Sailor Moon - Warriors of Ether
Part 2
Holiday's are for fun. That was Serena's motto, and Mina's too. It
took both of them to convince the other three members of their select
group to put aside their worries for a day and visit the mall. Strangely
Amy had been the easiest to convince, but they discovered that was only
because the scientific bookshop was having a sale.
Lita, Mina and Amy were sitting in the food hall watching Serena
put away her food. The girls had decided to stop waiting for Raye and get
some food. However even after they had finished (Serena was on her third
helping) Raye still hadn't turned up.
"It's not like Raye to be late," Lita commented.
"Swe prowbabwy wad work tiwo dwo at the twemwble," Serena
volunteered, spray the table with food.
"Serena!" the other girls complained, pulling away from the food
assault.
"Maybe we should go shopping and come back later," Mina suggested.
Serena gulped down her mouthful. "Nope, we promised to wait, and
we don't want Raye blasting us again."
"You mean, blast you," Lita pointed out. All four girls laughed.
"Speak of the devil," Amy announced, staring into the crowd. She
had glimpsed Raye making her way through the crowd towards them.
"Please don't." Serena shuddered slightly, remembering the battle
of two nights before.
"Sorry Serena," Amy apologised, realising what was troubling her
friend. Serena and Darien had only covered the actual battle in brief
during their discussions, but Amy had noticed that Serena reacted
strangely when they talked about it. Amy was still trying to decide what
to do about it.
The four girls stood and watched Raye as she approached. She
walked purposefully towards them, a smile on her face.
"Hey Raye, you're late," Serena told her, a smirk on her face.
"Yes Serena, I'm sorry," Raye apologised, the smile remaining on
her face. "I was helping some people hand out these flowers," She
indicated a white blossom pinned to her shirt, "and I didn't notice the
time." There was a long pause. "Why are you all staring at me?"
The other four all had shocked looks on their faces. Not a one
could believe what they had just heard from their friend. Serena had
almost purposefully picked a fight and Raye had simply shrugged it off.
None of them needed to be psychic to get bad feelings about this one.
"Raye, are you feeling all right?" Lita asked her.
Raye beamed at her. "I'm fine Lita, why?"
"Ah..." started Lita, stuck for words.
"Have you had lunch yet?" Mina jumped in. "We've already eaten,
but we don't mind waiting for you." Mina grinned. "I'm sure Serena won't
mind going back for a fourth helping."
"Hey!" objected Serena. "That's not..."
"Don't tease her Mina, she just has a very fast metabolism," Raye
interrupted. The others went back to staring at her.
Suddenly Serena grabbed Raye by the shoulders. "What's the matter
with you?!" she demanded, shaking her hard. "Snap out of it, you're
scaring me!" The white flower came lose from Raye shirt and floated to
the ground.
"Knock it off meatball head!" Raye snapped. Serena immediately let
her go. "What is the matter with you? Shaking me like that, I don't
know."
"Raye, are you feeling better now?" Amy inquired.
"Have all of you gone mad?" Raye demanded, dusting herself off. "I
was fine until Serena started shaking me, and she knocked my flower off."
"I'll get it." Mina knelt down to pick up the flower. She felt
strange as her fingers touched the stem. Suddenly she saw what she was
doing wrong with her life. She should be working hard and more giving,
not show boating and looking for guys. It was so clear, why hadn't she
seen it before, it was as if touching the flower had altered her
perceptions.
The others girls recoiled in shock when Mina shot up and crushed
the flower beneath her foot. There was a touch of fear in her eyes, and
the blood had drained from her face.
"Mina, what's wrong?" Amy inquired, first to recover.
"It tried to take over my mind, like it did with Raye," Mina
blurted. Serena unconsciously took a step back.
"Raye, where did you get this?" Lita demanded.
Raye frowned. "When I arrived there were a group of people handing
them out at the entrance."
"I think we should investigate this," Amy pointed out.
*****
Garin was, to human perceptions, a handsome young man. His
partner, Maral, was an equally beautiful woman. They had been assigned by
the Archangel's lieutenant to hand out "The Flowers of Peace." The pair
had been together for a long time. If they had been humans, there would
probably have been more than just a working relationship.
They had set up shop at the short hallway leading to the entrance
to the mall. The flowers were working well. The teenaged girl who had
stopped and helped them had been a good example of their power. Already
their supply of the flowers was running low.
Every so often there was a lull in the traffic. Garin was planning
to slip away during the next one to get more flowers. However just as he
was about to leave five girls in skimpy outfits stepped out into the
hall.
"You use things of beauty to carry out your foul works!" declared
the leader. "We are the Sailor Scouts, fighters for love and justice, and
in the name of the Moon..."
"...Mercury..."
"...Mars..."
"...Jupiter..."
"...and Venus..."
"...we'll punish you!" the group declared.
