CHAPTER 6

“The last loyal guardian. The LAST loyal guardian. The last LOYAL guardian?” Luna couldn't get it out of her head. She repeated it over and over, shaking her head every now and again as she paced along the edge of Rei's bed, where Tenka lay asleep under the watchful eye of Sailor PhobosDeimosian. The other senshi sat silently around the room. Sailor New V stood opposite PhobosDeimosian, who stayed at the end of Rei's bed. Finally, Luna sat herself on the bed, unable to wrap her head around it all. Seeing this as a good opportunity, PhobosDeimosian sat on the bed's edge next to the cat and proceeded to scratch her behind the ear.

“Please do not fret so,” the senshi said. “I assure you, what happened is something that you could not have seen.”

“What do you mean?” Artemis asked, hopping up next to Luna. “This is all... overwhelming.” PhobosDeimosian nodded.

“First, I should rephrase myself,” she began. “It isn't that I am the last loyal guardian, I am the ONLY loyal guardian, and always have been. The others were never loyal to the Moon Kingdom, or to anyone in the system. Their loyalties lay with the rulers of the Angeline Empire.”

“The Empire we were a part of until we left, right?” Ami asked, nursing her bruised neck.

“Yes,” PhobosDeimosian said. “We Guardians were assigned to guard your planets prior to the separation. After the separation, we remained under orders of the Empire. We had been placed with the purpose of keeping an eye on the Moon Kingdom back when disagreements first began. Our purpose was to report any possible treachery. We failed, as the separation took all by surprise. We were given a chance for redemption by remaining at our posts. Our new purpose was to bring about the fall of the Silver Millennium, so the Angeline Empire could retake it.”

“Queen Beryl did your work for you,” Jupiter said sourly.

“Yes and no,” PhobosDeimosian said. “The Guardians made an alliance with Metallia. Beryl was just as much a tool of the Guardians as she was Metallia.”

“And where did you fit in?” Mars asked.

“My loyalties stayed with the Guardians for only a short time after the Moon Kingdom left the Empire, and I have you to thank.”

Mars looked understandably surprised. “Me?” she asked, pointing at herself. PhobosDeimosian nodded.

“Like all the other Guardians, I had very undesirable traits which lent themselves to my selection as a Guardian by the Empire,” she said. “Like the others, I could hide them to make myself seem normal. Your spirit, kindness, and loyalty made me see the light, so to speak. I saw the wrong in what we were doing, and so I stopped. I tried to turn them, to convince them as I had been convinced, but it was no use. On the eve of the attack, I confronted them on the Moon and tried to stop them, but they overcame me and I was killed.” PhobosDeimosian bowed her head.

“How can we know there is truth in any of this?” Neptune then asked. “How do we know you are not like them, but simply trying to look innocent?”

“She saved us all tonight!” New V exclaimed. “And she saved me from Sailor Magellanus' attack! That's how I survived that night! And after the fact, she got-” She paused. “She got someone to help me afterward, too.”

“The only one who could vouch for my honesty is Sailor Alrisha,” PhobosDeimosian said.

“Alrisha...” Luna touched her paw to her chin in thought. “Alrisha! I remember her!”

“She came from the Pisces Empire, right?” Artemis asked. Luna nodded.

“Who is Sailor Alrisha?” Sailor Moon asked, excitement seeping through her curiousity.

“A senshi from another empire who came here in search of her kidnapped princess,” PhobosDeimosian explained. “At the end, we worked together to try and thwart the attack. I faced the Guardians while she went to Earth to face Beryl and her Generals. Seeing as how things happened the way they did, I can only assume she died as well, but I just know she was reincarnated as I was.”

“But how could you two have been reincarnated if Queen Serenity didn't know how you tried to help?” Uranus asked. “She clearly didn't know, otherwise she could have tried to stop the attack.”

