/^\ __________________/ \__________________ / \ / \ / ____ _ __ ____ \ / /___ / \/ / /__ \ / ____/ ailor / / oon /____ ternity \ \ / \ A series by Lucas Bates / \ Based on the show by Naoko Takeuchi / \ / \__________________ __________________/ \ / \ / /--------------------------\ / EPISODE 4: \ < > \ A Calculated Risk / \--------------------------/ "This is not good. This is not good at all." The Queen was pacing across the platform where her throne was. Again. She hadn't been able to stay in one place since the Sailor Senshi's return. In front of the platform, waiting patiently for their Queen to decide something, stood the eight Sailor Senshi of their dimension. "What shall we do about this, my Queen?" Sailor Jupiter asked. Queen Serenity stopped abruptly, and an evil grin formed on her face. "I believe I have an idea. Sailor Mars, how many of the youmas are left?" A black-haired girl with a severe expression stepped forward and bowed in respect. "Enough to level the city of Tokyo, if necessary. However, it seems that the Sailor Senshi are capable of repelling our forces with a greater ease. I believe that we shouldn't rely on our youma forces for much longer. Instead, I recommend that we supplement the youmas soon with our own Wraiths." "Oh? Why is that?" The Queen looked down at Sailor Mars with a condescending gaze. "Because, my Queen, the youmas we captured are nowhere near as powerful as the Wraiths." "Good. I accept that recommendation. See to it after. Now, I will have a special assignment for all of you. Since it seems we cannot rely on the youmas to help with our plan, I am sending the eight of you to their dimension. Once there, you will spy on them, collect energy from the citizens of Tokyo as you see necessary, and prepare the attacks on Tokyo. Also, I want to find out what they plan to do next. You are their alternate selves. You know each of your counterparts better than you know anyone else; use that to your advantage. We need to find out how they got their powers back, and I'm think they are searching for the Eternity Crystal, if they have not already found it." "Queen Serenity," Sailor Saturn said. "I lack a counterpart in their dimension. Should I still go?" Serenity pondered it for a moment. "Yes, although be prepared to return at any time. I may require your presence later." "As you wish, my Queen." Serenity directed her gaze to the blue-haired Senshi. "Sailor Mercury. begin producing some more new Wraiths, then prepare the Portal for dimensional travel. Once in their dimension, you will assume their common form, and search the city. Report immediately if you discover anything of use. Go." The eight Senshi bowed their heads in respect and said "Yes, my Queen" in unison, then left. -**- Meiou Setsuna sipped her tea. It was your typical boring afternoon, with absolutely nothing to do. When these afternoons came along, Setsuna was sometimes content to just sit in her favorite booth in her favorite cafe and sip her tea, and contemplate things. However, the new threat presented by the Moon Empire made her restless. She found that it was hard to stay in one place. She felt she needed to be doing something, anything. Of course, she had control over time. Setsuna could do almost anything. She wouldn't of course, for it would go against her morals. As Sailor Pluto, she didn't use her control over time often, only when necessary. And Setsuna hardly deemed this time necessary. She looked outside, and saw a motorcycle pull up, but with only a single person on it. It had to be Haruka. The person took off the helmet and confirmed Setsuna's guess. But where was Michiru? She usually came with Haruka. The blonde-haired Ten'ou Haruka walked into the cafe and sat down across from Setsuna. She put her helmet on the seat beside her. "You're restless, aren't you?" Haruka asked quietly. Setsuna nodded. "I have an urge to go out and actually do something, rather than sit here and wait for the Empire's forces to come to us first." "You're not the only one, then, Setsuna-san. I got so restless I thought taking my motorcycle out for a while might help calm me down. After a few minutes I discovered I was wrong." "Where's Michiru-san?" "She wanted to get her mind off this problem, so she's painting. I can't believe how she can just sit there like that, calmly, ignoring the problem we're facing." "Come on