The Phoenix Chronicles Episode Six: Enter Sailor Magnus

Beginning Theme: Illusion.

Soichi Tomoe ate dinner with his daughter, and his assistant. He was a tall slender man with light blond hair. His wife had died a short time ago, and all he had left of her was his raven-haired daughter, Hotaru. He had been going with Kaori for a year now, and she even lived with him, and his daughter. Of course, Hotaru still didn't like her, and the only reason she put up with her was because of her father. Kaori felt the same way. It was he who kept them from going at each other’s throats, though not literally. For Soichi, the way they looked at each other at the dinner table was enough. Both of them were always locked in a stare contest, and both of them fully ready to pounce on each other. Perhaps that was why he always took care of his needs before eating.

His condominium has been designed in a western style, so he had the mahogany dinner table for six, and wooden finished chairs. As a result, they also ate in the western style.

"Hotaru, we’ll all be going to the lab tomorrow. Remember that egg daddy found?"

Hotaru nodded, and swallowed her peas, "You mean the space egg you took straight to school?"

"That’s right. You’ll finally get to see the space egg tomorrow." He almost laughed, and nodded. When he saw her dig into her peas excitedly, he did laugh, and when she looked at him, he just gave her a dismissive wave, and she smiled.

"Soichi-san, does that mean I’ll finally be acting as your assistant again, instead of your babysitter?"

"Kaori!"

"No, just hear me out. I’ve been living with you for a year, now. I understand how much you miss your wife, but I think it’s time you start to concentrate on your work instead of what goes on around here. Just hire a nanny. We have the money."

"Hotaru, and I have the money. Also, you’re the one who asked if you could help me after what happened. You kept at it for six months telling how much Hotaru needs a role model. You asked for six months when I would trust you enough to take care of my daughter. Now, I think I’ve been fairly reasonable. I love you, Kaori, but don’t make me choose between my daughter, and you. Especially not now, because I’m seriously having doubts as to whether or not we should keep seeing each other."

Kaori hung her head humbly, her long red hair falling about her face. Soichi couldn’t see the snarl she gave Hotaru, the hateful look in her eyes, and for the first time since they met, Hotaru was afraid of her. Then she saw her father turn to her, and she started eating again.

"Hotaru, swallow whatever your eating, and for put your fork and knife down for a moment." He asked of her, his face stern.

"Now, I know it’s been hard without your mom. But, I need you to listen to Kaori-"

"But daddy-"

"I’ve had a lot to do, Hotaru, and your arguing with Kaori doesn’t really help. I need you to help out a little, too." He softened when he saw her look down, too. He put a hand on her shoulder, and when she looked up, he nodded.

"You’re not mad at me, too, are you, daddy?" she asked softly.

"Of course, I’m not." He told her, bringing her into a hug.

"Okay, daddy." She said, sitting back in her seat.

"Now, listen up, both of you. Tomorrow, we are all going to the lab. I want you to act as if you were mother, and daughter because I need you to make a good impression for the headmaster, and his staff. You know how they are…very traditional. If they see I can’t even keep my family together, they will have serious doubts of my abilities."

"What does ‘serious doubt sobs your dabilities’ mean?" Hotaru asked, making him chuckle slightly.

He turned a smile her way, again, and said, "It means they won’t want daddy to work at their school, anymore, because I can’t even stop you and Kaori from fighting."

"Sorry, daddy."

"Just promise me you’ll be good." He asked, facing her as he rested his elbows on his knees. She smiled, and reached around her fathers neck.

----------------

Rei Ayanami sat outside the arcade, waiting for Mousse. She had been waiting outside, and decided to go in when she felt the wind pick up. She looked up at the sign above the doors.

"Crown Game Center," she whispered to herself. Then, she went in and sat down at one of the stools by the counter.

"Can I help you?" asked a tall guy, with short blond hair, wearing an apron.

"I’m just waiting for a friend."