“She did know,” PhobosDeimosian said. “She knew. Alrisha and I had both approached her with it. She didn't completely believe us, though, because we lacked evidence. The dissidence on Earth wasn't enough for her to warrant a full alarm.” She closed her eyes. “Clearly once the attack began, she realized what was going on.”

“So, what about the Guardians?” Venus asked. “What happened with them? Where they sealed like Beryl? If so, why are they only now appearing? And if they weren't sealed, what happened?”

“Whatever it is, it has something to do with the netting,” PhobosDeimosian said, more to herself than the others.

“The netting on their arms,” New V said. “They have it, but you don't. That's another sign that you aren't with them, isn't it?”

“Yes,” PhobosDeimosian answered. “That netting was never apart of our uniforms back then. That is a new addition, and I can't help but feel that it has something to due with their activity.” She then stood, stretching one of her arms out. “The night is late. We should all go home and get some rest. I have nothing more to share tonight that will be of use.”

“But what about Alrisha?” Moon asked, standing as well. “And what about her princess? Do you know anything?”

“I know where she is, Alrisha,” PhobosDeimosian said sadly. “The problem is, she doesn't know who she is, and it is far too dangerous to try and force the past on her at this point. As for her princess...” She shook her head. “She never found her in the past. I don't know what became of her.” PhobosDeimosian shifted and closed her eyes. A gentle glow overcame her. Her dark hair undid itself and then braided itself as it turned to a dirty shade of gold. Her uniform turned into a strapless gown, and New V covered her mouth to hide her gasp. The girl before them looked up and smiled. “I am Amber Dallas, from Sougyokyuu Gakuen. Since we will be working together now, you should know who I am by day.” She looked over at New V knowingly. “Care to share, New V?” Then she looked at the others. “Or anyone else, for that matter?” No one offered right away, then Sailor Moon nodded. She returned to being simple Usagi. The others followed suit, until only New V remained.

“Wow, you were all at the dance tonight!” Amber exclaimed. “Very cool!” She turned to look back at New V, but the masked senshi was gone, and so was Tenka. Amber's jaw dropped. “Where did they go?!”

-------

“You just... wouldn't believe it,” Tenka said. Her head was dropped into her hands as she and Karen sat on the school roof, eating their lunch. “It was just... so unbelievable.”

“Well, I do believe it,” Karen said carefully. She slowly unwrapped a piece of candy, and then popped it in her mouth as Tenka's head lifted.

“Yes, I suppose,” she said. “It's just so mind boggling. I almost died last night!” She crossed her arms quickly, grabbing her shoulders as she shook. “Oh Karen, I thought it was all over! I thought I'd never see my family again! I thought I'd never see you, or anyone else!” Then she gasped and her arms dropped as she stared hard at Karen. “And Mizuno-san! To think, she's a senshi! It's unreal!” Karen nodded, keeping quiet. Tenka tilted her head at her best friend's unusual quietness. “Karen, I've been thinking hard about recent events, and I can't help but see how often I can connect you to the senshi. More specifically, Sailor New V.” At this, Karen went rigid. Tenka continued. “The day the school was attacked, you ran into the school in such a hurry with no plausible explanation. Then Sailor PhobosDeimosian drags me out to find you in such a state that one night, but insists I can't tell anyone. Then, Sailor New V was at the dance last night, but you were nowhere to be found. I don't mean to sound so important, but I doubt that you would have just ran if I was in such danger.”

“Tenka, what are you getting at?” Karen asked exasperatedly. She turned to look at the blond girl. Their eyes met, and Tenka's expression softened.

“Karen, you're Sailor New V, aren't you?”

Karen stared long and hard. She wanted to deny it, to try and explain everything away. But, she couldn't. Not to Tenka, her best friend. If she couldn't confide in her best friend, who could she? “I- Yes, yes I am,” Karen said. She pulled out the pen and held it up. Tenka looked at it without surprise. She could have shouted, for either anger or happiness, but she didn't.