now, Haruka. Different strokes for different folks. We each have our own way of unwinding... Michiru decided to express her feelings in a painting," Setsuna replied. "I suppose you're right. It's really bothering me though. It's almost... Disturbing." "I can understand. But I have a feeling that we might get our opportunity soon. However long it takes us to find these stones-" "Which might be a very long time," Haruka interrupted. "Or it might not. Haruka-san, you have to learn patience. It's bothering us all. Even Usagi-chan and the others are bothered by it, but they are being patient. It's a good thing to have." "I don't know, Setsuna. I might be the first to search for one of the stones, just so I can be doing something." "We'll be deciding that later tonight. Usagi-chan and Luna planned a meeting at Rei's temple at midnight." "I guess so. I've got to do something for now. I might go run around the track a few times," Haruka said. "Whatever you feel a need to do." Haruka got up out of the booth. "See you later." "Good-bye, Haruka-san." Setsuna watched Haruka get on the bike and drive away. Setsuna thought some more. It was way too quiet, she thought. The Empire didn't seem to be doing anything, but she had learned never to assume anything. Even so, Setsuna got an odd feeling, like time had stopped... The last time she had this feeling was when the Ice Princess had started trying to freeze Earth. Something was up with the Empire. Call it instinct, call it intuition. She needed to speak with someone about it. The best person she knew to talk to was Rei. Now the feeling was increasing... Time was being disrupted somehow. She jumped up out of her seat, and Setsuna left some money with the cashier. Then she headed towards the temple. -**- Hino Rei stopped sweeping for a moment and gazed up at the sky. It was a beautiful day, and people were enjoying it as much as they could. Everyone that is, except Rei and her fellow Senshi. She had found it very hard to concentrate on anything that morning. She kept hoping that midnight would come sooner. But, time always went slowly when you were anxious about something. Rei sighed, and continued her sweeping, not noticing the approach of Mizuno Ami. In fact, when Ami tapped her on the shoulder, Rei spun around and grabbed Ami's wrist. "Sorry, Ami-chan. I didn't hear you walk up." "It's all right. I should have said something." "What are you doing here? The meeting isn't until tonight." Rei resumed her dutiful sweeping of the ground. "I was feeling a little unsettled, and I hoped you wouldn't mind a little company for a while." "Sure," Rei said. "It's no problem. Let me just finish sweeping here and we can go inside and get something to drink." The two girls continued talking for a few minutes, mostly about nothing, since they were too bothered by the Moon Empire threat to do anything else. Rei finished her sweeping, and the girls went into Rei's room. Rei left for a minute to get them something to drink. "Have you seen Usagi-chan today?" Rei asked. "No... I even stopped by the game center earlier. She wasn't there. I really don't know where she could be." "Maybe she, Mako-chan and Minako-chan went to the mall. They might br trying to get their minds off of, well, you know..." Ami nodded. "It's possible. I imagine Chibi-Usa-chan is probably with them. I doubt it's as much of a concern for her. After all, she doesn't have a double that's out to get us." It was at that moment Rei's face paled. "What's the matter, Rei-chan?" Ami asked, full of concern for her friend. "Damn... They're coming, Ami-chan." Rei jumped up and ran outside, Ami following. Rei looked around. She was searching for some sign, although Ami couldn't tell what. She did have a fear, though, that Rei was predicting the arrival of the Empire's forces. To justify her fears, her computer began shrieking madly. Ami took it out and examined the screen. "Rei-chan, you're right! I'm reading a large energy field forming around-" she tapped on her keyboard. "Around-" She frowned and touched more keys. "I can't say where, but it's big enough to transport up to ten people." Rei began to panic. "Ami-chan, we have to tell the others!" "I know. Calm down." Rei closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and let it out. "You're right. I've got to keep calm." "Rei-chan! Ami-chan!" The two girls whirled around to see