"Sailormoon Dark Episode 27," Pretty Soldier Sailormoon, PG-13
Sailormoon Dark: Episode Twenty-Seven
"The Final Galileon IV. The Snare of the Unbearable Past II."
Written by Laurel (Sailorhathor)
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 August 2002.
Word Count: 5,263
"Who is that girl behind the fuku? Is she someone we know?"
"Is she one of our sisters?"
"Is she someone who would betray her own flesh and blood?"
"Does she have a twin?"
"Or is she my enemy?"
"She is all of these things, on the next Sailormoon Dark."
"Good preview, guys!"
"You should turn off the microphone before you say that..."
Pretty Soldier Sailormoon Dark Episode 27: The Final Galileon IV. The Snare of the Unbearable Past II. The moonlight carries the message of love.
In the little cottage beside the gates of the Underworld, Ruki and Heri cuddled on the couch while Hikaru applied some burn ointment to E's wing. She had a slight blush to her face because E had his shirt off to make the application easier. Hikaru thought his chest was really nice.
"How does that feel?"
"Great." E smiled at her. "You have a gentle touch."
There was no way that comment could get by without sending Hikaru into a giggling fit. "Oh I do?"
"Get a room," Heri joked as she switched the channels on the TV.
Hikaru almost smacked her arm, but then remembered she was still bruised up from their battle with Sailorhel. "So, the plan is to give those coins to your parents, and then ferry them across the rivers?"
"Yeah. We'll perform the ritual as soon as Heri heals up."
"Sounds good, Ruki. What do you think their reaction will be when you--wait, you get cable?"
"Yes."
"Down here?! My dad and I can't even afford cable!" Hikaru exclaimed.
"I get it free," Ruki bragged, being a little bolder than usual. "We just tap into underground wires."
"No fair, oh I hate you! Can I move down here?" Hikaru joked.
Heri was still channel-surfing. "Hey guys, shush and look! There's senshi on the TV!"
"Huh? Why?"
On the television, Aquamarine Black let out a scream and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have just been taken hostage!"
Ruki rolled her eyes. "This crazy woman is always putting herself in danger for her stories. She was on the other day interviewing senshi during a battle."
"He's got a knife to her neck!" Hikaru exclaimed.
"Hey, you two up there, stop fighting Sailorxenonkingfisher and come down here, or I'll cut her throat!" Soldierchromium yelled on the TV. The newscaster back in the studio tried to ask Aquamarine a few frantic questions.
"Xenonkingfisher? Xenon is one of the Noble Gases!" Heri reminded them.
"Then she's one of our reincarnated sisters from the Noble Kingdom!"
"We better watch this. Maybe we'll get to see who she really is."
From the side of the Mirai Mugen building came a bright light as Kazan cried, "Io Satellite Power, Make-up!" A swarm of dragonflies made of jewels glided from her transformation wand, reflecting the sunlight as they flew in formation around each part of her body to make her fuku. She posed in her purple skirt with its grey stripe, and her grey bow which sported a jeweled sculpture in the shape of an insect body with wings, as the last Galileon senshi, Sailorio.
Arsenic was more interested in what her sister now had in her hand--the Dragonfly. It was a sculpture of a dragonfly, made of jewels in shades of green, with transparent grey wings. Io looked at it in amazement. "This is mine?"
"Not anymore." Sailorarsenic grabbed for the Talisman.
Io held it away. "What are you doing?"
"Grrrrr!" Lappie nipped at Arsenic's ankle.
"OW!"
"Doku, what are you doing?! They need my help!"
"Io, my dear, get away from your sister. She's not on our side," Lappie commanded.
"Just gimme the big bug!" Sailorarsenic held up one of her satchels of poison. "Or I'll throw this poison at the dog."
"Cymbals Superstar La La Lah!" Sailorquasar appeared around the corner as she said this, clapping two large cymbals together. A burst of light between them produced visible blue waves that drifted quickly to Arsenic's head.
"Ahhhhh!" She covered her ears with her hands, cringing. Inside her head, Arsenic heard the refrain of, "La la LAH! La la LAH!" echoing over and over, loud enough to cause her physical pain and drown out all her awareness.
"Sailorio, help your team," Quasar said.
Her twin, Sailorpulsar, also came into view. "We'll hold off this one."
"Don't hurt her," was Io's parting comment before running around the corner.
The twins turned back to Arsenic. Sailorquasar put her own hands over Arsenic's ears and leaned in close. "Tell us why you were trying to steal that Talisman."
The words echoed loudly in Sailorarsenic's head. "Ahhhh! I'll never tell you!"
"I can make the pain stop..." Quasar offered.
Her twin commented, "Or she can make it worse."
An energy portal suddenly opened up behind Sailorarsenic. Baby Baby Love reached out and yanked Arsenic in, right out of Quasar's grasp. The portal closed again. She couldn't allow the twins to weedle any secrets of the Dark senshi out of anyone.
Sailorpulsar and Sailorquasar were of course surprised, but they didn't let this discourage them--there were still a few Dark senshi left to question.
"Dragonfly Flow!"
Everyone turned to see Sailorio make the scene with the Dragonfly held over her head. Jeweled dragonflies spewed from the Talisman's head like lava from an erupting volcano.
Soldierchromium saw the dragonflies coming for him, so he threatened Aquamarine with the knife again. "Call them off! Make them stop!" He realized that the attack simply was not going to cease, so he panicked and let go of Aquamarine, taking off in a frenzied run. The dragonflies swarmed over Soldierchromium like an overflow of molten lava.
"Ahhhh! THEY BURN! Get 'em off!" For several moments, no one could see him at all under the mound of wild insects, except for an occassional flailing arm or leg. Soldierchromium tried to do something, anything, to the jeweled bugs swarming over him with his ruby eye powers, but that only seemed to make them more frenzied. "Oooooowwwwww stop, stop, stop!"
"AGAIN he winds up flailing on the ground," Sailorcallisto joked, before turning to Io. "You must be Sailorio. Welcome to the team."
She looked down self-consciously, awkwardly. "Um, thanks."
Soldierchromium finally got to his feet, fighting off the lingering effects of Io's attack. "You bitches! You can't humiliate me again!"
"But you're so good at being humiliated." Callisto posed with the Razor Claw. "Men who dare hit women deserve the worst punishment. But when they come back to threaten and intimidate them once more, they will suffer the wrath of the female spirit, like a grizzly bear mother protecting her cub. I, Sailorcallisto, the Sailor Satellite of razor sharp aim, will make you taste my claws!"
"Yeah, what she said," Sailorganymede added nonchalantly.
"You're a very mean person!" Europa cried, as if it was a really good insult.
"We're going to have fun kicking your ass some more," Prince Ganymede added.
"I don't even know you, and I already hate you," Soldierchlorine finished.
Callisto slumped over, lowering her head and sighing. "Am I the only one who cares about doing a serious team speech?"