"He might not be able to take you out of here once you get used to this place." He laughed. "Oh, sorry…My name is Andrew Marcus."

"I’m Rei Ayanami."

"That’s a cute name." He told her, smiling.

"It’s an uncommon name." She allowed.

He looked at her stupidly, not sure what to say next. Then, he put his hand behind his head, laughing nervously.

"Hey, Andrew, hitting on the cuties, again?" asked another guy from behind her, making her turn to face him. He almost looked just like the other, but this one had black hair, and he almost reminded her of Mousse, as well. She blushed at that thought, but he had mistaken it for a sign of vulnerability.

"Hey there, cutie."

"I have a name." She told him, looking away angrily.

"Her name’s Rei." Andrew filled him in.

"Ah, I see. My name’s Darien Clarke." The other told her.

"That’s good for you." she told him flatly, making Darien also give her that look, blinking stupidly. Then, he, too, put his hand behind his head, and laughed nervously.

"Are you two related?" she asked.

"No, why?" Darien asked, nervously.

"You certainly act as such." She told him angrilly.

"Hey, don’t be mad. Look, we just want to be your friends. That’s all. Andrew, and I kid around a lot, but we’re okay."

"Kid?" she repeated curiously.

"Yeah, you know? A joke?" he explained nervously.

"So, are we friends?" Andrew asked.

"Yes, I suppose."

"Cool." Darien told her.

"Would it be alright if I introduced you to my friend?" Rei asked them.

"Sure, just bring him by." Darien told her cheerfully.

"In the meantime, do you know how to play ‘House of the Dead?’ It’s a shooting game."

"I don’t like games." She told them.

"Well, let’s just start with grand-prix, then." Andrew told her, as he took her hand and guided her to one of the racing game seats.

Mousse walked by Furinken Community College, and he saw the most interesting sight he had seen in all his years. He saw a girl with long black hair. She wore a black sweater, and a pair of faded blue jeans. She was beating up what seemed to be all the boys in her class. He thought, {Very cute, but what a tomboy.}...Of course, he could sympathize with her. I mean, when she gets attacked, she’d have to defend herself, right? But what he saw was going over top. There were a bunch of unconscious boys stacked up on each other, and she still wasn’t finished. He looked at her for a moment longer, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. Even as he heard one of them groan, and another cry out, "We love you Akane Tendou!" just before he met her fist. Then, her newest victim flew high into the air, and landed on his faced. Mousse winced and, not able to stand it any longer, he went on his way. He walked along the streets of Tokyo two, and that was when he saw the Tokyo Tower, which had been fully restored. Mousse felt that the city commissioned officers should have worried about the soup kitchens, instead of spending all their time to restore some old relic.

That was when Mousse saw a white cat crawling on the street. He saw one of those rare Italian cars speeding down the street, and he jumped over the metal railing to get the cat. He leapt into the air, landed right next to the cat, held it to his chest, and leapt to the other sidewalk, just as the buggy sped by the spot where he stood only moments ago.

"You alright?" Mousse laughed.

"Yeah, thanks." The cat said, and immediately covered its mouth.

"You talked?" Mousse whispered. Then, he noticed the golden crescent moon on the cat’s forehead. It began to glow, and soon he saw his youth flash before his eyes. He saw his mother again, Shadow Wolf, the one they called Queen Beryl, the princely Malachite, the amazons, Yui, Ritsuko, Gendou, Maya, and the most recent face of Rei Ayanami. He was beginning to wish he had left the cat where he found it.

"Thanks for finding him!" he heard a girl call out. She had long blonde hair, which had been held back from her face by a bow.

"That’s an interesting cat."

"What do you mean?"

"He talked."

She grabbed his arm, and pulled him into a nearby alley.

"Hey, what is the matter with you? You shouldn’t be pulling strangers into an alley like that."

"I can take care of myself." She said, pulling a rounded golden blade from her bag. "Alright, who are you?"