Setsuna running up the steps. "Setsuna-san!" Ami said. "What's wrong?" "The Empire," she said. Then Setsuna looked at Rei, who still seemed unnerved by her premonition. "You felt it too, didn't you Rei?" Rei nodded slowly. "How did you know?" "I'm not sure... I've felt time disrupted. I don't know why I've never felt it before." "I think I know," Ami said. Rei and Setsuna turned to look at her. "The amount of energy used to open a portal of the size they just used is phenomenal. When they open the portal, it disrupts time. The portals they have used before are too small for you to notice." Setsuna turned and looked around like Rei did. "They're here, then... What should we do?" "That depends," Rei said. "Do they have any youmas with them?" Ami touched her computer. "I can't detect any in the city. I'm sorry." "It's not your fault... But we need to start the meeting sooner now. This is definitely a problem," Rei concluded, and pulled out her communicator. "Usagi... Makoto, Minako, someone answer!" Makoto's face appeared on the small screen. "What is it, Rei-chan? We're out shopping right now." "Who are you with?" "Usagi, Minako, and Chibi-Usa." "Mako-chan, get out of there right now and meet us... Down by the docks where we met Minako. I'll explain later. When we see you, I'll say 'Sailor V' and you will say 'is one of us.' Got it?" Makoto looked at Rei oddly. "Sure... We'll be there as soon as possible." Her face vanished, and Rei closed the device. "Setsuna-san, let's go get Haruka and Michiru. We have to hurry, too." Setsuna nodded, and the three of them ran off. -**- About an hour later, Setsuna, Haruka, Michiru, Rei, and Ami were waiting in an alley near where Minako had made her introduction to them. Ami was busy on her computer, and the rest of them were quietly waiting. "Someone's coming," Ami whispered. The five of them got into a defensive stance as they heard the sound of footsteps. Rei looked out, and saw the four missing Senshi walk in, with Luna sitting on Usagi's shoulders and Artemis draped over Minako's. They breathed a sigh of relief, but Rei said "They may be our counterparts. We have to wait for them to give the countersign. Wait here." Rei stepped out into the open, and Usagi stormed over to her. "Why'd you drag us out of the mall? We were having fun!" Rei ignored her, and looked at Makoto. "Sailor V." Minako gave Rei an odd look. Makoto rolled her eyes. "Is one of us. Now why the hell did you drag us out here?" Rei looked back at the alley. "It's all right, you can come out." Ami, Setsuna, Haruka and Michiru walked out. "You still haven't answered my question, Rei-chan," Makoto said. "Sorry. I had to be sure you are who you are." She took a deep breath. "About an hour ago, I had a premonition of the Empire's forces arriving. Then Ami's computer detected a large dimensional portal. They're here." "Okay, they're here," Minako said. "Why couldn't we meet at the temple? It's a lot closer." "Because it's safe to assume that they know about all our homes," Luna said. "They could easily look for us anywhere. Good thinking about meeting us here, Rei." Rei nodded. "Usagi, sometime soon you'll have to warn Mamoru-san. We need to develop some kind of sign/countersign so we can be sure that we aren't talking with one of our counterparts." "Agreed," Artemis said. "How about 'Queen to King's Rook 3' and 'Bishop to Queen's Knight 4' for our signals?" Ami suggested. "Good one, Ami-chan," Minako approved. "But what if your alternate self figures out the countersign?" "Actually, there's no way she could. I came up with that from a game of chess I played with Usagi a few weeks ago. Her move was suicidal; no one would ever move like that based on the game we played. It's a random signal." "Sounds good," Luna stated. "Any objections?" No one said anything. "All right, now the next problem; who's going first?" "I will," Rei said. "I feel ready to take on whatever quest I have." Again, no one said anything. "I know the rest of you want to get this over with," Rei continued, "but if something comes up immediately, I know you can do without me." "If we're all going one at a time," Haruka interjected, "then that's the case for each of us." "Okay, then humor me." "It is all right with me," Michiru said. The rest of them agreed. Rei nodded and smiled. "Thanks. I'll be back soon, then." She held her arm with the