Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Brooch ❯ Chapter 8

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The Brooch
By Jason C. Ulloa


Chapter 8


Orphan's Quarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 6, 1992. 7:44 A.M.


"So, how do you feel?" Serenity asked as she looked over her newly transformed Sailor Senshi.

Sailor Venus' gaze turned from Serenity to Sailor Saturn and back to Serenity again. "It's a little
strange...," she began uncertainly as she glanced back to Saturn again. "Hotaru-chan, do you remember
anything about Saturn, or being Sara or Sailor Saturn in your past life?"

Saturn blinked as her expression turned introspective. "I think so...," she replied after a moment.
"I've only got a few small bits and pieces, though."

"Me, too...," Venus agreed, nodding thoughtfully.

"That's good," Luna chimed in from her position on Usagi's bed. "If you're starting to remember your
past lives, then that means that you should be able to remember how to use your powers."

"I think you should both spend a little bit of time refamiliarizing yourselves with your Senshi
powers," Artemis suggested. "That way, the next time Sailor Moon has to fight, you two will be ready to
help."

"Listen, all of you," Serenity said as she walked over to Usagi's bed and sat down between Luna and
Artemis. "Usagi's beginning to wake up, so we don't have much time.

"Luna, I need you and Artemis to bring Venus and Saturn up to speed on using their powers. Once
Ryoku-san heals enough to get out of bed, he may be able to be of some help. From what he's told me,
he's already regained some of his memories, so perhaps he will know of some of the Senshi's various
power sets."

"Right," Luna and Artemis agreed.

"Good. I suggest that you take the opportunity to train now, while everyone's in the middle of
welcoming back their defenders and grieving for those lost," Serenity said as she laid down on the bed.
Luna hopped off of the bed, while Venus picked Artemis up again. "Just remember: Usagi doesn't know I
exist yet, so it's better to assume that I'm Usagi unless I do or say something to prove that I'm
Serenity.

"One more thing. Don't tell anyone that you're a Sailor Senshi. If someone were to find out and they
should be captured by the Dark Kingdom, then there's the possibility that the Dark Kingdom could find
out. Understand?"

"We understand," Venus replied with a smile. "And don't worry. We won't let you down."

"Thank you," she said and smiled back as she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Sailor Venus and Sailor
Saturn quietly stepped out of the room while closing the door behind them.

_________________________________________________________________


Minako and Hotaru changed back from their Senshi forms after Minako realized that it wouldn't be a good
idea to be seen as they were after having gone up in their normal forms. So, with some quick
instruction from Luna, they managed to quickly return to normal before leaving the living quarters.

"Minako-chan," Hotaru said as she slowly came to a stop.

"Eh? What is it, Hotaru-chan? Is something wrong?" she asked, noting the mixed look of confusion and
rumination.

"I think I...," she began, then trailed off as she started running back toward the Hikawa Jinja.

"Hotaru-chan, wait!" Minako called after her. "I thought we were supposed to be training!" she huffed
as she cradled the white cat in her arms closer to herself. "Hang on, Artemis. We're going after her."

"Wha-?" was all he had time to say before Minako took off running. "Mroooow!"

Luna merely sighed as the chase began. 'You've got to be kidding me....'

Despite the fact that Hotaru was stronger than when she first came to the Hikawa Jinja, she was still
weaker than normal girls her age. Although she could run for a prolonged period of time, it took a lot
out of her, and she had trouble keeping up the same pace as other girls her age. Still, at least she
could run now. That was better than when she had first started.

Still, it wasn't hard for Minako to catch up to the young girl.

"Wait up!" she said as she grabbed the younger girl by the arm. "What's going on, Hotaru-chan?"

"I need to see Ryo-niichan and Rei-chan!" she replied quickly. "I think I can help them!"

"Help them?" Minako repeated, bewildered. "How?"

Hotaru gently pulled her arm from Minako's grasp. "It'd take too long to explain. Let me show you,
instead." With that, she continued running toward the infirmary, leaving Minako and Luna to chase after
her once again.

"Do you have any idea of what she's talking about?" she asked the two cats.

"I'm not too sure," Luna said as she frowned in thought. "My memory's very spotty from being asleep for
so long. I wish I could tell you."

"The same goes for me, too," Artemis added. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if this had to do with her
regaining some of her memories as Sara."

This made her slow down a bit. Hotaru's past life? If she could remember something from her past life
that could help Ryoku and Rei, then what about herself? Did she have anything similar? She brooded over
the possibility as she followed Hotaru into the infirmary and into Ryoku's room.

"Back already?" Ryoku asked as he turned from reading something on Ami's notepad. He was about to say
something else when his expression altered slightly.

"Something wrong, Ryoku?" Mamoru asked, noting the change in expression.

"No. Not wrong...," he replied as his expression reverted back to normal. "Just unexpected."

'What are you talking about?' Ami wrote.

"I'll explain in a little bit, Ami," he replied, then turned back to Minako and Hotaru. "I take it
you've spoken with Serenity?" he asked.

"Yes, we have," Minako said quietly. Beside her, Hotaru just nodded.

"And you've decided?" he said, the words sounding more like a statement than a question.

"Yes."

"I figured as much," he sighed. "I could feel it as soon as you walked into the door."

"What are you...?" Mamoru began but trailed off as soon as he noticed what Ryoku was talking about.

There was a subtle power emanating from Minako and Hotaru now. It was similar to the power he felt from
Sailor Moon, yet slightly different. Now that he knew what to look for, he could remember feeling the
same type of power from Serenity as well.

"Ryo-niichan...," Hotaru began as she stepped closer to his bed.

"I'm surprised you came to me first," he said, smiling gently. "Rei needs the help more than I do."

"I'm not sure if I have enough power to heal her completely," the young girl replied sadly. "Besides,
Serenity said we may need your help if we're going to learn enough to be of any help to her."

"I see...," he replied, nodding understandingly. "At any rate, before you begin, I think we should
explain some things to Ami and Mamoru. I'm sure Serenity's already explained a few things to you,
Mamoru, so I'll go over just the important parts. Ami can catch up later." He paused to smile at the
blue-haired girl. "Is that all right with you, Ami?"

Ami nodded, but gave him a look that said she wanted a full explanation later.

"All right," he began. "Let me start off by saying that if it wasn't for Serenity's help, all of us
would more than likely be dead right now." He paused long enough for Ami to glance over at Mamoru to
see him nod his confirmation. "You see, Serenity has the power to transform into a warrior named Sailor
Moon who comes from a kingdom that existed millennia ago. It was because of this power that we were
able to destroy the Youma horde that invaded last night.