"Hey, that’s what I want to know?"

"It’s alright Mina. It’s my fault. I thanked him." The cat said.

"At least he’s been a lot more polite than you."

"I thanked you, too."

"Then you pulled me into an alley, and pulled a knife out on me." Mousse sneered.

"Sorry." She told him, putting it away. "Well, Artemis, give him a rundown on our situation."

"Hey, I don’t want any of your problems. Especially if you need me to pull a knife out on someone." Mousse said, walking away. He felt Mina grasp his shoulder, and pull on it. He was able to brush it off, though and kept walking. "I need your help." She pleaded.

"I don’t do muggings." He snapped.

"Hey! Artemis, tell him something!"

"Dark forces are threatening to consume our world."

"And you need me to donate to the Young Vigilantes’ Fund, no thanks."

"You’re already involved." The cat shouted.

"That’s what I get for doing something nice." Mousse muttered.

"Listen, we’ve been fighting on our own for quite some time. We need you to help us. We can’t do this alone." Mina pleaded.

"Do what?"

"Fight for justice." Artemis told him with conviction.

"Okay, look. I’ve got a lot of papers to write, and a sociology test coming up. Just give me your card, and I’ll call you when finals are over." Mousse told him, sarcastically.

"Look, our enemy is extremely dangerous. We can’t do this alone." Artemis told him.

"You just said that." Mousse argued.

"Yeah, well, I mean it. There’s much more at stake than getting 1.0 average on your report card, college boy. This is serious. We’re talking world domination."

"Not interested." Mousse told him, about to walk off, again.

"I know who you are, Hikaru Masaki. I know about the thing that took you away from your home. They call themselves ‘The Dark Kingdom’, Hikaru. They took you away from your mother. Doesn’t that piss you off?"

He turned to face Artemis, his face angry. He looked at the white cat, resisting a strong urge to grab him. Then, he shrugged, and said, "If I help you, then you have to promise to let me handle the head of the Dark Kingdom, myself."

"No can do, partner. We all want a piece of her." Artemis told him.

"Then, forget it." Mousse replied.

"We’ll see what happens once we get there. Until then, do you have a TV?"

"A small one."

"Okay, we’ll keep in touch. If you need to contact me, just go to channel 3."

"Sure." Mousse said flatly.

"One more thing; take this." Artemis leapt into the air, and flipped, and while he flipped, a small portal appeared. Shortly after, a black rose appeared. "When you think you’re in a tight spot, hold that to your chest, and whisper, ‘Phoenix Power Transform’, got it?"

"Do I have to say something idiotic like, Falcon Blade, or something like that?"

"Hey, don’t make fun."

"Yeah, yeah," Mousse said, with dismissive tone, and then walking back into the street.

------------

Today, at the Infinity Academy Research Labs, Professor Tomoe was

showing his discovery. He brought Hotaru to the laboratory today. He had promised her he would take her to work with him, instead of leaving her with his assistant, Kaori.

Actually, she was also in the lab today. At this moment, he showed his colleagues the egg he had found in a large crater. It had been lying there, surrounded by some sort of red substance and he tried to pick it up with a shovel he had gotten from his jeep, but once the red substance touched the shovel, it began to melt through it. He had grabbed a jar and slid the egg into it.

It was now place in the center of the environmental adjustment machine, which he had been using to test the egg’s resilience to extreme temperatures. He had been testing its endurance to heat, cold, dryness, and humidity, all week. It had been amazing watching the egg melt the ice that surrounded it. It had been almost impossible to freeze, so he hypothesized that the egg had a general preference toward worm temperatures.

Kaori had seen the egg only once, and that was when he first brought it home. His daughter didn’t know about it until the next day. In that, Kaori felt pride that the egg was the one thing he had shared with her, not his daughter. It was the reason she stayed with him, despite all his talk of asking her to leave. Well, Kaori supposed she deserved it for showing hostility towards his daughter. It was only natural for a father.

