Author:  Priestess Mars-chan
Rating:  PG-13
It Always Gets Worse
Chapter Three:  Jupiter

Chapter Three: Jupiter




Sailor Jupiter awoke with a splitting headache.
However, a quick glance around her surrondings made
her headache the least of her worries. She was in a
tiny cell, a classic, black-barred jail. Sailor Venus
was unconscious beside her and Sailor Mercury was
gone.

"Sailor Venus," she gently shook Venus' shoulder but
got no response. "Venus," Jupiter said with a bit more
urgency. "Mina!"

Venus slapped at her hand and rolled over. "Just five
more minutes. Pleeeeease, that's all I ask."

Jupiter would've cried out in relief, but she didn't.
It would've spoiled her reputation. "Wake up! We've
been captured by the NegaMoon, Mercury's missing, and
Rini's still Wicked Lady!"

Venus blinked and rubbed the last of the gas effects
from her eyes. "Wha---? Can you repeat that, a bit
slower? Hey, where's Mercury?" she sat up and banged
her head on the top of the cell. "Ow! Where are we?!"
she demanded, rubbing her head.

Jupiter sighed. "I don't know the answers to either of
your questions. I think we better figure out a way out
of here and figure out where Amy is."

"Don't bother. I'm right here."

Jupiter and Venus both blinked at the sound of Amy's
voice. They both turned with broad smiles to greet
her, but the smiles instantly disappeered when they
saw what had become of their friend.

"Amy...?" Mina whispered, horrified.

Lady Mercury gave a short laugh. "I used to be known
by that. However, you may call me 'Lady Mercury'.
Thanks to Wise Man, I've been enlightened."

"Enlightened? You mean brainwashed, like Rini,"
Jupiter accused.

"Wicked Lady," Lady Mercury corrected. "It's not
brainwashing, Lita. Wise Man just showed me what's
really going on here. Don't be so antsy. Your turn
will come in time. Then we'll all laugh about our
former selves over some cheesecake. How's that sound?"

"Like a date I would prefer to miss," Venus snapped.

"Oh, it'll all come in time, dear," Lady Mercury
turned to the Wise Man who had been silently hovering
beside her. "Shall we go? I'm rather anxious to meet
Prince Diamond."

"You go on ahead. I'll follow you shortly." Lady
Mercury nodded and vanished in a cyclone of water.
Wise Man turned and Jupiter involuntarily shivered.
She felt like she was looking at Death itself. "Miss
Jupiter? Shall we go?" he politely asked.

"I'd rather go someplace with my old boyfriend," she
defiantly shot back.

"Let's not make this difficult," with a wave of his
hand, Jupiter was out of the cage and standing next to
him. "Now say good-bye to your friend and we shall
take our leave," he instructed.

"I don't think so!" Now that she was free from the
cage, she could attack without electrucuting Mina.
"Jupiter Thunder Crash!"

Wise Man easily moved away from the attack. "Miss
Jupiter, you're making this so much more difficult
than it need be. I shall make you a deal: you listen
to what I have to tell you, and I'll let Miss Venus
over there free."

Jupiter glanced back at her imprisioned friend and
clenched her fists. She didn't want to become a
Nemesis slave anymore than the next person, but she
didn't want Mina to suffer the same fate. She couldn't
live with herself if she had refused a path that would
keep her friend free to continue the fight. So
breathing silent apologies to all of her friends, she
made her choice. "I'm sorry, Mina," she said quietly
and faced the Wise Man. "I'll go with you."



"Diamond!" Prince Diamond gritted his teeth at
Sapphire's call. It was times like these he wished his
brother would just keel over so there would be peace
once more.

"What's wrong with the Dark Crystal now?" he asked,
not suceeding in keeping the annoyance out of his
voice.

"Nothing as of right now. It's the Wise Man. He has a
'surprise' for us. He told me to tell you."

"Oh, good. A surprise," Diamond sloshed the wine about
in his goblet, not bothering to hide his boredom. "Did
he capture Sailor Moon or something?"

Sapphire shrugged. "I don't know." he narrowed his
eyes at the hand that held the wine glass. "Did you
want that shaken or stirred?" he asked sarcastically.
He hated it when Diamond started sloshing his drinks.

The Wise Man rose out of the floor, a habit that
Sapphire had never gotten used to. "Sapphire. Prince
Diamond." he acknowledged with a slight nod of his
hood. "I apologize for being late. I had some business
to attend to."