"The reason why she has these powers is because she's the reincarnation of the princess of that
kingdom," Ryoku continued. "The Dark Kingdom destroyed her kingdom, but the Queen managed to seal them
away before they could completely wipe out all life in both the Moon Kingdom and the Solar System.
Afterwards, everyone in that kingdom was sent forward in time to be reincarnated here on Earth."

Ryoku paused as he glanced around him at the disbelieving looks he was getting. "You're probably
wondering how I know all this," he said dryly.

"Serenity said that you were the reincarnation of some prince in that kingdom," Mamoru mentioned.

"She never said that you were a prince!" Minako interrupted. "She told us that you were her best
general."

"I was both, actually," he told them. "I was the Prince of Jupiter, Jovan. During the war with the Dark
Kingdom, I was one of Queen Serenity's best generals. Both Luna and Artemis could confirm that fact if
their memories weren't as riddled with holes as my own," he added self-deprecatingly. "I've only just
regained a good deal of my memories while I was unconscious."

"The cats?" Mamoru said as he glanced toward the two cats. Luna was sitting on Ryoku's bed while
Artemis was still being carried in Minako's arms.

"Yes, the cats," he confirmed. "Later," he added, forestalling any further questions. Mamoru merely
nodded in response.

He paused as he noticed Ami writing quickly on her notepad. 'What about Minako-chan and Hotaru-chan?'

"Ah. I was getting to that. During the war with the Moon Kingdom, there was a group of warriors whose
sole purpose was to protect the Moon Kingdom from threats such as the Dark Kingdom. They were known as
the Sailor Senshi."

"Sailor Senshi?" Mamoru repeated, glancing at Minako and Hotaru, then over at Ami. "Serenity said that
she was looking for her Sailor Senshi."

"She's already found two," Hotaru said softly. "I'm one of them."

"Not that I'm saying that we can't trust Mamoru-san and Ami-chan, but are you sure you should be telling
them this, Hotaru-chan?" Minako asked nervously.

"Don't worry about them," Ryoku reassured her. "There's a reason why they need to know."

"Are you sure, Ryoku-sama?"

"Trust me, Minako."

He was about to continue when he felt Ami put a hand on his arm. He looked over to see her utterly
confused expression begging for more of an explanation.

"I guess a demonstration is in order," he sighed. "Hotaru-chan, would you please transform?"

"All right," Hotaru acknowledged as she brought out her transformation wand and raised it overhead.
"Saturn star power, make-up!" As before, a brilliant light filled the room as the young girl
transformed. Once the light faded, Sailor Saturn stood in Hotaru's place.

Both Ami and Mamoru stared at Saturn in shock. The subtle power that Mamoru had felt earlier was more
palpable now that she had transformed. Once she had transformed, Saturn quietly laid her hands upon
Ryoku's chest and closed her eyes. A soft glow emanated from her hands and flowed gently onto his body.
As he was bathed in light, many of his visible injuries and wounds slowly began to close up and heal
themselves as the others watched in awe. After several moments, the light faded and Saturn opened her
eyes.

"How do you feel, Ryo-niichan?" she asked, her expression a little weary.

"A little sleepy and very hungry, but other than that, I feel a lot better," he reported. "Thank you,
Hotaru-chan."

'What was that?' Ami's notepad displayed as she practically shoved it into Ryoku's and Saturn's faces.
The look on her face was one of utter astonishment.

"I think... I was able to do that in my previous life," Saturn admitted. "It's not Sailor Saturn's
power. I think Sara... I mean, the Princess of Saturn was able to do that herself."

"I'm guessing that awakening the power of Sailor Saturn also awoke that power in you as well," Mamoru
supposed.

"Transforming allowed her to focus more power," Ryoku added. "That's why she's just tired, rather than
almost asleep. She's not used to her new power yet."

"I'm going to take Sailor Saturn to see Rei-chan," Minako said as she guided Saturn to the door with
Artemis still in her arms. "I hope you're well enough to get out of bed soon. We're going to need all
the help we can get if we're going to learn how to fight Youma and the like." With that, the two left
the room.

'That was amazing,' Ami wrote down on her notepad, her expression still showing some disbelief.

"Still having trouble believing me, Ami?" he teased. Ami quickly shook her head, then stopped as she
shrugged pensively. "A lot to take in, huh?" She nodded. "Are you surprised?" She nodded again. "Who
would've thought, huh? Me, a prince and a general? I've had enough problems as a Third Class Blade." He
chuckled ruefully. "I wish I could remember more about my past life, though. Maybe I could learn a
thing or two from myself.

"Say, Mamoru, you didn't seem too surprised to learn that Minako and Hotaru-chan were Sailor Senshi,"
he mentioned. "Did Serenity mention anything to you about them?"

"She told me about Minako-san and Hotaru-chan," he replied. "She also mentioned that she recognized two
others."

"The first one being Rei, obviously," he said as he stifled a yawn. "Who was the second?" He paused as
he noticed the look in Mamoru's face. He then followed his gaze straight to Ami.

'Me?' Ami wrote, feeling even more bewildered than before.

"She said she recognized her as the reincarnation of the Princess of Mercury," Mamoru informed him.

'Me?' Ami wrote again, still feeling quite bewildered.

"But why didn't she want her to come along with Minako and Hotaru-chan?" Ryoku pondered. "If she's a
Senshi, too, then why wouldn't she want to awaken her as well?"

'Wait a minute,' Ami wrote quickly. 'What are you talking about? That was Usagi-chan, not someone named
Serenity.'

Ryoku and Mamoru exchanged looks. "Luna, you and Artemis were the ones that explained it to me, so I
think you should explain what happened to Usagi," he told the black cat sitting at the foot on his bed.

"Hmm.... You know, she does look like Meria," Luna said thoughtfully as she stood up and padded over to
the side of the bed where Ami and Mamoru were standing. Ami was gaping at the talking cat while Mamoru
was doing his best to take everything in stride. "At any rate, Princess Serenity and Usagi are the same
person," Luna explained. "Or rather, Usagi is the reincarnation of Princess Serenity, who was the
Princess of the Moon when the Moon Kingdom still existed.

"From what Artemis and I have been able to determine, when Usagi's family was killed, she managed to
survive by instinctively calling on Princess Serenity's powers in order to protect herself. However, in
the process, we think she may have accidentally pulled Princess Serenity's consciousness as well. As a
result, Serenity now exists as a separate personality within Usagi."

"Serenity is completely aware of being inside Usagi's body," Ryoku added. "However, Usagi doesn't know
of Serenity's existence as of yet. Also, Usagi doesn't know that Serenity has been using her body to
fight Youma as Sailor Moon since Usagi isn't willing to use her powers to do so."

