Chapter Five: Super Shadow Senshi; Alter Egos          



Super Sailor Moon slowly opened her eyes and stirred on the ground a bit. Sitting up weakly, she saw the rest of the senshi and Tuxedo Kamen lying around her, but they were in a clearing in the woods that overlooked the city, and not the theater with the Priests. She rubbed her eyes a bit and made out four figures illuminated by the full moon grouped together and talking low among themselves. As she focused her eyes a bit, she could see the Shadow senshi talking with their masks pulled down around their necks, and not looking too happy at all.

"So what are we going to do, run and hide every time the Priests use their power up?"

Shadow Mercury looked to Shadow Jupiter out of the corner of his eye and sighed, rubbing his arm a bit where a large bruise was stinging, "You know what will happen if they see who the Priests are the clones of, Kage. Once that happens, we'll have a large problem."

"Kurai is right. We can't beat the Priests without their help, and yet, we can't let them see the power up. The second they see it, it will come down to us trying to destroy the Priests alone. If they are anything like Shadow Moon, they will chose not to destroy the Priests and get themselves killed." Shadow Mars admitted and brushed his long hair from his face, looking out over the city with a look of frustration in his eyes.

Super Sailor Moon started to lean on a small tree to hear better and looked to Shadow Jupiter as he spoke again, "Fine then, we rely on the Super Shadow senshi."

"I won't do it. You know them, they'll probably destroy half of this planet just to see it blow up." Shadow Venus said in a huff and looked to Yamito in anger.

"We all feel the same about them. They are reckless and destructive, but if the Sailor senshi need their help, they will have it." Shadow Mars said blandly and shot a glance right back at Shadow Venus. A loud snap came from behind them and they whip around to find Super Sailor Moon face down on the ground, holding a broken tree in her hand.

Shadow Mercury stifled a laugh and walked over to her, kneeling down and helping her to her feet, "Glad to see you're still with us."

She rubbed her nose painfully and weeped a bit, then blinked and looked to him, "Where are we?"

"Safe. The Priests," Oddly, he looked back to Shadow Mars for a moment and sighed, then turned his attentions back to the teary girl, "Retreated." She looked at him in shock, surprised to see that he was lying right to her face. He didn't hide it very well, and she had taken him for someone who didn't lie very much. She figured Shadow Mars had a lot to do with it and she looked past him to the silent one, getting the same chilled feeling she always got when she looked at him. Then she looked over to the other senshi lying about and reflected her concern in her eyes.

"Are they okay?"

"They will be fine. They're just really exhausted." Shadow Mercury assured her and smiled weakly, trying to put her concerns to rest. Smiling back a bit, she nodded and went back to rubbing her nose lightly. Shadow Mercury watched her with a light smile on his face, but the rest of the Shadow senshi looked out over the city in silence.

After a while of silence, she looked to Kurai slowly and took a deep breath, "They're you guys, aren't they?" He just blinked a bit and gave her a questioning glance, but the question had gotten the attention of the other three now as well. Noticing she had the attention of all of them now, she looked to Shadow Mars and pulled her hand from her face, "They're your clones. The Priests, I mean. That's why you were weak when the Priests attacked Shadow Moon, you were drained of your energy by the Omega Master to make the clones."

They were all taken by her assumptions and Shadow Mercury looked to Shadow Mars slowly, not knowing what to say. Shadow Mars just sighed lightly and walked over to the two, followed by the other Shadow senshi, "That is very perceptive, Sailor Moon. Yes, they are our clones. Do not tell the other senshi about this."

"Why? Why does it matter?"

"This isn't a request."

"Yamito, I want to know why you didn't tell us before!"

Her raised voice made his cast a weary eye to the others, then back to her with a sigh, "Keep your voice down. Fine, I will tell you but you must not tell the others or it will make defeating the Priests much harder than it has to be." A bit surprised he gave in so easily, she smiled triumphantly and nodded once, which only led him to be more weary about this. "Every person is born with a dark side, and most of the time the person's good side is stronger than the bad. So that person lives a good, honorable life. However, Shadow senshi are born with an extremely strong dark side, a power much stronger than our righteous sides. We must learn to use some of our power to suppress our darker sides, or they destroy us from within. The darker side has immense power that lies dormant in us and our power as Shadow senshi is nothing compared to the dark power within us. When the Omega master or Priests clone someone, what is cloned is that dark side of people, which is why the clones are stronger and more evil than the real person. They can magnify dark energies. When we were cloned, not even the Omega Master could fully clone our immense dark power but, as you found out, the Priests are still very strong. Without the power we use to suppress our dark side, our clone's strength increases exponentially. The Priests have been growing in strength ever since they were created, and soon they'll be even too much for our Super form to handle. The problem is, when a clone is destroyed, the power that was cloned takes it's place back in the person. The same thing happens when a Shadow senshi's clone is destroyed, except for one small side effect."

"What's that?"

"It kills us." Shadow Jupiter quipped and looked at her with a flat look in his eyes. She looked to him in horror, but he merely shrugged at her, like it was an everyday thing.

Shadow Mercury jumped in as well and explained in his refined, cool dialect, "All of that magnified dark energy returning to us is more than we can suppress. It's like poison, killing a Shadow senshi's body soon after it returns. We've seen it happen." Before she could look to him, Shadow Mars continued and grabbed her attention, her eyes wide with these revelations.

