Hello, everyone. Here's my first attempt at an SM fan fic. What inspired me to write this? I was bored for one. For two, I was brainstorming with a friend one night on ideas for SM fics after seeing the first S uncut DVD, and this just sort of popped up. Within a day the entire plot, cast of characters, and most everything in the fic had written itself. After that, I just had to write it. The first two chapters were originally written as a single chapter. I later divided it into two chapters to make it easier to read, since an eight five kb chapter is rather hard to digest all at once. Keep that in mind though as you read. This takes place after Stars, though you really don't need to have seen it or Super S to understand this fic. I won't be involving the events of those two seasons except maybe a brief mention at one or two points and the powers that they gained within those seasons. Also, there will be no Chibi Usa in this fic. That's the only character I'm ruling out. Let's just say that if she were here, flamingos within three pages would probably eat her. That sums up my feelings on her character. Special thanks goes out to Davner, Bremmi, Makoto-, Strikestwice, Veggitto, Ssedrey, DarkSong, WillZ, Angie and any others I forgot for their help in pre-reading this fic. Sailor Moon is the property Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, Toei Douga, Mixx, Pioneer Entertainment and DiC, and ADV. All original characters and concepts are my own and belong to me. Who doesn't have some rights to the series? Yeesh. I wrote up a little subtitle versus dub guide for those who have only seen the dub before. I've kept the Japanese terminology to a minimum, leaving in only names and terms I felt should be kept. Sub vs Dub guide *note* This does not reflect accurate translations, but instead the words/names used in the Japanese version vs the English. Usagi = Serena/Bunny Rei = Raye Ami = Amy Makoto/Mako-chan = Lita Minako = Mina Mamoru = Darien Tuxedo Kamen = Tuxedo Mask Senshi = Scouts Hikawa Shrine = Cherry Hill Shrine Motoki = Andrew Explanation of Usako: Mamoru's pet name for Usagi. Explanation of -chan: Affectionate naming scheme used amongst friends or couples. Makoto has her friends call her "Mako-chan" for short, and Usagi calls Mamoru "Mamo- chan" as a term of affection. Please send all comments and criticisms to cav@wpi.edu . Welcome to a brand new Sailor Moon fan fic, Rifts! (Yawns) Joy. Come on, Rei! You should show more enthusiasm! Why should I care? Most fan fics out there are about you and Mamoru making babies and turning me into a demonic whore! (Holding script.) Actually, Usagi's barely in this. And Rei, you get a starring role! (Eyes light up.) Have my prayers been answered?! Hey! Wait a minute! What happened to my role?! We're not going to spoil that yet! Damn it! Enjoy the fic, folks! Wait a second! I haven't finished protesting! My contract guarantees... Sailor Moon - Rifts Chapter 1: Abducted! The Coming Storm! Usagi walked down the path towards Rei's house, thinking about how happy she was to be on summer break. Just thinking about vacation seemed to make all the information she had just absorbed in her classes slowly slip away. *Who really needed that much math, anyway?* she asked herself. While moving her thoughts over to other matters, she approached the house. Strangely, it seemed like the lights were off inside. She started looking from side to side in confusion, then looked down at her watch to check. *I can't be early.* Reaching around to slide the door open, Usagi expected the door to be locked. Instead, she was taken by surprise at how easy it opened. This caused her to fall forward with a startled cry. She expected to feel her face smack the floor, but instead felt herself fall into the arms of someone. "Surprise!" Usagi heard a number of voices cry out from the dark. The lights went on, and she looked up to see herself caught in the arms of her beloved Mamo-chan. Looking around, she saw her friends surrounding her, smiling. She looked up at Mamoru and smiled. "Happy birthday, Usako," Mamoru said, returning her smile. Usagi took a bite of her sixth piece of birthday cake as the party continued. "Yu mwuys widn't mave mu tu dis," she spoke as she simultaneously inhaled a piece of cake. "Well, " Minako chirped in. "We could wait for the party your parents will be throwing, but then Artemis and Luna couldn't join in." Luna and Artemis were sitting on the floor, sharing a plate of cake between the two of them. "So we ended up deciding to throw a party for you separately," Rei spoke next. "And of course Mako-chan volunteered to make all the food," Ami supplemented. Makoto blushed a bit. "It wasn't much really," she said as she took a bite of her cake. "Now don't be modest, Mako-chan," Usagi said as she cut herself another piece of the double-layered, chocolate frosted, white cake. She could never pass up on eating as much of Mako-chan's delicious food as she could, at any chance she had. It was a shame to have to slice it. Before it was cut up, there was a picture drawn of all the girls' heads