I apologize for taking so long. Real life conspired against me. Not to fear
though #13 is off to the beta's tonight. IT will take 14 parts to finish.
However #14 won't be as large.
Enjoy and thanks for your patients.
Doug
----------------------
Tales of Younger Venus
By Douglas "Candle Light Author" Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Sailor Senshi, and all terms, names, etc.
associated with the series are copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi and
Kodansha. We make no claim to them and this work of fanfiction should
not be seen as making a claim.
Those characters that are original and the story "Tales of Younger
Venus" are copyrighted (c) 1997 by Douglas Helm & Will Wolfshohl.
This fanfic and over 350 other SM fanfics reside in "Tuxedo" Will's SM
Fanfics Archive at http://log.on.ca/users/helm/anime/index.htm
Send comments to: Douglas "Candle Light Author" Helm (dhelm@log.on.ca)
or "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl (wwolfshohl@logicon.com)
Part XII
Chapter 31 - Inquiry
The Saturday morning sunlight crept slowly through the upstairs windows
of the Aino household. Artemis, who had been banished to the windowsill
the previous evening, lazily opened one eye. He immediately squinted as
the sun lanced through his eye in a painful flash. Blinking rapidly to
get rid of the spots, he muttered to himself as he stretched trying to
work the kinks out of his back.
<Have to remember not to compare Minako's singing to Yuuichiro's,>
Artemis thought grumpily as he gently leapt off of his makeshift bed.
<Maybe I shouldn't have said that he sounded better than her.> The
evening before, Minako had managed to wangle enough money out of her
father to buy a new music cassette. This, at least to Artemis, was a
painful experience because Minako ALWAYS insisted on singing along.
Fortunately for him, Kimeko had been there to suffer as well.
Glancing around, Artemis noticed that Kimeko wasn't in the room. Walking
over to the door, he gently nudged it opened and crept down the stairs.
As he got close to the kitchen he noticed Kimeko rummaging around in a
cupboard. As he entered the kitchen he hopped up on the counter beside
her and started watching her intently.
When Kimeko stepped back she gave a little gasp of surprise as she
noticed that Artemis was watching her. "You scared me, Artemis... want
some milk?"
"Please," Artemis said softly, "Is something bothering you or do you
usually get up on Saturday mornings before the sun wakes up?"
Kimeko smiled. Walking over to the refrigerator, she got out the milk
and started pouring a bowl for her early morning companion. "Well last
weekend you didn't get up until Minako did so you didn't see me get up,"
Kimeko remarked then turning she sat the bowl in front of Artemis and
started getting something for herself.
"Arigato... but that still doesn't answer my question."
"Habit really. Misako is usually up around seven. If I want to have a
little time to wake up, get ready, and eat something in peace, then I
have to wake up early." Kimeko plopped down at the table with her own
breakfast and sighed, "I would REALLY REALLY like to stay in bed but I
know that if I break that habit, then when I go back I'll regret it."
<Now I see where I got the desire of wanting to sleep in.>
The kitchen was silent for awhile as they both ate. Artemis finished his
breakfast and jumping from the counter to the table sat in front of
Kimeko and said, "Misako must have been a handful when she was younger."
Kimeko cocked an eyebrow quizzically at Artemis before saying, "I
couldn't say objectively. Sakuya's under the impression that Chibi-Usa
was more of a terror than her sister. I, on the other hand, take a
different view of the matter." She popped the last bit of food into her
mouth and started to chew thoughtfully, "Chibi-Usa seems to have the
opinion that she was an innocent little girl, a perfect angel."
Artemis snorted, "I'll just BET she was a perfect little angel. That
pudding incident you mentioned didn't sound that isolated and I remember
what she was like the last time she was here." He smiled as Kimeko
giggled, "I'm not saying it to be mean but..."
"Yeah I know," Kimeko interrupted, "Although before she went to the past
Chibi-Usa seemed to go out of her way to torment Misako." Kimeko tilted
her head to stare at a point in space, "After she got back it was like a
totally different person."
"I think that the final battle with the Death Phantom made her think
about her past behavior. After all, she thought she'd killed Sakuya."
Artemis paused before saying, "Kimeko, I wanted to ask you something."
"Hmmm?"
"Well when we were in the future, Minako met you but we never saw
anything of Misako and Chibi-Usa didn't seem to be worried about her."
He had tried to explain it away but all of his answers were supposition.
Artemis was now looking for confirmation. "We were in the future so we
do know what will happen," Artemis pointed out as he saw a look of
reluctance come across Kimeko's features.
"We were told to keep Misako out of sight," Kimeko explained, "As for
Chibi-Usa she was likely thinking that her sister was safe and was only
really worried about her mother." <Although the way she acted towards
her sister, I don't really think she cared very much what had happened.
Now though...>
"That makes sense," Artemis said.
A few moments later, Mrs. Aino entered the kitchen cutting off any
further conversation. She did shoot an odd look Kimeko's way when Kimeko
had told her that she had been talking to Artemis. "Yes, you must be
related to Minako, she does the same thing," Mrs. Aino observed. As she
turned to get a cup of coffee Artemis smiled and winked which Kimeko
returned with a giggle.
******
Much to Usagi's disgust both Chibi-Usa and Misako were up early on
Saturday morning. Usagi had been looking forward to sleep but fate,
literally, deemed that she must get up. Fate, therefore, took the form
of a rather rambunctious Misako who came bounding into her room.
Normally she wouldn't have tried to wake Usagi up; she had been scared
silly the first time she tried. However, Misako wanted to do something
extra special today. She was going to CONVINCE her mother to LET her be
a Senshi. And having had pervious arguments in the past knew that if she
wanted to be a Senshi by lunchtime, she had better get started early.
Chibi-Usa WAS NOT going to save her little sister. She had learned the
hard way that waking Usagi up was a very bad idea, especially on the
weekend when she didn't have to get up. So, while shaking her head, she
headed downstairs and into the kitchen to make some breakfast for
herself. Two minutes later she was happily munching away on cereal when
a noise from upstairs attracted her attention.
Not more than ten seconds later Misako came bolting down the stairs with
a rather irate Usagi steaming right behind her. Misako skidded across
the floor bounced off the wall and changed direction. Usagi being of a
heavier mass skidded across the floor but instead of bouncing off the
wall made contact with a resounding thud!
"Misako when I get my hands on you..." Usagi trailed off as she started
to push herself off the wall. She was about to start chasing her
youngest daughter when Chibi-Usa stepped in front of her.
"You're all wet!!!" Chibi-Usa exclaimed, "Onee-san, what the heck
happened?!?" A distant part of her brain was screaming and inquiring as
to exactly what she thought she was doing. After all she WAS standing in
front of a VERY irate Usagi.