Posing with the Dragonfly, Sailorio cut in, "Those who use innocent young girls like my sister for their evil plans will never be forgiven. I don't know what you were after, but the senshi of the volcano satellite will never let you succeed. I am Sailorio! My dragonflies will bury you six feet under!"
Callisto instantly grabbed her up in an impromptu bear hug. "I like you already!"
Soldierchromium's face turned red with anger. "Says you! I'm going to enjoy hurting you all. Payback's a-"
Suddenly, he was silenced by a smart punch from Sailoreuropa. He fell back with a shocked look on his face.
"You never owned me, you big meanie!" She winced, shaking out her hand. "And your face is like punching a brick wall with a dopey face on it!"
"Go Europa!" Sailorganymede cried, and clapped her on the back. "So Adam, now that you've been put in your place, how'd you do it? How'd you leech off the Ganymede power?"
"Like I'd tell you anything. But I'll be happy to use the power against you until you're all a bunch of ruby statues," Chromium growled.
"I don't think so," came a voice behind him. Before he could react, Sailorhathor said, "Bloodthirsty Eye." Red-brown energy sparked between the cattle horns on the Sistrum, then rocketed out at Soldierchromium and struck him straight in the heart. The energy coursed over him as he shouted in pain, and blood began to seep out of his mouth and nose and drift through the air, to be absorbed by the Sistrum. When blood began to come out of his eyes, the others could plainly see that it contained tiny rubies.
"My power, no, NO! You can't take it from me!" Soldierchromium yelped. He seemed to understand what was happening.
"Stop me," Sailorhathor replied in a menacing voice. "You battering dog."
"Maybe I should do something to help him," Xenonkingfisher said to herself. Still standing at the top of the stairs, she held the Xenon Baton ready.
"You should stop right there..."
"...and stand really still..."
"...or this could hurt," the voices of Sailorpulsar and Quasar said behind her. When Xenonkingfisher turned around, she was blinded by a bright orb of light held by both girls.
"I can't see-"
The twins split the orb in half, each holding one half in their fist, and struck out at the Dark senshi. Together, they punched out the two strobe lights on the front of Xenonkingfisher's fuku with a bright flash.
The Dark Elemental screamed and fell to the ground, glass from her lights littering the cement around her. "What have you done to me?!"
"Punished you for misusing the powers of light."
"We took them away from you."
"Soon, you will be healed, and may use the strobe again in the way you were meant to. You owe a debt to the senshi of sound, Sailorpulsar."
"And the senshi of light, Sailorquasar."
"We helped you see the light, and hear the call of truth," they finished together.
Sailorxenonkingfisher screeched in frustration, "Help me, Baby Baby Love!"
Baby Baby Love was too busy trying to rescue important people to care what was happening to her latest stooge. She had snuck out of her portal again with the disoriented Sailorarsenic and was pushing the 3-Cube Box back together so they could free Princess Helenia.
Helenia dejectedly opened her visible hand and mumbled, "Mirror Entrapment." One of her mirror boxes fell to the ground and shattered, cluttering up the sidewalk along with the rest of the Mirrors she had been unable to throw. "I can't attack; it's pointless."
"Helenia, I can't give them the chance to weasel any information out of you, so I'm getting you out of here," Baby Baby Love informed her.
The princess brightened up. "I've never been more grateful for your loyalty to Sailordarkcosmos! Otherwise, you would have left me here."
"Ohhh, my head still hurts," Arsenic moaned.
"So what? I was cut in three pieces!"
Soldierchromium let out a final screech before passing out, all of his power gone. The Chromium Shield floated from his body. Sailorhathor carefully picked up the Shield and held it gingerly in her hand.
Baby Baby Love bounced Dark Luna-P on the ground a few times and cried, "Dark Luna-P, transform!" The ball turned into a large hammer, like one would see in a Mario Brothers video game. She used the hammer to break the lock off the door of the 3-Cube Box, setting Princess Helenia free.
All the noise got everyone's attention. "Doku! No one attack; she's my sister!" Io cried.
Aquamarine's eyes were on Baby Baby Love. "It's the Rabbit again!" she squeaked. Kamera looked at her funny.
"Get to the portal; there are too many of them," Baby Baby Love commanded.
"But we didn't get-"
"Just go, Helenia!" She swung the hammer at Sailorhathor, who flinched and jumped back to avoid it. This gave Baby Baby Love the chance to snatch the Chromium Shield from her hand and then jump in the portal with it. At the same time, Sailorarsenic and Helenia were grabbing the detransformed Adam by his ankles and under his arms and throwing him into the portal.
Helenia disappeared after him; Arsenic was the last to head for the dark opening in space.
"Wait Doku! Why are you going with them?" Sailorio asked in desperation. "They're the bad guys!"
"Because they're on the right side," Arsenic replied, and pegged a satchel to the ground. It exploded in a cloud of foul poison, sending everyone scampering back several feet to avoid it. When the cloud cleared, Sailorarsenic and the portal were gone.
"Hey, you forgot me!" Xenonkingfisher whined.
"Ooh, she'd be a good one to interview," Aquamarine commented, motioning for Kamera to follow.
Sailorganymede shook her head. "Knife to her neck and she's ready to get back to work already." She sighed and turned to Io. "So, how does it feel to be on the team? You're a member of Team Galileo now. You can even tell by our Talismans--Callisto and Europa both have sharp throwing things, and you and I have jeweled weapons that attack using real gems."
"I'm just odd, with my attacks," Prince Ganymede shrugged.
"You're just odd," his sister joked. "But you're still one of us."
"The fact that he's odd just proves he's one of us," Sailorcallisto laughed. Chlorine chuckled.
Sailorio awkwardly looked at them all, and at her Talisman. It was a very beautiful piece of gem art, the Dragonfly. Is that why Doku wanted it? "There's a lot that I don't understand here, so I'd appreciate it if you would fill me in when you can. I especially want to know where my sister went, and that she's okay. I'm afraid for her."
"Well... I'm not sure we can answer that question. We don't really know your sister," Callisto remarked.
"Oh... then, I have another question. I've been having dreams for a while about all of us as senshi, which I guess should have told me something... my sister even tried to tell me, but I wasn't ready to listen," Sailorio explained. "In these dreams, all of us are standing ready to go into battle, and we put our hands on top of each other in a huddle. You know what I mean. Except you weren't there." She pointed at Sailorganymede.
Ganymede jumped. "I wasn't there?"
"Of course she was there!" Callisto declared.
"Callisto-sama? Io's right. She wasn't there," Sailoreuropa added meekly, as if she regretted having to speak this truth. "The vision I had of my past life agrees with Io's."
Sailorganymede remembered her dream of dying at Silver Millenium. "They're right, Callisto. I wasn't there. I wasn't able to come back and join you all in the battle for our kingdoms. But there's an explanation."
