! I missed you sooooo much!"

"I missed you too, Usako."

"It was awful, waiting here without you!" She looked into his

eyes, her voice showing her sincerity. "Promise that you won't go on a

trip without me again, OK?"

"I... " he began... and as he met her gaze, his heart melted. He

found that he could refuse her nothing. "I won't leave you behind

again, Usako." he said, "I promise."

She smiled, they kissed, and then the two of them headed off

together, walking hand in hand. As the went, he told her all about the

trip, the flight, and everything.

******

All things considered, Tokyo hadn't changed much between 1995 and

2008. Sure, there were new styles, new stores, new cars... but

beneath it all, it was still the same old Tokyo. Nerima was still a

center of weirdness, the Tokyo Tower was still put to regular use as a

favored battleground by groups attempting to cause or prevent an

apocalypse, and the occasional monster still tended to pop up in

Juuban. Still, it was a nice enough place to live so long as you could

ignore its more unusual aspects.

In the years since, almost all of the Senshi had achieved their

dreams. Rei was working as a Seiyuu (and a singer, and a song-writer,

AND a model, AND the head priestess of the Hikawa shrine...), Ami was

currently living in Germany and was considered one of the best

doctors in the world, and Minako had finally broken into the 'idoru'

business after an appearance on the game show 'Challenger on Fire,' and

her popularity had quickly grown to such an extent that she was now one

of the biggest stars in the world. Makoto had used her trust

fund to open a small restaurant. She had thus far enjoyed a moderate

amount of success; she turned a profit, and her restaurant was

considered to be a good place for young couples to go for dates.

As for the Outers, Hotaru was still in college, pursuing a master's

degree at the University of Tokyo, and Setsuna...

well, duh. Haruka and Michiru had both gone on to college. Now

graduated, they lived much as they always had. Seeing as how they were

both set for life, neither one really needed to work if they didn't

want to, but Haruka still did motor sports and Michiru still painted.

They also both played in the local orchestra; Haruka on the piano (and

occasionally the harpsichord as well) and Michiru on the violin (and

also the viola, the cello [and so forth], as needed).

They had all achieved or were well on their way towards achieving their

dreams.... well, almost. Out of all of the Senshi, only three had

found the kind of love that lasts forever: Usagi had Mamoru, and Haruka

and Michiru had each other, but the rest of them... were still alone,

though this was not due to any lack of trying on their parts.

The sun was well along on its journey towards the west by the

time Usagi and Mamoru managed to cross distance between the airport and

the Chiba residence. It was not quite sunset yet, but the western sky

was beginning to gain colour, while the east had darkened to a peculiar

shade of deep blue. Their home, an extremely comfortable two-story affair,

was, strangely enough, located a few blocks away from the house

that Usagi had grown up in. Usagi's parents still lived there, though

her little brother had moved out several years earlier. They all still

got together for special occasions, though Shingo had been showing up

for such things less frequently as of late.

As they emerged from their car, Usagi immediately began pulling

Mamoru towards the door, not even bothering to make sure that the car

was locked.

"What's the rush?" Mamoru asked.

"You'll see, but only if you hurry!"

"Hai, hai," said Mamoru, smiling faintly as Usagi led him up to

their front door. He wasn't quite sure what she had planned, but he

found that he was actually fairly eager to find out. As he walked up

to the door, he couldn't help but smile as he noticed that the roses

that he had planted several months earlier were blooming. From the

looks of things, Usagi had done a very good job of tending to them in

his absence. He didn't have much time to enjoy his surroundings,

however, as Usagi quickly all but dragged him to the door, after which

she stopped and looked at him expectantly.

Mamoru sweatdropped slightly before reaching out and opening the

door.

He was greeted by the smiling faces of Kino Makoto and Hino Rei.

Luna and Artemis were sitting down at their feet. "Welcome back!"

they all called cheerfully. Behind them, strung across the far wall of

the house, was a sign that read, 'Welcome Home, Mamoru-kun!' The smell

of Makoto's cooking drifted out through the open doorway.