bracelet on it up in the air. "Eternity Quest!!" The Fire Bracelet glittered, and glowed with a red light. A silver sparkle erupted from the bracelet and enveloped Rei. The silver lights flashed then faded, leaving an empty space where Rei had been. They all looked at each other again. "Ami-chan," Makoto said, "did you get any idea at all where the portal appeared?" "No. It was too large. It would have to be a secluded area though, because no one would be able to miss seeing such a large rip in reality." There was an abrupt BANG from the sky. The eight girls looked up, only to see a strange creature flying around in the sky, heading for what they guessed was downtown. "Where did that come from?" Setsuna asked. "Northeast. I can't get a specific location, because it's flying erratically. It's headed in the direction of the downtown area. We'd better go investigate." "Let's go," Michiru said. Another BANG followed, along with another flying creature. Ami sighed. "Let's split up." -**- Sailor Venus giggled. It wasn't her nature to do it so much, but then again she was one of the generals of the Imperial Army, so she didn't have the opportunity to do it. She was laughing because they had come up with a nearly foolproof plan to trap their counterparts. The eight Sailor Senshi had set up base in an old abandoned warehouse near a forest. They had at their disposal two cars, brought with them from their home dimension. Sailor Mercury had developed new Wraiths, which were currently flying to the downtown area, and one would then turn west to the outskirts of the city. Sailors Saturn, Pluto, Uranus, Venus, and Mars were waiting there for some of their alternate selves to come, for they would surely split up. Sailors Neptune, Mercury, and Jupiter were waiting back at their base. When their counterparts approached, they would assault and trap them. Of course, it wasn't exactly what Queen Serenity wanted, but she had approved of the plan. After they had captured some of them, they would get everything they knew from them, and then erase the memory of the entire experience. No one would know, and that was the beauty of it. -**- A silver sparkle in a forest grove vanished, leaving Hino Rei to accomplish her mission. Whatever that may be. Rei looked around. There was what looked to be a freshwater stream running a few yards away. There were plenty of trees around her. Other than that, there seemed to be nothing. Rei walked over to the stream and sat down beside it. She looked into the water and saw her reflection. Nothing seemed odd about it. Rei took a deep breath and smelled something. The odor was pleasant, and she identified it as a small fire. There had to be a small cottage or something around here. She stood and decided to walk upstream. That was where a faint wind was blowing from, so the smell had to be coming from there. She walked for what seemed to be a few minutes, but she couldn't tell, before she reached the origin of the smoky smell. Rei was right, it was a cottage. She walked up to the wooden door and banged on it. "Coming!" came the voice from within. The door opened to reveal a woman in her early thirties. She had dark hair, and a friendly face. "Can I help you?" "Um, yes, actually. I was wondering if you could tell me where I could find a red stone." Rei felt absolutely foolish. "No, I'm sorry, there aren't any red stones around here, but I'm sure if you look hard enough, you might find one among the grey stones. Come on in, you must be tired." "Oh- thank you." Rei walked into a stately kitchen. The woman shut the door and went over to the fireplace. "I'm Natomi. Would you like a cup of tea...?" "Rei. And, yes, please." She smiled, and found a clean cup. Rei sat at the table as a small girl with a dog walked in. "Mommy, I'm thirsty." "Oh, hang on a second, Chi. I'm making some tea for our guest." The little blonde girl turned and looked at Rei. "Hi. I'm Chi, and this is Arf." Arf was a medium-sized brown dog. Rei smiled at the girl. "Hello Chi-chan, hello Arf. I'm Rei." Arf walked over to Rei and sniffed her then wagged his tail in approval. Rei petted him on the head. Chi sat down beside Rei as Natomi set down Rei's cup of tea and a glass of milk for her daughter. Natomi also sat down with a cup of tea. "So, Rei-chan, what brings you out to the middle of nowhere?" Natomi asked. "Oh, I'm... Looking for