on it, each in their respective Senshi color, along with a white-frosting Artemis, a black- frosted Luna, and a black-frosted Mamoru. The heads of the Senshi were near the top, with the words "Happy Birthday Usagi!" below them, and then the three remaining heads below that. "Yeah," Rei said with a mischievous grin. "Anyone who can feed Usagi deserves a medal," she said with a snicker. "You're so mean, Rei-chan!" Usagi squeaked as she buried her embarrassment in another large chunk of birthday cake. Mamoru took the opportunity to put his arm around Usagi. "We still have the best part to go." Usagi's eyes lit up. "You mean... There's another course?!" The group collectively facefaulted. Mamoru sat up after a moment and looked at his girlfriend with a nervous look. "No, presents." "Oh," Usagi said with a bit of disappointment as she finished off her seventh piece of cake. "Since we're not getting her away from the cake as long as there's any crumbs left," Rei jumped in. "We might as well bring the presents over here." Usagi thought for a moment about retorting her friend's remark, but then realized that this meant she could open presents and eat more food at the same time! All seemed right in the world. The others went off to grab their respective gifts from where they had been piled in the corner. When they returned, they sat back down and waited for Usagi to put the fork and plate down for some significant length of time before they started handing her the boxes. "You can open mine first," Rei said as she handed her a large rectangular box. Usagi took the large rectangular box from her and started by removing the card. Taking it out of the envelope, she read aloud to the others: "To Usagi, try not to get too fat or this won't fit... Rei..." She glared at the raven-haired girl who was grinning from ear to ear. She quickly began tearing off the wrapping, taking her anger out on it. The others sat back and waited as she finished unwrapping the gift, tossing the wrapping aside. Opening the box and unfolding the paper covering revealed a gorgeous silver dress. Usagi smiled, taking the dress out of the package, and allowed it to fall to the floor with its full length so that the others could see. She smiled brightly. "Thanks, Rei!" Rei smiled. "Well someone has to look out for your fashion needs." Usagi smiled as she put the dress back in the box. Despite Rei's cruelness sometimes, she did really care for her. She proceeded to open Makoto's present next, dinner for two at some fancy French restaurant she couldn't possibly hope to pronounce. Ami's followed; a couple of romantic music CDs. Luna and Artemis gave her a set of scented candles. It was Minako's gift that finally made her realize a pattern was forming. Opening the box, Usagi's face turned beet red. "Mi-na-ko!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, quickly slamming the cover of the box back on. Minako smiled. "If it's the wrong size, I can get it exchanged," she said with a wink. Usagi's jaw dropped and her face tensed up. "The... wrong... size..." Mamoru blinked. "What is it?" Usagi quickly shook off her expression and shoved the box to the side. She began to laugh nervously. "Nothing! Don't worry about it! It's um..." she tried to think quickly. "Well... something private..." The other girls all shot looks at Minako. "You... didn't." Makoto said flabbergasted. Minako looked at her and folded her arms. "And why not? Rei slapped her forehead and slumped into the couch. "I thought we already discussed 'that.'" Mamoru blinked, completely lost in the discussion. "She's seventeen now! It's not like she hasn't thought about 'that sort of thing' by now!" Usagi's face fell to one side. "Thought about... 'That?!'" Luna and Artemis looked at each other, and then back up at the girls, also completely in the dark on this. Ami simply blushed. "Oh my..." Usagi started to laugh nervously again. "Um... Mamo-chan... you're next," she stuttered, trying to change the subject. "Don't you think it's rude not to show everyone what Minako bought you?" he reprimanded her. Usagi startled. "No! It most certainly is not!" Minako smiled. "It's alright, Mamoru. You'll get to see it eventually," she said with a wink towards Usagi. Feeling like fainting, Usagi fell towards Mamoru and let her head fall into his lap. "Thanks a lot, Minako." "You're welcome!" she answered brightly. "It was hard to find something so petite, you know." Ami proceeded to smack Minako upside the head. "That's mean! Don't you know some women are sensitive about 'that subject?!'" Minako grinned like a Cheshire cat and whispered into Ami's ears. "Haven't sprouted yet either?" Ami proceeded to turn as red as a tomato. Mamoru looked down at her. "Well, if she says it's alright..." Reaching over to the table, he took a small box and handed it to the girl in his lap. "Happy birthday, Usako." Usagi bolted up, quickly grabbing the present from her love and opening the card with lightning speed. "To my dearest Usako, who grows more beautiful with each passing year. Love, Mamoru." She smiled at him before proceeding