Usagi took a breath to steady herself before saying, "YOUR imouto wanted
to wake me up." Usagi sent a disapproving look towards Misako who had
positioned herself so the kitchen table was between her and her mother,
"Her jumping on the bed only annoyed Luna. Shaking me and calling LOUDLY
annoyed me... but I chose to ignore it." Usagi took another breath as
she felt her blood pressure start to rise again, "So your imouto thought
that drowning me would do the trick!" Chibi-Usa began to giggle but
quickly bit her lip to stop herself.
"But I want to be S'nshi!" Misako protested, "I have to be one..." she
trailed off as Usagi swung her gaze onto her.
"Well you won't be one this weekend, young lady, I'm grounding you,"
Usagi announced, "Now go on up to your room and get ready for
breakfast."
"That not fair!" Misako protested. Catching a movement out of the corner
of her eye, she turned to see Ikuko standing in the doorway. She also
wasn't looking particularly pleased. "Ob... Ikuko-mama, U-'Sagi being
mean! Tell her I not grounded... pretty please???" She turned her best
puppy-dog eyes up to her grandmother.
Ikuko wasn't going to fall for it. She didn't want to usurp Usagi's
authority over her little cousins unless it was necessary. "From what I
heard, you're lucky Usagi grounding you is all that happened. Now go do
what Usagi said," Ikuko said. Grumbling darkly about the unfairness of
it all, Misako stomped up the steps. Chibi-Usa managed to hide her grin
as she went back to eating cereal with exaggerated vigor. She wouldn't
want Usagi seeing her laughing at the situation, that would be
unhealthy.
******
It was around mid-morning when the odor started to leech into the
upstairs portion of the house. Kimeko followed the foul scent and walked
right into the kitchen. To her horror, Minako was cooking. <So that's
why my grandparents cleared out of here so fast.> Kimeko wrinkled her
nose, "No offense, Minako-chan, but that stinks."
"Really?" Minako asked looking hopeful, "That's just the way I want it."
She was stirring a pot with a long wooden spoon, the other hand tightly
clamped over her nose.
"Err... You want that food to smell bad?"
"It isn't food, Kimeko-chan," Minako replied, "I'm helping Rei and
Yuuichiro clean the shrine today. I thought I bring along some homemade
floor polish." Turning, she said, "Say, do you want to come and help?"
"Uh... IIE! Iie, that's okay, arigato anyway... I err... have something
to do." Kimeko wouldn't normally lie to her mother but this was an
extraordinary situation. "Are you sure that'll be homemade floor polish,
Minako-chan?" Minako nodded as she poured in a healthy dose of thick
brown liquid. "What the heck's in it?!?" Kimeko asked. She wasn't
willing to get closer than absolutely necessary. In fact, she had more
than a fleeting thought of transforming just in case the mixture
exploded. She knew of some of her mother's homemade concoctions.
"Let's see... four whole lemons, four eggs, a can of waterproofing stuff
and a can of clear varnish." Then almost perkily Minako said, "Goody,
it's done!" After removing it from the stove, Minako again asked,
"Kimeko-chan, are you sure you don't want to come?"
"HAI!" Kimeko said a little more forcefully than she had wanted to,
"It's just that I thought I might get my homework finished." Much to
Kimeko's relief, Minako didn't press the point and after another few
minutes of fussing left the house. For good measure Kimeko locked the
door and let out a heavy sigh.
She had just started for the living room when a knock came at the door,
fearfully she went back to open it. Much to her relief, it was Chibi-Usa
standing outside instead of Minako. "Konnichiwa, Kimeko-chan. Did you
know that Minako's carrying a smoldering pot?!?" The young girl
questioned as she looked off to the left. Craning her head out, Kimeko
could see a small column of smoke slowly drifting up into the air.
"Ah... it's floor polish," Kimeko explained, "At least that's what Mom
said it was. I have my doubts." Chibi-Usa giggled. "Come on in,
Chibi-Usa-chan."
Chibi-Usa shrugged gave one more look towards the retreating column of
smoke and entered the house. She did raise an eyebrow when Kimeko
hurriedly shut and locked the door. Kimeko turned to regard her
sheepishly as they moved into the kitchen to sit at the table.
"Want anything to drink?"
"Iie, arigato," Chibi-Usa said while taking a seat, "Kimeko-chan, I
wanted to ask you something."
Kimeko got herself a glass of water and sat down at the table, "Nani?"
She looked at Chibi-Usa and noticed that the young girl was looking
slightly uncomfortable. "Something wrong, Chibi-Usa-chan?"
"Well I might be feeling a little guilty for making Misako think she's a
Senshi," Chibi-Usa admitted, "I thought she'd really like that Senshi
outfit and want to just play but..." Chibi-Usa shrugged, "I don't know
why she won't understand that she's not a REAL Senshi."
"It's genetic," Kimeko giggled out and then promptly blushed, "Gomen,
Princess."
"What did you mean?" Chibi-Usa was looking at her with a curious
expression on her face.
"Well there were things that we could never drive through your head. You
and Misako and your parents are well..." Kimeko trailed off sheepishly.
"Nani?!?" Chibi-Usa demanded. Kimeko remained silent. "Aww! Come on
Kimeko-chan, I won't tell, I promise!"
"You are all bullheaded," Kimeko nearly whispered out.
"I am not bullheaded!" Chibi-Usa retorted indignantly, "Mommy sure is,
Misako is... Daddy can be but ME!?!"
"Hai, you!" Kimeko said, "I don't know how many times you were told not
to run in the halls." Chibi-Usa started to giggle at the sour look on
Kimeko's face. "Of course, you did it when your mother wasn't around."
"Was I really mean to Misako?" Chibi-Usa questioned, "I mean Misako and
Mommy say that I've changed." Chibi-Usa knew why but wasn't quite
willing to believe that she was as much trouble as what Misako and her
mother had made her out to be. Sure Misako could be a pain sometimes but
Chibi-Usa would never want to be an only child again.
Kimeko looked at Chibi-Usa carefully for a long time before saying,
"Hai, you've changed for the better too. I think you've grown up a lot,
Small Lady." She was glad to see the little girl smile, "You known that
you didn't really care for Misako being there but you had to put up with
her." Chibi-Usa nodded, "I don't think you intended anything serious to
happen to her. You just went out of your way to get into trouble."
"I did?!" Chibi-Usa questioned. She could feel her mouth going dry.
"You mean I acted up just because Misako was there?"
"Well you purposely got into trouble so that people would pay attention
to you. With Their Majesties being busy and Misako being little, you
might have gotten the short end of the stick, or at least YOU thought
that you did." <She's acting like she doesn't remember. Well it was a
long time ago for her...>
"So to get attention I was bad?" Chibi-Usa sounded rather dubious. She
KNEW that in the original timeline Sakuya had kept a fairly close watch
on her when her parents weren't around. Although she never went out of
her way to get into trouble, there had just been some things that she
JUST had to do. So she would do them and get punished for it, so the
concept of being bad simply because she wanted attention was rather
foreign. "But Sakuya and you were there... It doesn't make sense."
