Tsuki no Mikazuki Productions presents...
Written by Dana 'Ariel Silantat' Ritchel...
Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon R - Sailor Atlantia Episode 7:
"Seijuurou's Crush, Silver Star Revealed"

Makoto and Ami ran into an alley near where they had heard the scream before, figuring the cardian would have chased its prey there. They pulled their henshin wands out, ready for a fight, and were taken completely off guard when they finally assessed the scenario. Another Sailor Senshi stood there, the telltale blackened tarot card sticking in the ground in front of her. Her fuku was blue with silver bows, the front bow kept in place with a silver star brooch, a star-cut sapphire in the center.

"Wh-what?" Makoto stammered.

"Who are you?" Ami asked.

The silver-and-blue clad senshi merely smiled.

"I am Sailor Atlantia," she said, "protector of the Moon Princess."

With that, she winked, turned, and jumped into the air, landing on a particularly tall building, and out of the sight of the two incredibly confused teenagers.

"Well, at least now we have something to bring up at the meeting tomorrow!" Makoto said, laughing nervously.

[Silver stars and gold moon crescents spiral around until a feather-formed heart appears in the background and the Japanese writing appears]

"Seijuurou's Crush, Silver Star Revealed"
Written by John Talisant

Sailor Atlantia kneeled on top of the building she had just landed on, surprised she was able to actually jump that high, but happy enough that it didn’t matter. When she finally caught her breath, she stood up and looked out on the city of Tokyo.

"It’s so beautiful from up here." she sighed.

Then she looked around, finally figuring out where her house was, and giggled.

"It looks so tiny!"

But then the events leading up to now finally caught up to Ariel. She wasn’t just plain old Ariel, the girl from America who always got into trouble, anymore. No, not hardly. Now she was Sailor Atlantia! Protector of good and protector of the weak and innocent! And, in a way, her house represented what she was in her old life, and the building her new...

"Wait a minute! This isn’t like me at all!" she said, to no one in particular, "I’m still Ariel Silantat! This is just another...DIMENSION that’s been added to my life!"

Rationalizing, she brought up, to herself, "I mean, look at Usagi! She’s the Moon Princess and she’s still a clutz. I can be just plain old Ariel AND Sailor Atlantia!"

And that satisfied her. She still didn’t know how it would affect the rest of her life, but it was going to be exciting. As she looked over her transformed fuku, only one thing still bothered her...

"Now how do I change back?"

Even though the rest of their friends had left, Terra and Usagi were still at the Crown Game Center. Usagi was spending the last of her money on futilely trying to finish a level of one of the Sailor V games while Terra was leaning against the machine, thinking. Neither of them noticed when a handsome, red-haired young man walked through the sliding doors. Neither did they notice when he walked over to them, watching Usagi’s every move. Not in the game, mind you, but her angered movements OUTSIDE the game.

"Darn...NO!...Arrgh...WHY ME?!" were but a smattering of the comments she kept making.

The stranger simply looked at her, watching her every facial expression, finding each one more beautiful than the next. Finally, he spoke.

"If you shoot that one first, then you’ll have enough time to jump over the chasm and fire at that one." Seijuurou pointed to one enemy, then another. "Then you’ll have a final clear shot at the boss."

As Usagi did just what he said, he noticed her blushing.

*She’s beautiful...* he thought.

After she died on the next board, she turned around to face him.

"I don’t believe that I didn’t see that before. Thank you."

He smiled. *Why do I feel this way for her?*

"It was nothing, really. I thought you might have needed some help..." he said, "Aren’t you going to continue?"

"Well, she would..." Seijuurou saw Terra stand up, "But she has no money left. Am I right Usagi-chan?"

Usagi laughed nervously. "Hai, Terra-chan..."

Terra smiled. "You know your mother’s going to be on your case for this one."

Usagi, in turn, looked to the floor. "Hai, Terra-chan."

"I’m sorry..." Seijuurou interrupted, "What’s wrong?"

Usagi looked at him. "Whenever I spend all my money at the arcade my mom gets angry at me. It’s a kind of weekly ritual at my house."