a special kind of stone for a... School project. I need it for an experiment." "I see. I hope you find it." "Thank you." They talked on for a couple of minutes as they finished their tea. Then Chi asked, "Mommy, can I go down to the stream?" "I don't know... I'm kind of busy right now," Natomi turned to Rei. "I don't like her wandering alone around out in the forest. There are some really dangerous creatures out there." "Well, why don't I take her? If you're busy, I'm not doing anything right now, and it will give me a chance to look around." Natomi smiled. "I'd appreciate that. Just take her down for a few minutes so she can wade in the water." "All right. Coming, Chi-chan?" Rei asked the little girl. "Yep!" "Arf," Natomi said, "stay here with me. Chi will be all right." Arf went and laid down in a corner of the room. "We'll be back soon, Natomi-san." Rei told her. "All right, have fun, and be careful, Chi!" -**- Rei and Chi got to the little stream. Chi took off her shoes and jumped into the water with a big splash. "I like coming down here," Chi told Rei. "I like wading in the water." "It looks like fun. It's a nice forest, too." "Why don't you come in?" Chi asked with big eyes. Rei grinned. "All right." She took off her shoes and joined Chi in the stream. The water was cool, and it felt good to have the water flowing over her feet. "What are the creatures your mother talked about, Chi?" Rei asked the girl. "They're really mean animals that bother us sometimes. Arf can usually scare them away, but sometimes we have to throw some torches at them." Rei frowned. "Where do they live?" "I don't know. Somewhere in this forest. They sometimes come at night, or even during the day. When they come, I run and hide in my closet. Mommy says it's safe in there." She nodded. They waded in the water for a little while. Chi splashed a little water on Rei, and Rei splashed a little water back at her. To be a child again, Rei thought. Suddenly, there was a loud scream in the direction of the house, followed by barking. Rei looked up in the direction of the house. She scrambled out of the water and slipped her shoes on. Chi got out too and also put her shoes on. They ran as fast as they could, although Chi fell behind a little every now and then. Rei eventually decided to carry her the rest of the way. They stopped just at the treeline of the forest and hid behind the largest tree they could find. Rei peeked around the trunk. She nearly screamed herself when she saw it. The creature looked to be a large lizard of some kind. It was slinking around the house, trying to get in. It stuck its arm in a window once or twice only to yank it back out. She could hear Arf barking. The creature disappeared around the side of the house, and Natomi ran out the door with a torch in her hand. Arf was still in the house, barking. Rei guessed that he was wherever the creature was. She held Chi back and waved around the trunk of the tree to Natomi. She ran over to them, and picked up Chi, who was quite frightened. "Rei-chan," Natomi said quietly. "We've got to get out of here. Nothing seems to drive this one off. Here, take the torch." She handed the stick of wood to Rei. "Come *on*, we have to go!" "Wait, Natomi-san. I think I can get rid of it for you." "What? How?" Rei was running a very large risk at this point. But, she couldn't tell how much the woman knew about life outside of the forest and in Tokyo, or if this place was even real. She decided to go ahead with it. She offered the torch back to Natomi. "Hold this for a minute, please." Natomi took it. "Stand back," Rei said. She took out the Fire Wand, and stepped back a few paces. "Mars Eternity Power, Make Up!" The wand pulsed briefly, and it erupted just like a volcano, spewing fiery lava. The lava flowed over Rei and as it did, it revealed her Sailor Senshi uniform. Natomi was wide-eyed. "You're Sailor Mars...." She nodded. "I'll take care of this thing. Can I have the torch back?" Natomi gave it to her. "Thanks," Rei told her, then ran around the tree. -**- The large lizard eventually found its way back to the front of the small cottage, and found Sailor Mars waiting for it. It growled- well, sort of. Rei couldn't tell what kind of noise it was. The thing decided to rush her. The last creature that did that ended up being hit by Sailor Venus' Stardust Spark Shower. Unfortunately, she