Kimeko gave a little smile, "Chibi-Usa-chan, let's put it this way. Does
Misako ever get anything you'd like?" Chibi-Usa paused before nodding,
"Well think of attention as a thing... You thought that Misako was
getting more attention than you." Chibi-Usa nodded again, "Well when you
were good you thought you weren't getting enough and when you were bad
you got all you wanted."
"I get it now," Chibi-Usa said, "Jeez, I really was a terror." She
smiled, "I think, though, I've learned to appreciate Misako." <I love
Misako. I can't think of what it would be like without her now.>
A silence filled the room and after several long seconds Chibi-Usa
asked, "Kimeko-chan, what's going to happen to Sakuya?"
"Princess..."
"Please?!?" Chibi-Usa begged, "I've been worrying about her. Can't you
tell me?" She looked pleadingly at Kimeko, who after a few seconds,
sighed.
"Well they'll likely hold a trial," Kimeko admitted, "Sakuya attacked
three Elder Senshi, stole a time key, falsified information, and
disrupted the timeline." She looked at the table, "She'll likely have to
tell what happened and why."
<Sako did all that for me?> "Wha-What if they find her guilty?"
Chibi-Usa asked softly. She never seen a Senshi on trial but she knew
what could happen to criminals. She didn't want to try and think about
it. Kimeko remained silent just staring at the table. "Please
Kimeko-chan, I'm old enough to know... tell me."
"Anything could happen," Kimeko whispered out, "Anything..." She raised
her head and Chibi-Usa could see some moisture in her eyes, "She could
be set free. Her Majesty wouldn't hold what she did against Sakuya; she
was performing her duty." <And Mom wouldn't Sakuya sentence to...>
Kimeko fought to hold back her tears.
Chibi-Usa got up and, walking over, hugged Kimeko tightly. She would
have continued to press the issue but it was obviously upsetting Kimeko.
She knew that Kimeko wasn't telling her everything. Kimeko hugged the
little girl back and fought down a sniffle. Unseen by either, a worried
Artemis was watching from the doorway.
******
Shortly after Chibi-Usa left, later that afternoon, Artemis came walking
into Minako's bedroom. Kimeko was propped up against the bed
half-heartedly glancing through her homework. Walking over, he hopped up
onto the bed and curled up beside her ear. Kimeko reached behind her and
gave Artemis a scratch behind his ear, which caused him to start
purring.
"Where were you all day, Artemis?"
"If you don't know, cats have very sensitive smell glands. That
repugnant odor that Minako was making was making me hallucinate,"
Artemis said with a tone of long suffering, "Kimeko, what were you and
Chibi-Usa talking about?"
Kimeko froze in her scratching and then slowly turned her head to look
at Artemis, a semi-horrified expression on her face. "Nani?!?" she
demanded in a hoarse whisper.
Artemis looked at her critically for several seconds before saying,
"Kimeko, when Chibi-Usa was over here she and you were talking about
something. It HAS to do with Sakuya and whatever it is it's certainly
upsetting the two of you."
Kimeko turned on Artemis so quickly that it over balanced him. "Artemis,
you can't say ANYTHING!" she demanded, "Please, Minako, CAN NOT know
about this... None of the Senshi can." Artemis backpedaled to the other
side of the bed and blinked at Kimeko. <I can't allow him to spoil the
timeline.> "Please, Artemis, it's important."
Artemis took a couple of deep breaths before saying, "Kimeko, if this
affects the Senshi somehow..." He trailed off and looked quizzically at
her. Sighing slightly, Kimeko sat heavily on the ground and rested her
chin on the edge of the bed. <I wonder if she's related to Usagi?>
Artemis distantly thought.
"It does and it doesn't," Kimeko finally admitted.
Cautiously Artemis padded his way over and looked at Kimeko directly.
"Tell me what it is," he requested, "I'm sure that if it was really
important, then you would have told the others by now." Artemis winced
internally. He was preparing an excuse just in case Minako found out
somehow and demanded to know why he hadn't told her.
Kimeko grinned slightly, <Mom always said you were one of her best
friends. Although she never said that to your face.> Giving a silent
sigh she pondered exactly what she should do. <It would help to talk to
somebody about this. I would talk to Mom but that could change things.
Chibi-Usa's okay but I think she's taking it harder than she's letting
on. It's too much to put on a little girl. I can trust Artemis. Mom has
many times.> Silently praying that Sakuya or Pluto would never find out
that she was talking to Artemis about future things, Kimeko started to
tell the tale.
As it progressed Artemis' eyes continually grew. By the time that Kimeko
had reached the part about Chibi-Usa being kidnapped and what Sakuya had
done to ensure that the timeline was preserved, Artemis was looking
rather ill. Kimeko couldn't really blame him. She felt squeamish just
thinking about it. "And so Sakuya headed back. Chibi-Usa's been worried
sick about Sakuya. I don't blame her really."
"So what will happen?" Artemis asked softly. He knew that Kimeko was
uncomfortable with that question so but morbid curiosity was exerting
itself.
"Well like I said to Chibi-Usa... Anything." Kimeko grimaced, "As far as
I know there is no precedence for this. Her Majesty could set Sakuya
free or well..." she trailed off once again, not quite willing to face
the possibility.
"Kimeko, do you honestly think Neo-Queen Serenity could kill Sakuya?!?"
Artemis asked, "I mean she... well... She's Usagi!" He was feeling
flustered.
"It's possible, Artemis. Her Majesty has sentenced people to death."
Kimeko took on a worried expression as Artemis seemed to take on a
greenish tinge. "Now Artemis PLEASE promise me you won't tell anyone
else." Shakily Artemis nodded and then slowly walked away. He had some
serious thinking to do.
******
Senshi Commander Aino Minako sighed. Glancing at the clock on the wall,
she noted that it was well past one in the morning. Rubbing her eyes,
she glanced around her office in the Crystal Palace. Grumbling to
herself, she turned back to her terminal and started reading again. She
was trying to catch up on work that had been pushed to the back burner.
Another five minutes passed and Minako was about ready to head for home
when a knock came at the door. Curiosity gave her enough energy to get
up and unlock the door. When it opened she blinked and saw that it was
Sailor Pluto standing in the corridor.
"Gomen for coming so late but I had other matters to attend to,
Commander," Pluto explained. Minako waved her into the office, walked
back around her desk, and plopped into a chair. Pluto sat down in a
comfortable armchair and looked at Minako curiously. "I would not have
thought you to make a breach in protocol."
