Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sailor Moon: the Enemy Next Door ❯ Chapter 20

Chapter 20

 

Sark had been watching closely to events, and he was glad to have learned the identity of three of the scouts. However whoever the pink haired girl and the bun headed girl were was another matter. He then told Yo and Nama to tail the two of them and find out just who they were. The two of them observed the change, and remembered seeing the man get out of a particular car before, and they took action. They managed to pop the trunk of the car before the three returned and hid in the trunk. They had no idea who the three were—either in costume or out of it—but they were sure they would soon find out. As the conversations in the car went on, they two of them giggled and laughed, and managed to do so in sync with the others as to avoid detection. They now had names—Mamoru, Usagi, and Chibiusa. After a bit, the car finally stopped and had the engine shut down as the exited. They opened the trunk and peeked out, seeing the sign on the door: Tsukino. They then closed it again as the man drove off again and then stopped before his apartment. Once he was out, the two got out and tailed him, laughing and giggling to themselves over how clever they had been. Once they found that his last name was Chiba, they reported back to Sark.

 

At Sark's place, he was delighted that these two had proven themselves so useful. Once he learned that they all schooled at the Juban district of Tokyo, he started to formulate a plan to strike the scouts where it hurt. He then sent the pair back to see if there was more to be discovered. When they returned, they decided to see if they could do something to flush out more of the scouts if possible. They decided to put on a street show not too far from a high school in the area that was more than likely the place where all the kids went. They were doing mime, making balloon animals, and juggling. Before long, a crow was beginning to form, being entertained by the two harlequins. Soon, the scouts, (in their alter egos,) made their way out to see what was going on. In addition, Rei was heading home, passing by the school, but she had a different reaction. She began to sense the shift in the area, and sensed great evil. She followed it to the two doing the show, and she realized that there was trouble brewing. However, rather than make an immediate fuss, Rei found the rest of the scouts and pulled them aside. Rei then said, “Those two are covered with evil! They are planning…” but before she could finish the sentence, there was trouble.

 

Yo and Nama started to show some of the fun wind up toys that they had brought, and they were really cheap—25 yen a piece. All the girls were winding them up and watching all the different things that all the animals were doing. There were rabbits, ducks, raccoons, and other various cute animals. They were all hopping and tumbling, and then growing quite large! One of the raccoons smashed its paw on the pavement hard enough to shake the ground, and all the kids began to scream. In time about 45 of these things were going in to destroy the Juban district. However, they had only gotten so far before one brave dumpling head stood in their way, saying, “Frightening innocent teenagers just looking for fun, and then trying to tear up their homes is inexcusable. I shall not forgive it! I the pretty soldier in the sailor suit, defender of love and justice—Sailor Moon—in the name of the moon, I shall punish you!”

As she finished that, one of the rabbits tried to squash her. She rolled out of the way, and she shouted, “FULL MOON FLASH!”

Immediately, all the youma were blinded, and that's when the scouts struck. As they unleashed their arsenal, they were relieved to find that they were relatively easy to destroy. As this was happening, the outer scouts arrived with Uranus letting loose with Earth Shaking, playing bowling for youma. Of course, destroying the scouts was not the duo's intent, but it was to flush out the scouts. The two were thinking to themselves, “Hey, what do you expect for 25 yen?”

Another thing they noticed was the outer scouts. They looked quite different, and they seemed rather powerful. They were upset that they would have to find out about them, but they would do what they could for the time being, figuring they would have other chances. In the meantime, while the scouts were mopping up the youma, the two clowns decided to split up. Yo was going to follow the ones with the red trim and the blue trim, and Nama was going to go with their original plan, knowing it may even flush out the scouts they had not yet met.

 

Once the last youma was gone, they began to look around for the two clowns that seemed to be at the center of the storm, but they were gone. As the scouts gathered, they started to talk about what happened and what they saw. However, as they began to look around for clues, there was nothing left to give them a lead into chasing the pair down. They had to face it: they lost their foes, but they knew there would be another time. At that, they changed back and split up. Ami and Rei were going to stop off at the shopping district, because Ami wanted Rei's advice on some new clothes for her wardrobe. As they went along, Yo was beaming. He did not figure that the two he wanted to find out information on would be traveling together, and he laughed to himself as he followed, thinking to himself that his luck was just like a big joke. The girls entered into a clothing store that was designed for the youth, and it catered to all kinds of youth: punk, nerdy types, Goth, hip-hop, and other things. Rei knew that some of those things were far too radical for Ami, and they just would not fit her image. They decided to go a bit conservative, accenting her femininity, but still fitting her personality. They got her a couple of long denim skirts, some nice print blouses with denim panels to match the skirts, and some light colored sleeveless dresses that accented her face and hair well. They got her a black leather purse that could go with anything, and a pair of high heel leather calf boots. However, Yo was watching the action, and saw a young man who ran the floor. He snuck up on him and tapped him on the shoulder. He swung around and asked, “Can I help you…um…sir?”