"Ah, I see..." he said, quietly contemplating, "Then right now wouldn’t be a good time to ask you out to dinner tomorrow night, would it?"

When he saw the surprised glances the two girls gave him, he knew he’d done something awkward.

"Oh, no, I’m sorry...I was being presumptuous." he said, still a bit dark on the situation.

"No, no, it’s all right...Usagi-chan, can we talk?" Terra grabbed her friend’s arm and pulled her aside.

Seijuurou waited. *What could they possibly be talking about? Ail, you stupid fool, you should have been more direct! Now she’ll NEVER go out with you!*

When Usagi walked forward again, there was a beaten look on her face. "Sure, Seijuurou-kun, I’ll go out with you."

However, he didn’t notice she was looking at the floor when she said it. He was too...HAPPY to notice.

"I’ll pick you up in the Fruit Parlor at 7 tomorrow night, then?"

"Hai." she said, almost disinterestedly.

"Great. Make sure you wear something nice."

Her head perked up. "Why? Where are we going?"

Seijuurou tried his best Spanish accent, "La Casa de las Carreras."

Usagi’s eyes opened wide. "B-but that’s one of the most expensive places in Tokyo! I-I mean w-we just met!"

"Nothing is too good for you, my angel." Seijuurou said, smiling.

She was about to say something else when Terra clapped a hand on her shoulder. "She’ll be ready at 7 then." she smiled.

"Great. I’ll see you tomorrow night, then, Usagi-chan." he said, then he turned and walked out of the arcade, still smiling.

Ariel walked towards her house, the locket back under her shirt. She had found that when she tugged at it, it came easily off her transformed fuku, which had vanished.

*Wait until everyone hears about this!* she thought to herself.

"I think I’ll tell them about it tomorrow at the meeting!" she said absentmindedly as she stepped onto the front porch. Then she turned and noticed something: Mamoru’s motorcycle was parked in front of her house.

*I wonder why he’s here...* she thought, *I hope it isn’t anything bad!*

She opened the front door and was immediately surprised by the fact that he and her grandfather were talking about religion. She slipped off her shoes and put her slippers on, entering the living room.

"But, young man, you must realize that Christians, at the first inception of the religion, were persecuted and hunted! Their faith was all they got for their pain and suffering!" she heard her grandfather say, "And Catholicism is descended directly from those suffering servants!"

"Yes, I do. But Luther’s interpretation of the Bible..." he broke off as he noticed Ariel had entered the room. "Hello, Ariel-chan."

He grandfather turned too, smiling. "Welcome home, Ariel. I’ll go put on a pot of tea." he turned to Mamoru, "You’re a very intelligent young man, I hope we can continue this debate at another time."

"I do too, Kamacha-san."

Ariel’s grandfather left the room, and she laughed.

"What?" Mamoru asked, "He said he was going to put on a pot of tea for you."

"Yes..." she said, "But he knows I hate tea!"

He laughed somewhat at her comment, and Ariel realized she didn’t feel as awkward around him as she had at first. As a matter of fact, she didn’t feel awkward around him at all. However, that would change in the next minute.

"Ariel, would you close your eyes? I have a surprise for you." Mamoru asked.

Obediently, she closed them. "Tell me when I can open them again, Mamoru..."

A moment passed, then he said. "All right, open them."

She did so, and gasped. He held a small velvet jewelry box in his hand.

"Go ahead, take it." he said.

"M-mamo...but-but why?" she said as she took it.

"Open it." he said.

She did, and gasped again. Inside was one of the most beautiful rings she had ever seen! The band was made of pure silver, and it was adorned with a large, faceted sapphire. Around the sapphire were many smaller sapphires and diamonds. Her eyes brimmed with tears.

"Mamoru...why? Why did you buy this for me?" she sounded upset, but that’s not what she wanted it to sound like.

Mamoru looked taken aback. "Because, Ariel, I thought you would like it...don’t you?"

"Mamoru I love it! But-but..." she closed the box and thrust it back at him, "No! I can’t accept this! We’ve only gone out once! We barely know each other!"

He gently pushed her hand back. "Ariel-chan...I want you to have it! Just in case...just in case something happens to me!"