Minako irritatedly dismissed it, "I did not call you here as a judge,
Setsuna-chan. What I want to know is if Misako is in danger the same way
as Small Lady was?"
Pluto gave a small shrug, "What makes you think that Princess Misako is
in any danger except that which has transpired?"
Minako furrowed her brow slightly for a moment before saying, "Because
of my daughter. You allowed Kimeko to go back into the past." Pluto gave
another little shrug. This just annoyed the Commander even more. She
took a breath to calm herself; she knew that Pluto wasn't being stubborn
just cautious. "Okay, let's move away from that subject... It could be
incriminating." She didn't miss the slightly cocked eyebrow of Pluto's.
<If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was laughing at me...>
Sailor Pluto remained silent for a few moments before saying, "Younger
Venus was required to prevent something. However, it DOES NOT involve
Princess Misako or Small Lady." Rising Pluto continued to speak, "Gomen
Minako-san but that is all I can tell you. Good night," and with that
Pluto left the room.
Minako leaned forward planted and her elbow on her desk. Pouting
slightly, she cupped her chin in one hand. <Well that just gives me a
BIGGER mystery to solve!> Minako thought, <She should've just told me
that she couldn't tell me anything.> Turning to her computer, Minako
thought about what Pluto had said. Running her fingers across the
keyboard, she started to formulate a plan.
After a few moments she had her computer displaying mug shots from the
old Tokyo Police department's database corresponding to the period when
Kimeko visited the past. After looking at several pictures, Minako
rubbed her eyes and, for an instant, something struck her as odd.
Stopping the computer and scrolling back slower this time, she came to
one picture, the face seeming vaguely familiar. Her curiosity piqued,
she retrieved the record. Her heart started to beat a little faster as
she read through it.
<So that's it!> Minako finally thought, <Those two guys at the beach!> A
cold shiver ran through her, <If Kimeko hadn't have stopped me from
going with them...> The consequences were too revolting even for her to
think of. There was a little voice in the back of Minako's mind that was
saying that it was just too easy to find that information but it being
late Minako ignored it. Yawning Minako secured her computer, got up, and
headed out the door. After making sure it was locked and the lights were
off, she headed for home.
Hidden in the shadows, Sailor Pluto stood watching her and smiled
slightly. Once Minako had disappeared around the corner, Pluto turned
and reentered the timestream. <Only one more thing to do now,> Pluto
thought, <Only one more...>
Chapter 32 - Truths
It was around seven that evening when Kimeko entered the Tsukino home.
She was greeted warmly by Ikuko who answered the door. "Hello
Kimeko-san, how are you?"
"Good, arigato, Tsukino-san," Kimeko responded, "I just thought I'd drop
by and see Usagi." She could tell by Ikuko's quizzical look that she was
wondering where Minako was. "Minako had to finish up her homework. I did
mine this afternoon." That earned her a brilliant smile.
"Please come in. I think Misako might still be awake," Ikuko said,
"Usagi's upstairs. Why don't you go on up."
"Arigato," Kimeko said and headed towards the stairs. When she came
close to the living room she heard giggling and poked her head in.
Chibi-Usa and Shingo were sitting on the couch watching television. What
struck Kimeko as odd was that Chibi-Usa seemed to be sitting
inordinately close to Shingo. Giving a shrug, she made her way up to
Usagi's room and softly knocked on the door.
"Come in," came the faint reply. Kimeko opened the door and stepped into
the room. "Kimeko-chan!" Usagi said, "Where's Minako?!?" She blinked as
Kimeko giggled, "Nani???"
Kimeko closed the door and walking over to sit on the floor beside Usagi
said, "Oh... Minako-chan didn't do her homework this afternoon so she's
doing it now."
"Minako-chan?!? Like as in Sailor Venus?!? Do homework on a Saturday
night?!?" Usagi gave Kimeko a dubious expression, "What'd Artemis have
to do to get her to do it?"
"Nothing," Kimeko said simply. <Mom says homework is important. Why's
everyone acting so surprised?>
"Nothing!!!" Usagi chirped and then promptly covered her mouth, "If you
want to say hi to Misako, you might want to go see if she's awake now,"
Usagi said in a lower voice. Kimeko nodded and left the room, Usagi was
close behind her.
Kimeko softly opened the door to Misako's bedroom. It was dimly lit by a
nightlight and, as she carefully padded over to the bed, she noticed
that the floor was just about as messy as Misako's bedroom at home. <I
guess it doesn't matter where you hang your hat. Eventually it'll look
like your old place.> Looking down she saw that Misako was lying on her
stomach while clutching Chibi-Shingo. Reaching out, Kimeko gently nudged
some hair away from the sleeping child's eyes before leaving the room
quietly and closing the door.
"I'm amazed, Usagi-chan," Kimeko stated once they were back in Usagi's
room, "Has she been going to bed at about seven every night?" Usagi
nodded, "Peacefully?!?"
"Hai," Usagi said, "Why?"
Kimeko sat down on the floor leaned against the bed and explained,
"Usually it's a battle. That and having her take a bath." She giggled as
Usagi nodded in complete agreement, "The only reason Misako HATES taking
a bath is because she associates `dirt' with having fun. You take away
the dirt and you take away the fun."
Usagi furrowed her brow slightly before saying, "That's rather twisted
logic, Kimeko-chan." <That sounded like something Minako would say. I
guess she's really her daughter.> Usagi sighed and looked over to
Kimeko, "Say, what do you do when Misako's bad?"
"Nani?" Kimeko asked while blinking, "Why?"
"Well... did Chibi-Usa tell you what Misako did this morning?" Kimeko
shook her head, "Well Misako woke me up by pouring water on me."
"Least she didn't use Jell-O," Kimeko mutter to herself.
"Nani?"
"Nothing... So, Usagi-chan, she tried to wake you up... What happened
after that?"
Usagi pointedly stared at Kimeko for a few moments before continuing,
"Well I chased her and she ran." That statement brought an image to
mind, "I slid across the kitchen floor and planted myself into a wall."
She gave Kimeko a sour look as the older girl giggled. "Well Chibi-Usa
saved her sister's odangos so I just grounded Misako."
"And you're wondering what your future self would have done?" Usagi
nodded, "Now, Usagi-chan, you know I can't talk about the future,"
Kimeko protested. "And don't even think about it!" she commanded as
Usagi's eyes started to droop into a pleading look.
"But, Kimeko-chan," Usagi began to whine, "you already told me a lot."
Kimeko blinked in surprise, "Remember when we were on the roof?" Usagi
waited until Kimeko nodded but hesitantly, "Well you said that I never
spanked Misako before."
<You just about as sneaky as Misako...> Kimeko thought. She gave a small
smile. "Well it's true."
