Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sailormoon Dark ❯ Episode 10: Jupiter Rides the Lightning. Please Transform Me into Sailorcosmos! ( Chapter 10 )

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

Sailormoon Dark: Episode Ten
"Jupiter Rides the Lightning. Please Transform Me into Sailorcosmos!"

written by Laurel Wilson ( Sailorhathor@aol.com )
Inspired by the Japanese animated show Pretty Soldier Sailormoon.
The ideas for this fanfic were conceived in 1995, but this actual episode was written in December 2000-January 2001.


"The Itsubun said that the half of the Soul Shield that survives will become the dominant half. I cannot let the Darkness claim my friends! If I have to fight as Sailorcosmos to win, I will. But my brooch is still the Eternal style. Please brooch, transform me into the soldier I must be to save my friends!"
"Usagi, save yourself! I can fight them alone."
"Sailorjupiter!"
Pretty Soldier Sailormoon Dark Episode 10: Jupiter Rides the Lightning. Please Transform Me into Sailorcosmos! The moonlight carries the message of love.

        "MOON ETERNAL, MAKE-UP!"
        In a flurry of feathers, Usagi was lifted up into her Eternal transformation. She could feel the wings springing from her back. It's working! I can be Eternalsailormoon again! Usagi desperately thought.
        But her triumph was short-lived. The Silver Crystal inside the brooch suddenly flashed as it rejected this transformation. The wings faded and Usagi dropped to the ground.
        "Why?!" she cried. "If I cannot transform, I cannot fight!"
        "Such a sad situation," the Dark Mercury said. Looming over her good counterpart, she plunged her hand into Ami's back. The hand moved through Ami's skin effortlessly, like through an energy portal. After a few seconds of rummaging, Darkmercury pulled out the Light half of the Soul Shield. Ami's body jerked once violently and was still.
        "Please, stop this Ami. This isn't like you!" Usagi begged.
        "I know, this isn't like me at all!" Sailordarkmercury agreed. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing? I mean, my plans have always been to become a doctor, but I once doubted those plans too. What if this isn't right for me?" She clutched her head. "You see?! This is why I need the Light half of my Soul Shield--to bring a little sensibility to my muddled thinking and self-doubt. As Sailormercury, I've always been determined and dedicated, and even though I had my own way of doing things, I still fulfilled my duty. Can you imagine how much stronger and confident I will be as Eternal Sailordarkmercury?" She held up the Light half.
        Shaking her head, Usagi cried, "Mercury, you musn't! If you combine the halves now, you'll be a complete, Dark senshi!"
        "I won't let that happen!" Sailorjupiter challengingly pointed a gloved finger at Darkmercury. "You threaten the life of my dear friend Ami, and you--!" She pointed at Darkvenus. "You dare choke Minako-chan! For that, I will never forgive you!"
        Laughing, Sailordarkvenus reached into Minako's chest to pull out her own Light half of the Soul Shield. "You think it matters to me whether or not you forgive me? Me, Aino Minako, future idol singer of the world?" She vainly fluffed her hair.
        "Jupiter is right; we shouldn't be doing this. It's so wrong," Darkmercury lamented.
        "Will you get a backbone for two minutes, Merc? We haven't even got the Soul Shields back together yet." Putting on the kind of smile you'd see in a model's portfolio, Darkvenus prepared to place the Light half into her body.
        "I can't let you do that." Sailorjupiter extended her hand to her side. "Jupiter Oak Evolution!"
        Darkvenus quickly leapt out of the way, taking out her Wand of the Broken Heart. "Dark Ivy Chain!" The chain caught Jupiter as she was spinning into her Oak Evolution attack; she unwittingly wrapped herself in the chain all the way up her raised arms.
        "Sailorjupiter!" Usagi sprang to her feet.
        "Usagi-chan, stay back! You can't fight without your transformation."
        "But-"
        Darkmercury, taking advantage of the distraction, grabbed Usagi from behind and held a Messenger Blade to her throat. "Don't move."
        "Ami! You can't do this! I'm your friend!"
        "Don't listen to her Darkmerc. You need to get her out of your way if you want to reunite the halves of your Soul Shield," Darkvenus reminded her.