"An explanation? What possible explanation could there be?!" Prince Ganymede suddenly yelled. "You left your family to die alone! You didn't come back and fight alongside me as the princess--you couldn't even come back and fight as your precious common soldier!" He turned and flounced up the stairs angrily.
"You don't even want to hear my explanation?! Nathan!" Sailorganymede watched him storm off with a look of regret, wondering if she could ever set this right for him.
His Magician's Assistants gestured dramatically to the 3-Cube Box. "Taaa-daaa!" they cried before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Callisto put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I know you had a good reason. Someday, he'll understand."
"We'll make Onii-chan understand," Europa assured cheerfully. "He's not always so unreasonable."
Still hiding from the others, Vivian thought, So he really is Nathan. She looked at Sailorganymede. Why did she desert him?
Sailorhathor sighed at the newscaster trying to interview the confused Xenonkingfisher. Her friends Pulsar and Quasar tried to distract Aquamarine, but she insisted on making a nuisance of herself. "I think we need Sailorcosmos for this one."
The TV viewing audience saw several minutes of other news before they cut back to Aquamarine's live report. Sailorcosmos appeared on the scene with Hathor, as if Hathor actually went and got her. Then, after what seemed to be coaxing from Sailorhathor, Cosmos used her Cosmic Crystal Blood Embrace power to separate Sailorxenon from Sailorkingfisher.
The broken strobe lights on the front of her fuku disappeared, replaced by a front bow with a small strobe in the middle. All of the kingfisher motifs in her outfit and the blue patch in her hair were gone too; she clearly wore the Elemental uniform of Sailorxenon.
The girl experienced an overwhelming bout of weakness and fainted, detransforming right before the camera. Everyone saw that she was the singer from Noble 6, Aian Hatsudouki; many gasped in surprise.
"It's the idol singer from Noble 6!" Hikaru cried, as they saw everything on the television.
"Noble 6..." Heri mused. "Just like the kingdom of Noble with its six princesses. Whoever named that group knows something about us."
"Maybe Aian-san named it." Pausing a moment, Hikaru continued, "Maybe she's had dreams just like us. One of our sisters is an idol singer!"
They watched as Aian awakened to complete confusion and a microphone shoved in her face. The girl denied she was a senshi, said the whole thing was crazy, and rushed down the stairs. A limosine pulled up to the college at just the right time.
The passenger window came down and the driver called to Aian, "Hatsudouki-san, get in."
The girl obviously recognized the driver and, looking extremely relieved, hopped into the back seat. The limo driver immediately drove off.
"We better get out of here before she tries to interview us too," Sailorhathor grumbled to the others, gesturing to the overzealous newscaster chasing the limo. She retreated into the building.
Heri sat up from her place on Ruki's couch, a determined look on her face. "We've got to talk to her. Aian Hatsudouki is one of the Noble Gas senshi."
Aware muted the television. "You see? Sailorcosmos is still using the attack that killed Shiro. She's evil."
From the other end of the couch, Maneshi sheepishly offered, "But the girl she just used it on didn't die. Maybe the attack isn't designed to kill. Maybe it was just Shiro's disease that killed him."
"But he died right after she attacked him. I call that partially responsible for his death. If the attack's so dangerous, she shouldn't be using it," Aware growled.
"Besides," Taka added, "did you see who Cosmos was working with? Sailorhathor. The person who wanted to kill me in our past life? Have you forgotten that already?"
"Of course not!" Maneshi protested. "But that doesn't prove that either of them are evil." Her voice was tentative; her two friends were angry and hurt, and ready to snap at any chance.
Rolling her eyes, Taka said, "I'm with Aware. Those two are evil to the core. We fight against them. Are you with us?"
Maneshi felt torn, not wanting to go against her friends, nor her principles. "I guess," she quietly replied, then got up to go out on the porch and sit by herself.
Gogog padded out on the porch and sat down next to her. "You're worried about your friends."
"Yeah. Are you worried about them too?"
"Yes. They're both so hungry for revenge that they can't see straight," Gogog sighed.
"What if they're right?" came Winthrop's voice from the other end of the porch. The poodle trotted over.
"Do you think they are?" Gogog asked.
Sniffing, Winthrop said, "I don't know. But we shouldn't rule it out, should we? Cosmos and Hathor could be on the side of the Dark senshi."
"You do have a point--Aware and Taka could have real concerns," Gogog agreed. "Best to keep both possibilities in mind. We're still worried about them, though."
"They are very angry," Winthrop said. "-Sniff.- And very scared."
Maneshi put her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands. "I wish there was more I could do... they could get hurt."
"We'll just have to watch out for them," declared Gogog with a curt nod.
"Right!" Maneshi gazed off into the surrounding forest. "I only hope they will listen when the truth comes out."
Up on the fourth floor, the now detransformed senshi hid out in their dorm rooms, hoping that Aquamarine Black had not followed them. When it seemed that the coast was clear, they congregated in the hall.
Except for Nathan. He sat on Ursula's bed, facing the side wall, with a sour look on his face. His Assistants still looked like Vegas showgirls instead of rabbits; they sat on the rest of Ursula's bed and chewed cutely on a couple of carrots.
Sighing, Tara asked, "Aren't you even going to turn Muffy and Stephanie back into rabbits? What if someone sees them?"
"Leave me alone," he mumbled back.
Midori motioned for Tara to leave the room. "Let me try," he said quietly.
"Sure." She knew Nathan just wasn't ready to listen to her explanation right now, so she should give him some time to cool off. Maybe Midori could make a dent in his hard head. Tara went out into the hallway with the others and closed the door.
"Hanagata?"
The corners of Nathan's mouth twitched; he was trying not to laugh at the nickname the cute guy had given him. "You want something?"
"I heard you and your sister talking, that day I met Ursula. You only have an aunt and uncle? Your parents aren't around?"
"No. They were killed by a drunk driver," Nathan replied in a low voice.
"That's very bad. But you're lucky you still have family left," Midori said. "You know how important family is, don't you? I know I cherish mine."
Nathan sighed. "Yeah, yeah."
"Then you know that a big sister who loves you and understands all your oddities is hard to come by. I know you're hurting, but maybe you should give Tara the chance to explain what happened. It was another life, another time. Give her the chance to apologize."
Nathan thought about it for several seconds, silent, staring at the wall. "Maybe," he finally said.
"Good enough." With a wave for the cute Assistants, Midori followed the others' example, joining the group in the hall.
"Okay, I've got it figured out," Ursula was saying. "We take Lappie to Kita's parents' house to live, and Artemis to Usagi's parents' house. They'll have to walk here each day to check up on the status of the battle, but at least they'll be taken care of."
"Why go through all that?" Kazan asked, who had just come out into the hallway.
"Oh... um, hi, Kazan-san." This was awkward; earlier that day, they had been arguing and taking cheap shots at each other. Now, they had to play nice-nice. "Well, it's necessary because you've put us on report. We have to get the animals out of here by tonight, remember?"