"But that doesn't make ANY sense," Usagi countered, "I mean Chibi-Usa
and Misako are sisters... Shouldn't they be treated equally?" <I know
Mom tries to treat Shingo and me the same if she can.>
"Iie, because they are two very different people," Kimeko said,
"Chibi-Usa's very aggressive. Misako's passive." Usagi gave a snort at
that, "Misako's likely seeing differences in you. I think the day that
you really have to start worrying is when Misako starts to annoy Sakuya
on an active level."
"Say that reminds me, does Sakuya date?!?"
Kimeko was at a loss for words. <How on earth does she do that?!? You
think it would be harmful to the brain or something...> Serenity could
keep several topics in play but at least she didn't suddenly switch
gears halfway through a conversation.
"NOW there's a question I'd like to know!" Both Usagi and Kimeko whirled
around to see Chibi-Usa standing wearing her bunny pajamas in the
doorway.
"Go to bed, Imouto," Usagi instructed.
"But it isn't even eight!" Chibi-Usa protested, "Come on, Onee-san, I
don't know any dirt on Sakuya. I need an edge. She knows everything
about me..." <Even some really embarrassing diaper incidents.>
"Go to bed."
"Awww!!!" Chibi-Usa whined, "Why are you taking it out on me?" <I'm
always the one in hot water! It ain't fair!> She fought down the urge to
pout.
"Nani?" Usagi asked.
"Well I think you're still mad because Misako woke you up early."
Usagi looked at Kimeko who had put on a very good poker face. Heaving a
sigh of defeat, she waved her daughter over and said, "Okay, Imouto,
pull up a pillow." Chibi-Usa stepped further in, shut the door, and
bounded over to sit beside her mother, "Now as I was saying, does Sakuya
date?!?" Kimeko wonder if it would be a good time for a jog.
******
Shortly after Chibi-Usa had gone to bed, much to her displeasure, Kimeko
also left the Tsukino home. As she walked towards the Aino residence she
was deep in thought. <Chibi-Usa and Usagi act... differently.> She
pondered, <I guess I never really noticed it but Chibi-Usa seems more
comfortable with Usagi than Serenity.> This was a perplexing puzzle. Why
would Chibi-Usa feel more comfortable, or at least appear to be more
comfortable, around Usagi than her own mother?
<Now that would be a good question for Sakuya.> Tapping her foot
impatiently for a traffic light to change she glanced around, <It's
getting chilly. I don't see any clouds though...> In deed the northerly
wind was blowing strong and bringing chilly air into the city. <I wonder
how Sakuya made out staying up on rooftops.> She smiled, <I just can
picture Sakuya sitting on a roof.> As she continued to walk after the
light changes she started to giggle. Trying hard she managed to get her
mirth under control before anyone spotted her laughing.
However, as she walked, Kimeko turned back to the day's events and
started to seriously doubt the wisdom of telling Artemis anything. <I
know I wanted to maybe make up for defuzzing him but was it correct?>
One of Kimeko's worst faults was her lack of confidence. No matter how
her mother, her godmother, or Sakuya tried they just could get her to
feel confident in her decisions for very long. <If I know Artemis,
Luna'll get it out of him and then Luna will tell Usagi and Usagi will
tell Mom and it will change things and...> She continued on this line of
thought until she had reached the Aino residence. By the time she
reached into her pocket for the key, she had a massive headache. <Why oh
why did I tell Artemis?!> Kimeko meagerly thought and promptly headed
for bed.
******
In point of fact, Artemis was nowhere near Luna. He was lying on a
branch that over looked the lake in the park. He had been there most of
the day. He was hiding not only from Minako but from Luna, although he
didn't doubt that Luna could find him if she desired. After Kimeko had
told him about what was bothering her and Chibi-Usa, he left to give the
situation some serious thought.
Tactically speaking since it didn't have any effect on the Senshi in the
present then he had no real reason to tell anybody anything about it.
Morally thought was a different matter. He didn't like to see Kimeko
with that type of pressure on her and he was having serious concerns
about it was doing to Chibi-Usa.
"Artemis?" came the soft voice. Artemis gave a start of surprise and
scrambled to hang onto the branch. Adjusting himself, he saw Luna's eyes
glow from the light surrounding the park. The only real parts of her
that were visible were her eyes and the yellow crescent moon. "Artemis,
where were you this afternoon?" Luna was trying to sound exasperated but
her worry managed to peek through.
"I had some things to think about, Luna," Artemis answered. <Please oh
please don't ask me what I was thinking about.>
Luna wasn't the type to oblige, "Artemis, what's wrong?" Luna blinked
when she thought she heard Artemis mutter acidically to himself, "What
are you up to?!?" Luna demanded. Artemis cast his eyes towards the
heaven as if asking for intervention... none came.
Chapter 33 - Things in Motion...
Zirconia was not pleased. "You're becoming rather slack in choosing your
victims..." The Amazon Trio didn't miss the edge in the old woman's
voice, "Here is your next target." She tossed a picture down to them and
waited.
"Uh, Zirconia-sama... I don't mean to question your orders but why her?"
HawksEye asked, his two companions nodded. At that moment they were in
total agreement: Zirconia must have flipped her lid!
Zirconia considered whether to hurt HawksEye or answer the question.
Given that she had a feeling that her luck was changing for the better,
she said, "Because she has managed to draw very different people to her.
They have very different backgrounds but yet she is friends with them
all."
"Well I won't do it!" HawksEye declared, "She's too young for me!"
Zirconia glared at HawksEye for his willful disobedience. Luckily,
TigersEye saved his companion and probably himself from a horrible fate.
"Let FishEye do it!" TigersEye offered, "I mean he did do a decent job
on that one kid."
Before FishEye could protest this injustice Zirconia smiled, "Well,
TigersEye, you have a good point. FISHEYE!"
"Hai! Zirconia-sama?" FishEye asked. He had a very bad feeling about
where this was going.
"She will be your target. Do not fail me!" Zirconia screeched. The
Amazon Trio bowed to Zirconia and disappeared.
At their bar, FishEye was not at all pleased and he made his thoughts on
the matter of his companions nominating him known in no uncertain terms.
He left HawksEye and TigersEye to their infantile mirth and started to
plan. <Master Zirconia gave this to me not because the others told her
too but because I am the best. And when I have found the Golden Mirror,
I'll be handsomely rewarded and it'll prove to those freaks that I am
stronger...> FishEye smiled. He liked that idea; he liked it a lot!
******
At five-thirty Sunday morning most of Tokyo slept. Kimeko slowly awoke.
Feeling a heaviness on her chest, she kept her eyes shut and slowly
moved her hands to find out what the weight was. She gave a smile when
she saw that it was Artemis curled up into almost a ball, sound asleep.
Deciding whether or not to get up, Kimeko decided that she still had a
headache and after adjusting her pillow slightly decided to go back to
bed. Soon enough she was fast asleep, a small smile gracing her lips.
