‘This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be. This is all a bad dream and all I have to do is wake up.’
Those were the kinds of thoughts that kept running through the heads of the Senshi as they stared into the faces of the Dark Senshi and the man now known as Nemesis Knight. Into faces that belonged to people that they knew and called friend. But those faces were not the same as they once were. Oh physically they looked the same as they always had, yet there was something different to them that was almost indescribable. The best way to put it into words was to say that there faces were cold, almost indifferent if one could ignore the malevolent expressions that didn’t bode well for the continued good health of the Senshi.
There was no need for Artemis or Luna to order the girls to transform. They had learned their lesson the before when they had met their brainwashed Princess for the first time. If their best friend could attack them without hesitation and ill intent, there was no reason why these five would not be the same. Whatever had been done to them, which now was not the time to quibble over that detail, had turned yet another friend into a foe. A foe that could not be destroyed, because that would harm the person that they had once known. And that one fact tied the hands of the Senshi and gave their enemy a great advantage in this war between them and the Black Moon clan.
“Mercury Star Power!”
“Mars Star Power!”
“Jupiter Star Power!”
“Venus Star Power!”
“Make up!”
In a flash of dazzling color and crash of the very elements of nature, the four teenage girls were replaced by the Sailor Senshi who saved the world on what seemed to be a bi-annual basis since they had awakened their powers. They stood in a tense show down their dark counterparts, each side seeming to wait to see who would make the first move.
Chibi-Usa stood nearby, hiding behind a tree with the cats; the young girl’s thoughts went back to another similar battle a few months earlier between the Senshi and Ayakashi Sisters of the Black Moon clan. That fight had been terrifying to a child as young as her, no matter how smart and mature she was¸ but this one was much worse in comparison even though it had yet to start. It wasn’t too hard to figure out why. Before Sailor Moon had been here while the others had fought… had protected her Rubeus had attacked them. This time there was no Sailor Moon. No warm embrace of someone who was trusted and made her feel safe as she did when she was with her mother.
The stand off didn’t last long, nor would the Senshi think it surprising later when they thought back upon about which Dark Senshi had started the fight; she had never been the patient type before, after all.
“Menheit,” Menheit raised her right hand above her head, fire spilling forth from her hand like a cascade of water, except for the fact that it was the wrong element, “Flare,” the fire flowed down and swirled around her so that she was no longer visible through the fire, “Blitz!”
One moment there was a human-shaped column of fire in front of them and the next that fire was smashing into Sailor Mars and sending her flying back. If Jupiter hadn’t reacted, Mars would have slammed into a tree; as it was both Senshi were bruised and scratched up from skidding on the ground. What was even more troublesome was the fact that Mars looked a bit singed, which was thought to be nearly impossible since fire was her element of control. Even with her battles with Koan hadn’t done that after her power had grown; the two had been evenly matched. Yet in this case, it looked as if that might not be the case.
However there was no time to theorize on the point. The gauntlet had been dropped by that first attack and the battle had begun.
“Seshat Freeze Shock!”
What appeared to be hundreds of thousands shards of ice suddenly formed around Sailor Seshat, hanging in the air for a moment and crackling with electrical energy before they shot towards Mercury. The Senshi of Ice tried to dodge the attack, but there were so many ice shards that it was impossible to avoid every one. Each time she got hit, she felt a electric charge that sizzled along her skin before leaving her with the feel of being cold to the bone in the spot that was had suffered a direct hit.
“Setekh Electroweb!”
Sailor Setekh hand moved swiftly in the air, creating a spiderweb that was made up from lighting that was slender as spider silk. Once the web was completed she slammed her palm against the center of it and sent it hurtling towards Jupiter. Like Mercury she was unable to avoid the attack, not because there was too many to avoid but because the electric web grew larger in size before it fell on her, wrapping her in the painful electric threads. She cried out in pain, falling to the ground.
Sailor Venus turned toward her dark counterpart, one hand resting on the chain that hung from her waist. Even having seen it, it was still hard for her to comprehend that more friends had been turned against them. More people she cared about, that she would have to fight. Isis was Katarina, someone who was dear to her even though they hadn’t seen each other in quite some time. They had kept in touch with phone calls and e-mails, retaining their close relationship. So it hurt to know she’d have to fight this friend once more. The first time it had been because Kunzite had used her against Venus and now this time it was her best friend, both people who held pieces of her heart.