"I haven't made any such report," Kazan said, "And I'm not going to. I figure we need our guardians here with us, to advise us during battle. It's too important to have them living somewhere else. So I've changed my mind."
The girls sighed with relief, looking at each other happily. "And Nathan?"
"I never saw him," Kazan replied, and winked.
"Oh thank you, One-chan!" Kita squealed. She gave her a grateful hug.
"I haven't been called that in years," laughed Kazan. Hugging was still a little awkward, but she would get used to it. "I just have one more thing. If it's okay with him, I'd like for Lappie to come live with me. I don't share my room with anyone, and... it can get lonely."
"Oh, sure. Sure!" Kita went to her room and opened the door for Kazan.
At first, Makoto reacted badly to Kazan's presence, tensing up and glaring at her, but then Kita explained the situation.
"I'm sorry I acted like that," Kazan apologized. "But I'm going to attempt to be nicer."
"It's okay," Makoto replied, trying to smile.
She turned to where Lappie was lying on Kita's bed. "Lappie, would you like to come live with me? I don't share my room with anyone, so there's lots of space."
The dog lifted his head off the bed. "Of course, my dear."
"Hey, that'll work out great; Kita's afraid of him anyway," Makoto commented.
Kita sweatdropped.
Kazan took Lappie to her dorm room to show him around. She noticed that Tara had come to her doorway and was standing there, waiting to be invited in.
"Hi, come on in," she said.
"Hey." Tara stepped into the room. "I just wanted to say thanks for letting my brother stay. That'll be a real relief to our aunt and uncle; they didn't like the idea of him staying alone in a hotel in a foreign country."
"No problem. I figure it's important for him to be here, being a member of our team and all." Kazan paused, watching Lappie munch on the dog food she had laid out for him. "Don't worry, your brother will come around. He can't stay mad forever."
"I guess. Nathan's pretty good at holding those grudges. But you might be right." Tara let out a sigh. "The truth is, I didn't show up to fight with you guys because I was on the Earth's Moon at the time, and Queen Serenity made me promise I wouldn't go home to join the battle. She didn't want me to die; I think she saw some of her daughter in me. So I promised I would go down into the stronghold with Princess Serenity. But just then, Metallia attacked, and I was killed anyway." Shrugging, she fidgeted sheepishly.
"I see. Your brother would understand that, if he'd only listen."
"I guess."
Kazan pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged her knees loosely. "You know, for some reason, I remember your Talisman looking a little different."
This took Tara by surprise. "Really?"
"Yes. The bowl was wider. I guess my memories are a little off."
"Huh." Tara couldn't explain it, but it was curious. "Well, I guess I better be getting back to my room, see if I can get my brother to take his fingers out of his ears."
"Tara?"
"Uh huh?"
"I don't tell a lot of people this, but you mentioned the white streaks in my hair..." Kazan touched one of her braids. "They're not fake. They started growing in within a few weeks of... of my dad's crime. I just figured they were a part of me, so I didn't try to dye them out." She shrugged.
"Ohhh... Your sister had a big shock of white hair too..." Now Tara felt horrible for the comment she'd made earlier that day. They weren't fake white streaks, they were side effects of the mental stress of one's own father going on a killing spree. "I'm sorry for making fun of your braids."
"It's okay."
There were several moments of silence between them. "So... you wanna go out with us to a movie tonight?"
Kazan couldn't help but smile. Maybe she would have those friends she longed for after all. "Sure."
A humongous sweatdrop obscured the faces of Sailorarsenic, Princess Helenia, and Baby Baby Love as they watched their leader throw a hissy fit on the floor in front of them. Sailordarkcosmos pounded her fists and feet against the ground, laying on her stomach, and screamed, "I asked for one little thing and you couldn't even get it but I want it I want it I want it ahhhhhhhh!"
Rolling her eyes, Baby Baby Love sighed, "Would you act your age, dummy?"
"But you didn't bring back the Talisman I wanted!"
"At least I got one Elemental Shield." Baby Baby Love held up the Chromium Shield.
"But you let the other one get away!"
"Something is better than nothing. Those damn Galileons and the others outnumbered us. This was the best we could do under the circumstances," Baby Baby Love explained, as if it was just tough that Sailordarkcosmos wanted them to do better.
"Your best isn't good enough! At this rate, I'll never get my machine built." She started to bawl. "Waaaaaaaaaaah!"
Adam stumbled into the group of girls, clutching desperately at their clothes. "My power is gone. All my power, all gone. How can I go home to my followers when I can't perform any miracles?"
Baby Baby Love shrugged; she was sick of his whining and really didn't care about his problems.
Adam fell to his knees in front of Sailordarkcosmos. "When will my power come back?"
With another annoyed sigh, Baby Baby Love cut in, "Were you at the same fight I was? Sailorhathor sucked the power right out of your blood. It's gone."
"How do I get it back?!"
Sailordarkcosmos pouted, slumping on her throne. "You don't. Too bad, so sad. Sucks to be you."
"No! I have to have it back! You've got to give me some power to take home with me!" Adam demanded. "You've got this mighty Pearl thingie here. It has enough power for both of us, doesn't it?" He reached for the Dark Pearl.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," Darkcosmos grumbled.
Of course Adam didn't listen, and grabbed the Dark Pearl with both hands. He immediately screamed and was consumed in a blast of black flames. Nothing was left of him but ash.
"I tried to tell him," Sailordarkcosmos sighed, rolling her eyes. "No mere human can touch the Dark Pearl. It's too powerful."
Darkmercury and Darkvenus entered the shadows the others occupied. Sailordarkvenus fanned the air in front of her nose. "Did someone cook a frog in here?"
"Yes," Darkcosmos replied dryly.
"So you didn't get your Dragonfly?"
"No," Darkcosmos pouted, glaring at the others.
"That's too bad." Sailordarkmercury took out her pocket computer. "I may have some news that will make you feel better. I've analyzed the energy coming from a local cyber cafe, and it's definitely of magical origin. There is a powerful senshi base located there, I believe. Is it alright if Darkvenus and I capture this base for you, and pillage it for all it's worth?"
"By all means." Sailordarkcosmos looked at Baby Baby Love. "I believe it's your turn, since my last lackey failed."
Darkvenus smiled ferally. "This is a job for Codename: Sailor DarkV."
"A lone ninja moves stealthily along the wall, preparing to strike. She crouches low to the ground... and delivers the kiss of death! I am the Mistletoe Ninja!"
"The What-toe What?"
"Prepare to receive the kiss of death!"
"You kiss me and I'll tickle you 'til you pee."
"Hey, what's behind this door? Some kind of command center? What is Central Control?"
"I don't know, but the Mistletoe Ninja shall defend it. MmmmmmmWA!"
Sailormoon Dark Episode 28: Cyber Cafe Ninjas? Sailor DarkV's Game Endless. The moonlight carries the message of love.