Kimeko wasn't the only person to wake up. Chibi-Usa felt a draft.
Groggily thinking that her little sister had stolen the covers, she
reached over to retrieve her portion only to find open air and empty
mattress. Slowly she opened one eye and looked around. Misako wasn't in
bed and all the covers were piled on top of her. <She probably went to
the bathroom.> Rolling over to her back, she haphazardly spread the
sheets and covers out before snuggling deep into them to keep warm.
She started to drift off to sleep but there was something odd that kept
her conscious. She was just about to dismiss it when she vaguely
wondered where Misako had gotten to. <She can't have gone to the
bathroom. She'd be back by now...> Chibi-Usa lay there for another few
seconds before sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
<Maybe she went to sleep with Mommy...> Chibi-Usa sleepily thought.
Getting out of bed, she softly padded over to the door and entered the
hallway. Stepping softly down to Usagi's room, she gently opened the
door and looked in. <Nope,> Chibi-Usa thought, <Well where is she?>
Closing the door Chibi-Usa went and looked, Misako wasn't in the
bathroom. <I don't think she'd try to sleep in Shingo's bed.> She crept
over to Ikuko's and Kenji's room and gently opened the door. <Nani?!>
Misako wasn't in there either. Chibi-Usa was just debating whether or
not to wake somebody up to go look for Misako when she heard a muffled
thud from downstairs.
Softly shutting the bedroom door, Chibi-Usa slowly made her way
downstairs and slipped down the hallway. <Little kids... How does Usagi
put up with her? I'm glad I'm almost a teenager.> She saw that Misako
was looking at the floor with a worried expression on her face. <What
the heck is she doing down here?> Then something even more strange
occurred to Chibi-Usa, <And why the heck is she wearing that bloody
Senshi outfit?!> Giving a growl, she stalked over towards her sister and
promptly planted her foot in a very large puddle of milk. "NANI?!?" she
exclaimed and then promptly clamped her hand over her mouth.
"Onee-chan?!" Misako asked while whirling around. She was about to ask
another question when Chibi-Usa clamped her hand over Misako's mouth and
made a shushing motion. They remained like that for several seconds,
listening, but the only sounds were the pre-dawn noises.
"Miko-chan, be quiet!" Chibi-Usa hissed, "Do you have ANY idea what
Ikuko-mama would do to us if she saw this?!?" She shivered slightly, "I
don't even want to think about what Mommy would do." <Or Kenji-papa,>
Chibi-Usa silently thought.
"Onee-chan, whatcha doin' here?" Misako asked softly, "You 'sleep when I
go... Why you wake up?"
Chibi-Usa glared at her sister for several seconds before saying, "I got
cold. Then I wondered where you got to. Now get out of that fuku and
come back to bed." <All we need is for us to get caught!>
"Nhuh," Misako said and crossed her arms.
"Miko-chan, come on. It's early, TOO early to be playing." Chibi-Usa
gave her sister a hopeful smile and started to move towards the stairs.
<If we aren't around, then Ikuko-mama or Kenji-papa might think Shingo
spilled the milk and never bothered to clean it up.>
"I not play," Misako stated with confidence, "I show Mommy and you that
I REAL S'nshi, 'Sagi-chan." She looked smugly at her sister, "I get
breakfast first, then I go out and find bad person to make go away like
you and Mommy." <Why Onee not understand?>
Chibi-Usa's stomach started twisting into knots. <Gotta stop her! If I
let her go and something happened to her... I'd never forgive myself.
Mommy and Daddy would never forgive me!> "Come on, Miko-chan, we can
play a game later on when everybody's awake."
"IIE!" Misako said forcefully.
Chibi-Usa again clamped her hand over Misako's mouth and glared at her.
"Misako! You really want to get us into trouble, don't you?" Misako tore
Chibi-Usa's hand away and glared at her sister. "If you yell that'll
wake everybody up!" Chibi-Usa hissed forcefully.
"Then you not try make me go to bed," Misako argued, "I gonna go and be
REAL S'nshi so you not say I not real." She could see her sister
struggling, "Onee-chan, you not stop me or I say it your idea to get
milk." Chibi-Usa could feel the knife twisting in her. Misako continued,
"I tell Obaa-san and Mommy that you made me get the milk." She started
to grin broadly, "I goin' now; Onee-chan, if you want, you can come with
me... be my helper."
Clamping her fists together, Chibi-Usa fought down the urge to scream.
"Misako, it would be REALLY dangerous for us to go out alone. Wait until
Mommy gets up and then you can show both of us." <Please Imouto...>
A small pout formed on Misako's face. "You not want me to be S'nshi."
She knew she had her sister on the ropes. "You not want Mommy to be
proud of me." She noticed that Chibi-Usa winced. Turning her back Misako
put more dejection into her voice and sniffled out, "You not want Mommy
to love me. You want to be S'nshi and make me go away. You bad Onee."
Chibi-Usa stood there silently, the feet of her bunny pajamas soaking up
milk and getting rather soggy in the process. What could she do? Either
she could blow the whistle on her little sister and given how sneaky
Misako was it might backfire OR she could play along and hope that they
were back before anyone woke up.
Unnoticed by the two little girls, Luna slunk down the hallway. She had
been woken up by noises coming from downstairs. Coming down to
investigate, she had managed to hear the tail end of their conversation.
She was fervently hoping that Chibi-Usa would be intelligent enough to
stop her sister.
Much to Luna's distress Chibi-Usa gave into her sister's demands. A part
of Chibi-Usa was feeling guilty for forcing the entire issue. She loved
Misako and no matter how much her common sense was telling her that
Misako was manipulating her, Chibi-Usa's heart was speaking a different
speech.
"Hai Miko-chan, let's go before anybody wakes up," Chibi-Usa agreed
walking over to the door, "I'm sure that we can find some `enemies' to
battle." Luna briefly considered running up to get Usagi but decided
against that when she realized that by the time Usagi woke up the girls
could have gone anywhere. Heaving a silent sigh, Luna prepared to follow
the girls. She was comforted in the fact that she could call the others
if there was an emergency.
Misako was quiet pleased with herself and skipped over to stand beside
her big sister. Chibi-Usa gave a silent prayer hoping that when she
transformed that it wouldn't wake Usagi or Mamoru up. She practically
whispered, "Moon prism power, make-up." And in a brilliant flash Sailor
Chibi-Moon stood in the room.
"Kawaii..." Misako breathed, "Watch out baddies, Chibi-Earth AND Onee
not let you do bad things!" she declared joyously. Chibi-Moon looked up
at the ceiling and rolled her eyes.