to open the small box. Tearing open the package, she found a small black fuzzy case. Usagi's eyes lit up as she opened it, revealing a gorgeous, and undoubtedly extremely expensive diamond ring. She turned with a surprised look, which turned into a smile, towards the man sitting next to her. "Oh, Mamo-chan. It's beautiful." As she turned the box in her hand, the others got a clear look at the ring. Their jaws collectively dropped. "That's..." Rei spoke first. "Expensive as hell!" Minako shouted out. Makoto lightly slapped Minako on the side of the face, causing the blonde to rub her cheek. "It's gorgeous, Usagi," Makoto smiled. "I wish I had a boyfriend to give me such wonderful gifts," she muttered while still maintaining the smile. Mamoru, meanwhile, took the ring out of the case and slipped it onto Usagi's finger. "I'm glad you like..." he started to say, but noticed Usagi's face had begun to contort. She looked like she was about ready to burst out crying. He turned his head to the side, where the other girls had instinctively pulled out umbrellas, including Artemis, who was shielding Luna with one gripped in his mouth and paws. He gulped and prepared for the worst, but was tackled by the blonde girl as she laid one hell of a kiss on him instead. In the process, her foot had managed to knock the box containing Minako's gift off of the table it was resting on and onto the floor, revealing white, lacey lingerie for anyone to see. Artemis's jaw dropped in shock as he saw it. Luna completely freaked. "Young lady, what the hell are you doing buying something like that for a child?! And where..." she started to lecture before Artemis could put his paws around Luna's mouth. He motioned with his head for Minako to pick up the box. Usagi seemed to not notice, and started to break away from the passionate kiss. Rei ran around the table and pressed Usagi's face back into Mamoru's lips, holding it there as she glared in the other direction. Minako and Makoto quickly shoved the contents back into the box. Letting go of the blonde's head, Rei let a sigh of relief out as she knelt on the floor. Usagi finally got off of Mamoru, letting him take in a breath of air. He was practically hyperventilating from the lack of oxygen. She looked down at the Shinto Priestess. "What were you..." she started to question Rei, who pointed towards Minako and Makoto, who were placing the box back onto the table. Usagi's looked at Rei with a fretful look, pointing towards the box. Rei smiled and nodded towards her. Usagi suddenly felt incredibly dizzy, and passed out on top of the man. Ami looked over the scene from where she was sitting, enjoying the party immensely. She picked up her plate and resumed eating a piece of cake. Arm-in-arm, Usagi and Mamoru walked down the path away from the Hikawa Shrine. The blonde's head rested on his shoulder as she became lost in her thoughts. Mamoru proceeded to ring out his shirt from all of her tears, which eventually came, while she wasn't looking. He then looked down at her with a smile. "It's so peaceful lately, isn't it?" "Don't jinx it," she said, not bothering to change her position. "It was so nice of everyone to do that. But..." she started to say. Mamoru paused in his walk. "Yes?" Usagi looked up at him with a bit of a worried expression. "It's... nothing." Makoto washed the empty cake tray in the sink. Just as they all predicted, Usagi had pretty much finished off half the cake herself. Perhaps one of her abilities she gained from being Sailor Moon that they didn't know about was to eat as much as she wanted and never gain a pound. *If only we could market that...* the tall girl thought to herself. "I still can't believe you did that," Makoto heard Rei yell from the other room. "And why not," Minako pouted. Makoto took the time to dry her hands and place the towel back where it belonged before walking back to the other room. She reached it to see Rei in a lecturing tone and stance. Minako had her arms folded, with a rather smug look on her face. Makoto thought the blonde was enjoying this immensely. "Why not?! You bought Usagi..." "Lingerie? Why not?" Minako inquired. "Why not?! We told you back when we were planning on what to get her to pick gifts that were going to be for a date! Not a brothel! You were told specifically not to get her something like that when you asked!" Minako started to laugh at this. "Oh come off it, Rei. Where do you think dates lead to with high school girls?" Rei turned beet red in response. "But..." Minako turned to glare at her. "But what? She's seventeen now. Most girls have already started having more intimate relationships with their boyfriends by now, and Usagi and Mamoru are closer than most couples. Hell, she's even probably legal in every place on the planet!" "Except the U.S.," Ami interjected. "Oh, please," Minako responded. The people in the U.S. are a bunch of stuck up prudes." Her eyes then looked up contemplating something. "Although, there are some cute ones. Like this one blonde I met..." Rei growled. "Could you keep your head in a discussion for more than thirty seconds before thinking about boys?" Minako shot a look at her. "You know what they say, Rei. 