Sailor Moon: Shadows of the Eclipse 46

Usagi stood nervously with Naru, while around the corner Minako, disguised as Sailor Moon, fought of Pifite, the general who was probably responsible for the attack on the Hikawa shrine. Usagi gripped her brooch, prepared to join the fight. The odds were sorely stacked against Minako, and Usagi wasn't about to lose anyone else.

"I'm sorry, Naru-chan," Usagi apologized. "I need to join the fight."

Naru reached out and grabbed Usagi's arm tightly.

"Naru-chan!" Usagi objected.

"Usagi," she returned, not even bothering to question how she could join the fight, almost as if she'd known all along. "Just come back alive, okay?"

Usagi offered Naru a smile and a nod. With that Naru let go of her arm, and Usagi began the call. "Moon---"

"No need for that, princess." Saturnalius and Mercury rounded the corner. The two had been at the library a block away, running repeated analyses of data Mercury had been collecting with her mini computer over the last few days. The data had been inconclusive, though with an attack in progress, she could gather more data and prevent another explosion.

"Stay with Naru-chan," Mercury added, calling forth her visor with the twist of her earring. "It's imperative you two stay safe."

The two senshi rounded the corner to find 'Moon' fighting a losing battle. Her disguise had fallen as she dangled above the ground, Pifite's hand wrapped around her neck. A strange dark shadow began to emanate from Pifite's body.

"Shadows." Saturnalius narrowed her eyes. It was always shadows. The magical upgrade had practically armed her to the teeth, now looking like a cross between a samurai and a senshi had it not been for the copious amounts of pink hair in place of her blond. She wasn't quite accustomed to how much hair she now had and couldn't quite understand how Satsu had dealt with it every day.

Sounds of a motorcycle engine echoed down the street as Tuxedo Kamen arrived on the scene. As he approached, he twisted the bike sideways, skidding into Pifite, the impact throwing her down the street. Gracefully leaping from the bike, he caught Venus before she hit the ground.

"Those shadows," Mercury noted. "The energy signature is very similar to the scorch marks at the shrine." She too had experienced an upgrade, losing her sleeves and gaining a multilayer waistband connected by three latches similar to what she wore on the straps of her princess dress. Her visor had received an upgrade as well, capable of displaying more refined and detailed information at her command.

Pifite rose up, almost as if brought back to life by a sudden renewal spell, blue blood streaming down her face as she seethed at them. That man, he had the energy signature of a senshi yet looked nothing like them. She could feel that energy emanating off him as she helped Venus recover from the attack. Almost as if it weighed nothing at all, Pifite picked up the motorcycle and chucked it at him.

Tux quickly jumped out of the way, Venus still in his arms. Down the street, Saturnalius's quick reflexes kicked in, and she quickly pulled Mercury out of the way. The motorcycle collided with a wall further down the street. So much for that bike.

Venus finally took to her feet. Her disguise may have failed, but she'd also experienced an upgrade as well. Like the rest of the lunar senshi, her outfit now more resembled a senshi-fied version of her princess dress, taking on a golden orange hue with a multilayer skirt. Her waist band was layered with pearls, matching Moon's own band.

Her disguise as Moon served well, as it delayed Pifite enough to allow three allies to gather with her. How fortunate she'd been tailing Usagi and Naru too, else they'd be Shadow Galaxy food by now. "There's four of us now," Venus announced. "You won't stand a chance, Pifite!"

"Pi fight? Really?" Mercury frowned. Saturnalius rolled her eyes at the stupid pun of a name. 

"Enough!" Pifite hissed, her voice dropping from the usual sing-song to something a little more demonic. "No more games." Outstretching her arms, butterflies carrying the darkness of a galaxy began emanating from her body once more at a rather alarming rate. "Your energy will belong to the master." The butterflies began to merge together, forming a large bubble which began expanding so quickly it caught Tux and Venus by surprise, and they were quickly absorbed within it. "The legacy of the silver moon will end here."

"Dammit," Saturnalius frowned, crossing her arms in front of her, right arm to opposite shoulder, left to opposite hip. The bubble was approaching them quickly. "We have to stop that thing at all costs."