“Yes,” he giggled, “Smell my flower!”

He then aimed the corsage at the man and a puff of smoke came out of it. The man immediately fell, and Yo dragged him into a rest room, trading clothes with him. He then wiped off the clown make-up and went out to deal with the girls.

 

He approached the pair and said, “Hello ladies! Can I help you?”

“We're just getting ready to check out,” said Rei.

“Oh, and nothing for you?” he asked Rei.

“Well, I'm getting this purse and this pair of shoes,” said Rei, and then the attendant said, “Well then, I can check you out!”

They went to the register, and Ami went first. He told her the charge and he rung her through. He looked at the receipt, and noticed that there was a name and address on the slip. He handed Ami the one to sign, and while she was doing that, he quickly jotted down the information. He repeated the process with Rei, but as that was going on; Rei could not help but feel the sense that something was out of place. It was similar to what she felt when she was going to pick up Ami for that shopping trip. Rei looked at him and asked, “Do I know you?”

Yo began to fidget a bit and sweat a touch, and he giggled as he said, “Why no, we haven't met: of course not! What makes you say that?”

Rei sighed and said, “Oh, its nothing,” and she took her things and went. As they did, Ami asked, “What was that all about?”

“I don't know,” said Rei, “But for some reason, I felt the same thing in a much smaller way that I felt back at the school. It was weird. Hold on.”

Rei went back into the store, but the feeling had gone by that point. Rei shook her head and went back to Ami. Yo had gotten his clothes back and left the others with the attendant, looking at the names. He could now find them and cause them no end of mischief. He then headed out, wondering how his sister was doing.

 

Nama was waiting outside Juban Middle School, being she was old enough for that now, and she was leaving with Shingo. They were laughing and joking as if they were brother and sister, because, whenever Chibiusa was with the Tsukino family, she had a way to hypnotize them into thinking she was related to them, and they treated her like she was a daughter. However, as they went, they took some time to watch a street clown perform her act, and they found her very amusing. Nama finally recognized Chibiusa, and she figured that this would be a good chance to strike. She had all the children gather closely for something special. As they closed in, she pulled up and started to crank the jack in the box. Just as it hit the climactic point, the jack hopped up and had a small hose that started to spray the knockout gas. Shingo tried to shove Chibiusa along, gasping, “Bunny, run!” but he was being overcome, as was Chibiusa. Before long, all the children were out, but Nama only had her eyes on two of them. She quickly grabbed Shingo and Chibiusa and vanished for Sark's hideout.

 

Meanwhile, at the studio, Makoto, Minako, and Tom were getting ready to go through the final mixing of their first album, but when they arrived, there were some police cars there. When they came up, they police stopped them, saying, “Sorry kids, you can't go in for your own safety.”

“Is there a danger inside?” asked Tom.

“Well, there could be?” said the officer.

“What happened?” asked Minako.

“It seems that in the past few days, many of the kids that had callbacks to this studio mysteriously disappeared,” said the officer, “Since they all had a connection here, then it was obvious to investigate things here.”

The three thanked the officer for the information and then they went down the street. “That is really weird,” said Makoto, and Minako's crime fighting instincts started to kick in. She said, “I think it's time for three scouts to do just that. Let's start to scout things out and take care of business!”

With that, they found a place to transform and then began to look for a way in.

 

Lin-Lin was already long gone from the offices before the police came. She had anticipated this, and she had it set that they could get out without leaving any indication that she had been there. She also left a surprise behind for any who wished to investigate. She was in the special spots in the basement where all the youma were being held, and the only thing that frustrated her was that she could not get her main target. It was no matter, though, because, when she unleashed these things on Tokyo, she could lure out the scouts and destroy them that way. Besides all that, she knew where they lived now, and it was possible that she could find some way to threaten them that way. Little did she know that her targets were trying to enter the building.

 

The three went to the back, and Venus picked the lock so that they could enter. Jupiter then said, “Wait, where did you learn how to do that?”