wasn't around, so Rei threw the torch in its face. It shrieked in agony, then finally managed to get the torch off its face. It threw the torch off to the side- and Natomi's house was in the way, for that matter- and stalked Rei. "Oh damn," she muttered at both the torch and the creature. The fire from the torch was already spreading on her house, and there wasn't anything Rei could do to stop it until she had finished with the creature. With a determined look on her face, she pulled out one of her anti-evil scrolls. "Akuryou... TAISAN!" Rei launched the scroll at it, and hit its mark. The lizard froze. "Mars Flaming Mist!" Sailor Mars held her hands together and a dark sphere formed in front of them. A strange black mist fell from the sphere and headed towards the lizard. She waited until it was all around it. "Engulf!" The black mist exploded violently with a force that almost blew Rei back. After a few seconds of that, the fire faded (and lucky for her nothing else caught on fire) and the lizard was gone. She breathed a sigh of relief, but then remembered the fire in the cottage. It had spread rapidly, and was all over the house now. Natomi ran out from her hiding place, Chi still in her arms. "My house!" "I'm sorry, Natomi-san. The lizard threw the torch on it. There was nothing I could do." Natomi regarded it sadly. "It's all right. I appreciate you protecting us. Thank you." Chi, however, panicked. "Arf's still in there!" she cried. "Oh no!" Natomi said. "He didn't follow me and I didn't think to call him." "I'll go get him," Rei offered. "What? Are you nuts?" Natomi said, bewildered. "It's an inferno in there!" "Please, Natomi-san. I can rescue him. It's the least I can do for you after this accident." "Rei-chan, don't! You'll be burned alive in there!" "I'm going to do it," she said. Rei pulled off part of the bow on the back of her uniform, and ran off to the stream. She soaked it in the stream, and ran back to the house where Chi and Natomi were still standing. "I'll be fine," she assured Natomi. "I'll be back with Arf in no time." Rei put the soaked fabric over her mouth and ran into the blazing inferno that was once Natomi's house. She called the dog's name every minute or so, hoping for some sign as to where he was. After checking the entire first floor, she headed upstairs. There wasn't much on the second floor other than the two bedrooms. Arf wasn't in either. "Arf!" Rei called. Finally she heard a whimper from Chi's room. She ran in, and looked for the source. He wasn't anywhere she could see. Then Rei remembered what Chi had said. She hid in her closet when the creatures attacked. It had to be where Arf was hiding. Sure enough, the door was open a little. She had a hard time sliding the door over, and finally yanked it off. The brown dog was backed up against a corner. She leaned over and picked him up and ran out of the house. -**- "I hope she's all right," Chi said. Natomi hoped she was too. The girl was almost certainly asking to get hurt. She breathed a sigh of relief, however, when she saw Rei run out of the house with Arf in her arms. Rei set the dog down gently, and sat down herself. She inspected her uniform, and saw it was only singed. Natomi kneeled beside her. "You did it, Rei-chan. Are you all right?" Rei nodded. "I think so. I didn't breathe in a lot of smoke. I might be burned a little, but I'm all right." Chi was hugging the dog. "Thank you, Rei-chan!" She ran over to Rei and gave her a big hug. Even Arf stood and walked to Rei and licked her face. "No problem." Natomi stood. "You did well, Sailor Mars." Rei looked up at her. "Pardon?" "You've accomplished your quest. You risked your life to save the dog. That shows you have a good heart, and that you are worthy of receiving the Fire Stone." Chi and Arf had vanished, and Rei stood up to look for them. They were gone and Natomi's cottage was no longer on fire; it looked just as it did when she came. Natomi held out her hand. A golden light appeared above her palm and became solid. It was a small red jewel, glittering and glowing with a radiance all its own. Natomi dropped her arm, and the Stone floated over to Rei. Rei took the Stone from its place in midair, and laid it into the small groove in the bracelet. The Fire Stone fused with the golden bracelet and a wave of silver energy washed over Rei. As the energy faded, Rei