Grabbing her hand Chibi-Moon pulled her imouto out the door and
muttered, "First thing I teach her is how to make a good speech!" and
with that they set off on their pre-dawn adventure disappearing down the
street away from the Tsukino home.
Chapter 34 - ...Tend to Stay in Motion
Luna kept the two little girls in sight but made sure that she wouldn't
be spotted. <I should really get Usagi...> Luna thought but as more time
passed, she became more convinced that nothing would happen. <Misako
reminds me so much of Usagi... I don't really have the heart to ruin her
fun.>
Chibi-Moon was finding that Misako, or rather "Sailor Chibi-Earth", was
very receptive to instructions when it came to being a proper Sailor
Senshi. By the time that they arrived at the park, Chibi-Moon had taught
her sister how to give proper speeches.
"Okay Miko..."
"CHIBI-EARTH!" Chibi-Earth corrected with exasperation in her voice.
<Baka odango atama Onee!> She balefully glared at her sister.
Giving another growl of annoyance, Chibi-Moon shook her head before
saying, "O-Kay! Chibi-Earth let's start looking for a person to save,"
Chibi-Moon instructed. <Hopefully, I can find a street person or some
other poor soul. I'd say pretend but then Misako probably would say that
I was not being fair!> It was rather exasperating.
As they moved deeper into the park proper, the sun started to rise above
the misted bounds of the horizon. Its light started to color the soft
puffy clouds that had moved in overnight in tones of light orange and
pink. A stiff north-easterly wind blew and tossed the loose bits of
paper and fallen leaves along the ground. It looked like it would shape
up to be a beautiful day.
Luna found a tree from which to observe from and settled down. Luna
yawned and shivered. <I hope this doesn't take very long,> she thought
to herself as Chibi-Earth and Chibi-Moon outlined their plan of action.
******
"Now do you understand, `Chibi-Earth'?" Chibi-Moon asked.
"Hai!" Chibi-Earth squeaked, "I wait 'til you find bad guy, then we both
make him go away." Chibi-Moon nodded, her sister returned the smile. "I
do really good, Onee-chan, you not have to worry. You be proud of me."
<I'm not worried that you'll do well, I'm sure you will,> Chibi-Moon
thought as she moved off down the path, <What I'm worried about is going
home and having someone being awake. Mommy wouldn't understand.> She
turned and waved back to her sister. Chibi-Earth waved back and grinned.
<Yep, this should get her to behave! I'm not doing this because she
forced me or anything...>
Chibi-Moon was going to check on their "victim". It was a person
sleeping on one of the park benches. The plan was fairly simple: pretend
as if he was being attacked, make a reasonable enough show so Misako
would think it was real, and have her "save" the victim... hopefully,
without waking him in the process. She peeked around the corner where
the person was sleeping and smiled.
<Okay!> Chibi-Moon thought. She was about to start the show when a flash
of blue caught her attention. Crouching in a nearby set of bushes she
looked and saw that a young police officer was making her way along the
path. <Great! Just unbelievable great!> Chibi-Moon darkly thought, <I
can't have her spotting me.> The police were notorious for reporting
Sailor Senshi sightings to the media.
Long experience had taught the Senshi that it was a love-hate
relationship. The police loved them for stopping things that they were
unable to stop while hating them because they weren't part of any
government organization that was known to the public. As a general rule
the Tokyo Police didn't go out of their way to help the Senshi but they
didn't go out of their way to stop them either.
As Chibi-Moon watched, much to her dismay, the woman officer roused the
man sleeping on the bench and had him moving along. <Nuts!> Chibi-Moon
thought, <There goes that idea. Now how am I going to get Misako home?
This is already taking too long.> She was certain that her sister wasn't
willing to go home without saving someone. She briefly thought about
running back and trying to hide Misako but shook it off. The officer had
continued her patrol along the path; any movement on Chibi-Moon's part
would surely draw attention to herself.
As Chibi-Moon watched the young female officer walk by her she noticed
something odd. <Doesn't she know it's cold?!?> Chibi-Usa thought as she
noticed that the police officer's fuku skirt appeared to be thinner than
usual. However, the oddity was pushed aside by more immediate concerns,
namely that the police officer was heading for Misako's hiding spot. <If
she finds Misako, she'll take her home...> Chibi-Moon thought glibly,
<This day just keeps getting better and better!>
Sailor Chibi-Moon wasn't the only one that had spotted the police
officer. Luna from her position was feeling a lot better. <Now if
Chibi-Usa has sense to change back and come here, then she can take you
both home,> Luna thought, <And I can curl up beside Usagi... She should
be nice and warm.> Much to Chibi-Moon's horror, she watched Chibi-Earth
step out of the bushes she had been supposed to be hiding in and greet
the officer cheerily.
"Konnichiwa! You kawaii," Chibi-Earth said.
"Konnichiwa, little girl," the officer bent down and greeted. "What are
you doing out this early?" she asked in a friendly tone.
"I'm Sailor Chibi-Earth!" Chibi-Earth declared proudly, "I'm a S'nshi!"
She raised her right arm above her head and posed as she'd seen her
mother do, her plastic Crescent Moon Wand in hand.
"Really?!?" the officer asked, "Well, you're wearing a Sailor fuku so
does that mean you're a real Senshi?"
Chibi-Earth's expression turned somber, "Iie, Mommy and Onee say I not
real S'nshi..." She looked up with a somber expression on her face, "I
so proud of Mommy and Onee. They REAL S'nshi. I want to be like them!"
"Is that what you dream about?" the officer asked.
"HAI!!!" Chibi-Earth responded, "I wanna be S'nshi and fight baddies!"
"Well I'm sure you'll be a great Senshi," the officer said. Taking a
step back she disappeared behind a tapestry as the morning sky was
shadowed with dark magic. When the cloth was pulled aside it revealed a
very strange looking person.
"Nani?!?" Chibi-Earth questioned. Chibi-Moon and Luna were thinking the
same thing.
"I'm sure being a goody-goody Senshi is as easy as ONE!" A board sprang
up behind Chibi-Earth.
"You... You bad man!" Chibi-Earth yelled, recognition tugging at her
mind. <Where Onee?!?!>
FishEye smiled, "Two!" Bindings sprang out and pulled Chibi-Earth from
the ground and snugly against the board. FishEye was about to complete
the attack when a snarl off to the side attracted his attention.
"YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!" Chibi-Moon snarled as she ran forward, "PINK
SUGAR HEART ATTACK!!!!" Her attack words were almost slurred with the
rage that she was feeling. <Hang on Misako! I'll save you!> Chibi-Moon
thought.
Much to her horror and disgust, all Chibi-Moon's attack did was to cause
FishEye to laugh. FishEye suddenly stopped laughing and, raising his
hands, shouted, "You call that an attack?!? I'll show you true power!"
and gave an evil grin. Chibi-Moon started to back up but it was too
late, FishEye's attack caught her fully in the chest and lifting her off
the ground before it flung her several feet away. After flying through
the air, she hit the ground and skidded for several feet making a small
furrow in the soft earth.