'The flower that blossoms last smells the worst.'" Luna blinked. Ami and Artemis groaned. Rei, on the other hand, started to fume. "It's 'the flower that blossoms last blossoms best,' you idiot! And it totally contradicts your entire argument!" Minako put a finger up to her head in a contemplative stance. "I could've sworn it was 'smells the worst.'" "I for one can't believe you girls think about those things at your age," Luna joined in the conversation. Minako hmmphed. "Luna, she's not a child anymore. None of us are." The entire group turned to face the speaker of those words. Makoto continued, "When we all met, we were still children, but, Minako's right." "Mako-chan, you can't..." Luna interrupted, but was motioned to stop by Makoto. "Usagi and Mamoru have been seeing each other for almost three years now. If they're ready to take their relationship to... 'That level' then why not?" The others all looked at her, attentive but lost in deep thought over her words. "We know they'll be married some day. How far is that day off? A week? A month? A year? It could be tomorrow. They were dating when she was in junior high school and he was a college student. Age obviously transcends their relationship. They're certainly old enough at this point. The fact that they waited this long surprises me." Rei looked up at Makoto, and then smiled. "I never thought of it like that." She turned towards Minako. "I guess I just didn't realize how much we've grown." Minako smiled at her. "It's all right. I guess we just haven't decided to admit to ourselves that we're growing up." She then started to laugh. "Not like she'll ever use it anyways. Usagi doesn't seem ready for that yet." "That said," Makoto said serenely. She then screamed out a battle cry and threw a plastic cup that had been sitting on the table at Minako, beaning her square in the forehead, and causing her to give a strange look of pain before collapsing to the ground. "You were supposed to run by all the presents through us! We all chipped in for these gifts together you know! How do you know that that was the best bargain?! Where did you buy it from anyways?! What's their return policy?! What kind of shopper are you?!" She continued to bark off questions towards the fallen girl. The others looked on nervously, learning a very important lesson at the moment. Usagi Tsukino stood in the front of her house smiling, waving to Mamoru as he sped off into the night on his motorcycle. It had been such a fun evening! *So why do I feel so weird?* she contemplated. She looked down at the bag that contained her gifts from the others. It was in there. She sighed to herself. "Why did you do something like that, Minako?" she whispered softly to night sky. It was so weird. So many thoughts had entered her head since she opened that gift. Seventeen. She was seventeen now. For some reason, Usagi just couldn't get that into her head. The last few years had seemed like a non-stop roller coaster. The thought of having grown so much just couldn't quite sink in. In a year she'd be applying to colleges. Mamoru had just finished college. He'd be starting a professional career now. He was a grown man. She'd be a grown woman very shortly. *Why do I still feel like a child?* she asked herself. She loved Mamoru with all her heart. Every kiss made her body tingle. Every moment with him made her feel warm and safe. Yet, to do that, to take it to the 'next level,' it... She closed her eyes solemnly. To do that, would be to become an adult. It would mean she would assume the responsibilities of an adult. She didn't want that yet. *Not yet... I'm just not ready yet, Mamo-chan. The others mean well. I know that date will be one of the best we've ever had. But I can't do what Minako asks me to.* Usagi fell to her knees. "I'm sorry, Mamo-chan! I don't want to be an adult yet!" she said aloud. She didn't notice her surroundings, which would prove to be an error. The wind started to kick up, muffling her wailing. Black energy began to swirl around her, growing taller and taller. The blonde stopped crying as she started to feel cold. She looked around her to see the black energy encasing her, now already as tall as she was while kneeling. She stood up quickly, but the black energy continued to rise. "Who's there?!" she panicked as it started to move towards her, encasing her. "Someone help!" she screamed as the saw the blackness forming a dome over her head. The light was almost gone. "Whoever you are, I won't let you do this!" Reaching down to her pocket, she took out her compact that contained the Imperium Silver Crystal. "Moon Eternal..." She started to pronounce, when the energy dome finished encasing her. Rei yawned as she finished getting ready for bed. *Well that was fun,* she thought to herself with a smile. Outside of the incident with Minako, it had been a totally enjoyable party. A more serious look replaced the smile on her face. Makoto's words echoed through her head again She looked into the mirror, then down at a group picture of her and the girls. "I can't believe how much time has passed." The girls in the picture were a group of immature, bright-eyed fourteen year olds who didn't have a clue about what they would face in the future. Now... Rei looked into the mirror. She ran her right hand along the contours of her face. "You've grown up and didn't even realize it," she said to herself. She breathed in deeply, and then replaced the serious look with a serene smile. "Now we need to just get you a boyfriend!" As she was about to go to bed for the night, she heard the phone ring. *Who's calling at this hour?