Tomoe turned to face his colleagues, and began, "Here, before you is what appears to be a very delicate specimen I collect some weeks ago. It appears to be very fragile, but after extensive research, I have proven that the egg, you see before you, is actually quite resilient. It has proven to be very adaptable to variable conditions. We are looking at a new form of life, ladies and gentlemen. Perhaps, this is the first of sign of extra-terrestrial life we’ve seen."

While her father was saying all this, Hotaru leaned against the glass, which separated the observation bay from the testing facility in which the egg was placed. She looked at it a little more closely, and saw that it was beginning to react. "Daddy, what’s that?" she asked, making Tomoe look back at her, and whispered, "What?"

The egg began to glow unbearably, until it flashed brightly, making all but Tomoe raise their arms to shield their eyes. Tomoe ran for his daughter, but he knew it was too late. The equipment overloaded, and began to catch fire. Finally, all of it exploded, and the Hotaru, who had been closer it, was thrown across the lab, nearly breaking her little body. She whispered for her father through the smoke, trying to scream, but not having the strength. She died shortly after.

Kaori also lay on the floor. She called out for him too, but she somehow knew he wouldn’t come. She cried his name three times, and no reply came as she coughed violently enough for blood to fall from her mouth. She wanted to be with him when she died, but he wouldn’t come to her. She, too, died as she whispered his name.

Tomoe, who had been crawling around in the smoke, was bleeding from his right eye, which had been pierced by flying glass. He didn’t feel that. He was too frantic, searching for his daughter. Then, he saw her, lying on the floor, lifeless. "Hotaru?" he whispered fearfully, and then he cried out, "Hotaru!" he crawled over to her body, not caring how much it hurt him to move. He took his daughter into his arms, rocking her, and whispering to her softly, even though he knew she could not hear him, "Hang in there, Hotaru. It’s me. It’s daddy." He rocked her, trying not to cry because he wanted to be able to see his daughter. She wouldn’t stir, and finally he cried, "Oh God, why have you taken my Daughter Away?!"

"Do you want to help her?" asked a female Alien voice.

"What?" he asked as he looked up to see the egg floating in the air, still giving off that unbearable glow.

"I’ll help you, and your daughter, but I must have something from you in return." It told him.

"Whatever you want! I don’t care! Just help us!" he cried.

"I see. Well, then…I will now take your bodies as our own."

He could see that red substance ooze out of it, and form into a large white snake, with a head that looked like a pentagram, and before he could react, it slithered close to him, and dove into the socket where his right eye used to be. He couldn’t see a similar snake diving into his daughter’s mouth.

The building smoldered on the outside, and then and white flash glowed brightly, shattering all the windows. Within the building, Geramatoid, the thing that now occupied Tomoe’s body, used his voice to laugh maniacally. "Now!" it declared, "We can begin our true Mission! We will destroy the True Messiah, and make way for our Master!"

"Yes," said, Mistress Nine, using Hotaru’s voice, "But first we must find the Grail to draw him out. Once we destroy it, We shall destroy Him as well."

"Yes, my master."

--------------

Mousse felt a pain in his chest, something he had never felt before, except when that wolf had bitten him, nearly making him bleed to death. This was worse, though. He could not breath, and for a moment, he could not even see. He closed his eyes for a short time, but when he opened them, he did not see the city streets or the people that walked by. He saw the sky was shining a blood red as a wave, or what seemed to be a sphere of black energy, shattering everything in its path as it expanded. He wanted to tell the people to run, but they had all become statues, waiting for The Great Silence to take them for he swore, that despite all the shattering of concrete and asphalt, once it was swallowed up, he could hear nothing. Then, he saw the sphere expand towards the people in the street. They wouldn’t or couldn’t, move. They only waited for the wave to consume them, and then they shattered. Mousse felt the urge to charge in. For some reason, he did not fear it. Rather, he knew no one else could enter, and so he felt his dream-self, and after that he knew no more.