        Struggling against the bonds of the Ivy Chain, Sailorjupiter yelled, "Supreme...!" The antennae in her tiara rose above her head. Electricity crackled around its tip.
        Usagi gasped. "Jupiter, stop! You can't do that attack with your arms tied! You'll be hurt!"
        "...THUNDER!" Lightning shot out of the sky to strike the end of the tiara's antennae. Jupiter screamed in pain as the lightning shocked her, but her idea worked--the electricity bolted down the chain too quickly for Sailordarkvenus to let go of it. She too yelped in pain. The shock knocked her back several feet, where she laid motionless next to her own better half.
        "Sailorjupiter!" When Usagi tried to rush to her friend's aid, Darkmercury again held the sharp edge of the blade to her neck. She looked at the blood that stained the Messenger Blade... Ami's blood. Then she gazed at Sailorjupiter, who had collapsed on the ground. An overwhelming feeling of panic swept through her. "I already lost Rei! I won't lose anyone else!"
        Darkmercury was completely taken by surprise when Usagi grabbed her Blade and began fighting her for it. Struggling, each girl wrestled for control of the weapon.
        "Ami, please! You can't hurt me! It's me, Usagi-chan! You're not yourself."
        Sailordarkme rcury suddenly slapped Usagi hard enough to make her see grey. "I'm not letting you cause me to doubt myself, not now." Swiftly she twisted Usagi's arm behind her back and, putting the Blade to her neck, began to cut Usagi's throat.
        "Ahhhhh!" Usagi screamed shrilly.
        Suddenly a red rose sailed through the air, the thorny point piercing the hand of the Dark senshi.
        "OWWW!" It was enough to make her release Usagi, and to drop the Messenger Blade.
        Tuxedo Mask stood in a tree nearby. He leapt across the temple's plaza to check on his love; there was no time for his spiel now. "Usa-ko!"
        "Tuxedo Mask-sama! I'm alright, it's just a shallow cut. I'm so glad you're here."
        "You look like you could use some help. I got worried about you when you didn't show up at the park and went looking for you. Good thing I did." He turned to Darkmercury. "Whoever you are, I am your advesary. Fight me. You will no longer hurt my Usa-ko." He challenged Sailordarkmercury with his cane.
        The Dark senshi began to laugh. "I never told you this, but you never were much of a threat, Tuxedo Mask. In fact, you're quite a wimp as a soldier. It's so unlikely of me to say such things! I'm embarassed." Without another word, Darkmercury swung one of her Blades across the shaft of the cane. It was cut in half. "Tuxedo Mask surely can't perform with half a cane. So very sad." The expression on her face was positively naughty, something her friends had rarely seen from her.
        Tuxedo Mask reached for another rose. Raising the Messenger Blade, Sailordarkmercury moved to slash his arm with it.
        "Ami, no!" Usagi cried.
        There was the sound of a sharp crack as a whip of flame snapped around the Messenger Blade and yanked it out of Darkmercury's hand, almost pulling her off her feet.
        "WOAH! Who did that?! Give me back my Blade!"
        Standing across the plaza was Sailorsun, holding the flaming whip. "The only reason you say such insulting things about my Endymion is because you don't know him like I do. When he leapt from that tree, it was like a glorious thunderbird in flight... I will never let you demean him so! You will be Harvested!"
        Looking at Tuxedo Mask strangely, Usagi asked, "Why does she talk about you like that? My Endymion?"
        "She must've followed me here," was his only, extremely evasive response.
        Sailordarkmer cury tried to decide how to handle this; she had been disarmed, but she did have another Blade nearby... and she had yet to reassemble her Soul Shield. A feral grin spread across her face. "Harvest this." Darkmercury placed the Light half over her heart, where it sank into her body.
        "Oh, NO!" Usagi screamed. She and Tuxedo Mask were knocked down by a blast of energy coming from the Dark senshi. An evil aura engulfed Sailordarkmercury, from which wings grew on her back. The mirror on her forehead glowed ominously.
        "Now I am complete, and more complete than I have ever been! I am Eternal Sailordarkmercury!"


         Three figures dashed down the street toward the Hikawa Shrine. Setsuna and Professor Tomoe had stayed behind at the house to look after Kitaeru, while Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru headed to Cherry Hill. Still a couple blocks away, they could see dark energy glowing from the top of the hill, near the temple.