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On to Episode 28: Cyber Cafe Ninjas? Sailor DarkV's Game Endless.
"The Final Galileon IV. The Snare of the Unbearable Past II."
Written by Laurel (Sailorhathor)
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 August 2002.
Word Count: 5,263
"Who is that girl behind the fuku? Is she someone we know?"
"Is she one of our sisters?"
"Is she someone who would betray her own flesh and blood?"
"Does she have a twin?"
"Or is she my enemy?"
"She is all of these things, on the next Sailormoon Dark."
"Good preview, guys!"
"You should turn off the microphone before you say that..."
Pretty Soldier Sailormoon Dark Episode 27: The Final Galileon IV. The Snare of the Unbearable Past II. The moonlight carries the message of love.
In the little cottage beside the gates of the Underworld, Ruki and Heri cuddled on the couch while Hikaru applied some burn ointment to E's wing. She had a slight blush to her face because E had his shirt off to make the application easier. Hikaru thought his chest was really nice.
"How does that feel?"
"Great." E smiled at her. "You have a gentle touch."
There was no way that comment could get by without sending Hikaru into a giggling fit. "Oh I do?"
"Get a room," Heri joked as she switched the channels on the TV.
Hikaru almost smacked her arm, but then remembered she was still bruised up from their battle with Sailorhel. "So, the plan is to give those coins to your parents, and then ferry them across the rivers?"
"Yeah. We'll perform the ritual as soon as Heri heals up."
"Sounds good, Ruki. What do you think their reaction will be when you--wait, you get cable?"
"Yes."
"Down here?! My dad and I can't even afford cable!" Hikaru exclaimed.
"I get it free," Ruki bragged, being a little bolder than usual. "We just tap into underground wires."
"No fair, oh I hate you! Can I move down here?" Hikaru joked.
Heri was still channel-surfing. "Hey guys, shush and look! There's senshi on the TV!"
"Huh? Why?"
On the television, Aquamarine Black let out a scream and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have just been taken hostage!"
Ruki rolled her eyes. "This crazy woman is always putting herself in danger for her stories. She was on the other day interviewing senshi during a battle."
"He's got a knife to her neck!" Hikaru exclaimed.
"Hey, you two up there, stop fighting Sailorxenonkingfisher and come down here, or I'll cut her throat!" Soldierchromium yelled on the TV. The newscaster back in the studio tried to ask Aquamarine a few frantic questions.
"Xenonkingfisher? Xenon is one of the Noble Gases!" Heri reminded them.
"Then she's one of our reincarnated sisters from the Noble Kingdom!"
"We better watch this. Maybe we'll get to see who she really is."
From the side of the Mirai Mugen building came a bright light as Kazan cried, "Io Satellite Power, Make-up!" A swarm of dragonflies made of jewels glided from her transformation wand, reflecting the sunlight as they flew in formation around each part of her body to make her fuku. She posed in her purple skirt with its grey stripe, and her grey bow which sported a jeweled sculpture in the shape of an insect body with wings, as the last Galileon senshi, Sailorio.
Arsenic was more interested in what her sister now had in her hand--the Dragonfly. It was a sculpture of a dragonfly, made of jewels in shades of green, with transparent grey wings. Io looked at it in amazement. "This is mine?"
"Not anymore." Sailorarsenic grabbed for the Talisman.
Io held it away. "What are you doing?"
"Grrrrr!" Lappie nipped at Arsenic's ankle.
"OW!"
"Doku, what are you doing?! They need my help!"
"Io, my dear, get away from your sister. She's not on our side," Lappie commanded.
"Just gimme the big bug!" Sailorarsenic held up one of her satchels of poison. "Or I'll throw this poison at the dog."
"Cymbals Superstar La La Lah!" Sailorquasar appeared around the corner as she said this, clapping two large cymbals together. A burst of light between them produced visible blue waves that drifted quickly to Arsenic's head.
"Ahhhhh!" She covered her ears with her hands, cringing. Inside her head, Arsenic heard the refrain of, "La la LAH! La la LAH!" echoing over and over, loud enough to cause her physical pain and drown out all her awareness.
"Sailorio, help your team," Quasar said.
Her twin, Sailorpulsar, also came into view. "We'll hold off this one."
"Don't hurt her," was Io's parting comment before running around the corner.
The twins turned back to Arsenic. Sailorquasar put her own hands over Arsenic's ears and leaned in close. "Tell us why you were trying to steal that Talisman."
The words echoed loudly in Sailorarsenic's head. "Ahhhh! I'll never tell you!"
"I can make the pain stop..." Quasar offered.
Her twin commented, "Or she can make it worse."
An energy portal suddenly opened up behind Sailorarsenic. Baby Baby Love reached out and yanked Arsenic in, right out of Quasar's grasp. The portal closed again. She couldn't allow the twins to weedle any secrets of the Dark senshi out of anyone.
Sailorpulsar and Sailorquasar were of course surprised, but they didn't let this discourage them--there were still a few Dark senshi left to question.
"Dragonfly Flow!"
Everyone turned to see Sailorio make the scene with the Dragonfly held over her head. Jeweled dragonflies spewed from the Talisman's head like lava from an erupting volcano.
Soldierchromium saw the dragonflies coming for him, so he threatened Aquamarine with the knife again. "Call them off! Make them stop!" He realized that the attack simply was not going to cease, so he panicked and let go of Aquamarine, taking off in a frenzied run. The dragonflies swarmed over Soldierchromium like an overflow of molten lava.
"Ahhhh! THEY BURN! Get 'em off!" For several moments, no one could see him at all under the mound of wild insects, except for an occassional flailing arm or leg. Soldierchromium tried to do something, anything, to the jeweled bugs swarming over him with his ruby eye powers, but that only seemed to make them more frenzied. "Oooooowwwwww stop, stop, stop!"
"AGAIN he winds up flailing on the ground," Sailorcallisto joked, before turning to Io. "You must be Sailorio. Welcome to the team."
She looked down self-consciously, awkwardly. "Um, thanks."
Soldierchromium finally got to his feet, fighting off the lingering effects of Io's attack. "You bitches! You can't humiliate me again!"
"But you're so good at being humiliated." Callisto posed with the Razor Claw. "Men who dare hit women deserve the worst punishment. But when they come back to threaten and intimidate them once more, they will suffer the wrath of the female spirit, like a grizzly bear mother protecting her cub. I, Sailorcallisto, the Sailor Satellite of razor sharp aim, will make you taste my claws!"
"Yeah, what she said," Sailorganymede added nonchalantly.
"You're a very mean person!" Europa cried, as if it was a really good insult.
"We're going to have fun kicking your ass some more," Prince Ganymede added.
"I don't even know you, and I already hate you," Soldierchlorine finished.
Callisto slumped over, lowering her head and sighing. "Am I the only one who cares about doing a serious team speech?"