It hurt more then words could say, but she knew she had to remain strong. She had to be strong, because being weak wouldn’t get Katarina back. Nor would it help her get back Usagi. She had lost one person she loved, she refused to lose anymore people. She didn’t blame Usagi for Katarina’s second brush with the dark side, nor did she blame Kunzite for the first. Because in both instances, the two people she cared for had been used by others. Queen Beryl had been at fault for Kunzite, Wise Man for Usagi. She would not fail Katarina or Usagi. She would not let down the others. She was the leader of the Senshi and if she was weak, it would weaken the others and they wouldn’t stand a chance at getting back Usagi.
“Katarina, please you don’t have to do this,” she pleaded. “Snap out of it. This isn’t you.”
“Katarina is nothing more then alias,” Isis retorted. “A mere mask to be worn until my Queen summoned me. The Queen you should have treated better! Now pay for your sins!”
Isis grabbed the chain hanging at her waist and snapped it free. “Isis Hate-Chain Crack!” She snapped the chain at Venus, who had the good sense to react and grab her own chain and counterattack.
“Venus Love-Me Chain!”
The two attacks met, the chains vibrating from the force of the collision and the power driving each of them. Yet unlike the other attacks, Venus was able to hold her ground, barely. The two powers pushed at each other and while it moments it seemed like Venus would be overpowered and lose, she was able to hold on.
Was Venus stronger then her companions? Was Isis weaker? Or was it because of Venus’s resolve to get back her friends and kick Wise Man’s ass from one end of the universe and back again for what he had done to her friends? No one could know for sure. However, one thing was clear. They had a chance and the stalemate helped the other three Senshi find their strength to hold on.
“Mercuy Shine Aqua Illusion!”
“Seshat Freeze Shock!”
“Mars Burning Mandela!”
“Menheit Flare Blitz!”
“Jupiter Sparkling Wide Pressure!”
“Venus Love-Me Chain!”
“Isis Hate-Chain Crack!”
There was an explosion of energy as the attacks of Senshi and Dark Senshi crashed against each other, however this time around it seemed that things had evened up a bit. The Senshi weren’t winning exactly, but they weren’t having their asses handed to them anymore either. There was a renewed sense of energy in them that came from Venus’s stalemate and desire to overcome the odds to achieve their main goal. Before it would have Usagi, no Sailor Moon, who would have done this for them, but without their Princess it was Venus who led them and was their pillar of strength. They might not be able to beat the Dark Senshi, yet, but they would hold their own in this battle.
Meanwhile, Chibi-Usa watched the battle, her crimson eyes wide with fear and worry. It had sacred her at first to see how easily Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury had been injured by their dark counterparts. She had bitten her bottom lip so hard when Venus had had her first showdown that it caused her lip to bleed. It was still bleeding as she watched the Senshi battle, the metallic taste of blood in her mouth only adding to heighten her anxiety. The cats tried to reassure of all being well, but even they couldn’t quite hide their worry. Plus she could make out some of there whispered conversation with each other.
“….powers are too strong.”
“….they don’t even possess Sailor Crystals…”
“….must have used the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou..”
“….not sure…”
“Please,” Chibi-Usa prayed, “please Mama. Help the Senshi win. Help them get their friends back and turn Usagi back to normal. Please.”
“Praying isn’t going to help you little girl,” came a male voice from above her.
She looked up and let out an eep as she saw a man standing on the tree branch above. Furuhata Motoki or now known as Nemesis Knight stood there, looking down at her with an evil grin that she had never seen on Motoki-onii-san’s face before. He was dressed in what she imagined a dashing knight would wear, sans the whole metal suit deal. It reminded her of some drawings she saw in Usagi’s room of Mamoru. She hadn’t mentioned it to the older girl, but she had stolen the picture and taken it to her room since she thought it looked so cool. Mamoru was cool just being himself, but Mamoru with a sword was ultra-cool.
Chibi-Usa grabbed the cats and began backing away. She had a feeling that Nemesis Knight wasn’t just standing in that tree for the view. She had been stupid to stay there. Five bad guys, four Senshi; those weren’t good odds for her and she didn’t doubt for a minute that the Black Moon wasn’t still after her anymore. They seemed like the type to follow thought with the job even if the objectives changed, just because they hated loose ends and she was definitely a loose ends.