“I thought so,” she said simply. “Karen, do try to be more careful.” Karen couldn't help but smile at her friend's ever-present mothering. Then, a laugh escaped that caught Karen off guard. It didn't last long, and when it ended Karen found herself trapped in a powerful hug. “And thank you, for trying so hard to rescue me.”

“Hey, what did you expect?” Karen said. “I'm a senshi, and you're my best friend. You can't expect anything less!” Tenka sat back and nodded, reaching under her glasses to flick away a tear. She smiled and reached for Karen's bag of candy. To her surprise, the candy was swiftly pulled out of reach. “Uh, of course, there are rules regarding best friends and sweets.” Tenka and Karen both laughed at this and proceeded to share the bag, their lunches forgotten on the bench.

-------

“...And here is the music room,” Amber announced. Her voice reverberated slightly off of the nearby drum. “This is the main practice room, but they practice equally here and in the auditorium. There are also separate rooms for woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings.”

“I feel at home already,” Michiru said happily as she looked over the room. She took a few more steps in, her plaid skirt getting snagged on a set of bells.

“That happens frequently I hear,” Amber said, motioning to the door. “Usually, if someone has a lot of snags in their uniform, they are a part of the music program.” She looked down the hall as Ami came running up. “Professor Ashi finally let you go? Or did you finally let him go?”

“I apologize,” Ami said, slightly out of breath. “It was just so exciting listening to the details of the programs.” She brushed her skirt and straightened her jacket. “It's so stiff,” she said in mild complaint.

“They all are,” Amber said with a shrug. “They'll loosen up with wear, though.”

“I am still curious,” Michiru said as they moved toward the stairs. “How did you get us enrolled so quickly?”

“When you have the connections I have,” Amber said as she held open the door, “You can get just about anything done.”

“We'll keep that is mind,” Ami said. “It could come in handy in the future.” Amber nodded with understanding and followed the two new Sougyokyuu Gakuen students up to the last floor. Before exiting the stairs, Amber stopped them and looked up. “Say, would you like to take a breather? Our roof has the most amazing view.” Amber lead them up to the roof access and pushed the door open, and into someone else.

“Oh, Karen!” Tenka shouted as Karen fell back.

“Oh, I'm sorry!” Amber quickly said. “I didn't realize anyone was up here!”

“Ah...” Karen rubbed her head. “No no, Amber, it's all right. It was an accident.” Tenka pulled Karen onto her feet, and it was then that they realized Amber wasn't alone.

“Mizuno-san!” Tenka exclaimed. “You are here, and in our uniform!”

“Amber helped us to enroll very quickly,” Ami explained.

“I see,” Karen said, looking at Amber suspiciously. She then looked back at Michiru and realized she was alone. “Say, where is the other one, Haruka was it?” she asked. “I thought she would enroll too.

“Actually,” Michiru said with a smile, “Haruka changed her mind. For now, it is just Ami and I.”

“Well, welcome to Sougyokyuu Gakuen!” Tenka said excitedly. “If you ever need any help with math or foreign language, we're here to help!” She threw her arm around Karen's shoulders and pulled her close, leaving Karen rather stumped.

“Okay, who are you and what have you done with Tenka?” The two laughed at this joke, but it was short lived as the school bell rang. The five descended the stairs quickly. As the door slammed shut, Sailor Marineros appeared on the roof. Charonus and Magellanus followed suit.

“Enjoy it while you can,” she said. “It won't last long.”

-------

“Karen-”

“No.”

“Karen...”

“Amber, please.” Karen glanced at her neighbor as they kept themselves bent over their history work.

“Karen, I know who you are, you know who I am,” Amber whispered. “The senshi know who I am now. Tenka knows who you are, and she knows who Mercury is. You also know Neptune and Uranus. Wouldn't things just be so much simpler if the knowledge of who is who was mutual?”