Posing with the Dragonfly, Sailorio cut in, "Those who use innocent young girls like my sister for their evil plans will never be forgiven. I don't know what you were after, but the senshi of the volcano satellite will never let you succeed. I am Sailorio! My dragonflies will bury you six feet under!"
Callisto instantly grabbed her up in an impromptu bear hug. "I like you already!"
Soldierchromium's face turned red with anger. "Says you! I'm going to enjoy hurting you all. Payback's a-"
Suddenly, he was silenced by a smart punch from Sailoreuropa. He fell back with a shocked look on his face.
"You never owned me, you big meanie!" She winced, shaking out her hand. "And your face is like punching a brick wall with a dopey face on it!"
"Go Europa!" Sailorganymede cried, and clapped her on the back. "So Adam, now that you've been put in your place, how'd you do it? How'd you leech off the Ganymede power?"
"Like I'd tell you anything. But I'll be happy to use the power against you until you're all a bunch of ruby statues," Chromium growled.
"I don't think so," came a voice behind him. Before he could react, Sailorhathor said, "Bloodthirsty Eye." Red-brown energy sparked between the cattle horns on the Sistrum, then rocketed out at Soldierchromium and struck him straight in the heart. The energy coursed over him as he shouted in pain, and blood began to seep out of his mouth and nose and drift through the air, to be absorbed by the Sistrum. When blood began to come out of his eyes, the others could plainly see that it contained tiny rubies.
"My power, no, NO! You can't take it from me!" Soldierchromium yelped. He seemed to understand what was happening.
"Stop me," Sailorhathor replied in a menacing voice. "You battering dog."
"Maybe I should do something to help him," Xenonkingfisher said to herself. Still standing at the top of the stairs, she held the Xenon Baton ready.
"You should stop right there..."
"...and stand really still..."
"...or this could hurt," the voices of Sailorpulsar and Quasar said behind her. When Xenonkingfisher turned around, she was blinded by a bright orb of light held by both girls.
"I can't see-"
The twins split the orb in half, each holding one half in their fist, and struck out at the Dark senshi. Together, they punched out the two strobe lights on the front of Xenonkingfisher's fuku with a bright flash.
The Dark Elemental screamed and fell to the ground, glass from her lights littering the cement around her. "What have you done to me?!"
"Punished you for misusing the powers of light."
"We took them away from you."
"Soon, you will be healed, and may use the strobe again in the way you were meant to. You owe a debt to the senshi of sound, Sailorpulsar."
"And the senshi of light, Sailorquasar."
"We helped you see the light, and hear the call of truth," they finished together.
Sailorxenonkingfisher screeched in frustration, "Help me, Baby Baby Love!"
Baby Baby Love was too busy trying to rescue important people to care what was happening to her latest stooge. She had snuck out of her portal again with the disoriented Sailorarsenic and was pushing the 3-Cube Box back together so they could free Princess Helenia.
Helenia dejectedly opened her visible hand and mumbled, "Mirror Entrapment." One of her mirror boxes fell to the ground and shattered, cluttering up the sidewalk along with the rest of the Mirrors she had been unable to throw. "I can't attack; it's pointless."
"Helenia, I can't give them the chance to weasel any information out of you, so I'm getting you out of here," Baby Baby Love informed her.
The princess brightened up. "I've never been more grateful for your loyalty to Sailordarkcosmos! Otherwise, you would have left me here."
"Ohhh, my head still hurts," Arsenic moaned.
"So what? I was cut in three pieces!"
Soldierchromium let out a final screech before passing out, all of his power gone. The Chromium Shield floated from his body. Sailorhathor carefully picked up the Shield and held it gingerly in her hand.
Baby Baby Love bounced Dark Luna-P on the ground a few times and cried, "Dark Luna-P, transform!" The ball turned into a large hammer, like one would see in a Mario Brothers video game. She used the hammer to break the lock off the door of the 3-Cube Box, setting Princess Helenia free.
All the noise got everyone's attention. "Doku! No one attack; she's my sister!" Io cried.
Aquamarine's eyes were on Baby Baby Love. "It's the Rabbit again!" she squeaked. Kamera looked at her funny.
"Get to the portal; there are too many of them," Baby Baby Love commanded.
"But we didn't get-"
"Just go, Helenia!" She swung the hammer at Sailorhathor, who flinched and jumped back to avoid it. This gave Baby Baby Love the chance to snatch the Chromium Shield from her hand and then jump in the portal with it. At the same time, Sailorarsenic and Helenia were grabbing the detransformed Adam by his ankles and under his arms and throwing him into the portal.
Helenia disappeared after him; Arsenic was the last to head for the dark opening in space.
"Wait Doku! Why are you going with them?" Sailorio asked in desperation. "They're the bad guys!"
"Because they're on the right side," Arsenic replied, and pegged a satchel to the ground. It exploded in a cloud of foul poison, sending everyone scampering back several feet to avoid it. When the cloud cleared, Sailorarsenic and the portal were gone.
"Hey, you forgot me!" Xenonkingfisher whined.
"Ooh, she'd be a good one to interview," Aquamarine commented, motioning for Kamera to follow.
Sailorganymede shook her head. "Knife to her neck and she's ready to get back to work already." She sighed and turned to Io. "So, how does it feel to be on the team? You're a member of Team Galileo now. You can even tell by our Talismans--Callisto and Europa both have sharp throwing things, and you and I have jeweled weapons that attack using real gems."
"I'm just odd, with my attacks," Prince Ganymede shrugged.
"You're just odd," his sister joked. "But you're still one of us."
"The fact that he's odd just proves he's one of us," Sailorcallisto laughed. Chlorine chuckled.
Sailorio awkwardly looked at them all, and at her Talisman. It was a very beautiful piece of gem art, the Dragonfly. Is that why Doku wanted it? "There's a lot that I don't understand here, so I'd appreciate it if you would fill me in when you can. I especially want to know where my sister went, and that she's okay. I'm afraid for her."
"Well... I'm not sure we can answer that question. We don't really know your sister," Callisto remarked.
"Oh... then, I have another question. I've been having dreams for a while about all of us as senshi, which I guess should have told me something... my sister even tried to tell me, but I wasn't ready to listen," Sailorio explained. "In these dreams, all of us are standing ready to go into battle, and we put our hands on top of each other in a huddle. You know what I mean. Except you weren't there." She pointed at Sailorganymede.
Ganymede jumped. "I wasn't there?"
"Of course she was there!" Callisto declared.
"Callisto-sama? Io's right. She wasn't there," Sailoreuropa added meekly, as if she regretted having to speak this truth. "The vision I had of my past life agrees with Io's."
Sailorganymede remembered her dream of dying at Silver Millenium. "They're right, Callisto. I wasn't there. I wasn't able to come back and join you all in the battle for our kingdoms. But there's an explanation."
"An explanation? What possible explanation could there be?!" Prince Ganymede suddenly yelled. "You left your family to die alone! You didn't come back and fight alongside me as the princess--you couldn't even come back and fight as your precious common soldier!" He turned and flounced up the stairs angrily.