Garin and Maral shared a glance. They both remember the fights of
the previous war in the middle realm. Then none of the sides in the
conflict had acted so... childish.
"What know you of our actions Mortals?!" Garin demanded.
"We know that you're controlling the minds of the people with
those flowers. This we cannot allow!" Sailor Moon declared.
Garin looked at Maral. "Sing for them," he told his silent
companion.
Maral smiled, then grandly raised her arms. A large pair of wings
burst from her back, moments later Garin went through a similar
transformation while Maral opened her mouth and screamed at the scouts.
The force of the blast knocked the scouts off their feet.
"She wails worse than Sailor Moon," Mars commented as they
scrambled to their feet.
"I think I preferred her earlier," Sailor Moon returned, glaring
at Mars.
Sailor Jupiter rolled her eyes. "Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!" the
ball of lighting arced through the air, both Garin and Maral leapt out of
the way.
"Mercury Icestorm Blast!" The arctic blast struck Garin, freezing
him solid. "Sailor Moon!" she cried.
"Right," announced the Scout leader, pulling out the moon sceptre.
However before she could use it the ice around Garin hissed into steam.
"Feel the wrath of heaven!" Garin declared, blasting a column of
blazing white fire towards the girls. Sailor Moon wailed as she and the
others scrambled clear.
Venus let loose a Love Me Chain, which entrapped Garin in its
coils. Jupiter and Maral both delivered blasts in the same moment. The
Thunderclap struck Venus' chain even as she lost grip of it. The
electricity arced along the chain, earthing itself through Garin,
dropping him to the ground.
Sailors Moon, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter once more regained their
feet, and faced their still standing foe. Maral focused on the four,
taking a deep breath to release another scream. Before she could Sailor
Mars popped up behind her, slapping a ward on the back of her head, then
jumping clear. Paralysed, Maral could only watch as Sailor Moon once more
raised the Moon Sceptre.
"Moon Sceptre Elimination!" Serena yelled, sending the crescent of
energy sweeping towards the angels. The pair vanished in a glaring flash
of light.
"Good move Sailor Mars," Jupiter commented.
"Strange that they just tried to destroy us, not convert us like
the devils did to Sailor Moon," Mercury pointed out.
"Ever more violent is the path of the fanatic," a voice behind
then declared. The Scouts spun around to find the gray cloaked figure of
Astra floating there. "And Angels are nothing if not fanatics." She
floated down to land before them. "You fought well Sailor Scouts, but do
not let your victory here lead you to overconfidence, these were but foot
soldiers."
"So why didn't you help?!" Sailor Mars demanded forcefully.
"I have but now arrived," Astra replied. "My aid though is still
required, the flowers are yet potent." Astra raised her hand and a sphere
of dark energy appeared in her hand. She tossed the ball to the ground,
where it exploded, sending out a sphere of darkness sweeping throughout
the mall. As the energy touched the Scouts they gave an involuntary
shudder. "Now I must go Sailor Scouts, but this I will tell you, we are
being watched."
Astra raised her hand to gesture off to one side. The scouts
turned to see a camera crew pointing a camera at them. Turning back they
found that Astra had vanished. Deciding that when it came to the media
discretion was the better part of valour, the five girls sprinted off.
*****
Across town in the Pigeon's Nest Namoyi and Katsuko silently sat
watching the events on bar's TV. Namoyi had come in for lunch, but had
stopped eating when Katsuko noticed the News break on the television.
They hadn't seen much, just the end of the battle.
"That was interesting," Katsuko commented. "One thing I'll say for
the Scouts new friend, she knows how to understate her exits." She turned
to find Namoyi with her sketch book out.
After a time of busily scribbling on the piece of paper Namoyi
pulled away to look at it. Katsuko leaned over to peer over her shoulder.
The picture was of Astra, standing with her thick robes billowing
around her. Behind her a nightmarish castle loomed upon a cliff. Namoyi
had dotted the sky with stars, but other the cliff edge you couldn't see
the horizon. There didn't seem to be any vegetation drawn in, and no
clouds or moon in the sky. Something about the picture, probably the
castle, sent a shiver down Katsuko's spine.
"There's something missing," Namoyi mused, frowning. "I don't know
what, but something is missing."
"A cute fluffy bunny?" Katsuko suggested.
Namoyi gave her a dirty look.
"Sorry, bad joke," Katsuko looked closely at the picture. "She
looks like she should be with someone."
Namoyi beamed. "That's it!" She then deflated. "But who?"
Katsuko shrugged, the scene didn't seem right for the Sailor
Scouts. Namoyi would have to redraw the picture so it didn't give that
impression.
*****
Now that the trip to the mall was a bust, the girls decided to
have an impromptu Scout meeting. After collecting the two cats they
headed over to the Cherry Hill temple. The cats sat quietly as the scouts
described the battle.