“I learned that from Scotland Yard when I worked in London as Sailor V,” said Venus, “You forget my extensive past.”

Jupiter and Ceres shook their heads and headed in. It was eerily quiet in the place. It did not seem right. It could be that the police had chased everyone out, but something did not feel right. The kids made sure to stay out of sight of the police and managed to make their way upstairs. The biggest concentration of the police was around the main recording studio where they had done their work. From their vantage point, it looked like they were dismantling some strange looking, futuristic equipment. It almost looked like a ray gun of some kind, though they could not make it out. They started to head up the stairs, and they wanted to head up to the office, but there was too many police in there. However, Venus noticed a slip of paper near them that seemed to have not been noticed by the police, punctuated by the footprints on it. Venus picked it up, and they went up a few flights until there was no one around, and then they took time to look at it. It appeared to be the middle of a recent report of some kind, but what it read horrified them. It seems that there had been a program in the building to convert people into youma in order to create some kind of an army. “Then that explains the Philippines,” said Ceres.

“What do you mean?” asked Makoto.

“I mean, it seems that, if…well…whoever, is trying to create an army,” said Ceres, “they were either trying to go that route there, or they were testing the viability of an army by that. What else does it say?”

“It says that there had been an original plan to build something in Australia, but it fell through,” said Venus, “It does say, `If Sark does follow through without me, then I can blame it on Australia for the youma, start the invasion, and then see what kind of a war develops. They will think the enemy next door in Australia, but in reality, it had been next door, as in a few buildings away.'”

“The enemy next door?” asked Jupiter, “It seems like they're already in our back yard!”

“Nonetheless,” said Ceres, “We have to find out where these youma may be, and stop them.”

It was then that Venus noticed that they had reached the top floor. Detective instinct took over Venus, and she said, “Let's check it out.”

 

They found that there was only one hallway, and a set of double doors that led into what seemed to be the only room up top. When they entered, they found what could be tantamount to an old China throne room fit for an empress. They started to look around, and Venus began to get a feeling that she had seen this kind of thing before. She went up to the throne, and she found a tape player. She pressed play, and then heard a voice that she thought she would never hear again. It said, “Hello, Minako—it's good to see you again. Oh, and Hi to Makoto and Tom!”

The other two stiffened to hear this. “That's right,” the player continued, “I know who you are! That will be your undoing, if you survive.”

They all looked at each other, and Venus said, “RUN!” as she took the tape player. The player continued, and said, “If you are not already out of the building by now, (knowing that Minako's instincts are good,) then you may not make it. When you walked in here, you set off a timer of three minutes before the whole thing blows apart. If you haven't left yet, then, well, I'll see you three in Hell!”

This was followed by a cackling, and Ceres said, “Just who was that?”

“Princess Lin-Lin,” said Venus, “Someone I thought I had vanquished!”

“Talk later!” shouted Jupiter, “We have to get everyone out!”

They ran down the stairs, now not caring if they were seen, shouting, “Clear the place, it's going to blow!”

Now everyone was in a dead sprint, and heading out of the building. They had just gotten across the street and behind some police cars when the explosions went off underneath the building, and in other points. The building imploded and crumbled into a heap. At first, the police were a bit angry they were in there, but then they realized that they were the Sailor Scouts, and therefore, it would be logical for them to be in there. They then stuck around to give the police the report. Venus, however, suspected the Lin-Lin was long gone with those poor kids turned youma. She hoped that Sailor Moon could bring them back.

 

Lin-Lin took some underground cavern to a spot that had been used for the Yakuzai as a hiding spot when there was trouble. Now it would be her headquarters, and she knew that the only place to strike at them would be Tom's family. Thus, a probing attack at the post would be the first test. She decided to lay low for a few days and then she would strike.

 

Back at the Tsukino residence, Usagi was coming up to the house, and there was a police car in front of the house. Usagi ran up, and her parents were in tears. The police asked who she was, and then they relented when they were told. When she went in, Luna met her and said, “It's horrible, Usagi, Bunny and Shingo are missing!”

“What!” exclaimed Usagi.

Luna said, “I bet kidnapping, because the police found a bunch of children passed out on the ground not too far from their school. When they came to, they said that they had stopped to watch a street clown do her act, and then the clown knocked them all out with some kind of gas.”

Usagi thought for a moment, and then she said, “Wait, there was two clowns doing their thing outside our school before the youma attack there. Do you think…” and Usagi was thinking the worse. In a flash, she was on her communicator, calling the others, and saying, “We have a BIG problem.”

 

 

 

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