"ONEE-CHAN!!!" Chibi-Earth called after her sister. "You MEAN!" <I get
him!> She shouted to FishEye, "I Chibi-Earth and I will punish you!"
Waving her toy Moon Wand as best she could while shackled, she cried,
"EARTH-MOON POWER!" and pointed it at FishEye.
What happened next wasn't what Chibi-Earth had been hoping for. FishEye
nearly doubled over. He clutched his side and started laughing with
great mirth. This just disgusted Chibi-Earth and she told him using
rather un-Senshi like language. This just caused FishEye to snicker even
more.
After a few seconds FishEye got control of himself and said, "Arigato
little one, that was most entertaining!" Straightening out, he continued
by calling a Lemure. "Ali-kun!"
"Hai FishEye-sama!" Ali bowed. It was dressed in baggy pants, brightly
colored vest, and a red bandanna. It had a large curved blade resembling
a scimitar and its belt held several sharp looking knives.
"Make sure I'm not disturbed!" FishEye ordered. He sent a glance towards
the one child but noted that she was still unconscious. "Now where was
I... Ah yes THREE!!!" he shouted. Chibi-Earth screamed before slumping
forward as her dream mirror left her body.
******
Mamoru jerked awake. "Something's wrong," he whispered. Hurriedly
crawling out of bed, he transformed and left via his balcony. <Usagi
seemed almost desperate and I feel something else...> Typically
speaking, Mamoru usually could tell how badly the Senshi needed backup
but that sense was almost drowned out by Sailor Moon's apparent urgency
and... <Anger?> Tuxedo Kamen thought vaguely as he leapt from rooftop to
rooftop. <She's moving so what ever is happening Usagi wasn't there when
it began.>
******
FishEye inspected Misako's dream mirror and commented, "He's not here."
<Master Zirconia will not be pleased,> FishEye thought, "Pity, it is a
truly beautiful dream. One that he might find pleasing to hide in."
FishEye was just withdrawing his head.
"MISAKO!!!!" came the cry off to the side.
FishEye whipped around and looked at the new arrivals. "Ali-kun kill
them all!!!" he ordered.
"Do you have nerves of steel?" the Lemure asked, gather a handful of
knives it flung them at Younger and Elder Venus as they ran towards the
scene. Younger Venus leapt over the attack and landed right in front of
the Lemure. Slashing down with its scimitar, it only met air as Younger
Venus totally ignored the Lemure and went directly after FishEye.
"STARLIGHT SHIMMER!!!!" Younger Venus called and sent her attack
hurtling directly at FishEye.
FishEye looked at the on rushing stream of light in some disbelief. In
all his other encounters with the Sailor Senshi, none of them had ever
ignored the Lemure to attack him! FishEye howled in pain as the attack
washed over him hitting him directly in the chest, flinging him back.
"Get Chibi-Moon!" Sailor Venus ordered, "We need her to kill this
thing!" She dodged to the side to avoid the Lemure's attack and called
upon her own attack, "VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN!" The golden chain of energy
whipped out and encircled the scimitar but when Sailor Venus pulled on
it the chain slipped off. <Damn!> she thought.
Meanwhile FishEye was just starting to get up and was looking for that
insolent female when he was stabbed several times. Looking down he saw
several roses sticking out of him. With a growl he turned and saw Tuxedo
Kamen running towards him. Giving a grunt of pain, he pulled the roses
out of his arms and started an attack of his own.
"Chibi-Moon!" Younger Venus called desperately, "Chibi-Moon, come on
wake up!" Turning her head, she saw that the other Senshi were arriving,
"Give Sailor Venus a hand. I think Chibi-Moon's just knocked out,"
Younger Venus said. Mercury started a scan of the little girl while the
others went to help Venus.
"MOON PRINCESS HALATION!!!" Turning around, Sailor Jupiter and Mars saw
that Sailor Moon had just arrived and was focusing on attacking FishEye
rather than the Lemure. They also noted that she was uncharacteristic in
not given a speech as well.
FishEye was taking a pounding from Tuxedo Kamen and, when Sailor Moon
joined in, he barely dodged her attack but promptly walked right into
Tuxedo Kamen's. <This is too much!> FishEye thought and snagging Tuxedo
Kamen flung him at Sailor Moon before hastily retreating.
"RUN YOU COWARD!!!" Sailor Moon snarled, "Come back here and I'll kill
you!" She bent and helped Tuxedo Kamen rise, "I have to help Misako!"
she said, worry showing through.
"The first thing you need to do is get Chibi-Moon to summon Pegasus."
Sailor Moon nodded and both quickly headed over to where Younger Venus
was with Chibi-Moon. "How is she?"
"She's starting to come around," Younger Venus replied with relief
showing through, "Mercury says that she'll have a bump and maybe some
scratches but she should be okay considering."
Chibi-Moon started to stir and after a few seconds sat up with a start,
"MIKO!!! I GOT TO HELP MISAKO!!!" She started scrambling to her feet but
promptly sat back down again, "Ow!" she remarked and cupped her head in
her hands.
"Honey?" Sailor Moon asked, "Are you okay?!?"
"Woozy..." Chibi-Moon admitted. Sailor Moon helped her oldest daughter
to stand, "I have to help Miko-chan!" she repeated.
"Then we need to transform," Sailor Moon said seriously. Chibi-Moon
nodded.
"MOON CRISIS MAKE-UP!!!" they both cried together and, in a flash, Super
Sailor Moon and Super Sailor Chibi-Moon were there.
With desperation and worry in her voice Chibi-Moon kneeled. Clasping her
hands, Chibi-Moon prayed to the Pegasus, "Please Pegasus... protect
everyone's dreams!" Getting up she started to ring the Charion Bell
while calling out, "Twinkle yell!"
After the Pegasus came forth, Super Sailor Moon used her "Moon Gorgeous
Meditation" attack and blasted the Lemure back into its shadowy realm.
"Slice and dice!!!" Ali howled before finally whispering, "Stage out!"
As the Lemure disappeared, so did the board and Misako's bounds and the
little girl dropped to the ground and lay there unmoving.
Coming next in ToYV Part XIII: Chapter 35 - Lasting Impressions
Doug
"I write in broad tapestries, interweaving characters lives leaving
the little details to the reader unless the detials are important."
- Anne McCaffrey
"I am Sailor Chibi-Earth! And I will sit you in the corner!"
- Tsukino Misako, ToYV#6
http://log.on.ca/users/helm/anime/index.htm
http://log.on.ca/users/helm/sako/sakohome.htm
http://log.on.ca/gbaac/index.htm