He felt someone grab him, and now he could see Rei, grabbing his arm.

"Where did you go to?"

"I’m not really sure."

"Hikaru?"

"Don’t worry about it so much, okay?"

She nodded, then asked, "Can we go to the game center?"

He felt the need to say something, "I didn’t think you liked games."

"Where did you get that idea?" she asked, tensely.

"You just didn’t seem like the type who liked games."

"I want to introduce you to some friends I just met."

"Who?"

"You’ll see."

He felt really good, having her hold his arm like that. He felt real. The dream still bothered him. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but he knew he would have to face it one day. {Face what? You couldn’t even see what you were dealing with once you went into that sphere.} he thought, angrily. Then, his head rang, and reached up to grab at his face, as if trying to pull something that had just been force into his mind. {SHE’S HERE!} his mind screamed.

"Hikaru?"

"Listen, Rei…"

"Come on, we’re almost there."

"I’m not feeling very well right now." He groaned.

"Andrew has a cot in the back. You can rest there."

He allowed her to pull him to the arcade, and he saw two guys take each of his arms, and take him to the back. He was relieved to lie down, and for the first time since he had left Hakone, he whispered Yui’s name.

When he woke up, and saw Rei’s face, and for one fleeting moment, he could’ve sworn it was Yui sitting next to him. She gave him a glass of water as the other two guys saw earlier helped him sit up.

"You okay, kid?" Darien asked.

"I’m not a kid," Mousse told him icily.

"Sorry, it’s just a figure of speech."

"Who are you guys?"

"Oh, that’s right. I’m Darien, that’s Andrew, and that’s Rei."

"I know that." Mousse bit out.

"Damn. Are you recovering from a hangover?" Andrew asked.

"I don’t even drink." Mousse sneered, looking at them angrily.

"Okay, dude. Okay." They said, waving their hands in front of them, trying to calm him down.

"I’m sorry, I really don’t mean to be rude." Mousse told them, and then he stood up, much to Rei’s dismay. He stood up straight, and when he tried to bow to the two, he fell over. The two caught him, and placed him back on the cot.

"Hey, just take it easy. Look, we’ll ask the questions. You just answer." Darien told him.

"What’s your name?" Andrew asked.

"I’m Hikaru Ten’ou, from the Clamp Academy." Mousse said, as Rei supported him. He looked at her, and nodded, signaling that he was all right. She shook her head.

"You go to Clamp Academy?" Andrew asked.

"We do, too." Darien said, slapping Mousse hard on the back, earning him a disapproving look from Rei.

After a while, the guys came out of the back, laughing and joking, while Rei stood by Mousse indifferently. She smiled when he looked to her, though. She wanted him to feel better. She didn’t know what had happened earlier, but she was glad he was feeling better now. They began to walk out of the arcade.

Akane Tendo, the girl Mousse had referred to as a tomboy earlier, stood by the window of the arcade. She peered in at the games, and groaned that she had no money, and worst, she held her last term paper, which had been on "The influence of Media on Society." The problem was that the research she did was meager, and all her points were based on trite. All in all, it was a bad paper. She knew when she turned it in, but she had been thinking about how to get pass the guys in the morning. She knew martial arts, but she was absolutely the worst procrastinator. She crumpled up the paper, and groaned, "I can’t show this to my sister, she’ll be ragging on me all week." And that was when she turned to walk on, as she tossed the paper over head.

It landed on Mousse’s head, and complained, "What the hell are you up to, you tomboy?"

"Who are you calling a ‘tomboy’, you jerk?" she began, as she spun around to face him, and that made her wish she hadn’t. "A 30. You should study a lot more, you tomboy." He teased her, and that made her, groan in embarrassment.

"Don’t you know how to do a research paper? Next time you should pick an easier subject." Rei commented.