        "Kitaeru was right; something is happening to Dumpling and the others!" Haruka said, her voice stricken.
        "We should transform before we get there."
        They were surprised to see Luna and Artemis come running up to them. "We were out looking for everyone, and we saw some evil energy coming from the Hikawa Shrine. What's happening?!" Artemis asked, alarmed.
        "We think Usagi, Ami, Makoto, and Minako are in trouble. They're up there, at the shrine, and just now Kitaeru reacted as she did when Rei was killed. Luna told you about that, didn't she?" Michiru responded.
        "Yes! Let's get up there! Minako!" Artemis cried before turning around to run to the shrine.
        "You go; we'll be right behind you. Neptune Crystal Power!"
        "Uranus Crystal Power!"
        "Saturn Crystal Power!"
        "MAKE-UP!"
        Haruka and Michiru drew circles around their feet with the energy from their wands. A column of water splashed up around Michiru and transformed her into Sailorneptune. Haruka was surrounded by a cylinder of wind that turned her into Sailoruranus. They were joined by Hotaru, whose wand cut a circle into the cement sidewalk below her feet. Pieces of the rock exploded until a column of destruction encircled Hotaru completely. She broke her way out of the column with the Silence Glaive. Now metamorphosised into Sailorsaturn, a coat of lipgloss magically applied itself to her lips before she posed next to Neptune and Uranus.*
        "Let's go!" they declared together, and followed the two cats.


      &n bsp; "Ami-chan, I beg you, come to your senses. Don't use these Dark powers any further. I can heal your aching heart; I know I can," Usagi assured.
        Flapping her wings, Sailordarkmercury laughed bitterly at Usagi's declaration. "How can you heal anyone? You can't even transform."
        "Idiot! Stop trying to reason with madness," Sailorsun commanded. She tossed the Messenger Blade she had taken from Darkmercury aside, where the Dark senshi could not get it.
        Angrily, Tuxedo Mask yelled, "Don't talk to Usa-ko like that! She is pure of heart and always tries to help people who have been overcome by darkness. She never loses hope. That is why she tries to reason with Darkmercury. All you can do is give up on Ami because she was never your friend."
        "You talk to me of giving up? Of losing hope? You say that girl always helps lost causes? How dare you! I have never given up! To this day, I still wait for our time to come! Do you know how many years I have waited?! My hope is never ending!" Sailorsun replied, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm still waiting for that girl to show her hope to me!"
        Why does she speak to Tuxedo Mask in such a familiar way? What does she mean? Usagi thought. His words ran through her mind. She is pure of heart and always tries to help people who have been overcome by darkness. Usagi's eyes and heart softened with love for her prince. Mamo-chan...
        "I will not give up on Ami!" Turning to Darkmercury, she realized that the senshi was ignoring her, tapping away on her little computer. "Ami, what..."
        Sailordarkmerc ury simply finished her typing and smiled mischievously at Usagi. Then she looked at the computer. "Hm. Very interesting."
        "Does it say something about me?" asked Usagi sheepishly.
        "No." Drawing back her Messenger Blade, Darkmercury threw it in Sailorsun's direction.
        "Look out!"
        Sun, quickly regaining her cocky composure, watched the Blade pass her up. "Why? It missed me comple-"
        The Blade struck a cement column behind and to one side of Sailorsun, ricocheting off of it. It hit the other Messenger Blade lying on the ground and caused it to jump up, where it could be knocked further across the plaza by the flying Blade.
        "Hey!" Sailorsun yelled; she hadn't expected that.
        The Blade that had been hit clattered along the ground until it bumped into Darkmercury's foot. At the same time, she caught the other Blade as it flew toward her hand.
        "What a trick. I'll show you a few of mine too." Sun ran her hand down the length of the flaming whip; it transformed back into the Sun Scythe. Her gloved hand passed over the empty air at the end of the handle to leave behind the blade of the Scythe. "It's been a long time, but I seem to remember that hand-to-hand combat was not your strong point, Mercury. Yaaaaaah!" Sailorsun took off running at Darkmercury, prepared to use the Scythe on her.