* she thought as she walked towards the phone. Picking it up, she answered, "Hino residence." "Rei?" a concerned voice questioned over the phone. "Mrs. Tsukino?" Rei asked, recognizing the voice. "Can I help you?" "Actually," she started to speak. "I was wondering when you guys were going to be done over there." Rei blinked, not understanding the question. "Um... we finished hours ago." "That's strange," Ikuko continued. "Usagi still isn't back." The Shinto Priestess looked puzzled. "I don't understand how that's possible. Ma..." She started to say before she thought best not to mention to her mother that her daughter may be out late at night with a college student. "I think one of the others was walking home with her. I can give them a call and see if they know where she is. " "Thank you, Rei," Ikuko's voice said with a bit of worry. "Let me know what you find." "I'll call back in a few minutes," she said as she hung up the phone. *I hope those two aren't out gallivanting at this hour,* she thought to herself. Dialing in the number for Mamoru's house, she put the receiver up to her ear. There was a pair of rings before she got a response. "Hello," she heard him answer. "Mamoru, this is Rei." "Rei?" he asked with a puzzled tone. "What are you calling about?" "Do you know where Usagi is?" the raven-haired girl asked. "Yeah, I dropped her off at her house about an hour ago," he responded. Rei started to get worried. "That can't be... Usagi's mother just called saying she isn't back yet." There was silence on the other end of the receiver. "Then where is she?" he asked worriedly. Rei started to feel an awful sense of foreboding. "I don't like the sound of this. We better go out and look for her," she said. "I'll meet you at Usagi's place as soon as I can," Mamoru said before quickly hanging up the phone. Rei sighed for a moment, detecting that he was also concerned. "Guess I'm not the only one," she spoke before calling the first of the other girls. Rei ran towards the Tsukino residence as quickly as she could after contacting the others. This situation just didn't sound right at all, and knowing who she was... "Rei!" she heard Luna yell out at her as she turned the corner. The cat ran up to her. "Luna, what happened?!" she said as she knelt down to both look at her, and catch her breath. "I'm sorry, I wasn't with her." Luna turned her head in shame. "This is my fault." Rei patted the black cat on the head. "Let's figure out what happened before we start passing out the blame." After catching her breath, she stood up. "Were there any clues about what might've happened?" "Only that," Luna said, raising her paw and pointing towards something. Rei walked over to find the knocked over bag containing Usagi's gifts. Gritting her teeth, she felt despair enter her. "There's no way she would just leave her presents there like that," Rei briefed the others as they sat at the kitchen table in the Tsukino residence. "Which means..." Ikuko put down the pot of tea after pouring cups for everyone. Her face was filled with fear. "I know what you're going to say." "Mrs. Tsukino," Makoto quickly spoke, sitting up in her seat. The woman motioned with her hand to stop. "I... I can't believe someone would do such a thing... to..." The realization of what happened caused her to fall to her knees, crying. "My poor Usagi!" The girls looked at each other with solemn faces. The girls left the Tsukino residence very late into the evening. Mr. Tsukino said he would place a missing person's report with the police if Usagi didn't turn up by tomorrow. He then told them they should go home and get some rest. They looked like they had just left a funeral. There was nothing they could do while there, and none of them could voice the fear that kept climbing to the top of their thoughts. Finally, someone was able to speak up. "It must be some new enemy," Minako spoke softly. "Don't jump to conclusions," Ami jumped in. "It could've been a kidnapper. Or a rapist." "Well gee, Ami, that makes me feel a lot better!" Minako sarcastically said, scolding the blue-haired girl. "I'm sorry!" Ami yelled at her, barely fighting back tears. "I... I don't want to think about what's happened to her if..." Minako was taken back by her outburst. After a moment of being startled, she walked forward and wrapped her arms around the girl. "I'm sorry, Ami. We're just all upset right now." The girls turned when they heard a loud noise. Makoto was standing there