Ami quickly started writing again. 'I don't understand. Do you mean that Serenity takes over Usagi's
body whenever she wants to fight Youma?'

"No, no!" Luna quickly replied. "Certainly not! Princess Serenity is only borrowing Usagi's body
whenever she's either asleep or unconscious. She realizes that it's not her body and respects that
fact. She would never forcefully take over Usagi's body."

Ami nodded understandingly. 'So, I'm supposedly one of these Sailor Senshi that Serenity is looking
for. Does that mean that she wants me to help her fight Youma, too? I'm not much of a fighter; I'm only
a nurse-in-training that's studying to become a doctor."

"Minako is a nurse-in-training, too," Ryoku countered as he gently took one of Ami's hands in his. "And
Hotaru-chan's twelve years old and not very physically strong. The reason why they chose to fight is
because they have a power that's strong enough to make a difference."

"Sailor Moon is the strongest of all the Sailor Senshi," Luna added. "But even she can't take on the
Dark Kingdom by herself. Without the help of the rest of her Sailor Senshi, she will fail and she will
die. And when she dies, the rest of mankind will eventually die with her."

The black cat sighed ruefully. "But even if you did want to help, you won't be able to transform in
your present condition," she added. "Your powers are dependent on your ability to speak. Without your
voice, you cannot transform into Sailor Mercury."

Ami's face fell slightly. 'I see,' she wrote, her pencil moving across the notepad slower than her
usual speed. 'I suppose it'll be all right. After all, how much help could someone like myself be?'

"Don't underestimate yourself, Ami," Ryoku said quietly as he yawned once more. "In the right
conditions, people are capable of doing things that they would normally think impossible. The power of
belief and faith is a miraculous thing.

"I think yesterday's beginning to catch up with me," Ryoku yawned again. "I need some sleep badly."

Mamoru chuckled. "I think a lot of us need some sleep badly," he added. "I'll let Minako-san and
Hotaru-chan know you're going to sleep for a while. I'll also let Mizuno-hakase and Setsuna-san know
that your injuries have mostly healed already. I can probably arrange to get you out of here by tonight
at the earliest, or by tomorrow at the latest."

"Thanks, Mamoru."

"Don't worry about it. After all, it sounds like you're going to be busy."

"Busy?" Ryoku repeated, noting something different in the way his friend stressed the word.

"Considering the invaluable assistance Sailor Moon has given us during the attempted invasion, I would
like to assist her in her mission as much as possible," he explained with a small grin. "Considering
your situation and your relationships - both present and past," he added, earning a dry look from
Ryoku, "I'm appointing you as a liaison between Shishu and the Sailor Senshi."

"A... what?"

"Basically, you're a go-between for Shishu and the Sailor Senshi. I'll brief you on the details
tomorrow," Mamoru added as he started for the door. "Get some rest, Ryoku. You need it."

"Ami, would you mind checking on Rei for me?" he requested as soon as Mamoru left. She nodded her
agreement. "Also, would you take Luna with you? I think the four of you will have some talking to do
when Rei wakes up."

Ami nodded again as she stood up and turned to leave. Before she left, she turned toward him and opened
her mouth, as if trying to say something. Nothing came out, though, and she closed her mouth in
disappointment.

"Don't force yourself, Ami. I look forward to the day I can hear your voice for the first time. I'm
sure it'll be beautiful."

A small blush stained her cheeks as she nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.

_________________________________________________________________


Jadeite's Chambers, Antechamber - Former Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan.
August 6, 1992. 8:08 A.M.


Jadeite frowned. He had expected news of the crushing defeat of the rebel humans to have reached him by
now. What was taking those blasted Youma so long? That was the problem with mass-produced Youma; no
brains to speak of whatsoever. Nothing like the Youma they had during the First Great War.

At least, this time there was no Queen Serenity to snatch victory from their grasp at the last minute.
This time, they had well and truly won.

The morning light shone through a few cracks in the walls where age-old battle damage still remained
from their first victory over the human race. The wall itself had been destroyed, but eventually he had
had it rebuilt. Of course, Youma intelligence being what it was, the walls of the former Imperial
Palace had been reconstructed, but not repaired. Curtains and drapes were still tattered, and while all
of the windows had been repaired, the glass was made imperfectly by incompetent slaves, as Youma were
too stupid and clumsy to make something as delicate as glass.

Normally, he would've had the slaves killed for such a wretched job, but humans knowledgeable in such
crafts were not as common anymore. And while Zoisite and Kunzite were content to kill off humans left
and right, keeping only enough around to hunt for sport, he preferred to let his slaves learn enough to
make such things as glass so that he wouldn't have to bother making the things himself. Spending fifty
Earth years on the planet had gotten himself well and truly accustomed to his usual creature comforts.

Zoisite had once made a sarcastic remark during the end of his palace reconstruction about how either
his Youma had screwed up royally or his taste in human architecture was somewhat bizarre. Not wanting
to rise to his pathetically obvious bait, Jadeite left it the way it was. In hindsight, it was stubborn
of him to do so, and Zoisite probably said what he did in order to get him to react they way he did,
but he had left it the way it was for so long, the dilapidated state of his palace felt like something
old and familiar.

Besides, the pseudo-ruined state of the palace made for a wonderfully dark, brooding atmosphere at
dusk. At night, the palace's dark, foreboding ambiance magnified beautifully. If one stopped to really
take in the palace's effect on the psyche, both Dark Kingdom denizen and human alike, one would recognize
his palace for what it was; an accidental work of architectural art.

Zoisite had no vision at all.

Jadeite's frown returned once again. His mind was wandering again. It tended to do that when he was either
in a good mood, or waiting for something. In this case, it could probably be both. After all, the
destruction of the Hikawa Jinja would spell certain doom for the humans in Japan. And while he could be
content with the many countries he ruled with a cold, iron grip, this was Japan. Ground Zero. To not
have complete control over this area was embarrassing, to say the least. Zoisite was annoying enough with
his petty barbs and slights, but Kunzite's outright declarations of incompetence were infuriating, to
say the least.

Minutes passed and Jadeite grew more impatient. What was taking his Youma so long to report? With a
scowl, he stormed into his bedroom, grabbed his grey uniform shirt off of the hook where he usually
left it at night and threw it on.

In the middle of getting dressed, he almost forgot about the other occupant of his bed. This was
another matter where his tastes and desires were totally opposite of Zoisite's and Kunzite's. Zoisite
and Kunzite completely spurned their previous human identities, claiming that they were so far above
normal humans to be a race of their own - a concept that both Nephrite and himself shared to some
degree - however, unlike himself and, to some degree, Nephrite, the other two Generals saw humans only
as animals to hunt and destroy at their leisure.

