ThunderDragon gasped in fear and cried, "NOOOO!!!" Jurei-Jurei leaped out of the bushes in the dark, clapping a miner's hat on her head and turning on the light. All she saw was that stuck-up school prim on the ground in tears, and ... "The Dark Bug," she growled, letting her grin drop. "He broke that girl's staff. So, Ms. Priss is a senshi... well, was." "Y-you... damn bug!!!" shouted Cyra, at a loss. "Why?! Why did you do that!?" she exclaimed, the green energy running over her body as it left and showered into the ground. Her fuku was melting away as her old clothes returned. Jurei-Jurei also drew herself up to her full height, miffed. "He should have just beaten her up a bit instead of humiliating her!" "You've ruined me! I have nothing left, nothing!!" Cyra sobbed angrily, picking up a stone and hurling it, missing by a good four feet. "Allow me," said Jurei-Jurei to herself, shutting off her lamp and concealed by the dimness all about her. Swirling her own staff above her head a few times, she created a medicine ball of energy, and with all the fierceness of the last battle raging in her mind, she clocked it at the Dark Bug's head.
Stunned by the surge of energy from the broken sticks, he stared down and saw Cyra, and how devastated and heartbroken she really was. He totally forgot all her harsh words, and the stomped bee. He wanted to settle the score somehow, but not like this! He thought that she'd be at least relieved that... Whack! Jurei-jurei's medicine ball hit dead on with his face. Almost unaware of the impact, he fell headfirst toward the ground behind the treeline. After crashing with a thud, he landed on the ground next to a heavy boulder roughly his size. As he came around, the magic left in the henshin stick and staff leaked out and coursed about him. Involuntarily, he changed back into Melvin. As he looked toward the senshi from the bushes, he pushed the rock down into a nearby ravine and let it crash at the bottom. Then he hid the broken sticks in his coat, set out to the side a bit, and neatened himself as best as he could. "Jakurin! What's going on! Is the coast clear?" he called from the bushes.
Cyra looked over her shoulder fearfully, but Jurei-Jurei held out her hands. "Hold on, I won't hurt you... I'm neutral," she laughed quietly as she held out a hand to Cyra. "And your secret's safe with me, sailor soldier," she said lowly, pulling her close. "But next time, be careful with who you're attacking. That bug could have killed you!" Cyra dried her tears. "He should have," she said sadly. Jurei-Jurei placed a gloved hand on her shoulder, her uniform melting off into Jakurin Kistune. Cyra gave a sharp intake of breath as Jakurin put a finger on her lips. Cyra nodded as Jakurin called out, "Yeah, Ace, I think the freaks are gone. What the heck was THAT all about?!" she said with a lop-sided grin, winking quickly at Cyra before huffing up the hill to pull him out of the bushes.
"Thanks," he said. He wished he had a neat little hypothesis on why the bugs were simply putting on a show at the Dark Bug's command. He didn't. He eyed Cyra uncomfortably. "I'm... very sorry for all the nasty words I said back at the mall," he said quietly. He thought he'd done the right thing. Cyra wasn't a Senshi anymore. That meant she'd be out of the Dark Kingdom's way. That meant she'd have a safer life now, and a happy one if she wanted it. Nobody was hurt. Everyone on both sides got something they wanted. Technically he should have pleased all parties. Then why did he feel so crummy? "Jakurin, is there room for three on your taxi? I think we'd better go home now."
"There's always room, Ace!" Jakurin grinned, throwing her keys up in the air and catching them. "Hop aboard!"
It was tight with the trio, but Jakurin insisted that Cyra and Ace wear the helmets as she drove standing on her foot rests. She barreled down the hill as Cyra kept a firm hold on the seat, embarrassed under the helmet. Melvin had to keep his hands around her waist so not to fall off, and that the view in front wasn't all that pleasing. Cyra stared at the rushing ground beneath them, trying to collect her thoughts. Her powers were gone. In one single snap, gone. The Dark Kingdom had taken them and literally thrown it to the wind. There was no way she could be ThunderDragon anymore, maybe not ever. But isn't that what she had wanted? To now be a normal teen? A regular girl? ...yes, but not like this... not in a failure against the enemy.
Jakurin braked slowly and turned the ATV towards Cyra's bags.
Cyra hopped off as Jakurin sat, rubbing her back. "Jakurin, you saw the monster, right?" asked Cyra, pulling off the helmet and shaking out a long mane of silver hair.
Jakurin paused for a moment, and said, "Yeah. How could you miss it?" She held out her hand for her helmet.
Cyra placed it slowly in Jakurin's grip and replied, "Do you think the senshi killed it?"
Jakurin's sapphire eyes stared into Cyra's sea-colored ones. Both girls shared a now common bond. "I think they did some serious damage to the bad guys, Cyra. There's no reason to be afraid anymore. I'm sure they killed it."
Cyra's eyes filled with tears, and she gave a brave smile. "Thanks... for the ride."
Jakurin whacked her helmet hard on her head, and gave her a peace sign before zooming away with Ace holding on.
As they rounded a corner and disappeared from Cyra's view, Melvin silently let that word roll in his head: monster. He never dreamed anyone would ever describe him that way. He didn't like it as much as he thought. He glanced down at his bulging pocket with the broken staff and stick halves. They were starting to crumble somewhat. He knew that he could show them to Argocite as proof he'd destroyed a Sailor Senshi. And he knew a big weakness: wreck the little stick, and no more Senshi. No doubt the Dark Kingdom general would reward him richly somehow. Instead, he waited for the next straightaway, reached into his jacket, ground them into powder, scooped the remains into his hand, and let them fly into a mystic pixie dust trail behind the ATV.

The End. Rock on.