        "No, please don't hurt Ami-chan!" Usagi begged. Her emotions toward her friend were confusing her; this evil Ami had to die, didn't she?
        Sailordarkmercury quietly stood and waited for Sun to get closer. Then she threw the Messenger Blades to either side of her. They ricocheted off two stone pillars and headed straight for the senshi of the sun.
        "Watch it!" Tuxedo Mask warned.
        Stupid, you're trying so hard to impress Endymion that you're letting your guard down! His words gave Sun a chance to deflect one of the Blades with the Sun Scythe, but the other sliced her arm open badly. She stumbled and fell to her knees with a scream of pain.
        "What did you think all that calculating on my computer was about? I wasn't balancing my checkbook," Darkmercury laughed. "Not only can an object be lifted off the ground by the momentum of another object in motion, but the force at which an article strikes a stationary target... well, it's all much too complicated for your intellect. Though I'm sure you can understand the urgency of taking care of a wound that bleeds as profusely as yours."
        Upon finishing her sentence, Sailordarkmercury caught the Blade that Sun had not knocked to the ground as it flew back to her.


      &nb sp; A fluorescent-pink-haired girl was running up to the back of the shrine when she tripped over a black ball... a black ball with cat ears. She held her scraped knee and looked up at the woman with the blue odango.
        "I'm sorry, is this yours? I was running and I didn't see it. Someone screamed on the other side of this temple; we should go help!" There was a pause. "Don't you think?"
        Not speaking, Baby Baby Love looked to see if Luna-P continued to react to this girl. The mirror on its forehead flashed with inner light. "You are an Elemental," Baby Baby Love finally said.
        "Excuse me?"
        Picking up Luna-P, Baby Baby Love bounced it several times and said, "Dark Luna-P, transform!" before throwing the ball into the air. It changed into a big sucker in a puff of smoke. The sucker swirled with a purple stripe all the way to its middle.
        "How did you do that?!" the girl asked.
        Baby Baby Love held the sucker before her face. It began to turn on its stick so that the stripe swirled quicker... and quicker... as if the purple stripe was ever sinking deeper into itself. "You are under my control. You will serve the Dark. You will do what I tell you."
        The girl's pupils swirled in time with the sucker's turning. "I am under your control. I will serve the Dark. I will do what you tell me," she said robotically.
        "You will transform into your senshi identity by the power of the Dark Pearl. I will lend you this power; just touch the mirror on my forehead and you will be transformed. When I tell you, you will attack every senshi of the Light that you see. Touch the mirror now if you understand."
        "I understand," said the girl, and touched the mirror on Baby Baby Love's forehead.


     &nbs p;  "Sailorsun, run away from here! You're too badly injured to fight," Tuxedo Mask commanded.
        Sun shook her head. "I won't leave you here with her." Which girl am I afraid to leave Endymion with?
        Keeping an eye on each of them, Sailordarkmercury held her Messenger Blade out menacingly so no one would approach her as she slinked across the plaza to Darkvenus. "Now I'll make you whole again too." She took the Light half from Darkvenus' hand.
        "Stop!" Usagi screamed.
        Of course Darkmercury ignored her, and placed the Light half over Sailordarkvenus' heart. It sank into her body. The Dark senshi gasped deeply before sitting up. An evil, rotten aura surrounded her, forming wings on her back and blowing her hair up. She stood. "Thank you Darkmerc. That feels much better."
        Usagi, braving the danger of approaching them, took several steps toward the two Dark senshi. "Ami-chan... Minako-chan... I beg you to put down your weapons. Remember your plans for college? All of your dreams? Ami, you cannot be the top student of Mirai Mugen, and you, Minako, you cannot be the idol of the school, unless you go back to being the friends I know. This Dark path will only lead you to defeat. Please, stop this, and I will find a way to turn you both back into your true selves."
        After that impassioned speech, the Dark senshi looked at each other and simply replied, "Nah."
        Both Usagi and Tuxedo Mask sweatdropped.
        "I rather like myself this way, with these pretty wings. Don't you, Eternal Sailordarkvenus?"
        "Oh yes, such lovely wings. Much prettier than Eternalsailormoon's." They smiled cattily at Usagi.