Like himself, Nephrite found some uses for humans as other than slave labor. And being of like minds
with himself, he had shared some of his thoughts and ideas with Jadeite. After all, should either
Zoisite or Kunzite become discontent with their holdings and decide to forcefully expand, a quick
alliance could easily be formed if they stayed on good terms with each other.

He could understand his desires to some degree, since, like Nephrite, he hadn't completely thrown away
the last shreds of his humanity. Nephrite still held onto his almost religious belief in the stars,
while he still believed in the ingenuity of humanity, as long as they didn't try to go too far with
it. Okinawa was proof enough of what could happen if he gave his slaves too much slack.

The sleeping occupant of his bed was one of the ideas of Nephrite's that he had found intriguing. It
had been a surprise to learn that Nephrite had been bedding some of his slaves. Before, they had to
slake their lusts on some of the more human-looking Youma, some of which were designed for such uses.
However, he had grown tired of such things very quickly. Besides, compared with some of his oldest
memories from another lifetime ago, the feeling was definitely not the same as compared to a normal
human companion. Nephrite readily agreed with him on that point. As for the other two, they'd probably
sleep with each other before sleeping with a human. He could definitely see Zoisite going for
something like that. That idiot fawned over Kunzite quite often, which, quite frankly, disgusted him.

Nephrite had explained - or rather, bragged - that on some of the human slaves he'd bedded, some of
them he had managed to seduce without any compulsion whatsoever. That was something he had always
envied of his fellow General; his charismatic personality. He couldn't seduce his slaves to save his
life, so he relied on compulsion. It saved time in the long run. Besides, he had a feeling Nephrite
enjoyed the chase. He, however, had better things to do than to pursue a pretty girl.

"I'm done with you for today," he told his companion. "You are to return to your quarters and resume
your other duties."

"Yes, sir," his slave companion droned as she rose from his bed, completely naked, and ambled toward
the door. A small smile crossed Jadeite's face as he watched the young girl leave the room. She had
long, flowing hair which he preferred in women, as well as an almost aristocratic beauty, despite the
fact that she was a slave. Somehow, this made her lethargic movements and countenance seem more
haughty than lifeless. Because of that, she was one of his favorites, despite the fact that she was so
young. In fact, she was the youngest of his companions; the rest of which spanned between their early-
to mid- or late-twenties. But considering that there were no rules but his own, the fact that the girl
was probably seventeen or eighteen years old was of no consequence to him.

Once his companion left, he finished arranging his uniform and stepped forward, fading into a
teleport. Upon exiting his teleport, he stood in front of the main entrance to the Youma barracks.
With a small effort, he flung the tall, wide double-doors aside, sending them crashing into the walls
with a resounding boom, startling all the Youma present. A simple gesture which always gave the
desired effect; Youma quivering in fear, wondering who screwed up and if they were going to die
because of it. Since Youma were more in abundance than before the start of the Second Great War,
killing off incompetent Youma was more in the norm than in previous years.

"Where are they?" was all he asked. It wasn't spoken loudly, yet his words carried throughout the
entire gathering hall. This was another effect that he used to instill awe and fear into his Youma.
The barracks were easily as big as two-thirds of his own palace, with the main gathering hall and
entryway comprising a good two-fifths of the entire structure. A low growl that filled the entire hall
was something that put the fear of death into them, which was something that he wanted them to
remember. Failure equals death. He could always create more Youma. The Hunters were his creations,
after all.

"Where is the invasion team I sent to the Hikawa Jinja last night?" he asked again. "Why haven't I
heard anything yet?"

"Master, we have not heard anything," one of his Mages reported. "We have sent a Scout Youma to find
out what happened."

He was so glad he created Mages with a basic level of human intelligence. It felt better hearing that
your underlings were already taking care of the problem. He hated having to clean up other people's
problems. It was a pain he had to deal with when Beryl was still on the Earth. Half of their defeats
were due to either her ignoring his advice, or Zoisite's petty temper, or Kunzite's gung-ho warrior
mentality combined with a lack of decent strategy. Years of cleaning up after that left him slightly
bitter of any display of incompetence.

"How long ago?" he asked.

"An hour ago, Master," the Mage answered obsequiously.

Jadeite nodded. Scout Youma were one of his newest creations. Practically no power to speak of and
very little in the way of defenses, their main asset was speed. A human could kill a Scout with their
bare hands, but the problem was landing a hit on one. A Scout was quick and agile, easily reaching
speeds that would make a cheetah jealous with an agility that would dizzy a cobra. Considering that
the Scout was dispatched an hour ago, that meant that he could expect a report any second now.

As if on cue, a little creature skittered into the barracks, skidding to a halt upon noticing Jadeite
standing in the doorway. The Youma looked between Jadeite and the Mage in confusion, as if not knowing
who to deliver its message to. Obviously, the Scout had a sub-par intelligence, but it had enough to
fulfill its purpose, just like normal Youma. It was annoying, to be certain, but sometimes some useful
qualities had to be sacrificed to gain other desired qualities. It was a giant flaw in the entire
Youma race, but the Youma weren't without their usefulness.

"Report," Jadeite ordered the Scout Youma. The small dog-sized, ferret-looking Youma turned to Jadeite
and started chittering. With an annoyed growl, he quickly cast a translation spell that would translate
the chittering into recognizable words in his mind. Not for the first time did he wish he hadn't
skimped on intelligence when creating this new race of Youma.

However, there was one thing that was invaluable about this breed of Youma, which was why it was
created the way it was. Because of the speed of the Scout Youma, it was able to move fast enough to
penetrate the damned barrier that kept all other Youma out. Of course, once the Scout was inside it
began to deteriorate at a rapid rate, meaning that it could only scout within a kilometer past the
barrier before it had to turn back to regenerate itself, but it was better than any other Youma could
do. Unfortunately, there was no way to engineer a Youma to last longer past the barrier than a Scout
could, so he was stuck with what he had. Still, this was better than what anyone else had, to be
certain. He was planning on lending some to Nephrite, or perhaps trading some for something or another.
There was that one dark-skinned slave of Nephrite's that he had his eye on for a while, after all....

His relatively good mood faded once he heard the Scout's report. His invasion force was wiped out.
There were a large number of dead humans as well, but every one of the Youma he sent to destroy the
Hikawa Jinja lay dead within the still-intact barrier.