"Raye, why didn't you sense them?" Luna inquired.
Raye shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted.
"Maybe it's because they appear to be good guys," Mina suggested.
The others stared at her. "You know, self-improvement and all that is
good for you. She might be sensing them, but because they act like nice
helpful people, she's feels nice helpful people, not monsters."
Everyone stared at Mina for awhile, running her explanation
through their heads. It was Amy who spoke first. "It doesn't really
matter, we've just got to realise that we can't rely on Raye's senses. No
offence Raye."
"None taken."
"Our real problem is that we now face two enemies, with powers
unlike anything we've fought before. We can stop them, but we don't
really have a way to repair the damage, for that we have to rely on
someone we don't know with powers we don't understand. It's like before
we found out who Tuxedo Mask was."
"Nicely summarised Amy," Luna commented.
"I can't believe you don't trust Astra," announced Serena. "She's
helped us twice."
Artemis nodded. "But what about that spell she used, you all said
it felt wrong."
"Maybe that was the only way she could destroy the flowers,"
Serena suggested.
"I think that's part of the point," Lita said. "She used a spell
that was evil, so she's willing to do anything to get a job done. Can we
always trust her if she thinks like that?"
*****
The bar at the Pigeon's Nest was comfortably crowded. Dominique
was in of course, studyin hard. Tashiro had managed to find himself
someone to tell his stories of the old days to. The only other regular in
that night was Aki, he had come in with a girl and the pair were sitting
at a table near the bar, pouring over the blueprints of some device.
As always Katsuko stood behind the bar watching everything. She was
considering the pair sitting at the table. They both seemed excited about
whatever it was they were designing (well Aki was designing, his friend
was just telling him what it should do.) Her curiosity was just about to
get the better of her when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck to
rise. Turning to the door she saw an unfortunately familiar figure
walking towards the bar. The woman was tall, and had a serious look on
her face. Black hair streamed down her back, but if you looked closely
you could see a hint of green.
"Hello Katsuko, long time no see," the woman greeting the
barkeeper.
"Not long enough Setsuna, or is it Susan, I can never keep up with
your ever changing names," Katsuko said snidely.
"Setsuna, please," Setsuna replied.
"What do you want?" Katsuko demanded.
"Don't your regulars get drinks?" Setsuna smiled at Katsuko. It
wasn't a friendly smile.
"You're not one of my regulars," the barkeeper replied.
"What a pity," Setsuna's smile vanished. "I've come to warn you
about your family business. It's interfering with mine."
"That should bother me how?" Katsuko inquired.
"I may have to deal with it directly," Setsuna told her, a threat
in her voice.
"Your family tried that before and failed. Now I think you should
leave before one of us makes a threat," Katsuko hissed.
Setsuna gave the other woman a calm glare, then turned and walked
towards the door. Katsuko muttered curses under her breath.
During the exchange Tashiro had stopped talking and listened in on
the pair. "What was that about?" he asked.
"Our families have been feuding since they were formed. We've just
never got along," Katsuko shrugged, then started pouring a drink.
Moments later Darien and Serena came through the door. As they
walked Serena kept glancing over he shoulder. By the time they reached
the bar Katsuko had a pair of drinks waiting for them.
"Hello, Darien, Serena, how's life been treating you?" Katsuko's
anger had swept out of her and she greeted the pair with a smile.
"We're fine, thanks Katsuko," replied Darien as they sat at the
bar. Serena immediately turned to stare out the door again.
"What's wrong Serena?" the bartender relied.
"Huh?" Serena looked around. "Um, we passed a woman on the way in,
and I'm sure I know her."
"Probably that Setsuna you were arguing with," Tashiro suggested.
"Setsuna?" Serena asked. "The woman with black green tinted hair?"
Tashiro nodded. "She was in here talking to Katsuko about family."
"She's related to you?" Serena asked Katsuko, confused.
Katsuko shock her head. "Thankfully, no. Our families are in
similar businesses - not bartending - and we've been butting heads for
along time."
"I doubt its your friend anyway," Darien declared. "I doubt she
came back there."
Serena looked at him, then shrugged. "You're probably right."
Serena noticed here drink on the bar for the first time. "Hey, thanks
Katsuko. Does this mean I'm a regular now?"
Katsuko looked down at the drink as if seeing it for the first
time. "I guess so, if I got it right."
Serena took a sip of the drink. "Mmm, that's lovely, just perfect
Katsuko, thanks."
Katsuko nodded. "You're welcome, don't forget to pay your tab on
the way out," Katsuko deadpanned, then grinned showing she was joking.
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Q&A (Archivers may delete this section).
Q: Why do I use the NA names for the scouts and Japanese names for my new
characters?
A: While I hate what DIC has done with the names (a group of Japanese
girls, in Tokyo with english names). I don't know enough of the Japanese
names to write with them. Forgive me.