“I am not comfortable with that,” Karen whispered back. “I have to work so hard to prove I am a senshi as it is... And other stuff, just-” She shook her head in irritation. “No, just no.” She straightened up and sighed. She glanced over to where Tenka helped Ami catch up with the class work. Everything seemed to be happening so fast, and Karen couldn't help but to feel overwhelmed. She sighed and massaged her temple with the eraser of her pencil. Then suddenly, her pencil was shaken right out of her hand by a massive shock to her entire body, one that no one saw. All anyone saw was Karen jump like no other and fall twitching to the floor.

Amber was immediately at her side. Students stood to look, not leaving their desks as the teacher rushed to the scene. No one could ask what had happened, or if she was all right, as the room became dreadfully cold. A black fog rolled in, and the students shouted as it felt like thousands of fingers began to crawl over their skin, pulling them down quickly. Ami and Amber were no exception, but Ami was just as quickly raised up as though being offered as a sacrifice.

“Ugh, Ami!” Amber shouted, struggling with the dark hands that kept her down.

“Ami! Ami! Ami!” came the mocking cry of Sailor Marineros. She appeared on top of a desk. On either side appeared Charonus and Magellanus. “Oh, how it makes me sick.” She stuck out her tongue. “Charonus, dispose of the others.”

“Dispose?!” Tenka cried.

“Oh look! My little friend!” Charonus laughed. “Where is your precious Sailor New V? She's not here to help you, now is she?”

“Deep Submerge!” In a flash of water, the three guardians were blasted backwards and through the windows to the yard below. The dark hands disappeared, but only Ami, Amber, and Tenka were able to stand. Everyone else was out cold.

“Tenka, are you all right?” Ami asked as she was helped up by Neptune, both surprised to see the girl still awake. Tenka nodded. “Good, stay here and we'll get help!”

“You are the help!” Tenka shouted. “I know you are Sailor Mercury! Go give those evil senshi a good beating!”

“With pleasure,” Amber said, lifting her hand. “Guardian Power, Make-Up!”

“Mercury Crystal Power, Make-Up!” Ami shouted. The two transformed and, led by Sailor Neptune, leaped through the windows to follow the three villains. Tenka went immediately to Karen's side and tried to wake.

“Oh Karen, please wake up! They may need your help!”

-------

And they did.

Waiting on the school grounds was the entire Guardian Team. The moment the senshi landed on the ground, they were ambushed by a barrage of attacks, instantly incapacitating them.

“Oh, how I shall enjoy this,” Sailor Mirandas said as she stepped up to PhobosDeimosian's shivering body. “The chance to repeat a traitor's death is rare indeed.” Mirandas grabbed one of PhobosDeimosian's braids and pulled her upright with it. “You should have joined us, you know. We have power now that you can only dream of.

“We could still offer it to her,” Ionus said. “After all, we could certainly do with one more.”

“Are you crazy?” Magellanus shouted. “She's a traitor! She deserves a traitor's death, and this time I say we do it my way! Maybe she'll stay dead!”

“We'll be fine, our lot,” Titanos said, flexing her arm. The fishnet on both arms flickered. “We don't need her. We never did.”

“Actually, we did,” Mirandas said, looking PhobosDeimosian in the eye. “You know, we wouldn't be in this predicament if you hadn't turned on us. If you had been with us, we would have had the power we'd needed to finish the job. Now here we are, picking up the pieces.”

“You mean... You're trying again?” PhobosDeimosian gasped. A wicked grin grew on Mirandas. “No, you're all crazy! It'll never work!”

“Oh, but we are crazy, and that is why it will work,” Marineros said. “We're stronger than we were then. This time, there will be no mistakes.”

“No!” PhobosDeimosian threw her knee up and nailed Mirandas. She fell free and stumbled onto her feet. “Ashen Veil!” she shouted, throwing her hands toward the guardians.