"You don't even want to hear my explanation?! Nathan!" Sailorganymede watched him storm off with a look of regret, wondering if she could ever set this right for him.
His Magician's Assistants gestured dramatically to the 3-Cube Box. "Taaa-daaa!" they cried before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Callisto put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I know you had a good reason. Someday, he'll understand."
"We'll make Onii-chan understand," Europa assured cheerfully. "He's not always so unreasonable."
Still hiding from the others, Vivian thought, So he really is Nathan. She looked at Sailorganymede. Why did she desert him?
Sailorhathor sighed at the newscaster trying to interview the confused Xenonkingfisher. Her friends Pulsar and Quasar tried to distract Aquamarine, but she insisted on making a nuisance of herself. "I think we need Sailorcosmos for this one."
The TV viewing audience saw several minutes of other news before they cut back to Aquamarine's live report. Sailorcosmos appeared on the scene with Hathor, as if Hathor actually went and got her. Then, after what seemed to be coaxing from Sailorhathor, Cosmos used her Cosmic Crystal Blood Embrace power to separate Sailorxenon from Sailorkingfisher.
The broken strobe lights on the front of her fuku disappeared, replaced by a front bow with a small strobe in the middle. All of the kingfisher motifs in her outfit and the blue patch in her hair were gone too; she clearly wore the Elemental uniform of Sailorxenon.
The girl experienced an overwhelming bout of weakness and fainted, detransforming right before the camera. Everyone saw that she was the singer from Noble 6, Aian Hatsudouki; many gasped in surprise.
"It's the idol singer from Noble 6!" Hikaru cried, as they saw everything on the television.
"Noble 6..." Heri mused. "Just like the kingdom of Noble with its six princesses. Whoever named that group knows something about us."
"Maybe Aian-san named it." Pausing a moment, Hikaru continued, "Maybe she's had dreams just like us. One of our sisters is an idol singer!"
They watched as Aian awakened to complete confusion and a microphone shoved in her face. The girl denied she was a senshi, said the whole thing was crazy, and rushed down the stairs. A limosine pulled up to the college at just the right time.
The passenger window came down and the driver called to Aian, "Hatsudouki-san, get in."
The girl obviously recognized the driver and, looking extremely relieved, hopped into the back seat. The limo driver immediately drove off.
"We better get out of here before she tries to interview us too," Sailorhathor grumbled to the others, gesturing to the overzealous newscaster chasing the limo. She retreated into the building.
Heri sat up from her place on Ruki's couch, a determined look on her face. "We've got to talk to her. Aian Hatsudouki is one of the Noble Gas senshi."
Aware muted the television. "You see? Sailorcosmos is still using the attack that killed Shiro. She's evil."
From the other end of the couch, Maneshi sheepishly offered, "But the girl she just used it on didn't die. Maybe the attack isn't designed to kill. Maybe it was just Shiro's disease that killed him."
"But he died right after she attacked him. I call that partially responsible for his death. If the attack's so dangerous, she shouldn't be using it," Aware growled.
"Besides," Taka added, "did you see who Cosmos was working with? Sailorhathor. The person who wanted to kill me in our past life? Have you forgotten that already?"
"Of course not!" Maneshi protested. "But that doesn't prove that either of them are evil." Her voice was tentative; her two friends were angry and hurt, and ready to snap at any chance.
Rolling her eyes, Taka said, "I'm with Aware. Those two are evil to the core. We fight against them. Are you with us?"
Maneshi felt torn, not wanting to go against her friends, nor her principles. "I guess," she quietly replied, then got up to go out on the porch and sit by herself.
Gogog padded out on the porch and sat down next to her. "You're worried about your friends."
"Yeah. Are you worried about them too?"
"Yes. They're both so hungry for revenge that they can't see straight," Gogog sighed.
"What if they're right?" came Winthrop's voice from the other end of the porch. The poodle trotted over.
"Do you think they are?" Gogog asked.
Sniffing, Winthrop said, "I don't know. But we shouldn't rule it out, should we? Cosmos and Hathor could be on the side of the Dark senshi."
"You do have a point--Aware and Taka could have real concerns," Gogog agreed. "Best to keep both possibilities in mind. We're still worried about them, though."
"They are very angry," Winthrop said. "-Sniff.- And very scared."
Maneshi put her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands. "I wish there was more I could do... they could get hurt."
"We'll just have to watch out for them," declared Gogog with a curt nod.
"Right!" Maneshi gazed off into the surrounding forest. "I only hope they will listen when the truth comes out."
Up on the fourth floor, the now detransformed senshi hid out in their dorm rooms, hoping that Aquamarine Black had not followed them. When it seemed that the coast was clear, they congregated in the hall.
Except for Nathan. He sat on Ursula's bed, facing the side wall, with a sour look on his face. His Assistants still looked like Vegas showgirls instead of rabbits; they sat on the rest of Ursula's bed and chewed cutely on a couple of carrots.
Sighing, Tara asked, "Aren't you even going to turn Muffy and Stephanie back into rabbits? What if someone sees them?"
"Leave me alone," he mumbled back.
Midori motioned for Tara to leave the room. "Let me try," he said quietly.
"Sure." She knew Nathan just wasn't ready to listen to her explanation right now, so she should give him some time to cool off. Maybe Midori could make a dent in his hard head. Tara went out into the hallway with the others and closed the door.
"Hanagata?"
The corners of Nathan's mouth twitched; he was trying not to laugh at the nickname the cute guy had given him. "You want something?"
"I heard you and your sister talking, that day I met Ursula. You only have an aunt and uncle? Your parents aren't around?"
"No. They were killed by a drunk driver," Nathan replied in a low voice.
"That's very bad. But you're lucky you still have family left," Midori said. "You know how important family is, don't you? I know I cherish mine."
Nathan sighed. "Yeah, yeah."
"Then you know that a big sister who loves you and understands all your oddities is hard to come by. I know you're hurting, but maybe you should give Tara the chance to explain what happened. It was another life, another time. Give her the chance to apologize."
Nathan thought about it for several seconds, silent, staring at the wall. "Maybe," he finally said.
"Good enough." With a wave for the cute Assistants, Midori followed the others' example, joining the group in the hall.
"Okay, I've got it figured out," Ursula was saying. "We take Lappie to Kita's parents' house to live, and Artemis to Usagi's parents' house. They'll have to walk here each day to check up on the status of the battle, but at least they'll be taken care of."
"Why go through all that?" Kazan asked, who had just come out into the hallway.
"Oh... um, hi, Kazan-san." This was awkward; earlier that day, they had been arguing and taking cheap shots at each other. Now, they had to play nice-nice. "Well, it's necessary because you've put us on report. We have to get the animals out of here by tonight, remember?"