In spite of the jet lag and the long and very bumpy flight,

Mamoru's expression broke into a full blown cheerful smile as he and

Usagi stepped through the doorway. "Arigatou, minna." he said.

******

A short time later, Mamoru found himself sitting next to Usagi on

their living room sofa, talking with Makoto, who sat in a chair that

had been brought in from the kitchen as Usagi talked excitedly with Rei

and Luna.

"How was your trip, Mamoru-san?" asked Makoto, "Did it go well?"

Mamoru nodded. "Yeah, it did." A smile formed on his face. "The

people I was working with in Europe... they're making some very

exciting progress. They are close to a breakthrough, actually." His

smile widened slightly. "They offered me a full time job working with

them," he was not entirely successful in keeping a note of

disappointment out of his voice as he continued, "but I'm not sure if

I'll be able to take it or not."

"Because of Usagi?"

"Yes. I don't think she'll want to leave Japan."

"She'd go with you if you asked her to, you know."

Mamoru smiled, looking towards Usagi, who was in the process of

scooping up another handful of snacks from the platter on the table.

"I know." he said.

"Usagi-chan?" Luna asked, "Didn't you tell us the other day that

you were going on a diet?"

"Of course! It starts tomorrow!"

Everyone sweatdropped.

"You'll get fat if you don't stop eating so much, U-sa-gi." said

Rei, her tone not at all serious.

"Waaah! How can you say something like that?" Usagi asked,

crying a flood of rather obviously fake tears. "Rei-chan, you're SOOO

mean!"

A moment later, Usagi's tears were gone and they (including Mamoru)

were all laughing as if they had just shared a private joke.

'It's good to be home.' thought Mamoru.

For Mamoru, Usagi, Makoto, Rei, Luna and Artemis, surrounded as

they were with friends, love and laughter, all was well, even if only

for a few hours. Well, except for when Usagi fell on Rei when they

were playing a game of twister. And when Artemis tried to open the

cork on a bottle of wine with his claws and ended up falling off the

counter and landing on Luna's tail. And...

*******

The sun had gone down, and while light and love filled the Chiba

residence, elsewhere in Tokyo unfriendly things were stirring. In a

darkened alleyway between two office buildings, a small mote of light

appeared. It floated to and fro for a few seconds, almost as if it

were checking to make sure that the alley was empty. After it had

traversed the entire alley, it relocated in the center and began to

grow. Soon the alley was filled with the pale, ghostly light as mote

spiraled out into a full blown vortex, out of which several creatures

emerged.

They were basically human, though one had elongated limbs,

skeletal features and red glowing eyes, while another had more human

features, except for its icy blue skin and the fact that it left

frozen footprints wherever it stepped. A third resembled some sort of

bizarre cross between a human and a bat, while the fourth and fifth

bore a suspicious resemblance to the five creatures that the Inner

Senshi had fallen to just before the final battle with Queen Beryl.'

As soon as they had emerged from the vortex, it spun shut behind them,

and the alley was dark once again.

Several seconds later, a sixth figure appeared within the alley;

this creature seemed to be basically human, save that its skin

seemed to writhe at times. In that light, nothing more could be

perceived.

As soon as the sixth figure appeared, the five youma knelt to it.

It let them remain kneeling for several long seconds as it looked at

them each in turn. Finally, it said, in a multi-toned voice that could

belong to no human, "Youkai; forgotten survivors of the Dark Kingdom,"

it said, "You know your assigned tasks." It was not a question. The

youma KNEW, and if they didn't, they were probably not long for the

world. It paused for another few seconds, looking directly at the ice

youma and the skeletal youma. "Go."

When that word had passed from whatever the dark figure had that

served as lips, the youma stood and vanished into the night. The dark

figure, however, lingered for a while longer, walking to the mouth of

the alley-way and peering out at the street beyond. "The guardians of

this world," it said as it scanned the faces of the people who were

still walking the sidewalk. "Those who bear the protection of the

planets... we will find them."