“Not so fast,” Nemesis Knight said, jumping down and coming towards her. Luna and Artemis wiggled free of her arms and jumped at him, fur puffed up, hissing, and claws extended as cats tended to do when they were attacking and wanted to seem more threatening. It did them little good as he used one arm to catch them in the gut and send them flying back at the ground.
“Luna! Artemis!” Chibi-Usa rushed to their sides, gently picking up the defeated felines. There was no way she could leave them behind, even though they pleaded with her to do so in pained voices. She glanced up as Nemesis Knight approached, knowing there was no way to run even if she did take in her mind to do so.
As he reached for her, a flash of red appeared before them. The man yelped in pain, yanking his hand back as blood welled up from a cut caused by the rose that was now embedded in the ground. Tuxedo Kamen landed between Chibi-Usa and Nemesis Knight. The child could tell the exact moment when her savoir realized who her attacker was because his body flinched as if he had been hit. Tuxedo Kamen’s eyes slid to the battle nearby, making out the forms of the Dark Senshi and recognizing three of them (since he had never met Katarina, he had no idea who she was), and quickly realizing the situation at hand.
“Back off Motoki,” he growled, holding his cane in front of him. “Believe me you don’t want to do anything you’ll regret later when you’re back to normal.” He knew from experience. He had never told Usagi, but when had regained his memories, he had also remembered his stint as a lackey of Queen Beryl and the things he had done to her. There were no words to describe how much those memories bothered him and he didn’t want his friend to have those kinds of memories. Motoki was too gentle-hearted to be able to deal with that kind of thing.
“You know nothing of me,” snarled the other man, drawing his sword and attacking. The two men fought, cane against sword although one should never estimate a cane; at least never underestimate one that was owned and being used by Tuxedo Kamen. Besides it was clear from the start that Tuxedo Kamen was the better swordsman. Nemesis Knight, underneath it all, was still Motoki and the blond had never been much of a fighter.
Yet despite the obvious advantage of Tuxedo Kamen, it didn’t look like this would be an easy battle. Like the Senshi, the masked man’s hands were tied by the fact that he didn’t want to injure his friend and Nemesis Knight clearly didn’t suffer from the same handicap. If anything, he was doing his damn best to take advantage of it, so when there was moment when Tuxedo Kamen hesitated instead of using his advantage, the other man struck, managing to make a deep cut in the dark-haired man’s right side.
“Mamo-chan!” screamed Chibi-Usa, completely and utterly terrified and worried when she saw the blood. Suddenly a bright pink glow surrounded her, the same glow that had appeared before when Lady Nemesis had first appeared. The glow around her intensified and expanded, filling the area. The Senshi and the Dark Senshi paused in their battle, glancing at the little girl.
“What’s going on,” Nemesis Knight demanded, trying to swat away at the light with his sword.
Sailor Isis tilted her head, as if she was hearing someone speak to her before she nodded in the affirmative. “Retreat,” she ordered.
“W-what?” wailed Sailor Menheit. “Why? No, I don’t want to. I’m winning!”
“Now Menheit,” Isis snarled. “Her Majesty’s orders.”
“Fine,” was the surly reply. It was clear that the Dark Senshi of Fire was not happy about the turn of events, although she wouldn’t disobey her Queen. “Until next time Mars.” In a sudden burst of flames, Sailor Menheit disappeared. The others followed suit, all disappearing in their dramatic fashion.
The glow around Chibi-Usa faded away when the last of their enemies had vanished; the little girl then collapsed to the ground.
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Final Thought Sailor Menheit:
But I was winning!!!
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-chan - suffix for a name that means family or close friend. may be offensive if you don't know that person well.
Senshi - soldier, warrior, fighter
-sensei - suffix for a name, usually used when a student addresses a teacher
-san – common honorific used to refer to someone that one respects and looks up to
Maboroshi no Ginzuishou - Illusionary Silver Crystal
baka - stupid, idiot
miko – priestess
Seshat - Egyptian goddess of wisdom, knowledge and writing
Menheit – Egyptian goddess of war, also known as “she who massacres”
Setekh – another spelling for Set, Egyptian god of storms
Isis – Egyptian goddess of fertility
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Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to Sailor Moon or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Takeuchi Naoko and anyone else she says has rights to it.