with her head down, a nearby signpost lying on the ground with a rather large dent in it. "Damnit! Whoever did this..." "Makoto!" Luna yelled. "Get your head straight! You can't..." "Can't what?!" she snapped at her. "Stop it, all of you!" The group turned towards the direction of the scream, seeing Rei fuming from where she stood. "This isn't the time to be bickering amongst ourselves! What good will that do?!" Makoto turned her head away, both in resignation of defeat and in anger of being scolded. Luna simply lowered her head, still feeling responsible for the situation at hand. "We need to search for her," Minako said. "What we need is rest," Rei countered. "We're all tired and too angry to think straight right now. Searching for her in the dead of night without the slightest clue of where to look won't help." "No, it'll give the kidnappers more time to get away!" they heard a man yell at them. They all turned towards the direction of the voice to see Mamoru standing there. "I can't believe you Rei! You're thinking about sleeping at a time like this?!" Rei looked like she was about to explode. "And what's that supposed to mean?!" "It means you should be looking for her like Minako wants!" Mamoru scolded her. As he spoke, Minako turned towards Rei and stared at her. "Mamoru, I know you're upset..." Rei started to speak, trying to diffuse the situation. "Upset?!" He ran towards Rei, stopping right in front of her and staring directly into her eyes. "You're damn right I'm upset! And when I find who's done this..." Rei grabbed him by the ear and dragged his face down to her level. He yelped out as she did. "And this is why we need to go home and get some sleep! You're not thinking straight! If you want to help Usagi we'll wait until daylight when we can conduct a real search!" Mamoru pushed her away, nearly causing Rei to fall over. "I don't seem to recall you being in charge." Rei startled. "What... what do you mean?" "I don't follow your orders, and none of the others here do either," Mamoru said, crossing his arms. Rei looked at him hurt. "Mamoru Chiba... you... you jerk!" she yelled as she ran off from the group. Mamoru quickly realized he had gone overboard. "Wait, Rei!" he screamed after her. When Rei reached her house, she quickly ran to her bedroom, shut the door, and dropped to the floor. Burying her head in her knees, she started to cry uncontrollably. "Mamoru, you jerk! You're not the only one who cares about her you know!" The tears kept coming. No matter how hard she had tried to act strong earlier, she couldn't go back to that now. The tears didn't stop until some time after she fell asleep. The story was much the same for the other Senshi that night. Ami had gone home and cried herself to sleep on her bed. Minako found comfort in talking with Artemis. Makoto had decided to drown her worries in her cooking. She sighed to herself as she cut up the pan of brownies. "You want a brownie, Luna?" she asked the black cat, who was staying with her for the evening since Makoto didn't think it was right to leave her alone. "Yes, thank you, Mako-chan," she said as she sat on the floor of the main room of Makoto's apartment. It was rather weird to be sitting there. They didn't actually go to Makoto's place that often. Just as she remembered it, it was extremely well kept with various plant-life creating a rather eloquent, yet comfortable atmosphere. "I hope Rei's okay," she said worriedly as Makoto put a plate with a brownie on the floor for her. Makoto breathed in a sigh. "I can't believe Mamoru would say something like that. She was just trying to keep us from making a rash decision." She looked down at the ground. "Not that I helped much." "It's alright, Makoto!" Luna cried at her. "No it isn't," she said as she took her apron off. "I'm supposed to be the mature one for the group. I'm not supposed to lose my temper so easily." Luna finished chewing a bite of her brownie before responding. "You try harder then anyone else, Makoto. If Usagi tried that hard..." Luna stopped as she realized where her comment was going. "Oh god, Mako-chan what am I going to do if we can't find her?!" Luna said before breaking into tears. Makoto rushed over to her and picked her up in her arms, bringing her up to her shoulder and petting her on the back of her head. "It'll be all right, Luna," she said as she continued to soothingly stroke her hair. "We'll find her." After a moment, Makoto continued. "Until she comes back, Luna, who will take care of you?" she asked, trying to change the subject. Luna held back her tears and cleared her voice. "Um... well I guess whoever becomes the leader of the group in her place." Makoto smiled at her. "Well, maybe you'll get lucky and it'll be Minako." The thought of spending more time with Artemis definitely seemed appealing, but after a moment she caught the deeper meaning in the statement. "You mean, you don't think it'll be you?" The brown-haired girl started to laugh. "Me? I'm just a fighter, Luna. I'm no leader. Minako's got the experience, Rei's got the command, and Ami's got the brains. All I