With that, it too vanished.

******

Several hours later, the party at the Chiba residence was finally

winding down. The massive amount of snacks that Makoto had brought had

finally been finished off, and the bottle of wine was long since put

away (Artemis had passed out after putting a little too much of it

away...). The TV was on, but no one was paying it much mind.

Rei was the first one to depart, saying that she had a recording

session first thing in the morning, and she still had things to do at

the shrine before she could sleep tonight. Makoto left soon after,

making sure to take her serving dishes back with her. She too had to

be up early the next day, though for different reasons. It took a lot

of work to run a restaurant.

In any case, after everyone else had departed, Mamoru and Usagi

found themselves sitting together on the edge of front porch of the

house they shared together, looking up at the sky, each with an arm

around the other. The moon was full and the stars were shining

brightly.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Mamoru asked.

Usagi grimaced. "You mean when I threw my crumpled up test into

the air and it came down on your head? You were really mean to me."

Mamoru sweatdropped slightly. "I meant back on the moon,

Odango-atama." he said.

Usagi blushed. "I don't remember much from that time... but I

remember that. And don't call me that. I don't even have those

odangos anymore."

Mamoru nodded, a nostalgic smile on his face. "I fell in love

with you from the first moment I saw you. You were so beautiful...

standing by the fountain in the gardens at the moon palace..." Mamoru

trailed off, uncertain of how to continue.

Usagi seemed to understand, however, and she smiled as she leaned

her head against his shoulder.

The tension seemed to flow out of Mamoru at that. He smiled

cheerfully as he produced a small gift-wrapped package. "In memory of

that day, ojou-sama." he said.

It seemed to Mamoru that the entire world grew brighter as a

beautiful smile appeared on Usagi's face. In the blink of an eye she

had the gift unwrapped and was staring at it with wide eyes. It was a

small locket made out of... solid diamond! It was impossible, but

somehow, there it was in front of her. A faint gasp escaped from

Usagi.

Mamoru's smile became a full on grin at that point. "Watch this!

This is the best part!" he said as he reached over and pressed down on

the center of the diamond. Immediately, the front half detached and

swung open to reveal a small golden device at what had been the

diamond's center a moment before. To add to the strangeness of the

gift, there were no hinges by which the diamond could have opened... it

simply HAD, and the two halves were obviously still connected to each

other. Almost as soon as he had opened it, a tiny but incredibly real-

looking image appeared on top of the golden triangle that lay at what

had been the diamond's center; there stood the image of Prince Endymion

and Princess Serenity... dancing together as a music-box style

rendition of Moonlight Densetsu began to play.

Usagi looked down at the gift she had been given and then at

Mamoru, her eyes shining. "Mamo-chan!" she whispered.

Before things could get any further than that, Luna suddenly

burst out of the front door in human form. "Usagi! I just saw it on

the news! A pair of monsters are smashing up downtown Tokyo! The

police are there already there, but they need help. I already

contacted the others. You've got to transform quickly!"

Usagi *glared* at Luna. Mamoru didn't look too happy about the

interruption either, but what can you do? "Only if you promise not to

bother me about how much I eat for the rest of the month!"

Luna thought about it. "For a week." she said.

Mamoru sweatdropped.

"All right then," said Usagi. "MOON ETERNAL! MAKE UP!"

For the first time in years, Usagi transformed. Unfortunately

for her mood, the transformation brought certain things along with it.

What things you ask?

"WAAAH! WHY IS MY HAIR BACK IN THIS STYLE AGAIN!?"

Those things. Welcome back, Odango atama.

*******

Unaware that help was on its way, the members of the Tokyo

police's newly formed M.H.T (monster hunter team) fought a losing

battle against the pair of youma that had apparently decided that it

would be fun to trash downtown Tokyo. They were equipped with some of

the best equipment that the police had access to. They had been

trained extensively in how to deal with paranormal threats. They even

had a newtype in their group whose powers centered around wards and

paper magic. All the same, they were getting their asses kicked.