"What do you have to show us?" Diamond asked coolly.

"Something most amazing," the Wise Man answered as a
cylinder of water appeared beside him. "A certain
someone who goes by the name of Lady Mercury." The
water solidified into a young woman in a figure
accenting blue dress who looked disturbingly familar.

Sapphire felt his jaw go slack and he heard Diamond
gasp as they both reconized her. "That's Sailor
Mercury!"

"But....how?" Diamond stuttered.

"Through the same process that converted Small Lady,"
Wise Man answered as though explaining something to a
child. "Now, I have two other Scouts whom I have to
enlighten also, so I shall leave Lady Mercury in your
capable hands. She has much raw power in her system
which needs to be properly focused and contained. I
trust you two are capable of such a task?" Diamond and
Sapphire nodded. "Good. I shall return with more
student's shortly." Wise Man vanished back into the
floor, leaving Lady Mercury with the two brothers.



She was in a dark, empty room, all alone. She hated
being alone.
"Hello?" she called out. "Is anyone there?" No answer.
"Hello?" she tried again. It was a futile effort, she
knew that much, but she had a reputation of never
giving up and she meant to keep it that way.

"Lita?"
She whirled around and immediatly felt all her fears
leave her. "Ken! I had the strangest dream--"

Something was wrong. Ken was floating away! No! He
couldn't leave her! Not all by herself! "Good-bye,
Lita, good-bye."

"No! Ken, give me your hand! I'll pull you back!" Lita
didn't want Ken to leave her, especially not by
floating away! She needed him to keep her grounded,
keep her from doing something stupid. "Ken, please,
reach!"

But he didn't even try for her outstretched hand.
Instead, he seemed to be putting a lot of effort to
stay away from her. "No, Lita, I'm leaving you. I have
better things to do then hang around with an amazon of
a teenager."
With that, he was swallowed by the opaque ceiling,
leaving her alone with her tears.

"How awful!" Wise Man cooed. "The person you care
about the most deserted you! Could it possibly get any
worse?"

First her parents left her, then her old boyfriend,
now Ken...

. "Oh, Lita, you poor dear! No one seems to appreciate
you wherever you go, do they? They seem to make it
their habit to avoid you...."

First day at Cross Roads....no one would approach
her...except that blonde ditz....

"And not a very nice ditz at that," the Wise Man
added. "Remember the fight with Queen Beryl?"

"Thanks for keeping those Nega-jerks busy Jupiter!
Have a lovely after-life!" Sailor Moon and Mars waved
bye-bye and took off at a dead run for the volcano.
But they wouldn't make it for all these Nega-creeps
had to do was trash her and it was toodle-loo for the
others. Unless she, of course, trashed them first.
Hail and farewell Sailor Jupiter.

"You gave up your life for them, Lita, and they still
didn't care, did they? Good thing the Silver Crystal
brought you back, isn't it? Gives you a chance to
strike back. But," he paused for dramatic emphasis,
"only if you're willing to take it."

Now everyone she knew, everyone she had ever dared to
care for, were crammed into that little dark room,
each one of them waving bye-bye and vanishing into the
ceiling as Ken had done.

"No one wants to be with you. No one wants to be near
you. You can't take it anymore. You have to destroy
them!"

Destroy my friends?

"Anyone who refuses to be seen with such a lovely girl
is no friend, Lita!"

But...they're still my friends....aren't they?

"No! They must pay for what they've done! Only you,
can do that, dear Lita, only you!"

Everyone was gone from her world, she was alone and
was always meant to be...but she was the goddess of
Jupiter and she would make them pay for what they had
done!

The Dark Crystal released Jupiter and placed her
gently infront of Wise Man. Her Sailor uniform, like
Amy's, had transformed into a dark green dress, but
the slit was almost to her hip. Her tiara was gone,
replaced by a menacing black symbol of Jupilter. But
her eyes were what caught the Wise Man's attenion. Her
eyes were cold and dark and filled with bitterness.
Obviously, he'd done a good job.

"Welcome to your destiny, Lady Jupiter," the Wise Man
offered his hand, but she didn't take it. She just
looked at him with her angry eyes.

==========
You will tell me what you thought, or I won't finish
the rest
Mars-chan
marsiechan@yahoo.com

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