Serena’s House
2/13/00
Luna
had confirmed the suspicion that the stone was indeed a Star Crystal from
a scout tiara, but was unable to say which one.
“Could it be one of ours from the future? Serena had asked the black cat, “maybe it’s infused with negaenergy, or maybe both.”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you.” Luna had shaken her head.
Serena’s mother popped into her room where Serena was sitting cross-legged at her floor-table
“Serena, I made you some muffins.” and she set them down before her daughter.
“Thanks, mom.” the teenager responded, smiling. The woman used the delivery as an excuse to begin tidying Serena’s room.
“Mom!” Serena was annoyed.
“I’m just picking up a little.” her mother rooted around in the closet, putting things on shelves. Serena sighed angrily and went back to her homework. She tried to ignore her mother until she called Serena’s attention. “Can we throw away this old Halloween prop?”
“What old Halloween..?” Serena locked her eyes on the object her mother held. The familiar gold crescent and shiny red handle surprised her. “Omigod!”
“What?”
“The Moon Crescent Wand.” Serena took it from her hand, “I though I lost it.”
“What is it?” her mother asked insistently.
Realizing what she had said, Serena tried to cover it up. “Eh...uh...something I...borrowed from...Mina.”
“I guess you’d better return it to her.” Serena’s mother said before leaving the room.
“I don’t believe it.” Serena looked at the wand, stunned. The Moon Crescent Wand was, infact, a magical device with amazing healing properties. When it mounted the Imperium Silver Crystal, it made a powerful weapon that had twice been used to defeat Queen Beryl.
“Incredible.” Luna smiled from Serena’s bed, “it was in that closet this whole time.”
“Just as well,” Serena smirked, “I never did take good care of it.”
“At least you didn’t lose the Silver Crystal with it.” the feline said.
“That would have been a total disaster.” the meatball-head agreed. She set the wand aside and returned to her homework. A moment later, she eyed it. “I wonder if it still works?”
“Probably not.” Luna’s accent cut her words, “It probably went the same way your Moon Tiara did.” The tiara Sailor Moon wore on her head had once been another powerful weapon in her arsenal. But it had lost its power over a year ago.
“You’re probably right.” Serena said, “Still, it was much better for close fighting than the Moon Scepter ever will be. I had better have Amy take a look at it.” As she lifter her communicator to call Amy, it beeped.
“Serena here.”
“Serena, it’s Sailor Mercury.” her face appeared on the screen. “Assemble the Scouts and meet me at import warehouse twelve at the docks. I’ve discovered something you all need to see. Make sure Darien comes as well. This affects him the most.”
“What is it, Mercury?” Sailor Moon asked the aquabelle.
“Tuxedo Mask, throw one of your roses at me.” Mercury ordered.
“What?” they were all shocked.
“Mercury, that could kill you.” Luna reminded her. The roses were quite deadly if aimed properly.
“I know.” her confidence was almost disturbing. “Do it.”
Tuxedo Mask withdrew a rose from the unlimited supply in his cloak, took careful aim, and launched it at her.
The rose flashed through the air on laser-red lightning at Mercury’s head. She didn’t even move, only typed on her computer. Surprisingly, the rose slowed down and the Scouts could actually see the air ripple as the rose slowed from the speed of light to the speed of sound and finally stopping before it entered Mercury’s temple. Unflinching, she looked up at it.
“My stars.” Luna gasped. The whole team was bewildered as Sailor Mercury took the rose from where it floated and returned it to its owner. Tuxedo Mask couldn’t help but to examine the rose before tucking it away.
“Neat trick.” Sailor Moon said, “How did you do it?”
“That’s the thing. It wasn’t me.” Sailor Mercury responded
“But all the typing..?”
“Oh, I was just getting readings.” the aquabelle waved off the idea that she had anything to do with it.
“So what does this mean?” Mars asked.
“It means my roses are useless.” Tuxedo Mask answered for Mercury.
“Oh no!” Sailor Moon was right to express concern. Tuxedo Mask’s most potent weapon had saved them all more times than any of them can count.
“That leaves me with my cane.” he said, referring to the variable-length stick he often used. “I could try my other identity.”
“Prince Darien?” Artemis asked. Tuxedo Mask nodded. “Is that such a good idea?”
“Yeah,” Mercury agreed, “I though Queen Beryl had poisoned that one.”