looked down at her uniform. It was no longer singed in places. Her skirt was now three colors- white at the top, then a stripe of and orange-red color, then a deep red. The silver button on her bow had also changed- it was now red and the Mars Symbol was engraved in gold. "Sailor Mars, go back to your friends now. They require your help." Rei nodded. "Thank you." Natomi nodded, and said "Goodbye, Sailor Mars." She vanished. Rei wasn't sure how, but she knew exactly what to do now. She held her left arm up in the air with the bracelet on it. "Fire Stone, transport me back to my friends!" The Eternity Stone flashed, and a silver sparkle once again enveloped her. -**- "Moon Wand Banish!" The Moon Wand glowed as energy of different colors flowed from it. They struck the creature that Usagi and a couple others were fighting. The creature, which identified itself as a Wraith, writhed under the force of the energy. The pearly white wand stopped its flow of colors and the Wraith distorted then vanished with a cloud of smoke. Usagi sighed, then put away the wand. She looked back to Sailor Uranus, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Neptune. They too had relaxed. The fight was a tense one; the Wraith was surprisingly resistant to their powers. The Wraith itself was like any other monster they had fought, except it had a ghostly appearance. "We should go see how the others are doing, Sailor Moon," Sailor Neptune said. "If the Wraith they are fighting is as strong as this one, they might need the help." Sailor Moon nodded her agreement. "Let's go." -**- "Fatal Static Burst!" Sailor Jupiter yelled as she ran at the Wraith. Her hands were covered in a blue aura. She leapt into the air at the last minute and dove down onto the Wraith, hands ready to make contact. This Wraith seemed to be related to an electric eel somehow. It kept attacking with electricity. The Wraith tried to run away, but didn't get far enough before Makoto landed on him. The energy discharged, zapping the Wraith. Then the Wraith turned and shot a bolt of green electricity at Makoto. She was hit at point-blank range and flew a few metres across the field they were fighting in. "Stardust Spark Shower!" A league of small stars materialized around Sailor Venus, then flew off in a cone aimed right at the Wraith. It caught him off-guard, and tried to wave off the small exploding stars. After she finished her attack, Minako ran to Makoto to see if she was all right. Sailor Pluto lifted the Time Staff in the air. In a quiet voice, she said "Whispering Door." A diamond-shaped concentration of purple energy appeared in the head of the staff, and shot a bolt of the same energy at the Wraith. Faster than the last time, everyone could hear a rising whisper. A black portal opened up above the Wraith's head and black tentacles covered the terrified creature. The attack seemed to have a greater effect with fear. Pluto motioned to Sailor Chibi-Moon to proceed with her attack so they could keep the Wraith from doing anything else until the others arrived. Chibi-Usa had until now been dodging the Wraith's attacks. She took out her Star Wand, and yelled "Ribbon..." as ribbons grew from the wand. "Entanglement!" The ribbons flew towards the Wraith just as the black tentacles and black portal disappeared. They coiled around the Wraith like a snake would coil around its prey. The eel-like creature fell to the ground after trying to free itself. Sailor Pluto and Sailor Chibi-Moon ran to Sailor Venus. "How is she?" Setsuna asked. Venus was kneeling beside Jupiter. "She'll be all right, I think. She's just stunned." Makoto groaned, and tried to open her eyes. "What happened?" she asked weakly. "The Wraith," Sailor Chibi-Moon replied. She looked over to the monster and saw it rolling around on the ground trying to get free. She saw motion behind it. "Sailor Jupiter! Sailor Venus! Sailor Pluto! Sailor Chibi-Moon!" Came a voice from beyond the fallen Wraith. Sailor Venus squinted to see who was coming. "It's Sailor Moon and the others!" Makoto sat up, and Minako helped her stand. The four Senshi ran up to them with relief. "Sailor Moon," Sailor Pluto said. "Banish it quick." -**- "No!" Sailor Uranus yelled. "They came back too soon! We'll have to capture all of them now!" "We'll need reinforcements," Sailor Mars said. Sailor Saturn smiled. "Maybe not." She ran