"Who are you?" Akane asked, putting her fist to Rei’s face.

"That’s not your business, you imbecilic tomboy." Rei told her flatly.

"Why you!’

"Why am I what?" Rei asked, her expression bored.

"You can’t say that to me."

"It’s not my fault you can’t spell, either."

"Rei!" Mousse snapped, giving her a doubtful look.

"Hey, look! I don’t need this static from you!" Akane yelled, bringing out a large mallet, and screamed, "Take this!"

The mallet was about to hit Mousse on the head, but he stopped it with his hand, by pushing back the blunt end, and snapped, "Are a psycho, or something? What is the matter with you?"

"She has to be aggressive, for she has no other constructive way of showing her emotions." Rei commented, looking at Akane with disgust.

"You want a piece of this, too, Casper the Snobby ghost?" Akane asked, waving the mallet at her.

"The next stage of conflict for a primitive such as her is to resort to insulting." Rei said. This time, she smiled because she could see Akane turn red, as she held the mallet over her head like Thor’s Sister.

"Take that back!" Akane bellowed.

"Once again, she resorts to violence." Rei smiled.

"Who the hell are you to analyze me, you pale blue-haired bitch?" Akane shouted, as strands of her hair stood out.

"An adult," Rei answered flatly, "Something you’re not at this moment."

"I am an adult!" Akane yelled.

"You are an ill-tempered, stubborn, lazy," this Rei said as she waved Akane’s mediocre term paper in her face, "child."

"Rei," Mousse snapped, making Rei look away angrily, and then he turned to face Akane, "Look, I’m sure you’ve got some good things about you, but you just have to hone them, that’s all. I just said you should study more." He told her, offering her back the crumpled paper.

Then, Akane grabbed the paper out of his hand, and walked off, puffing.

"Strange girl." Mousse muttered

"A strange girl that’s not worth your time, Hikaru. She’ll only hurt you, if you try to get close to her." Rei warned.

"I’m not so sure about that. There’s something about her."

"Yes." Rei told him, "Anger."

"Spunkiness." He argued.

"Stubbornness." She snapped, looking at him, still looking after Akane.

"Persistence." He smiled.

"Stupidity." She spat, trying to get his attention.

"Naivete." He laughed, looking back to Rei. She let go of his arm, and walked back into arcade, not looking back. "Hey, wait! Rei!" he called, going after her. He saw her sit down at the bar, next to Darien.

"Don’t worry about me too much." Rei told him when he caught up to her.

"Rei, what’s wrong?"

"I believe it’s rude to be looking after another girl, while you’re holding one already." She snapped, looking away.

"Rei, I was only playing. She’s a bit too violent for my taste, and I like you a little better than her." He told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. He wasn’t even sure why he was looking after Akane. He felt as if he’d somehow known her before. It was strange. It was like the image he’d seen earlier. That place, where the sky had been red felt so real to him at the time. Then, he mentally cursed Artemis for bringing back the painful memories he’d tried to let go. After that, he felt so strange, as if he didn’t weren’t real. He felt his head fill with these visions and could not let go.

"A little?" Rei asked over her shoulder, her crimson eyes cold.

"Alright. You’re one of the only friends I have right now." He told her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Really?" She asked, facing him.

"Yes, you are."

She took his hand, and held it, and softly told him, "I am sorry I acted unfriendly towards you." Then, she looked at him with that angry look again, "But I am not sorry for what I said to her."

He nodded, letting out a resigned sigh. Then, he sat down next to her. Andrew came out with a coat. "Hey, I thought you guys were going to wait outside for me."

"We changed our minds." Rei told him.

Darien saw all this, and wondered when they would announce their engagement, or maybe they were already engaged. He had seen Rei argue with that other girl outside, and then he saw Mousse, and her talk. Then, she got angry, marching back into the arcade, and as Darien expected, Mousse followed her in. {They are a perfect couple. He just doesn’t know it yet.}

Akane was passing by an alley when she saw two punks with a black cat. The type of punks that wore earrings everywhere they could put one.