“But I’m quite a bit stronger in that form.” the masked man argues, “And if this is caused by the negaverse...”
“Oh, I can flat out guarantee that.” Mercury nodded.
“...then it would help if we had some negative energy on our side.” he finished. He removed his hat and mask and brought his hands together. A vortex of wind and light surrounded him and Tuxedo Mask disappeared.
He was replaced by a man in a midnight blue uniform. A black chestplate and ghost gray shoulder armor protected his upper torso. A pair of knee-high black boots guarded his legs. The velvet cape, black outside, red inside, fell to his ankles, and a large sword was sheathed at his hip. Something new were the black leather gloves and gray armor protecting his stomach and hips.
“Prince Darien?” Sailor Moon asked, her hands clasped before her in hope.
Darien shut his eyes tight and groaned, griping his head. “I’m okay, Serena.” he said with a lot of pain in his voice. The evil must be eating him from the inside out. He took a rose from small bag hanging on the large black belt and threw it. The rose, black and infused with Negaforce energy, rode a purple streak of lightning. It didn’t slow down or stop.
“At least it works.” Mercury said, doubtful that this was a good idea. “Anyway, this means only one thing. The world has been infused with negative energy. If this crisis is going to happen, it’s going to happen soon.”
“While we’re at it.” Sailor Venus took careful aim at the inside of an O on a billboard. She let rip a Venus Crescent Beam and was satisfied when it charred the hole of the letter black. “Okay, now why doesn’t it effect us?”
“I don’t know.” Mercury shrugged, “It could be aimed at Tuxedo Mask or maybe the that’s just a side effect of something bigger. I’m voting for the latter.”
“How soon do you think it’ll happen.” Darien asked.
“Maybe as soon as tomorrow.”
“But tomorrow’s Valentine’s day!” Sailor Moon whined.
“I don’t think out enemies give a flying yellow flip.” Sailor Mars snarled, “They’re gonna carry out their plans whether they fit our schedule or not!”
“We need to keep a lookout.” Luna told them, “There is one more thing we need you to look into, Mercury.”
“Oh? What’s that, Luna?”
“I found the Moon Crescent Wand just before you called.” the moon princess brandished the wand, “I was wondering if it still works.”
Mercury took it. The wand was surprisingly heavy. Having been one of the fabulous technological wonders the planet Mercury had turned out, the water Scout would find it relatively easy to analyze. “Sure, I’ll take a look at it.”
She unraveled her jacket where she had hidden the wand and set the mystical weapon on the table. The red beacon blinked happily. The wand recognized her as Sailor Mercury and knew the Mercury Star Crystal was hidden on her person.
“Okay, Let’s open you up.” she said, carefully removing the beacon. Inside was a mesh of optic fiber, energy channeling wires, heat sinks, focusing and sensing mechanisms, and other components so advanced that Earth inventors would not even begin to think of them for a thousand years. Earth had yet to recover even a fifth of the technology lost when the Silver Millennium violently ended.
She began analyzing the wand with her minicomp. It quickly located the “batteries” and claimed they were drained.
The Moon Crescent Wand’s energy cells were not batteries in the sense that most people would prescribe to the term. They were much more powerful than the alkaline paste Duracells and Energizers in flashlights and Gameboys. Nor did they store energy.
No, the cells were, infact, a group of tiny fusion reactors that were refueled with use a lot like a car battery is recharged by the alternator when the engine is running. And just as a battery that is not used for a long period of time can go dead, so too does the Moon Crescent Wand lose energy. She would have to “recharge” it then. But how?
“Computer, is there an existing recharge mechanism for the Moon Crescent Wand?”
“Negative.” The computer blatted, “there are none existing at this time.”
“Is there an existing set of blueprints or schematics?”
“Affirmative.”
“Display.” Amy was surprised how simple the design was. There was only one component she had no access to. “Is it required for the recharging unit to contain a radioactive substance?”
“Affirmative. A rapid nuclear reaction is necessary to recharge the wand.”
“A rapid nuclear reaction!?” Amy was taken aback, “What? Were we crazy when we designed this thing?”
As if on some sarcastic cue, the computer replied, “Unknown.”
Amy, unusually frustrated, set the wand aside. She didn’t realize it at the moment but it would be some months before she would pick it up again.