With a nod, Mercury summoned her harp to attack as well. While she couldn't combine her powers with Saturnalius as mirrors could do, they certainly could attack at the same time to create a powerful, potentially devastating offense.

"Purple Diamond Crash!"

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"

The two launched their attacks right before the bubble enveloped them. Somewhere within the bubble came the command "Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber!" and "Venus Rolling Heart Vibration!" They were still alive, yet their calls were very muffled as if they were shouting attacks into a pillow.

Outside the bubble, the world seemed to fall silent. She peered around the corner to see the massive shadow bubble enveloping most of the street. She no longer had a choice. She couldn't lose anyone else. "Moon Trinity Power, Make Up!"

Transforming, she rounded the corner to fight, summoning her staff. Naru peered around the corner to watch, impressed to actually see her best friend transform into the champion of justice. She had guessed right all this time. Now she silently wished that she return alive and not fall victim to this strange woman with blue blood.

The bubble expanded more and more, looking as if it were about to pop. Purple diamonds suddenly burst out one side, and Moon dove for Naru to protect her. The situation only grew worse as the bubble finally exploded with a deafening pop. Sailor Moon shielded Naru with her own body to protect her from the energy flowing sharply down the street, emitting a bright white light in an attempt to counteract whatever attack came their way. The energy sliced her arm, but she continued to hold onto Naru for dear life.

Something hit the street near her with a rather large thud, then proceeded to roll for a bit before coming to a stop next to the two huddled girls. "Saturnalius!"

The purple-clad senshi lay still on the sidewalk, cut up from the attack. Moon turned to find she was the only one who had survived. The other three were gone, as was Pifite. The ground was scorched in the same marking that had appeared at the Hikawa Shrine. Something lay in the center of the scorch marks, something slightly shiny. Moon paid it no mind as she released Naru and turned to Saturnalius.

"Saturnalius!" she shouted, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Saturnalius! Please wake up!" Tears streamed down her face. She doubled over, sobbing into her stomach. "Wake up! Please!" She began to emit a bright white light, the silver crystal reacting to her plea for help.

"Sailor Moon!?" Sailor Sun had arrived a bit too late with Jupiter in tow. "Oh god no." She spotted Saturnalius unconscious on the ground and around the corner was "Naru-san?"

Naru looked rather shook up. Fortunately she hadn't been caught in the attack and had only one scratch on her knee from the explosion energy. Sun took her in her arms, hoping to at least comfort her despite whatever she had just witnessed.

Saturnalius finally stirred, and she placed a hand on Moon's shoulder. "Stop crying, princess. I'm fine."

Jupiter and Sun sighed in relief. Something shining in the sunlight caught Jupiter's attention and she carefully stepped into the scorched area to retrieve it. Them, actually. "Sailor Moon!" she shouted out. "Look!"

Moon looked up, helping Saturnalius sit up with Naru and Sun offering a hand as well. "It's Mercury's computer and another tarot card," Moon noted as Jupiter brought the items over to the group.

"She must've dropped her computer," Saturnalius noted. "I thought I heard the sound of something dropping within the bubble." She held out her hand for the computer. "I can analyze the new data on there and see what we can learn about this bubble." She wasn't sure how she was the only one who survived, but she'd heard something and felt someone push her out. "There was also someone else there, but I couldn't tell who. It almost sounded like Jupitercouri."

Moon looked up and took the tarot card. "It's a card from her deck," Moon nodded, drying her eyes. It had the same border as before and showed a very particular drawing. This time, the card was the five of pentacles. Kasumi had told her the card appeared at the most trying points in one's journey. That certainly was accurate.

The card was an image of Sailor Moon holding 4 tarot cards. The cards were facing towards Moon so they weren't visible in the drawing. Moon was looking upward towards some sort of light source. While tears streamed down her cheeks, there was hope in her eyes. A tall building appeared in the background, decorated with neon lights in contrast to the starless night sky behind it.

Then it hit her. The first card was the magician. The second, the five of pentacles. They were in the exact same order as the tarot reading she'd received from Kasumi. "It is her. She's trying to send us a message. She's trying to tell us not to lose hope."