"Do you think Satan will be pleased?" one asked, holding the cat.

"Of course, the dark lord will love this gift. And that moon on its forehead, that’ll probably make it a cool pet for Satan." The other said, pulling out a butcher knife. The cat scratched at the thugs arms, trying to tear out of his grasp.

"Hey, leave that cat alone!" Akane yelled, placing her book bag next to a garbage bin.

"Look babe, take off. We’re doing virgin sacrifices tomorrow." One of them told her. He didn’t get much farther because she had taken out the mallet she was going to use on Rei. Just thinking about what the blue-haired snob had told her made her even angrier, and she began to pound on the thug harder.

Once she was sure he was down for the count, she turned to face the other one, who pulled out a knife. She could figure out why, but all she did was hold her hand out, and the knife flew into her hand. She gripped the handle firmly, and waved it at the second punk. He ran.

{Not bad.} the black cat thought, as Akane came to pick her up.

"Are you okay, kitty?" Akane asked, going over to pick her up.

The cat backed away a little, and Akane kneeled slightly, whispering, "Come on, I won’t hurt you." smiling as she did so.

The cat leapt into her arms, and purred, and Akane walked out of the alley, grabbing her bag as she prepared to walk out.

That was when she heard the cat say, "Thank you."

"Did you just talk?"

"Yes, my name is Luna. I have been looking for someone to help me in my quest to fight the forces of evil." The cat told her.

"Yeah, sure."

"Oh, that’s right. Well, let me put it in terms you can understand." Luna said, clearing her throat, and said, "My name’s Luna,"

"I got that part."

"I need some help, because I’m fighting some really bad dudes." Luna went on, choking out the last word.

"I’m not a child. I understood you the first time." Akane snapped, looking at the cat angrily.

"Will you help?" Luna asked.

"I can’t. I’ve got a test to fail tomorrow, I mean I have a test. Yeah, that’s it."

"I’m serious!"

"So am I."

"Alright, then. I’ll prove to you that I’m serious." She leapt in the air, and flipped, making the airspace she circled into a spectrum colored portal. A thick dark blue pen with a white cap dropped onto the floor.

"What is that?" Akane asked, blinking stupidly.

"It’s a pen." Luna told her dryly.

"Don’t need it. I’ve got plenty. Why didn’t you just ask me for one?"

"It’s for you. Take it." Luna told her impatiently.

Akane did. She reached down for it, and looked at it with a puzzled look on her face. She turned it over several times, and finally said, "That’s a weird looking pen. So what do you want me to do with it?"

"Hold it up, and say, ‘Magnus Power Make-up’. Can you do that?"

"You sure, Luna? I don’t want people to think I’m crazy."

"But no one is watching, Akane."

"Well, I don’t know. Why don’t I say something cool to transform."

"What are you talking about? Just do it!"

"Okay, fine…No need to shout." With that, she raised the pen high in the air, and shouted, "Magnus Power Make-up!"

She found herself in another dimension, unclothed. Soon, she started to feel warm strands of ribbon ravel around her torso, and solidifying to become a white leotard with a golden bow on the breast of the uniform, small flared sleeves, and then a dark blue skirt blazed onto her waist. The symbol of earth, that appeared on her forehead, shined, and a golden tiara formed. Where the symbol of earth appeared there shined a blue and white stone.

"What the hell am I wearing?" Akane asked in panic, feeling the Sailor fuku, and looking herself over.

"You are Sailor Magnus, the Sailor Soldier of the Earth. I’ll be your guardian cat, and from now on, I’ll be in charge of your training."

"But I’m already a good martial artist, so you won’t have too much to worry about."

"With that kind of attitude, I’m going to have to start." Luna told her, "This battle will not be determined by how good a fighter you are. This is a battle of wills, which means you must think with something else in mind besides your strength."