        Usagi and Tuxedo Mask gained larger sweatdrops.
        From behind her, Sailorsun heard people running up the stairs to the temple. Luna and Artemis were coming toward her first, with three of the Outer senshi not far behind. Help was here. Sun, using her good arm, cut through the air with the Scythe. "Eclipse Scythe!" The sweeping arc brought darkness over the shrine.
        "Who turned out the lights?!" Darkvenus exclaimed.
        "Dark V, where'd you go?!"
        The three Outer senshi made it to the top of the stairs, and immediately noticed that it had grown dark--but only at the temple! Still, they could see what was going on. In fact, the two Dark senshi seemed to be the only ones who could not see through the blackness of Sun's eclipse.
        Usagi opened her mouth to herald the arrival of Neptune, Saturn, and Uranus, but Uranus put a finger to her lips.
        When the eclipse wore off several seconds later, Darkmercury and Darkvenus gasped to see the three Outer senshi surrounding them.
        "Gah! It's the Outer senshi! Merc, let's get out of here..."
        "Minako, no!" Artemis said. He could not believe what he was seeing. An evil Venus?!
        "Hold it. You will not be leaving because you have something to return to these two girls who were once so full of life and hope. I, Sailoruranus, the soldier of the graceful wind, will make sure you return what you stole."
        "As will I, the senshi of the embracing sea, Sailorneptune."
        "When they get finished with you, I, Sailorsaturn, the soldier of death and rebirth, will bring total destruction to what is left. Destruction leads to eventual rebirth, and that is all that can save you now."
        The two Dark senshi huddled against each other. "Their attacks are stronger than ours. With our new Eternal forms, you think we can beat them?"
        "I don't know..."
        "Attack!" a sudden voice called from beside the temple. An unknown senshi leapt into the middle of the group where Sailordarkmercury and Darkvenus were standing. Her entire fuku sported fluorescent colors.
        "Honey, fluorescents went out of style years ago," Darkvenus commented, rolling her eyes.
        "You two get out of here. I'll hold them off."
        They looked at each other and shrugged. "Okay. I certainly don't want to risk defeat."
        Hearing this, Sailorneptune cried, "Deep Submerge!"
        Sailoruranus joined in with, "World Shaking!"
        The unknown senshi twirled the fluorescent pink rod in her hands. "Neon Laser Break!" Lasers shot out of the rod, bombarding Neptune and Uranus' attacks. Both globes of energy broke up before they hit anyone. Seawater rained down on the group.
        "How-" Neptune began.
        Smiling ferally, Sailordarkvenus and Darkmercury took a step back. Darkmercury was now standing in a puddle left by Neptune's attack. Suddenly she sank into the puddle and disappeared.
        "Wha-" Uranus cried in disbelief.
        The chain of ivy spun out of Darkvenus' wand and swirled around her, much like the column of stars had done during her original transformation. She disappeared within it.
        "Damn!" added Neptune.
        "I guess it's just you and us," Sailorsaturn remarked to the new senshi. "What are you going to do?"
        The senshi did not waste any time. She held up the Laser Rod again and said, "Neon Laser Singe!" Laser bullets of many colors shot out of the rod to strike the three Outer senshi. It felt like being stung by many bees, or perhaps being burned with one cigarette after another.
        To stave off this attack, Sailorsaturn got in its way and cried, "Silence Wall!" The lasers were blocked from further hitting the other senshi.
        Although she was worried about what was going on before her, Usagi could not take her eyes off the still bodies of Minako and Ami. They couldn't be dead... they just couldn't be... I already lost Rei-chan today. This can't be happening! But with the evil Mercury and Venus gone, the tragedy could not be fixed now. She couldn't put it right, not today. Maybe not ever.
        Usagi raised her eyes to the temple, and before she could turn them back to the battle, a person standing there caught her eye. She was dressed in something only a child would wear, but she was an adult--an adult with a very familiar face. And her hair... done up in elongated odango...
        "Chibiusa!" Tuxedo Mask suddenly said.
        The woman smiled, politely but mischievously, then stepped into an energy portal she had created nearby, which disappeared after her.
        "Tuxedo Mask-sama, who was that? She even had Luna-P in her arms..."