Even worse was the fact that magical energies were detected in the air around the battlefield. Had the
humans rediscovered magic? The very idea was practically impossible, but he wouldn't put it past them
completely. Humans could be a crafty bunch. This warranted looking into.

The how was the difficult part, though. Considering that there were magical energies present, charging
into battle himself wouldn't exactly be the most prudent thing to do. Kunzite would certainly do it,
but he was a battle-hungry fool. Zoisite would probably skulk around the shrine grounds and look for a
way to sneak in himself, even though that idiot knew full well there was no way for him to sneak in.
Nephrite would consult the stars, as usual. None of these methods were his preferred method of action,
though.

He made plans. Strategy was his forte and more often than not, he made strong plans that withstood the
test of battle.

Right now, he needed to start making plans. And to do that, he needed more information.

"I want to know how my invasion was stopped," Jadeite told the assembled Youma. "I don't care what it
takes; find out what happened. Otherwise, I'll kill the lot of you and dump your remains back in the
Home Dimension." The mass of Youma scurried away to do his bidding, leaving him with the chittering
Scout. "As for you, go back to the Hikawa Jinja and find out what you can. Tell your handler to send
a pack of you at a time until you learn something." With that, the Scout chittered an acknowledgement
and scurried away.

Jadeite sighed in vexation. This was something he really didn't want to deal with right now. It was
bad enough that he had to practically wipe out the humans in Okinawa, but to deal with something as
bad this soon.... Of course, that was after the uprising in Sri Lanka and the one he quelled in the
Qinghai province of China, not to mention the minor incident in St. Petersburg, and the really bad one
in Tehran which started out in Cairo and spread through the Middle East like wildfire.... He had to get
help from Nephrite with that one. It started in his region, after all.

He really wanted a break from all this rebel-crushing nonsense. It was just too much work. He was
seriously beginning to reconsider his light-handed stance toward the humans. Maybe a heavier hand was
what the humans needed to keep them from thinking of freedom too much. After all, they belonged to the
Dark Kingdom. Property didn't need freedom; they only existed to fulfill their purpose. They needed to
relearn that.

He faded into another teleport, this one leading to his war room. Before fading completely, he left
word with one of the sentries to inform his usual consort that he would be requiring her services
tonight, as well. The compulsion hadn't faded yet, so there was enough time to implant that command
before her consciousness was restored to her.

_________________________________________________________________


Slave Quarters - Former Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan.
August 6, 1992. 8:31 A.M.


Haruka paced back and forth, robe in hand, waiting impatiently as she had been since Jadeite had
returned from Okinawa. The uprising had taken longer for the General to quell than she had originally
thought. The thought made her somewhat pleased, even though she would've preferred that he had finished
with it and returned as soon as possible.

Light footsteps heading toward the door caught Haruka's attention, sending the tall girl rushing toward
the door, despite hearing quiet, snide remarks from some of the other slaves about how the puppy was
eagerly awaiting the return of her mistress. More of the same. They were just upset that her
"mistress," as they so contumaciously put it, enjoyed preferential treatment. It didn't mean that she
wasn't harassed by the other Youma, or didn't have to work. It just meant that they harassed her less
and she didn't have to work as hard. That was it.

Okay, maybe she could understand a little. Still, that was no reason to call her her "mistress" just
because she was devoted to her. They had been together ever since they were captured from the
Midoriyama Jinja near Lake Okutama several years ago. Their families were dead; all they had left was
each other. It was a common theme, and here it wasn't any different.

Haruka was about to fling open the door and welcome her back when a gruff growling voice made her
pause. It was a Youma sentry. She had heard that type of voice often enough. Sentries had rudimentary
linguistic skills, which basically meant that they could talk as well as any five-year-old child.
Still, it was enough for them to do their job.

Listening at the door, she could catch the gist of what was being said. She was to report to the
General's bedchambers at the usual time. There was a dead acknowledgement followed by the sound of
heavier footsteps clomping away.

Once the footsteps faded away, Haruka flung open the door and dragged the young woman on the other side
into the room, then rapidly shut the door as if to keep any other orders from Jadeite's Youma from
reaching her. Once she was inside, Haruka flung the robe around the young woman's naked body and
embraced her tightly.

"It's good to have you back," she sighed as she stepped back from the woman and waited for the
compulsion she was under to subside. There was a single blink, followed by a double blink as her eyes
began to focus on Haruka's face. "How're you feeling, Michiru?"

"Awful...," she groaned as she left Haruka's embrace and headed toward her bed while slipping her arms
into the loose sleeves and pulling the robe tightly around herself. "How long have I been under,
Haruka? It feels like it's been over a week," she added, holding a hand to her head.

"It's been over two weeks," she told her as she went to a small wooden chest at the foot of the bed and
took out a clean set of undergarments.

"Two weeks...," Michiru whispered in disbelief as Haruka passed her the clean undergarments. No one had
ever been under compulsion for that long. "What's happened, Haruka? Where did I go for so long?"

"This is going to take a while," she said soothingly as she sat down beside her and let her rest her
head on her shoulder. "Remember when we heard about that uprising in Okinawa...?"

_________________________________________________________________


Infirmary - Rei's Room, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 6, 1992. 9:47 A.M.


"You've got to be kidding me," Rei groaned tiredly.

Minako, Artemis, Luna, Ami and Sailor Saturn all exchanged glances. "You mean, you're still skeptical
even with all this proof standing in front of you?" Minako remarked as she gestured around the room,
ending with her arm pointing toward the young Sailor Senshi slumped in the only chair in the room, fast
asleep. "Hotaru-chan just healed you! I know it was just enough to allow you to wake up, but still!
Ami-chan and I can already tell that you're not going to have any scars except for the one where they
opened you up to put Ryoku-sama's kidney into you, so don't you think you have more than enough proof
to believe what we're telling you?"

"Okay, I can believe some of what you're telling me," Rei relented. "Hotaru-chan as a Sailor Senshi is
obvious," she said, pointing to where Ami was watching over the sleeping Senshi. "Maybe I- Okay, fine!
I can believe that you're a Senshi, too," she added as Minako brought out her transformation wand as
well, waving it in the air almost threateningly. "And it's hard not to believe cats can talk when I've
just spent the last half an hour listening to the pair of you," she continued as Luna and Artemis
nodded pointedly.

"So, what's your problem?" Luna pressed insistently. "Why can't you believe what we're saying about
your duty as a Sailor Senshi?"

"Look, I'm not saying that I don't believe you," she sighed. "I've seen Sailor Moon myself. The fact
that Usagi is this super-powered warrior reincarnated from the distant past concerns me, though. I
mean, have you seen how much of a klutz she is?"