"I haven't made any such report," Kazan said, "And I'm not going to. I figure we need our guardians here with us, to advise us during battle. It's too important to have them living somewhere else. So I've changed my mind."
The girls sighed with relief, looking at each other happily. "And Nathan?"
"I never saw him," Kazan replied, and winked.
"Oh thank you, One-chan!" Kita squealed. She gave her a grateful hug.
"I haven't been called that in years," laughed Kazan. Hugging was still a little awkward, but she would get used to it. "I just have one more thing. If it's okay with him, I'd like for Lappie to come live with me. I don't share my room with anyone, and... it can get lonely."
"Oh, sure. Sure!" Kita went to her room and opened the door for Kazan.
At first, Makoto reacted badly to Kazan's presence, tensing up and glaring at her, but then Kita explained the situation.
"I'm sorry I acted like that," Kazan apologized. "But I'm going to attempt to be nicer."
"It's okay," Makoto replied, trying to smile.
She turned to where Lappie was lying on Kita's bed. "Lappie, would you like to come live with me? I don't share my room with anyone, so there's lots of space."
The dog lifted his head off the bed. "Of course, my dear."
"Hey, that'll work out great; Kita's afraid of him anyway," Makoto commented.
Kita sweatdropped.
Kazan took Lappie to her dorm room to show him around. She noticed that Tara had come to her doorway and was standing there, waiting to be invited in.
"Hi, come on in," she said.
"Hey." Tara stepped into the room. "I just wanted to say thanks for letting my brother stay. That'll be a real relief to our aunt and uncle; they didn't like the idea of him staying alone in a hotel in a foreign country."
"No problem. I figure it's important for him to be here, being a member of our team and all." Kazan paused, watching Lappie munch on the dog food she had laid out for him. "Don't worry, your brother will come around. He can't stay mad forever."
"I guess. Nathan's pretty good at holding those grudges. But you might be right." Tara let out a sigh. "The truth is, I didn't show up to fight with you guys because I was on the Earth's Moon at the time, and Queen Serenity made me promise I wouldn't go home to join the battle. She didn't want me to die; I think she saw some of her daughter in me. So I promised I would go down into the stronghold with Princess Serenity. But just then, Metallia attacked, and I was killed anyway." Shrugging, she fidgeted sheepishly.
"I see. Your brother would understand that, if he'd only listen."
"I guess."
Kazan pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged her knees loosely. "You know, for some reason, I remember your Talisman looking a little different."
This took Tara by surprise. "Really?"
"Yes. The bowl was wider. I guess my memories are a little off."
"Huh." Tara couldn't explain it, but it was curious. "Well, I guess I better be getting back to my room, see if I can get my brother to take his fingers out of his ears."
"Tara?"
"Uh huh?"
"I don't tell a lot of people this, but you mentioned the white streaks in my hair..." Kazan touched one of her braids. "They're not fake. They started growing in within a few weeks of... of my dad's crime. I just figured they were a part of me, so I didn't try to dye them out." She shrugged.
"Ohhh... Your sister had a big shock of white hair too..." Now Tara felt horrible for the comment she'd made earlier that day. They weren't fake white streaks, they were side effects of the mental stress of one's own father going on a killing spree. "I'm sorry for making fun of your braids."
"It's okay."
There were several moments of silence between them. "So... you wanna go out with us to a movie tonight?"
Kazan couldn't help but smile. Maybe she would have those friends she longed for after all. "Sure."
A humongous sweatdrop obscured the faces of Sailorarsenic, Princess Helenia, and Baby Baby Love as they watched their leader throw a hissy fit on the floor in front of them. Sailordarkcosmos pounded her fists and feet against the ground, laying on her stomach, and screamed, "I asked for one little thing and you couldn't even get it but I want it I want it I want it ahhhhhhhh!"
Rolling her eyes, Baby Baby Love sighed, "Would you act your age, dummy?"
"But you didn't bring back the Talisman I wanted!"
"At least I got one Elemental Shield." Baby Baby Love held up the Chromium Shield.
"But you let the other one get away!"
"Something is better than nothing. Those damn Galileons and the others outnumbered us. This was the best we could do under the circumstances," Baby Baby Love explained, as if it was just tough that Sailordarkcosmos wanted them to do better.
"Your best isn't good enough! At this rate, I'll never get my machine built." She started to bawl. "Waaaaaaaaaaah!"
Adam stumbled into the group of girls, clutching desperately at their clothes. "My power is gone. All my power, all gone. How can I go home to my followers when I can't perform any miracles?"
Baby Baby Love shrugged; she was sick of his whining and really didn't care about his problems.
Adam fell to his knees in front of Sailordarkcosmos. "When will my power come back?"
With another annoyed sigh, Baby Baby Love cut in, "Were you at the same fight I was? Sailorhathor sucked the power right out of your blood. It's gone."
"How do I get it back?!"
Sailordarkcosmos pouted, slumping on her throne. "You don't. Too bad, so sad. Sucks to be you."
"No! I have to have it back! You've got to give me some power to take home with me!" Adam demanded. "You've got this mighty Pearl thingie here. It has enough power for both of us, doesn't it?" He reached for the Dark Pearl.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," Darkcosmos grumbled.
Of course Adam didn't listen, and grabbed the Dark Pearl with both hands. He immediately screamed and was consumed in a blast of black flames. Nothing was left of him but ash.
"I tried to tell him," Sailordarkcosmos sighed, rolling her eyes. "No mere human can touch the Dark Pearl. It's too powerful."
Darkmercury and Darkvenus entered the shadows the others occupied. Sailordarkvenus fanned the air in front of her nose. "Did someone cook a frog in here?"
"Yes," Darkcosmos replied dryly.
"So you didn't get your Dragonfly?"
"No," Darkcosmos pouted, glaring at the others.
"That's too bad." Sailordarkmercury took out her pocket computer. "I may have some news that will make you feel better. I've analyzed the energy coming from a local cyber cafe, and it's definitely of magical origin. There is a powerful senshi base located there, I believe. Is it alright if Darkvenus and I capture this base for you, and pillage it for all it's worth?"
"By all means." Sailordarkcosmos looked at Baby Baby Love. "I believe it's your turn, since my last lackey failed."
Darkvenus smiled ferally. "This is a job for Codename: Sailor DarkV."
"A lone ninja moves stealthily along the wall, preparing to strike. She crouches low to the ground... and delivers the kiss of death! I am the Mistletoe Ninja!"
"The What-toe What?"
"Prepare to receive the kiss of death!"
"You kiss me and I'll tickle you 'til you pee."
"Hey, what's behind this door? Some kind of command center? What is Central Control?"
"I don't know, but the Mistletoe Ninja shall defend it. MmmmmmmWA!"
Sailormoon Dark Episode 28: Cyber Cafe Ninjas? Sailor DarkV's Game Endless. The moonlight carries the message of love.
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On to Episode 28: Cyber Cafe Ninjas? Sailor DarkV's Game Endless.