The van that they had arrived in had just been knocked on its

side by the first of the two youma. It didn't LOOK all that

impressive... it was a vaguely humanoid female frail looking elongated

limbs, skeletal features, and burning red orbs where its eyes should

be. There was no appreciable muscle mass on the creature, and yet it

had somehow knocked the van over with a single kick, causing several

officers to run for their lives, the alternative being that they be

crushed by the still sliding van. The other youma, also humanoid and

female, was much more human-looking than the first. But despite its

human features, it had pale blue skin, hair and eyes, and it left icy

footprints wherever it stepped.

The sound of gunfire split the night over and over, and yet the

police just couldn't seem to HIT the creatures. Perhaps it was their

nerves... this was this unit's very first mission, after all, and it

certainly didn't help that most of them hadn't believed in monsters

before this night. Most of them were focusing their gunfire on the

one that was doing the most damage; that is, the skeletal-youma,

leaving the ice-youma free to do as it pleased. This proved to be a

great mistake on their part. The ice youma laughed loudly

(OOOOHOHOHOHOHO!) as it flew up into the air and began to draw the

energy of these humans into itself. One by one, the police officers

began to fall unconscious, and fairly quickly, it had a fairly large

globe of energy in its hands.

One of the officers, however, wasn't such a pushover. Gritting

his teeth, Makaino Ryu pulled another ward from his pockets. So far he

had had little to no luck in hitting the skeletal-youma, but when the

other officers began to drop one by one, he realized that perhaps the

skeletal-youma wasn't the main threat. The ward in his hands flared as

he chanted briefly before casting it at the floating ice-youma. As the

creature wasn't expecting the attack, the ward hit it directly in the

arm and stuck there, glowing brightly for a moment before it exploded.

One of the creature's arms went flying and shattered into a thousand

shards of ice when it hit the ground.

With a shriek of pain, the ice-youma darted downwards, its energy

gathering attempts disrupted by the ward, and seized Ryu by the throat

with its good arm. "Stupid human," it hissed, focusing its power into

its hand, fully intending to freeze Ryu solid, "If you hadn't done

that, I would have let you live."

Ryu struggled in its grip, trying to reach for another ward...

but he wasn't going to make it in time. Just as the youma's hand began

to glow a blue so light that it almost appeared as white, a strong

voice called out, "MARS... FLAME... SNIPER!"

A fiery arrow flew out from somewhere behind the two, passing so

close to Ryu's head that it actually singed his hair before going right

through the chest of the ice-youma. It shrieked, dropping Ryu to the

ground and staggering backwards. Before it could recover, another

voice called out, "Jupiter... Oak... REVOLUTION!" The ensuing volley of

green balls of energy struck the youma dead on. It barely had time to

scream before it was reduced to dust.

Gasping for air, Ryu turned to look at the ones who had rescued

him... he had heard the old stories. Heck, he had even been saved by one

of them, back then. But... could it really be them? They hadn't been

seen for years!

Sure enough, some twenty feet behind him stood the Sailor Senshi.

Or at least, three of them. He recognized two of them immediately from

the description that had been given of them in the old stories: Sailor

Mars and Sailor Jupiter. He could only assume that the one with the

wings on her back and the crescent moon on her forehead was Sailor

Moon.

As the ice-youma disintegrated, the skeletal-youma darted up into

the air, searching for the source of those attacks. "WHO DARES!?" it

demanded in a loud voice.

"The police are the peace-keepers of our cities! I won't forgive

those who attack them and smash up my favorite ice-cream shop!"

The youma sweatdropped slightly at that. Had it smashed an ice-

cream shop? A quick glance around revealed that yes, it had. Not that

it cared.

"Sailor Moon!"

"Sailor Mars!"

"Sailor Jupi..." the speech was cut off right then and there as

the youma's shadow surged forward and engulfed Sailor Jupiter and

Sailor Mars. A second later, they were thrown out of it at high

speeds. Jupiter smashed into the side of a nearby building, while Mars

hit the street and skidded for several dozen feet before coming to a

halt.