She looked at him through blurry, tear-filled eyes. "Wh-what could happen?"

He looked back at her. His eyes were filled with a passion that could only have been for her.

"I don’t know...that’s why I want you to have it. Here, let me put it on for you..." he opened the box, and took the ring from the blue velvet lining, and took her right hand. God, how her hand shook, how electric it felt when he placed the ring on her finger and slid it on. How strange, yet nice it felt.

"It looks beautiful." he said, looking back into her eyes, "But it pales in comparison to the hand it adorns."

"Oh...Mamoru!" she said, "Kiss me!"

And he did. He kissed her and didn’t stop. She didn’t want him to. It felt like every nerve in her body tingled with some unknown force, then shorted out. He pulled her closer, and she wrapped her arms around him, feeling his touch. Lord in heaven, that touch was like ecstasy! She felt herself tremble, but didn’t know why as the sheer energy built up in her body. When he finally pulled away, hat energy had released somehow, but she didn’t want it to end. She pulled him back towards herself, and kissed him, falling backwards on the couch as she did so...why did she feel so exhausted? But it wasn’t fatigue, as it was earlier, but a more peaceful kind of exhaustion. An exhaustion she liked. A feeling she wished wouldn’t go away...

Ariel, Terra, and Usagi walked towards the temple, all of them eerily silent. Ariel was in a somber mood from her encounter with Mamoru yesterday, Usagi was thinking of her upcoming date with Seijuurou, and Terra was just tired. She didn’t know from what, but she just felt exhausted.

Then she noticed it.

"Ariel-chan..." she asked, looking at Ariel’s right hand, "What is...that?"

"Oh, this!" Ariel perked up immediately as she picked up her hand, displaying the ring Mamoru had given her.

"Ariel-chan, it’s beautiful!" Usagi cried as she spied the ring, "Where did you get it? Another heirloom?"

Ariel shook her head. "No..." she said, looking dreamy-eyed, "Mamoru gave it to me!"

Almost instantly, Terra’s head snapped to Usagi, who stopped walking and turned away quickly.

"Huh?" Ariel asked, stopping with Terra and Usagi, "Terra, Usagi, what’s wrong?"

Terra walked over to Usagi, who was sobbing softly. She put a comforting hand on her shoulder and turned back to Ariel.

"No, no...you go on ahead, tell the others we’re going to be late." she said, hoping Ariel would listen.

"No. I want to know what’s wrong!" she said, pressingly, "Tell me!"

Terra sighed, took in a deep breath, and then exhaled.

"Ariel...now that you know about the Silver Millennium, do you remember Prince Endymion?" she asked.

Ariel nodded. "Yeah. He was your brother, and he was in love with Princess Serenity. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well...there’s something you need to know." Terra looked at her, "Mamoru is, no, WAS Prince Endymion."

Ariel stepped back, and her face contorted. "H-he is?"

Terra nodded sadly, feeling the girl’s emotions bottle up. She was on the verge of crying herself.

Usagi turned back, slightly having regained her composure, but her eyes were still red from her tears. "It’s ok...Ariel-chan...I don’t mind...really..."

But, to Terra’s surprise, it wasn’t Usagi who burst out crying again. Ariel started bawling and ran to Usagi, hugging her tightly.

"I’m so sorry! I didn’t know! I don’t want to hurt you! I don’t want to hurt anyone!" she kept crying.

Which started Usagi up all over again. "You didn’t know!" she sobbed, "It isn’t your fault! I don’t blame you!"

This is how the scene unfolded for the next five minutes. Terra acted as silent mediator, simply watching as the two girls cried their eyes out. Since they had let their emotions out, their press on her was less, but still felt the lingering aftereffects. The two of them genuinely cared about the other’s well-being.

Finally, they regained their composure, but not before staining the shoulders of their clothes with tears.

"I’m so sorry, Usagi. I’m going to give the ring back to Mamoru and tell him I can’t see him anymore." Ariel said.

"No! Ariel, don’t do that! He’s making you happy!" she stopped, "Mamoru and I never got along before we found out who each other was...and now, since he doesn’t have his memories..."