can do is throw large objects around, put holes in walls, and cook well. Those aren't qualifications for being the leader of the group." She put Luna down on the ground again. "No, I'll let the others figure it out. Right now..." she said as she started to walk back towards the kitchen. "Right now, I just want to hurt whoever did this." The group gathered at Rei's the next day, all looking absolutely miserable. It looked like nobody had gotten anything close to resembling a decent night's sleep. Rei entered the room with a pot of hot tea and started pouring cups for everyone. "Um... Rei," Minako started to say. "About last night..." "I'm fine," Rei said, with no emotion in her voice. "Okay..." Minako said as she took her cup of tea. Now did not seem to be a good time to ask questions. "Well... we got that night's sleep you wanted. Now what?" Rei finished pouring the tea and set the kettle down. "Now, we need to set up a search plan." Turning towards Ami, she continued, "Is there any chance you can locate her using the power source of the Imperium Silver Crystal?" Ami shook her head. "I already thought of that, but nothing has came up with any search pattern I tried. She's either far away from here, or..." "Or someone's jamming us," Artemis jumped in. "There's one other option," Ami said. "No," Artemis interjected. "Even if Usagi were dead the Imperium Silver Crystal cannot be so simply destroyed." "Well there's a pleasant thought," Rei said as she finished a sip of tea. "So where does that leave us?" "There isn't much to go on," Ami said. "I could conduct some scans of the area where Usagi disappeared and see what comes up." "That's a good place to start," Luna said. "I'll go with her. We can also arrange for me to be 'borrowed' for the time being by one of Usagi's distraught friends," she said with a wink. Minako glared at her. "You and Artemis had this set up already, didn't you?" Artemis blushed, but Luna gave her a cold stare. "Actually, as I told Makoto last night, I should be with whoever take's Usagi's place as the temporary leader of the Sailor Senshi." The others looked at each other with a serious look, except Rei who couldn't bring up her eyes to meet the others. "Well that would be advisable after the incident last night," she said. "So how do we decide?" Minako asked? "Well, Mako-chan's already said she doesn't want the job," Luna responded. "Cross me off the list too," Ami said. "I'm no good at decision making and that sort of thing." "Well that makes it easier to decide," Artemis stated. "I don't think there's any precedent though for such a decision. Rei, Minako: do either of you want to back down?" Minako quickly jumped in. "It's my duty to take over for Sailor Moon in times like this. As arms master for us I will gladly accept the responsibility." Luna rolled her eyes a bit. She knew Minako was probably trying to do her duty, but she didn't quite think Minako had the seriousness to lead the group. Then again, she was a step up from Usagi... "I want it too." "What?!" everyone collectively shouted at the raven-haired girl who had been practically silent up until this point. "I said, I want it too," Rei said, finally raising her head to meet the gaze of her comrades. "I think I have qualifications to lead the group, and..." "Now wait a minute!" Minako queried her. "You're not questioning my abilities are you?" "Absolutely not!" Rei shouted at her, her eyes turning as red as her namesake. "Not everything revolves around you, Minako!" "Girls!" Luna shouted, but apparently didn't get through to the pair. "You know it's my job to take over for her. I'm just trying to do my duty!" Minako said, looking at Rei with a stern gaze, while pointing a finger at herself for emphasis. Rei crossed her arms and looked away from her. "And is that supposed to mean we just blindly accept your lead? It takes more then just knowledge of combat to be a great leader. Maybe if you actually read a history book for once instead of obsessing over the boys in front of your seat in class, you'd know that!" Minako's face contorted until it grew into an almost ugly look. "This is just like you! You have to be the lead of everything, don't..." she spoke, but was interrupted when she heard the door slamming shut. "What the..." The group looked around for a moment, until they noticed something. "Where did Makoto go?" Ami asked. "Morons!" Makoto screamed at the top of her lungs, kicking a stone as she walked down the path. "And you!" she yelled, looking in the direction towards the trees. "Are you even still awake?" "Barely," Mamoru said as he walked out from behind a tree. "Find anything?" she asked. "Not a trace," he said with a sigh of defeat. Makoto smiled at him. "Well, there's still technically no leader... so..." Mamoru looked at her with a shocked expression. "Makoto, they'll be furious with you if you just run off!" "I don't care," Makoto said, shaking her fists with anger. "We need to do something, and I don't care about their petty fight about who gets to tell me when to transform and what not." She smiled at him. "You're not