"Like what?" Akane asked, annoyed that the little cat was already insulting her too.

"Akane, I’m sure you have a good heart. That’s how we met, in fact. You helped me. Now, I’m going to help you."

"Dragging me into another fight is not helping."

"I mean I’m going to help you grow in mind and spirit. One of the truths you, as a scout, must hold dear to is to believe in the goodness of your heart, and you will always prevail."

"Can I just bash them when they get too rowdy?" Akane asked, summoning a golden hammer into her hands.

"Oh, brother…This girl needs some serious work." Luna muttered.

"What was that you said?" Akane shouted, raising the hammer.

"Akane, one of the things you’ll have to learn is to control your temper." Luna snapped.

"Sorry, Luna." Akane told her sheepishly lowering the hammer.

They both heard a scream followed by, a woman shouting, "Please, save my baby!"

Akane came out of the alley, and saw a carriage roll onto the street, as the screaming woman chased after it, pushing everyone else out of the way. Then, they all saw a speeding sports car coming up fast. Akane didn’t think too much after that because she started jumping on all the cars, holding the hammer all the while. Then, she grabbed the carriage handle, stopping it. She saw the speeding car, less than a couple meters away, and she realized she wouldn’t be able to move fast enough. Akane stood in front of the carriage, and raised her hammer into the air.

Luna couldn’t watch, so she covered her eyes with one of her paws as she looked away. The next think she heard was a loud crashing sound, and she swore she might have even heard thunder. When she decided to look up, Akane was handing the carriage over to the woman who thanked her dozens of times, making the young girl blush. Luna was quite relieved to see that, but when she looked over at the spot where Akane stood, her jaw dropped. There she saw a guy wearing some sort of sports suit, pushing his car, giving Akane a dirty look, because she had bashed in the front with her hammer.

When Akane went back to Luna and picked her up, the cat gave her a perturbed gaze, "Akane, did you do that?"

"Yeah, I even told him not to speed again."

"You were supposed save lives."

"I did! Can’t you be happy that I something nice for someone? Isn’t that enough for you?"

"Yes, but without intentionally damaging property! Oh, nevermind. Let’s just go."

"Go where?"

"To your house."

"Well, my sister Kasumi is really a neat freak. She might not like the idea of me bringing a strange alley cat home. Might leave little messes around the house, you know."

"I assure you, I’m well trained, and house broken."

"Well, I guess so. I mean if you can talk, and give advice, and-"

"Let’s just go." Luna told her tiredly.

High above, a figure cloaked in black stood on the edge of a building’s roof. He was wearing a black suit, mask, and trench coat, was holding a black rose as he looked on the street where some guy was pushing his car to the curb. The shadowed figure, muttered, "Who is that girl?" Then, he chuckled a little, and Mousse, having transformed into the Phantom Mask, said to himself, "I could have handled that a little better."

With that, he leapt over the rooftops, looking down every so often. Looking for anything that might be related to The Dark Kingdom. Artemis told Mousse he would be able to sense when they started moving.

{It’s going to be a long night.} Mousse thought, and then groaned a little. {and I have a physics exam tomorrow.}

Continued…

-----------------

Trailer…

Luna: Someone, help me!

Computer voice (Central): What is the problem, Luna?

Luna: The girl I found is more of a walking disaster?

Central: Be patient. It will take time to train her.

Luna: Alright then, give me a year.

Central: Don’t push your luck.

Luna: Give me a break. It will take that long to even get her ready for training.

Phantom Mask: Who are you?

Sailor Magnus: That’s what I’d like to know. (dreamily.)

Phantom Mask: I can’t really answer that.

Sailor Magnus: Well, tell me when you can. Here, give me your number.

Luna: You ditz, he doesn’t want us to know that.

Phantom Mask: Next episode of the Phoenix Chronicles is "Enter Sailor Moon."