        Sailorneptune and Uranus were bombarding the neon senshi with attacks to try to overwhelm her own power of breaking them up. The senshi was beginning to wear down.
        "Space Sword Blaster!"
        "Submarine Reflection!"
        "The talismans!" the senshi exclaimed. "You have the special talismans!"
        "She's another real Elemental. Soldier, tell me your name," Saturn said.
        Through gritted teeth at the effort of fighting off the attacks, she replied, "Sailorneonfinch ."
        "Sailorneonfinch, you are under the influence of an evil aura. I will release you from this prison." Words formed in Saturn's head--a new attack, one she could actually use without hurting herself. "End... Ribbon... Rotation!" As she pointed the Silence Glaive at Neonfinch, a ball of purple energy formed on its blade, and sped at Saturn's target. The ball of energy resembled the planet Saturn. Its rings cut into the ground as it flew, then unraveled like ribbons and began slashing at anything within their reach.
        Sailoruranus and Neptune tried to get out of the way, but the attack was too big and too fast--they both got cut on the arms several times by the slashing rings. Neonfinch, however, couldn't have gotten out of the way if she tried. The energy struck and slashed at her hard enough to knock her across the plaza, leaving a trail of craters behind. Sailorneonfinch's clothes were in tatters after the blast. She lifelessly lay by the stairs as the others attempted to take in all that had happened.
        "Oh Uranus, Neptune, I'm so sorry I cut you!" Saturn rushed to them to check their wounds.
        Waving off the apology, Sailoruranus patted Saturn's shoulder. "It's alright. The important thing is you developed a new attack! It may be a bit dangerous, but you used it without killing yourself. Our wounds will heal."
        "Next time, we know we should not stand too close to the enemy when you use that attack," Sailorneptune added.
        Saturn sighed. "I thought all of my attacks were double-edged... that they were all so dangerous that I would be caught up in them every time. But I didn't get a scratch on me. I guess fate has something different in store for me now. She... Sailorneonfinch... is she...?"
        Feeling the girl's pulse, Sun nodded, a somber look in her eyes. Sailorsaturn's face was stricken. "I don't enjoy killing."
        Usagi had instantly rushed to Jupiter's side. "Jupiter! Jupiter! Mako-chan! Please wake up!"
        Groaning, Sailorjupiter opened her eyes. "Usagi-chan? You okay?"
        "Jupiter!" She hugged her mightily. "Thank you for being okay! Minako... and Ami..."
        Tuxedo Mask checked on the lifeless Ami and Minako. His expression said it all as he returned to Usagi. "Usa-ko..."
        "No." She refused to let go of Sailorjupiter while she spoke. "Don't say it. This is not happening. My friends and I are starting college classes tomorrow. Together! You are not going to tell me that I've lost Rei-chan... Ami-chan... and Minako-chan... all in one day! I won't let you tell me that!"
        Rubbing her arm, Tuxedo Mask whispered, "Usa-ko..."
        Usagi began to sob harder. "I couldn't save them. I couldn't do a thing, Mamo-chan. Not a thing."
        "Minako..." Artemis sobbed, and curled up next to her still body.
        Tuxedo Mask joined in the group hug with Usagi and Sailorjupiter, who was too disoriented to totally understand what had happened.
        A Soul Shield floated out of the body of Neonfinch. It split into two shields, the Finch Shield flying away and out of sight, and the Shield of the Neon senshi dissolved back into the girl's chest. She suddenly took a sharp breath and her entire body jerked violently. "Ohhhhhh... it hurts... what..."
        Sailorsun moved away from the girl in amazement. She had seen the resurrection of Helium, but still, this was a wonder! "Just a minute ago... she had no pulse!"
        "Many scientists think that neon will be helpful in the use of cryogenics... just like helium," Neptune pointed out.
        Uranus could see where she was going with this. "I think we'll be paying the Witches another visit tonight."
        Neon sat up to better look at herself. "What happened to my clothes?!"


     &nb sp;  The sun had begun to go down, casting shadows around the park where Mamoru and 'Nori had met earlier in the day. Senetsu and Kakoku were still sitting on the same bench and chatting superficially about each person who passed by.