"That's why Serenity's been the one using her powers, instead of her," Luna explained.

"Oh, yeah. Her other personality," Rei said quietly. "You know, Usagi once told me that she had times
when she would black out and end up doing something without knowing what she did. Do you think that
this was Serenity's way of gaining control over Usagi?"

"NO!" Luna exclaimed. "Princess Serenity would never forcefully take control over Usagi-chan's body!"

"So, you say," Rei replied. "But what if it was an emergency? What if she was being attacked by a
Youma?"

"Then Usagi-chan would have to fight it herself," Artemis replied. "She's supposed to be the one using
the power, after all. Serenity has already said that she would not forcefully take over Usagi-chan's
body, not even in an emergency."

"She'd let Usagi die?"

"We would never let that happen," Minako said, her expression more serious than Rei had ever remembered
seeing on the blonde-haired girl.

Rei stared thoughtfully at Minako for a moment, then at the sleeping Sailor Saturn, before turning her
gaze to Ami. "And you, Ami-chan. You're supposed to be one of these Sailor Senshi, too? How are you
supposed to help them when you can't speak?"

Ami looked at her, closed her eyes and sighed patiently as she turned back to check on Sailor Saturn.
Before Rei could say anything else, the mute girl stood up and walked over to Rei's bedside. Silently,
she took out her pad and started writing. 'I will do what I can until the day when I can speak again.
When that day comes, I will fight. I may only be a nurse-in-training right now, but I feel that if I
become a Sailor Senshi, my power will one day help more than just the people in the Hikawa Jinja.'

Rei gave Ami an appreciative stare. "You look as though you've given this some thought."

Ami nodded. 'It took seeing Hotaru-chan healing Ryo-kun with her powers to make me realize this. At
first, I thought that I wouldn't be of much help even if I could transform. But I remembered that
even though Hotaru-chan is weaker than most girls her age, she was willing to become a Sailor Senshi
and fight. If she could be brave enough to do her best as a Sailor Senshi, then perhaps I could do the
same one day.'

The raven-haired miko glanced over to Sailor Saturn as her left hand slowly slid down her stomach and
across her side to where a thick bandage covered the injury she sustained hours ago. "I'm only a shrine
miko," she said softly. "My place is in the jinja, maintaining the barrier."

"Your place is with us," Minako amended. "We can help save more than just the Hikawa Jinja."

"Please," Artemis pleaded from Minako's arms. "We need Sailor Mars."

Rei closed her eyes as she laid back down on the bed. "Hmph! Looks like Usagi's not the only hopeless
one around here. I guess I've got no choice. Besides, it looks like I owe Ryo-kun my life. The least I
can do is pay him back by helping you guys."

"Well, don't do us any favors," Artemis grumbled.

"Oh, don't mind her, Artemis," Minako grinned. "That's just how stubborn Rei-chan is. You'll get used
to it."

"Who's stubborn?" Rei snapped irritably.

"No one I know," Minako chimed amicably.

"What kind of nurse insults injured people?"

"I'm only a nurse-in-training. Besides, you'll be fine in a couple of days. Don't sulk."

"Who's sulking? Say that again, Aino. I dare you."

"Well, I guess visiting hours are over now," Minako said cheerfully as she started to herd everyone out
of the room. "Don't worry, Rei-chan. Get some rest and you'll be as good as almost new!"

"I'll show you 'almost new,' you blonde twit!" Rei growled. "Come back here!"

"Oh, my! Such language! I wonder if Ryoku-sama can hear you from his room? He's right across the hall,
you know."

"...." Rei quickly shut her mouth and glared at her.

"See you tomorrow, Rei-chan!"

"I'll get you for that, Aino!" Rei seethed as Minako gently closed the door.

"You're a cruel woman, you know," Artemis said as Luna and Ami followed behind with Ami carrying Sailor
Saturn by piggyback. Ami merely rolled her eyes as Minako started laughing audaciously.

"Who, me?" Minako asked innocently as she laughed with one hand near her mouth, pinky up and palm
forward. "Why, I have no idea what you're talking about. Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!"

Artemis shivered. "This is a bleak day for humanity."

_________________________________________________________________


Orphan's Quarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 6, 1992. 10:03 A.M.


Usagi yawned a second time as she opened her eyes. This time, she felt ready to face the morning. She
had woken up a couple of hours ago, but she rolled over and went right back to sleep without skipping
a beat. Besides, if she really had to get up, either Setsuna or Ryoku would drag her out of bed.

She blinked as she rolled out of bed and looked out her window at the morning sky. For some reason,
things seemed quieter than usual. There was a sense of pensive weariness that was thick in the air.
Maybe it was the dark storm clouds that seemed to be looming some distance away. She never really liked
the rain. Perhaps that was why there was such a depressive atmosphere in the air today?

After getting dressed, she quickly went downstairs to get something to eat. Hopefully, she had enough
time for something before going to work. As she went down the stairs, her steps slowed as she came
closer to the ground floor.

The usual morning clamor was missing. There were no shouts or laughter or anything else that seemed
remotely familiar. As she reached the bottom, she took one look at the clock in the lounge area and
stopped short.

10:28? She was late!

However, the sense of urgency she felt at being late took a backseat to the bigger sense of urgency she
felt at seeing the lounge area completely empty, as well as the kitchen and dining areas. There was
always someone in either the lounge area or the kitchen and dining areas. Seeing no one there made her
even more uneasy.

"Hello?" she called out loudly. "Is anyone there?"

No answer.

"Hello?" she called again as she began to search the ground floor. "Anyone there? If you're playing a
joke on me, this isn't funny!"

No answer.

"Hello?" she called again as she knocked on both Ryoku's and Setsuna's doors. "Ryoku-san?
Setsuna-sensei?"

No answer.

Now she was getting frightened. Where WAS everybody?

Usagi ran out of the Orphan's Quarters and looked around fearfully, searching for any signs of life
other than herself.

All was quiet.

"Hello?" she called out as loud as she could. "Anyone there?"

No answer.

The first thing that popped into her terrified mind was to seek the Hikawa Jinja. Someone HAD to be
there! With that in mind, she started to run as fast as she could toward Sendai Hill.

As she drew closer to Sendai Hill, she finally began to see people. However, once she got a good look
at those people, her steps began to falter as she came to a halt.

There were so many injured people. The injuries on the people were all too familiar. The wounds were
all Youma-inflicted. There, a man had a bandaged stump where the lower half of his left arm used to be.
Over there, a man had his head bandaged with his right eye covered. She guessed that he would lose the
use of that eye. And there, a woman walked with a crutch and a heavily bandaged right leg. It also
looked like her chest and abdomen were severely bandaged as well. That woman would probably never be
able to have children again.