"What a shame...two Bawling Betties who want the same man, but can’t even admit it!" a strange voice proclaimed.

"What? Show yourself!" Terra demanded, looking around.

"Well, had I showed up sooner, all that energy you just wasted crying would have been put to good use!" a figure stood atop a building, humanoid, but the shadow was somehow irregular.

"Who are you?" Usagi demanded.

The figure leapt from the building, landing on the pavement. He, because it was definitely male, stood six feet tall and looked like a horse standing on only it’s hind legs. However, his chest was humanoid, as were his arms. His skin was white, and he had hair, like a horse’s, running partway down his back. He also had a tail that drooped between his legs. However, his most startling feature was the golden horn that jutted, upward, from his forehead.

"I am Unitaur!" it proclaimed, "And your energy is mine!"

His golden horn glowed with brilliant light and spun like a drill. Appearing around it were three other horns, which flew towards the girls. Ariel and Terra dodged, but Usagi was not so lucky. She was encased in a prison of gold, which sent electric beams into her, draining her life energy.

"Ariel, stay back!" Terra shouted as she pulled forth her henshin wand, "EARTH POWER, MAKE-UP!"

She felt the elements rush around her, becoming her Sailor fuku. When it finished, she opened her eyes, and found another horn hurtling for her. Within moments she was trapped, and screaming as the energy drained from her body.

Ariel didn’t know what to do. The creature laughed gleefully as his caged sucked the energy from Usagi and Sailor Earth, as if he’d forgotten about her.

*Well...* she though, taking her locket off, *We’ll fix that, now won’t we?*

She held the locket above her head. "ATLANTIS STAR POWER, MAKE-UP!"

She transformed as she had the day before, silver flame creating her fuku, then stood waiting for the creature to notice her. It didn’t.

*Well, let’s try a speech, hmm Ariel?* as she wracked her brain for a suitable start, *Oh, what is it that Sailor Moon always says?*

"MACHINASAI! Stealing my friends’ energy I cannot forgive you for! So says the silver-clad senshi, Sailor Atlantia!"

She cringed when she ran over that speech again. *I’ll get better...* she though, *Yeah, I’ll get better!*

Unitaur was amused, however.

"Really? What do you think you can do to harm me?" he asked her, taunting.

"I...can...do...THIS!" she said, determined, "SILVER FLAME!"

Again, the two silver balls of flame shot from he palms, coalescing into a larger fireball and striking the creature. It whinnied in pain as the silver fire clashed against it’s golden horn, and it looked at Sailor Atlantia with hate in it’s eyes.

"Um..‘uh-oh?’" she said, laughing nervously. Then she screamed as she jumped into the air, over Unitaur, as he charged at her.

It went on like that for several minutes, Unitaur charging and she jumping. Finally, she tripped when she fell and knew it was over when her ankle twisted.

*Wait! Ariel, you stupid, stupid girl! If it hurt his HORN...* she looked at the golden cage holding Uasgi.

"Well, it’s worth a shot!" she stood up, wobbling, and brought her hands together, "SILVER FLAME!"

Again, the silver fireball coalesced from her hands and slammed into the cage, and it knocked Usagi free! Had Ariel been coherent, she would have cheered, but Unitaur had slammed into her, knocking her head into the pavement. But as she felt her energy start to drain, she heard something that gave her a modicum of hope: she heard Usagi shout "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"

Then she passed out.

When she woke up, she was in normal clothes again, her locket around her neck, and Terra and Usagi were staring down at her, concerned. Her head and her ankle were both throbbing with pain, but she felt an inner warmth she knew wasn’t there before.

"Ariel-chan!" Usagi hugged her, "You’re all right! You’re all right!"

Then Ariel noticed her friend was crying, as was Terra.

"Wh-what happened?" she asked.

Terra stood up, helping both Usagi and Ariel to their feet.

"You saved us, Ariel." she said, "Sailor Atlantia saved us all."

"Ow!" Ariel stumbled, but Terra caught her, putting one arm around her shoulders to carry Ariel along.

"Thank you, Terra..." she said, still in shock.

"No, Ariel, thank you." Terra said.

And, before she could help herself, Ariel, too, was crying tears of joy.

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