“Boom Bomb!” Titanos shouted at the same time, throwing a fist toward PhobosDeimosian. From the fist grew a great sound bubble that hit the ash waves, exploding with a great booming sound that threw the guardians and PhobosDeimosian onto their backs. Neptune and Mercury skidded across the ground, trying to hold onto the grass and loose dirt.

“Wha- What an attack!” Tenka shouted as she gripped onto the frame of the front door. Mercury and Neptune looked back at her.

“Tenka, get back inside!” Mercury shouted as the waves subsided. “Go!”

“Mercury, lookout!” Neptune shouted as Titanos stood.

“Boom Bomb!” The bubble flew at them. They braced themselves, but the bubble flew in between them and right at Tenka. Tenka screamed as the bubble exploded. Neptune and Mercury were thrown forward, their feet over their heads, and then skidded until they were stopped by the feet of Titanos, Ionus, and Tritonus. PhobosDeimosian followed their path, being thrown on top of them. The waves subsided, leaving only the sounds of the school to creak and groan. There was a humongous crater in the side of the building where Tenka had been. Students soon began to gather at the new 'windows' in their classrooms. Students in the floors above joined, staring out their windows in an attempt to see what was going on.

“Finally, that little pest is gone,” Ionus snidely said.

“You'll have to do better than that!” came a shout. The guardians looked up to the top of the hole, where Sailor New V stood proudly with Tenka. “No one blows a hole in my school and gets away with it!” She jumped from the hole and landed soundly. She lifted her hand up, the mirror in it, and charged at the guardians. “Twin Beams!” she shouted, the spinning beams of water zipping toward their target.

“My turn!” Ionus shouted. She jumped over the pile of senshi and held up her arms. “Cyclonic Reverberation!” Wind laden with leaves and other natural debris began swirling around her arms. She then brought both her arms down suddenly, the tornado hitting with a crash. It spun at New V's attack, sucking it up and then dissipating. New V stepped back in shock. “You'll find we're all full of wonderful surprises!”

“This is enough,” Mirandas said lowly, stepped past the now-restrained senshi on the ground. They struggled, but to no avail. “We have a pest problem. I think we need to take care of it before we continue.

“I quite agree,” Charonus said as the guardians slowly advanced on New V.

“Let's make it delicious, eh?” Marineros said. Magellanus nodded in agreement.

“We'll rid ourselves of this pesky do-gooder for good,” Titanos said.

“You- You...” New V stepped back again as her past encounters flashed across her vision. The pain... It started coming back. She could feel her previous injuries starting to ache again. I am a senshi... I am a senshi...

“Oh look, she's scared!” Ionus laughed. “What was it she's been saying?”

“I am NOT a fake senshi!” Titanos shouted mockingly.

“It's time to prove our case,” Mirandas said. “You are no sailor senshi. You are just a cheap imitation, some hopeless, dreaming teenager trying to gain glory by hiding in the shadows of real senshi and then stealing their spotlight.” The guardians came ever nearer, and all New V could do was back up. Finally, the guardians stopped. “All right girls, let's show her the power of real senshi.”

“Aqueous Burden.” Tritonus said softly like a whisper, anchoring New V to where she stood, leaving her to the mercy of the coming attacks.

“Blinding Romanticide!!” Magellanus screamed, heart-shaped orbs of light rising from her hand. The hearts then turned into spears of light that rained down on New V. The poor senshi screamed, but only for a moment before Mirandas' attack hit.

“Wind Disruption!” She shouted again, sending a second cyclone, this time joined by...

“Creeping Death!”

“Cloudy Destined Showers!”

Charonus' black hands joined the cyclone, spinning wildly as the acid-rain-filled clouds of Marineros' attack capped it. New V screamed as the spinning hands slapped her red and the stinging rain tore at her skin. She fell to her knees, a bloody mess that left the students and senshi in such a shock. She lifted her head weakly in time to see the guardians all step back, save for Titanos and Ionus. They smirked at New V.