What had happened? How long did she sleep? She knew that she was a heavy sleeper, but to sleep through
what was obviously the result of a Youma invasion was ridiculous. She began to run toward the Hikawa
Jinja again. She had to know what happened to her friends. Were Rei, Ami, Minako, Hotaru and Ryoku all
right? What about Mamoru? Was he all right as well?

"Usagi-chan?"

Usagi skidded to a halt and glanced upward toward the stone steps that led up to the Hikawa Jinja
proper. There she saw Minako and Ami, along with Luna and that white cat that was always hanging around
in Ryoku's room. There was also a strangely-dressed girl riding piggyback on Ami's back, who she
thought looked very familiar.

"Minako-chan! Ami-chan! You're alive!" she shouted in relief as she all but tackled Minako in a
desperate hug.

"Of course, we're alive, silly," Minako said with a small laugh.

"What happened?" she asked as she looked past her and up toward the shrine above. "Where's Rei-chan and
Ryoku-san and Hotaru-chan and Mamoru-san and-?"

"Easy! Easy!" Minako said as she grabbed Usagi by the shoulders and shook her gently. "They're all
fine. Rei-chan and Ryoku-sama are in the infirmary while Mamoru-san is helping Mizuno-hakase identify
the survivors."

"Survivors?" Usagi repeated faintly.

"There was a Youma invasion and we beat them back," she told her.

"Who's that?" she asked as she pointed to the girl Ami was carrying on her back.

"That is Sailor Saturn," Luna asked as she stared at her from a step that was high enough to allow her
to be at eye level with the blonde-haired girl.

"Sailor...," Usagi began as she stared between the black cat, then at Minako and Ami. "Luna? What? Why?
Minako-chan? Ami-chan? How come?" she asked, staring back and forth frantically at everyone.

"Calm down, Usagi-chan!" Minako said as she gently shook her again. "Look. I think we should all go
back to the Orphan's Quarters and talk for a bit. We can get you caught up on what happened yesterday.
Is that all right, Usagi-chan?"

"I... um... sure, I guess," she said nervously. "I just want someone to tell me what's going on.
Everything was fine last night."

"I know, Usagi-chan," Minako said soothingly. "I know. Just come with us and we'll explain everything
that happened while you were asleep. All right?"

"Why is Luna with you?" she asked as Minako started to lead her back toward the Orphan's Quarters.
"And how come you already know that she can talk?"

"We'll explain everything when we get there," Minako said calmingly. "It'll be all right. Oh, and by
the way, we already know that Artemis can talk, too," she added.

"Don't talk about me like I'm an afterthought," Artemis grumbled while draped from Minako's right
shoulder.

"All right, all right," Minako said appeasingly. "Sorry about that, Artemis. You know I didn't mean it
that way."

"This is all a dream, right?" Usagi asked weakly. "I'm still asleep right? And this is all just a bad
dream."

"Sorry, Usagi-chan, but you're still wide awake," Minako said sympathetically. "Don't worry. Things
aren't as bad as they seem. Right, Ami-chan?"

Ami smiled wanly at Minako's cheerful attempt at being soothing, which was tiresome in a way. At least
Usagi wasn't panicking anymore.

_________________________________________________________________


After putting Hotaru to bed - she had finally reverted back to her normal form as the group reached the
Orphan's Quarters - the group all gathered in Usagi's room. Usagi sat on her bed with the two cats
sitting on either side of her, while Ami sat in the chair by the desk. Minako elected to stand, mostly
because there were no other chairs in the room.

"Most of what we know is second-hand, but here's what we know so far," Minako began solemnly. "Last
night, Jadeite sent a large group of Youma to finally wipe us out. As far as we can figure out, the
attack started sometime after midnight. There were mostly sentries and Hunters, but Mamoru-san told us
that there were a few Mages out there, too.

"Anyway, as the Blades went out to meet the Youma, Ryoku-sama and Mizuno-hakase started organizing a
defense force to help the Blades fight the Youma. Ryoku-sama then took half of the defenders and went
to reinforce his fellow Blades. This was about the same time that I heard that the Youma managed to
break through the barrier.

"This is what I heard from Emi-chan about what happened to Rei-chan," Minako continued. "Apparently,
she heard from Ryoku-sama that Rei-chan left the Jinja for some reason and ran to the battlefield where
she got seriously injured saving both his life and the life of... a Sailor Senshi," she quickly blurted
out, hoping that Usagi wouldn't notice the slight hesitation. "Rei-chan lost a lot of blood and lost
the use of both of her kidneys," she continued before Usagi could inquire about the unnamed Senshi. "In
order to save her life, she had to have a donor kidney transplanted in. However, since Rei-chan has a
very rare blood-type, there weren't very many people to choose from. Luckily, Ryoku-sama has a
blood-type that is compatible with Rei-chan's, so she was able to receive one of his kidneys.
Rei-chan's doing fine now, especially after Hotaru-chan healed her partway."

"Hotaru-chan did what?" Usagi asked, blinking in confusion.

Minako smiled knowingly. "You know how Hotaru-chan was dressed-up funny when we were bringing her up
here? That's because she was in her Sailor Senshi form. That was her as Sailor Saturn.

"By the way, I've got a Sailor Senshi form, too," she added conspiratorially. "You wanna see it?"

"Huh?" Usagi blinked, thoroughly confused.

"Is this really the time for this?" Luna asked, slightly annoyed. At the other end of the room, Ami
merely sighed as she tried not to roll her eyes in vexation.

"Hey, I'm only trying to lighten the mood!" Minako complained as she brought out her transformation
wand. "Watch this, Usagi-chan! You'll be so amazed!"

"That is NOT a toy!" Luna and Artemis objected.

Minako replied by pulling down an eyelid and sticking out her tongue, then raising her transformation
wand overhead. "Venus star power, make-up!" A flash of light filled the room as Minako underwent her
transformation. "The beautiful warrior of love and justice, Sailor Venus!" she declared, posing
cheerfully as her transformation completed.

The two cats sighed tiredly, while Ami and Usagi stared. Ami had already seen Hotaru transform, but
Minako seemed to have a transformation that was slightly different from hers. A small part of her
wondered what her own transformation would look like, once she was able to transform. Usagi, on the
other hand, had never seem a Sailor Senshi transformation so she was quite surprised upon actually
seeing one firsthand.

"So, what do you think, Usagi-cha...," Sailor Venus trailed off as her expression turned to one of
obfuscation.