        "Oh my lord, look at that shirt she has on. Is that a Hawaiian print?" They giggled cattily.
        Although some time had gone by, Momono was still leaning against the tree, sadly watching other people enjoy themselves. A group of teenage girls walked through the park with a child; the way they were acting, it was as if they were looking for something.
        Setsuna , Sailorpluto's daughter, held up a hand-held communicator and waved it around. "This is the computerized communicator my mother used to speak to Chibiusa through Luna-P. It started reacting when we entered this time period, so Luna-P must be around. That means Chibiusa is here too. Whoever took her Dark half is in this year."
        The antennae on the communicator had a tiny light on the end that blinked when Setsuna moved it about. As she aimed it in one particular direction, the light blinked faster.
        "Looks like we go that way. But Setsuna, how do you know Luna-P is with Chibiusa's Dark half? None one actually saw Luna-P follow the attackers into the past," Kouzentaru , Sailoruranus' daughter, commented.
        After a pause, Setsuna replied, "Well, Taru, doesn't Luna-P always follow Chibiusa around? Plus, this communicator wouldn't be reacting if the cat ball wasn't here. It's not so hard to figure out." She started walking in the direction the communicator indicated.
        "Yeah, sure..." Taru replied under her breath.
        Yasashii , Sailorneptune's daughter, turned to Junryou , who was also Sailorelysion. "Why don't you and Nozomi wait here for us? I'm sure the kid could use some play time."
        Nodding, Jun shooed the others after Setsuna. "We'll be here, Sash. You see what you can find out."
        Nozomi was starting to act like a regular child again; she ran about playing hide 'n seek with Artemis-P. The toy peeked around a tree and accidentally startled Momono.
        "Oh! What is that thing?"
        Artemis-P floated into Zomi's waiting hands. "This is Artemis-P. He's kinda like a toy. Sorry he scared you."
        Momono gently poked the robot ball in the nose. One of its eyes turned into a little staticy tv screen. "Is it computerized? It has a mini-television set!"
        "Yes, it is computerized, using some of the best 30th century tech--ummm, yes." Zomi, embarassed at her slip-up, smiled sheepishly. "He's one of my best buddies." She hugged the white ball.
        The face of Inabikari , Sailorjupiter's daughter, came into focus on Artemis-P's eye screen. "Zomi, turn off Artemis-P. Your signal is interfering with the one we're trying to follow."
        "Oh, sorry Bikari!" Nozomi immediately pressed the nose of the cat face, turning the screen off.
        Amazed, Momono exclaimed, "That girl who was just here with you, she just appeared on that screen! How did she do that?! Is your ball like a walkie-talkie?"
        "Someth ing like it."
        "That's really neat! So what signal are they following? Are they your sisters?" As she talked, Momono put her hand on the tree and spun herself around it, walking faster to make herself spin faster.
        The questions were hard to answer, because of all the identities that must be kept secret, but Nozomi wanted someone to talk to about her problems... someone closer to her own age. "They're not my sisters; they're my mom's friends. My mom... she's been... kidnapped."
        "Kidnapped? !"
        "Yeah. She has one of these computerized toys like mine, except hers is black, and it is with her right now. If they can follow its signal to her, then she can be rescued from the kidnappers." Zomi began spinning herself around the tree, like Momono was doing. She was short enough that they could both spin in opposite directions without hitting each other. Trotting over, Mare began following her owner around the tree, and was very careful to weave in and out of the moving feet so she would not get stepped on.
        Jun sat down on an empty bench with Diana. "It's good to see Zomi enjoying herself, even if it is only for a short time."
        With a nod of her furry head, Diana added, "Yes. Surely some more bad times are to come for all of us. This will be a hard fought battle, the rescue of Small Lady."
        "I'm sorry your mom is in such trouble. I hope they find her. Have you guys called the police yet? Where's your dad?" Momono asked.
        She sure asks lotsa questions... "Um, we don't need the police 'cause... my aunt is a policewoman. She's overseeing this entire plan." I hate to start off a new friendship with a lie, but I can't tell her the truth.
        From between Nozomi's feet, Mare cleared her throat scoldingly.
        "Yes, that's right, a policewoman. She helps keep the peace of the world." Zomi nudged her kitten with her foot. "My dad stayed at home to take care of things there. He's a very important man; our city couldn't get along without him."