off. -**- "No problem," Sailor Moon said as she took out the Moon Wand. "Moon Wand-" She was interrupted by a voice calling from somewhere. "Now, Sailor Moon, that's not a nice thing to do. I'm not going to let you to that yet." A silhouette jumped down from a cliff by the field, ran across, and sliced the ribbons on the Wraith with some kind of bladed weapon. "It's-" Chibi-Usa gasped. "Sailor Saturn," Sailor Moon finished grimly. The Wraith jumped up immediately. It hovered in the air briefly, then dove at the Sailor Senshi, electricity flying. "Mercury Frosty Whirlwind!" Sailor Mercury sent a cyclone of snow at the Wraith. He faltered under the wind driving the snow, but kept on zapping. The alternate Sailor Saturn on the other hand, had called for backup. On the same cliff she had come from came four silhouettes. Just by the shape were they able to tell who it was. None of them had gotten a decent look at Sailor Saturn yet- the Wraith was keeping them busy and her face was covered in shadow. "Deliquescent Liquefication!" Sailor Neptune leveled a stream of water at the Wraith. She missed, because it was flying erratically above them. "Seismic Spikes!" Sailor Uranus yelled. Stalagmites appeared in the earth and flew at the Wraith. They struck him, and he went down hard. "Sailor Senshi," Sailor Saturn warned. "Don't even think about it. We have all of you covered. Try anything, and we will destroy you." "And what will you do?" Sailor Moon demanded. "We have the superior power. We can repel all of you." Just a little bluffing involved. The four figures standing on the cliff jumped and landed behind Sailor Saturn. No one could actually see any of them other than their silhouettes. There was a figure holding the Silence Glaive, one holding the Time Staff, a tall figure with short hair with her hands on her hips, a figure with long hair and high heels, and another long-haired figure with near high heels. The Wraith got up and floated over to them. "*We* have the superior power," Sailor Saturn told them. "Who outnumbers who?" The real Sailor Uranus asked. "Doesn't matter one bit, fools." Sailor Saturn chuckled. "Silence Glaive Blast!" There was a humming sound and she thrust the Glaive into the ground producing a massive shock wave towards the eight Senshi. They tumbled to the ground. She laughed mercilessly. "That's only a weak part of my own power, fools. I can demonstrate full power if you wish." Haruka quietly put her hands on the ground and made as if she was going to get up. "SEISMIC SPIKES!!" Her gloved hands glowed briefly and the ground started shaking even harder than when Saturn attacked. Spikes shot up around the other Senshi and the Wraith and they fell on them with loud screams of pain. In retaliation, the Wraith (who had been floating) shot bolts of electricity at them. Sailor Saturn attempted another attack, but stopped abruptly. Little fireballs were raining around the extradimensional Sailor Senshi. Some hit the Wraith, others grazed the evil Senshi. Everyone looked around for the source of the attack and found it on the same cliff where Sailor Saturn had come from. "I'd stop doing that if I were you," the figure said, arms crossed. "Called to action by a new presence, given new powers by a mysterious jewel, I am the new Sailor Mars!" Sailor Saturn had stood up. "What makes *you* so special?" "You seem to have a bad attitude problem," Rei said as she leapt down off the cliff. Her companions got their first look at her new uniform. "It's the power of this stone. Let me demonstrate again. Mars Blazing Hail!" Rei held her arms at an angle, and in between her hands over her head a cloud formed and spit fireballs out from it. The five shadows retreated a couple of feet back. "You haven't seen the last of us, Sailor Senshi. We'll be back." They faded out and so did the Wraith. "Did you miss me?" Rei asked. -**- "In any case," Luna told the Senshi at Rei's temple, "we're going to have to be extra careful. These new creatures of theirs are strong. Until we have all of the Eternity Stones, we will be vulnerable." "And don't I know it," Makoto mumbled. "We shouldn't worry," Haruka told them. "We can handle anything that they throw at us. We won't let them touch this dimension. We'll repel them." They all looked up at the sky, wondering what would happen to them next. -**- To be continued in Episode 5...