"MARS! JUPITER!" Eternal Sailor Moon cried out, moving towards

her friends with an expression of alarm on her face. She didn't notice

that the creature's shadow had begun to surge towards her...

"Behind you, Sailor Moon!" Mars yelled. She and Jupiter had

recovered, but were too far away to help Eternal Sailor Moon.

Eternal Sailor Moon whirled around in time to see the creature's

shadow right in front of her, close enough to touch... wait, where was

the youma? It was... flat on its back? As she had whirled around, her

wings collided with the youma, sending it sprawling. Sailor Moon

raised her sceptre to finish off the youma... and then she tripped over

her newly regrown ponytails and fell flat on her face.

The youma's face turned an interesting shade of red at that, and

a BIIG sweatdrop appeared behind its head as it rose to its feet.

"You're... making fun of me. I just know it." the creature said. "I

don't like being teased like this! My feelings are very sensitive, you

know!"

Sailor Moon sweatdropped. In another moment, however, she was

back on her feet and posing impressively. "Our opening speeches are

sacrosanct!" she declared, "How dare you interrupt them!"

"Sacrosanct?" Jupiter asked incredulously.

"Sailor Moon, you know such a word?" asked Mars.

Ryu, the Youma, and Sailor Moon all sweatdropped.

Moon directed a fierce, "Urusai!" at Mars before continuing her

speech (poses included). "I won't forgive you for interrupting our

speeches! Tsuki ni kawatte... oshiokyo!" As she concluded her speech,

both Ryu and the Youma sweatdropped even more heavily.

. o O (I ALSO won't forgive those who give my Mamo-chan an excuse

to call me odango atama again.) Usagi thought indignantly.

It was then that the Youma swatted her to the ground.

Sailor Moon landed on her rear quite painfully, and as soon as

she was down, the youma once again sent its shadow surging towards her.

Suddenly, a flash of red split the night, and a loud *crack*

resounded through the area. Everyone (including the creature) looked

up in surprise. A perfect red rose had been cast into the creature's

shadow... and was now pinning it to the ground. The youma took a

another step towards Sailor Moon. Or rather, it tried to, but found

that its body had stopped responding. "What the hell? My body... it

won't move!" said the youma, surprise clearly evident in its voice.

"Tuxedo Kamen-sama!" the three senshi cried, relief evident in

their voices.

Tuxedo Kamen stood on top of a nearby lamp-post. "Even the

darkest shadow is banished by the light of day," he said. "Sailor Moon,

ima yo!"

"Hai!"

Eternal Sailor Moon pulled her sceptre out of subspace and called

out, "Silver Moon Crystal Power... KISS!"

The energy from her attack washed over the youma, which stood

there for a moment before crying out, "BEAUTIFUL!" and disintegrating

into a pile of dust.

With the creature dead, the Senshi vanished as suddenly as they

had come, leaving one Makaino Ryu standing in the midst of the area

that the two youma had smashed, his team-mates lying unconscious all

around him, wondering exactly how he was going to explain THIS to his

superiors.

No one noticed as a dark figure emerged from the shadows and

began to follow the Senshi.

******

They roof-hopped for a good five minutes until they were certain

that they were a safe distance away from the area, and then they jumped

down to the street. Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter landed gracefully

on their feet, but Eternal Sailor Moon hit the ground awkwardly and

would have gone face-first into the pavement had Tuxedo Kamen not

caught her.

"Arigatou, Tuxedo-Kamen-sama," said Sailor Moon.

"Anything for my Princess," he said.

"Mamo-chan!" she whispered, her eyes starting to shimmer... until

she heard two coughs from behind her. Sailor Moon turned around and

came face-to-face with a glaring Sailor Mars.

"Sailor Moon," she said, obviously very annoyed, "you can flirt

with Tuxedo-Kamen later. Right now we've got important things to talk

about! It looks like a new enemy has arrived."