        Mare cleared her throat again.
        "Well it's true!"
        "I think your cat has a hairball in her throat."
        Mare sweatdropped.
        As she continued to twirl herself around the tree, Momono said, "You're very lucky to have a mother and father, even if things are really tough for your family right now. I don't have a mom or dad. They were killed when their boat blew up."
        "Gosh, that's awful!"
        From the nearby bench on which they sat, Kako and Senetsu began to clap, slowly and obviously with sarcasm. "Such a sad, melodramatic story," Senetsu said. Both girls grinned at each other.
        Momono stopped spinning for a second to glare at the two girls before resuming her circling of the tree.
        "Are they friends of yours?" Zomi asked with distaste.
        "Um, no, they're just girls I go to school with."
        "Where do you go to school?"
        "Mirai Mugen University."
        "A university?!" Zomi cried. "You don't look university age at all!"
        "I'm not; I'm about twelve. I mean, I'm twelve. But the people at the orphanage where I live say I'm really smart, so they put me in this university to study. I know that it's just this plot they cooked up to get rid of me, just like my parents' boat getting blown up was a plot to get rid of them. They were international super spies, and several countries wanted them dead because they were so good at discovering secrets," Momono explained, her own eyes widening over the excitement of the story.
        Again, Senetsu and Kako began to clap and snicker. "My my Momono, if you don't stop telling such dramatic stories, I'm going to have to break out the violins and play a sad, mournful tune."
        Zomi charged at them, stomping her foot. "You leave my friend alone! Stop teasing her!"
        "Oh, she's your friend, is she?" Senetsu asked with amusement. "Then what's her name?"
        "It's, ah... Momono... what's your last name?"
        The girls on the bench snickered.
        "My name is Koji Momono." She lowered her head in shame at being given such a last name, one that simply meant, "orphan."
        "Oh... I'm Kin Nozomi! Most people call me Zomi." Zomi cheerily bowed. "Would you like to be my friend?"
        "Sure!" Momono replied gratefully. "It's been so long since I've had a real friend."
        "What is this, 'Romper Room'? You should find some friends your own age, Momono."
        "What would a mean girl like you know about having friends?" Zomi retorted.
        Kako suddenly became very interested in her nails. "It's awfully strange that they gave you that last name at the orphanage, Momono, considering that you once had parents. Why don't you use your family's last name?" Both girls looked at her with challenging, smug expressions.
        After a pause, Momono replied, "Because my parents were international super spies. It's important to hide my identity, to protect me from the people who killed my parents."
        Kako pointed her nail file at Momono and winked, mocking her. "Good save."
        Zomi took Momono's hand. "Come on, let's go over there and play."
        Following dilligently, the girl asked, "You really want to be my friend? For real?"
        "Of course! My aunt has some yarn; we can play Cat's Cradle."
        Momono's face brightened up. "Okay, friend! That's a really pretty locket you have there." She pointed to Zomi's locket with the silver bell design on it.
        "Thank you!" The little girl looked at Momono's necklace, which had a silver and blue ball pendant hanging from the chain. "Your necklace is pretty too."
        "Thank you. My mom gave it to me," Momono said, hiding the sadness that immediately came to the surface.
        Giggling happily, Nozomi skipped the rest of the way across the park.

"It's the night before classes start, and I'm worried that things aren't going to get any better. We took Ami and Minako to the Witches... I just can't believe they're gone. Samantha has a very strange vision of alien senshi coming to Earth to help us. Senshi from outer space! Maybe it's the Starlights... I hope they're not aliens from some planet where everyone is green and has four arms. Not that there's anything wrong with that... it would just be kinda scary. Uhhehhehheh!"
"Usaaaaaagi, I'm a green alien with four aaaaarms!"
"You can't fool me Glen; I know that's you."
"You're getting sharper Usagi. Sharp as a watermelon."
"Ariga... watermelon?!"
Sailormoon Dark Episode 11: Samantha Makes Contact. The Builder is Coming. The moonlight carries the message of love.

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* The transformation that Sailorsaturn uses in this fic was created by me; she did not have an official transformation in the anime. I also created her new attack.

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