the only one who wants to find her. After all, nobody else appreciates my food as much as she does." Mamoru smiled at her. "Then let's go." "Not until you get a cup of coffee," the tall girl said with her hand on her side. "You look like absolute hell." He started to laugh. "I guess Rei's words held some truth." The two laughed as they walked down the path. Luna watched the two leaving and became worried. "This isn't good." Darkness filled the underground cavern, broken only from the glow of computer monitors and dim lighting. The damp, dry air could be extremely annoying, though the man typing on one of the computer consoles had gotten used to it. He was tall, standing just less than seven feet tall. To match this, his build was extremely muscular, that of a warrior more then a scientist. His neon-green eyes had no trouble seeing in the dim light. As he finished typing in a sequence on the keyboard, he ran a hand through his green hair, almost blue-green in color, and smiled. "The calculations should be complete." Another man came from around the corner, his eyes narrower, but the same neon- green color. He had a thin face and stood about six feet tall. His long dark green hair was tied in back in a ponytail. "The equipment has been fully tested and is functioning properly. Now we just need to try it out." The taller man smiled and started to laugh softly. "Magnificent. Then we can begin at any time." "At your word, M'lord," the shorter man bowed. The tall man looked up at the large structure on the other end of the room. From his console, the rest of the room was dug farther down so to give them more space in the forward area. At the far end of that room was a rather large crystal in the middle of two structures on the floor and ceiling. To either side ran small circular attachments to the wall. "It's time we began the game. Let us place our first pawn on the playing field." With that, he pushed a couple of keys on the console, and then ended the sequence by pressing a red button to his side. Electricity waves began to fly out from the circular objects lining the walls, directing their energy at the crystal structure. The loud hissing of the energy filled the room. The man looked on with a smile. "Yes, yes. Now, give me my first pawn." An energy beam flew out from the center of the crystal, halting in the recessed area between his console and the crystal. The hiss of the electricity stopped. In the area in the part of the room just below him, the energy had formed a circular orb. "It worked!" the scientist triumphantly exclaimed as he walked towards the taller man. "Yes, indeed," he said with a smile. "Kuroki, come here." A figure began to stir in the shadows behind the tall man. His figure was hard to make out in the darkness. The man knelt down. "Yes, M'lord." "Kuroki," the tall man said as he turned to face him. "You know what you are to do." "Which one is my target?" Kuroki asked. He turned halfway to hit a key on the console, causing it to display a holographic image between the two men of an area of the city. "This girl, Makoto Kino. She is the one known as Sailor Jupiter. The man with her you must recognize, of course." Kuroki stood. "I will do as you have asked." The energy ball that had formed in the middle of the room floated towards the upper area and stopped between the two men. The glow from the orb now lit up the room, allowing Kuroki's figure to be seen halfway in the darkness. He had short blonde hair and neon-green eyes like the others. He was a little over six feet tall, his build could not be told through his black armor, but he seemed to be rather well built. In his left hand, he held a large halberd. "Go," the tall man ordered. Kuroki turned and walked out of the room, the energy orb flying after him. The shorter man smiled. "This will be very interesting to watch." A triumphant laugh came out of the taller man for a few seconds. "This will be very entertaining." To be continued... Well that was it for chapter 1. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please send all comments and criticisms to cav@wpi.edu Omake! After being killed and resurrected over and over again, the Sailor Senshi start to take a rather liberal outlook on one of their comrades meeting their demise... Well I guess Usagi's dead again. Have to wait for her to be resurrected. *Sits down* Wonder how long it'll take this time? Um... guys... What? ... This is fan fic. Which means... *blinks* That... she's not going to be resurrected by some cheap plot device?! ... But... but... nobody actually *dies*... *falls into Makoto's arms crying* I mean... we've died at least twice so far... There, there. I'm sure Rei will be out of dream land soon enough... Bah they're worried about nothing. *Goes over to Usagi's corpse and kicks it* Resurrect already! I could be doing something useful! Like reading! Or beating Yuichirou up! I brought the chicken and the axe. I think this should do it! ... That's the lamest resurrection technique I've ever... Hey guys! That does it! The writers are obviously out of ideas! I'm getting my own show!