The uncertainty in the Senshi's expression quickly snapped Usagi out of her astonishment. "What's
wrong, Minako-chan?" she asked, concerned.

Sailor Venus began to glance around the room as if searching for something. "I feel something," she
said as she started to walk toward the side of the room where Ami was sitting. "Something...," she
repeated uncertainly, as if not knowing the exact word to describe it. "Something...."

"What kind of 'something?'" Artemis prompted as he and Luna watched her cross the room, searching for
something.

"Something almost... familiar," she said as she stopped in front of the desk Ami was sitting in front
of and stared.

Ami turned around and followed Venus' gaze down to where a small jeweled brooch sat unassumingly on the
far end of the desk amongst other small odds and ends. Curious, she reached out to pick up the brooch,
but paused as her hand touched the jeweled object. She could feel a strong power flowing within the
brooch. However, there was also a feeling of anger there as well. Anger, mingled with fear and...
hatred? The longer she touched the brooch, the clearer that last feeling became.

Not just hatred, but self-hatred. Self-hatred due to loss. Loss due to careless words, spoken at the
wrong time....

"Ami-chan?"

Ami blinked as she turned toward Sailor Venus and tilted her head inquisitively.

"Are you all right, Ami-chan?" she asked again. "You looked kinda out of it for a moment."

The mute girl shook her head as she picked up the brooch and handed it to her.

"This...," Venus said as she looked over the brooch. "Is this yours, Usagi-chan?" she asked as she
turned it over in her gloved hands.

"I guess so," Usagi admitted. "I mean, Luna says it's mine, but I don't really want it."

"What is this, Luna?" Venus asked. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Yes," Luna confirmed. "That brooch gives Usagi-chan the power to transform into Sailor Moon. If she
would ever use it, that is," she added reproachfully.

Usagi frowned as she folded her arms across her chest. "I told you, Luna. I won't do it. I can't risk
my life just to fight Youma. I thought you said you wouldn't try to force me!" she retorted.

"And I'm not," Luna replied calmly as Venus placed the brooch back on Usagi's desk. "I never said I'd
agree with your decision and I never said I wouldn't try to convince you to change your mind. I said
that I wouldn't force you to change your mind.

"Becoming Sailor Moon is still your choice, Usagi-chan," the black cat told her as she hopped down off
the bed and padded over toward her. "Sailor Moon is the strongest of the Sailor Senshi. Without her,
they will eventually lose to the Dark Kingdom and they will die."

"Stop it, Luna," Usagi said as she turned away and closed her eyes.

"She's not saying this to make you feel guilty, Usagi-chan," Artemis explained sympathetically. "She's
telling you this so you'll know and hopefully understand why we want you to change your mind. It's not
just about you; it's about all of the Sailor Senshi, and the hope of mankind."

"I said, stop it!" Usagi shouted loudly. "Don't you understand? I told you why I couldn't do it, Luna!
I made a promise! Doesn't that mean ANYTHING to you?"

"I remember, Usagi-chan," Luna said quietly. "You promised your father that you would live. However,
let me ask you this. If he knew about the potential you have for saving humanity from the Dark Kingdom,
would he ask you not to do it to make sure that you wouldn't die?"

Usagi remained silent.

"Consider this: If you do nothing, eventually there will come a time when Jadeite will attack again.
When that happens, will you still refuse to become Sailor Moon? If there's nowhere left to run, how
will you keep your promise?" With that, Luna turned around and headed for the door. "Minako-chan, I
think you'd better go and get some rest," she said before leaving. "You and Hotaru-chan should get
ready to start practicing using your powers later tonight. If you want, Ami-chan, you can come, too,"
she added, glancing toward the mute girl. Ami nodded in response.

The black cat paused for a moment longer as she glanced toward Usagi. "I'd ask if you'd want to come,
too, Usagi-chan, but I already know what you're going to say," she said coldly as she left the room.

Sailor Venus, Ami and Artemis all shared concerned looks as they started toward the door. "Listen,
Usagi-chan," Venus began as she changed back into Minako and picked Artemis up, "I'm sorry if Luna made
you upset. I didn't mean for things to be like this when I changed into Sailor Venus and asked about
your brooch."

"IT'S NOT MY BROOCH!" Usagi screamed as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

Minako recoiled slightly at the force of Usagi's scream. "You're right," she replied gently. "I'm
sorry." She was about to say more when Ami stood up and walked over to them, placing a consoling hand
on Usagi's shoulder while giving Minako a look that told her that she would try to handle things from
there.

Minako nodded as she started to leave. "Usagi-chan, if you ever need to talk to someone, you can always
come to me. Just ask Ami-chan! Ah! Oops. Sorry about that, Ami-chan," she said, rubbing the back of her
head sheepishly. "Well, you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I'm always here if you need me." With
that, she left, carrying Artemis in her arms.

Usagi stood there, sobbing as Ami tried her best to silently console her. Ami was about to reach out to
give the crying girl a hug when Usagi suddenly lunged toward the desk and grabbed the brooch off the
table. For a moment, she stood there with tears streaming down her cheeks as she glared at the brooch
in her hand; the usual sensations of anger, rage and hatred burning coldly in her palm. Once again, Ami
tried to reach out to her, but she was interrupted as Usagi reached back and flung the brooch across
the room as hard as she could, making it slam against the wall with a resounding thwack, followed by
a light thunk and clatter as it fell to the ground and bounced a few centimeters before coming to a
complete stop.

"Damn you, Luna...," Usagi whispered coarsely as Ami quietly embraced her friend. "Why did you have to
give me that damn thing? Why does it have to be me?"

Even if she could speak, Ami couldn't give her an answer to that question.


=================================================================


Author's Note: The drama thickens a bit, hmm? So, now we've finally introduced all of our Sailor
Senshi. And about damn time, too, huh? As for the way I portrayed the Generals, I figured that totally
evil, megalomaniacal villians were way too commonplace nowadays, so why not try a more hedonistic
approach to the main antagonists? Zoisite and Kunzite would probably remain mostly unchanged as far as
character concepts are concerned, but Nephrite and Jadeite were given some interesting adjustments in
the personality departments, especially Jadeite. After all, can't you just see Nephrite as a
playboy-type? Anyway, with the next chapter, we finally start seeing the new Sailor Senshi use their
powers. Also, a new Sailor Senshi may or may not be added to the group. I haven't decided yet. We'll
see when I start writing the next chapter.


Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko
Takeuchi and a bunch of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended.

Questions? Comments? Anything?
Email: jasonulloa (at) hotmail (dot) com

Copyright© 2004, 2007 Jason C. Ulloa
All Rights Reserved.