“Bye bye, pest,” Titanos said. “Boom Bomb!”

“Cyclonic Reverberation!” Ionus' cyclone crashed to the ground. The cyclone followed Titanos' bubble, striking it to create an explosion with a greater force that before. The rest of the senshi team reached the school gates in time to see the bubble explode. The guardians vanished from sight as the sound waves beat upon the school relentlessly. The students' screams went unheard against the waves. PhobosDeimosian, Mercury, and Neptune remained unmoved due to Tritonus ' attack and were left to endure it while the rest of their teammates were thrown onto the iron bars of the gate, which tore off just as the wave reached their peak. The debris settled as the senshi pulled themselves up. They gasped at the sight that beheld them.

Sailor New V was gone. In her place was Karen Thomas, breathing ever so weakly, her chest hardly moving as the rest of her lay still, save for the very tips of her fingers as they twitched. Her eyes were half-closed and unmoving. Her uniform was torn to pieces, and everywhere her skin was red and torn, bleeding steadily.

“Karen?” Mercury whispered, cut off by PhobosDeimosian.

“Karen!” she screamed shrilly. “Karen!”

“Karen, Karen Karen!” came the mocking voice of Marineros as she and the other guardians reappeared. “She's no real senshi. She's just a wee little school child.”

“I... am...”

“Huh? What?” The guardians looked at each other, then Ionus stepped forward.

“I don't believe it!” she growled. “She's still alive! She's a cockroach, she doesn't know how to die!”

“I... am... a real senshi!” Karen gasped, pulling her arm forward limply. She pulled up the other, barely grasping the Sailor V pen, and tired to push herself up.

“Don't you know how to quit?” Mirandas asked as she quickly stepped up to Karen. She was up just enough for Mirandas to get her foot under and make her kick even more painful. Karen fell onto her back with a thud.

“Stop!” Sailor Moon cried as she ran forward, the other senshi hot on her heels.

“World Shaking!” Uranus shouted. Jupiter, Mars, and Venus followed with their attacks, but they were all sucked up by Ionus' cyclone before Titanos' bubble hit it, blowing up just feet in front of the senshi and throwing them backward onto their rumps.

“Wait your turn!” Ionus shouted, her nasally voice screeching harshly. “We're disposing of the cockroach first!”

“Stop it, stop it all of you!” PhobosDeimosian shouted. “Just stop! She is a real senshi, I can vouch for that!”

“Oh really?” Tritonus asked, audible only to the three trapped senshi. “Why should we believe you? What proof do you have that she is a real senshi?”

“She is the proof!” PhobosDemosian shouted more loudly. “She isn't Sailor New V! She is the guardian senshi of the Pisces Empire, sworn enemy of all that is evil, and the guardian of the Mirror of Venu and Cupi!”

“Can it be?” Ionus questioned as she turned to Karen. She hadn't made it all around when a bright water-like bubble of light grew from Karen. It stayed there, swirling with hundreds of different blues, teals, aquamarines, and greens.

“It is!” Charonus cried. “Hurry! Destroy it! Creeping Death!” The others followed Charonus' attack, some with the same haste. The attacks converged on the bubble, and to no surprise a great explosion occurred. Unlike the others, however, this explosion was beautiful, like dropping something heavy into water from high above. The senshi, good and evil alike, covered their heads, but found the waves of sparkling, watery light to be of no harm. They looked at each other as the light fell from them like water and then disappeared before it touched the ground.

The senshi all looked up to the glowing cocoon of light as it began to unravel and fade away, slowly revealing a beautiful sailor senshi like none they had ever seen. She wore a unique uniform of teal and orange, with long pink hair unbound by any hair ornaments. In her hand was a mirror of two fish surrounding a blue orb and resting upon her nose was a teal mask, the same as was worn by Sailor New V.

“Could it be?” Sailor Jupiter asked.

“It must be!” Sailor Moon cried. “It's Sailor Alrisha!”