Sailor Jupiter nodded, cracking her knuckles. "And it's about

time, too! I was wondering if another enemy would EVER show up!"

The others looked at Jupiter strangely, and she had the decency

to blush heavily.

Sailor Moon stuck out her tongue at Sailor Mars. "You're just

jealous because you don't have a cute husband like Tuxedo-Kamen!"

What happened next was fairly predictable. *BIIIIDAH!*

*BIIIIDAH!* As the two Senshi bickered, Jupiter and Tuxedo Kamen

looked on, bigsweatting.

"Minna," said Eternal Sailor Moon when the argument subsided, "we

can talk about this tomorrow, right? Let's detransform and go home. I

want to go to sleep!"

******

A dark figure stood on top of the roof of the building that the

Senshi had just hopped down from. This dark, mysterious, evil thing...

was bigsweatting heavily. "THESE are the ones that bear the protection

of the planets?" it asked incredulously. Their battle against those

youma had been a joke! It could almost believe that they had made fun

of its youma intentionally as a part of some sort of strangely

calculated maneuver on their part... but no, that couldn't be possible,

could it? They didn't know about it yet... right?

As the Senshi bickered, the figure's sweatdrop grew only larger.

. o O (... THESE are the ones that BEAR THE PROTECTION OF THE

PLANETS!?!?') it asked again, this time taking care to make sure she

didn't say anything out loud.

When Sailor Moon suggested that they detransform and go home, the

figure leaned forward, hoping to catch a clear view of them returning

to their normal forms. It had fought with Senshi elsewhere in the

galaxy, and it knew enough about them to know that if it saw them

detransform, it would be able to recognize them in their normal forms

the next time it saw them.

So focused was the creature on watching the Senshi that it didn't

realize that anything was wrong at all until, from just behind it, a

soft, almost sorrowful voice whispered, "Dead Scream."

******

Down on the street, Rei frowned and glanced about curiously. "Did

any of you just hear something?"

Makoto and Usagi shook their heads, but Mamoru seemed troubled.

"It was..." he began, "almost like the howl of the wind, but there was

also a strange shrieking sound, right?"

Rei nodded, her suspicions deepening for a moment. She couldn't

sense any dark energy in the area... so... she eventually just shrugged

and said, "It was probably just the wind. Let's go."

******

The dark figure materialized on the top floor of the Tokyo tower.

That had NOT been fun. The green-haired woman it had encountered on

the roof had nearly killed it in one shot... and she had been getting

ready to fire off a second when it had managed to teleport away. As it

was, there was a rather large hole blown through its chest... it would

regenerate, but it would take time, and it wasn't growing back as

quickly as it should have been.

It let out a slight hiss of pain as it staggered to the rail and

looked out at the city, leaving a trail of the black slime that served

it as blood behind it. It grimaced, shaking its head as it said, "I

should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Very clever, Sailor

Senshi.. lulling me into a false sense of security as another of your

group attacks me from behind... very clever indeed. I won't

underestimate them again!"

******

*** Later That Night ***

Mamoru sighed as he finally lay down beside his already sleeping wife

and pulled the covers over himself. When they had finally gotten home,

Usagi had been so exhausted that it was all she could do to stagger to

bed. She fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Mamoru, on

the other hand, had forced himself to stay up a bit longer; something

told him that he needed to contact those inner senshi who were not in

Japan at the moment. Two international phone calls later, he had

received promises from both Ami and Minako to come as soon as they could.

Ami apparently planned to use some of the vacation time that she had

coming up, while Minako... well, she was eccentric enough (and had done

it often enough in the past) that no one really thought it strange for

her to just suddenly get on a jet for Japan. Her agent would probably

have appearances and/or concerts across half of Japan booked for her

(complete with a full back-up band) by the time she was three quarters

of the way there.

In any case, with the days work finally finished, Mamoru allowed

himself to relax. Snuggling up next to Usagi, he let his mind drift

until sleep came to claim him.

*** END EPISODE ONE ***

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