"Shadow Moon knew this and that's what got him fatally wounded. He actually had beaten the Priests, but they told him if he killed them, he would be killing us as well. Shadow Moon decided to spare them if they left and never returned. They agreed, but when he turned to leave, they surprise attacked him and almost killed him. They took the Ginzuishou and split it into four pieces so that it could never seal them in the Dark Prism, like the Omega Master. If it wasn't for the other Shadow senshi, the Priests would have killed him. In the end, his compassion is what got him killed. We don't want that happening again."

"That's what was hanging around their necks? Your broken Ginzuishou?"

Shadow Mercury nodded and hung his head a bit, "So you see our problem? We don't want you to make the same mistake Shadow Moon did and get harmed. The Priests have to be destroyed, despite the cost."

"Maybe we can find a way to beat them without killing them, maybe if we..."

Shadow Mars flared up a bit and cut her off, speaking in a raised voice, "This is exactly why we didn't want you to know. Why can't you just see that they have to be killed?"

She looked to him for a moment and sighed, then looked to the ground, "I won't tell them, on one condition. You have to keep an open mind on how to beat them without killing them." She slowly looked up to Shadow Mars and even the others looked to him. He just looked at her for a moment, weighing his options, then nodded slowly to her. The others were a bit confused at him accepting that, but it seemed to make her happy. Looking between the four for a moment, she rubbed her arms a bit to warm up and asked yet another question, "Who are the Super Shadow senshi?"

Shadow Venus blinked a few times and cocked his head, confused even more, "What?"

"You were talking about the Super Shadow senshi like they were different people. Who are they?"

"Oh, we're the Super Shadow senshi....uh...kindof." Shadow Venus said but she looked to him with a confused expression on her face, "Let me explain."

Before continuing, he gave Shadow Mars one last look for permission. Shadow Mars just closed his eyes and shrugged lightly, "Go ahead. We've told her everything else."

"Yeah, we're the Super Shadow senshi.....sort of. When we transform into the Super Shadow senshi, we tap into our dark power. It's an amazing power gain, but it tends to make us.....uhm.....more aggressive."

"Aggressive? You mean just plain ruthless." Shadow Jupiter added and crossed his arms over his chest.

Shadow Venus grinned a bit and nodded, then looked back to Super Sailor Moon, "All of that dark energy alters our minds, makes us a little wacko. Our appearances dramatically change, and so do our personalities. We become reckless, mean, almost evil. So, if we change, you'd be in almost as much danger as the enemy. Most of the time, we can control the power enough to know that who the bad guys are and only fight them.....uhm, most of the time. The only one of us that could control himself in Super form was Super Shadow Moon, with the help of the Ginzuishou." She looked like she was still a bit lost and he thought for a moment, then looked like he had an idea, "Ah, imagine the most powerful enemies you've faced all rolled into four people. They're cocky, egotistical maniacs that would destroy the planet before they would lose a fight. Now imagine you have to fight next to them, keeping one eye on them and one your enemy. That's us in Super form."

He put his hands on his hips and smiled, like he had just explained the greatest thing in the world. Super Sailor Moon just looked at him in disbelief and shook her head, "How can you four become those monsters you just described just by turning into Super Shadow senshi?" Shadow Mars turned slowly from them all wand walked back over to the summit, taking a long glance over the city and calling over his shoulder at her.

"Let's hope you never find out, Sailor Moon."

While she looked at him, set in his secluded ways, a few, hoarse groans coming from where the other senshi are. Shadow Mercury looked over to see some of the girls moving, then shot a glance to Super Sailor Moon, "Please, not a word." She nodded reluctantly and, for some reason, the Shadow senshi replaced their masks over their faces. Only Shadow Mars left his face uncovered, but his back to them, no one could have seen his face in any case. Super Sailor Moon shot him one last glance, then moved over to where Super Sailor Mars was sitting up.

"Where are we?"

"We're okay. The Shadow senshi took us away from the fight." Super Sailor Moon cooed and offered a hand to help her up. Soon after, all of the Sailor senshi were up and talking about the fight, some more emotional about it than others.

"Why did you take us away?"

Shadow Jupiter sighed once more and shook his head, looking at Super Sailor Uranus with a tired look, "Like I said before, we weren't ready to fight them yet. If we'd have stayed, they would have beaten us."

"Coward, you ran away. All of you, you're afraid of them."

He didn't take kindly to her badgering and stepped towards her, about to retort when Shadow Mars called over his shoulder to them all, "We barely hurt them before their power up. I assure you, we wouldn't have stood a chance against their advanced form." Shadow Jupiter stopped and looked at Super Sailor Uranus with a sneer, and she returned the stare right back. Suddenly, Shadow Mars turned his head a bit to the side and just barely showed some of his face, "Sailor Moon, thank you for giving us our powers back. We will go now to prepare for the final fight. I suggest you do the same." With that, his figure floated up into the air and disappeared into the night sky, leaving all the others in silence.

Finally, Super Sailor Jupiter looked to Shadow Jupiter and blinked, bringing up a good point, "What if they attack again? How can we find you?"

Shadow Jupiter looked at her for a moment and tilted his head slightly. Having a light smile cross over his face, he walked over to her and looked down at her ever so quietly. Not exactly sure what he was doing, she looked up at him with a blink, and all the others watched the two for a moment, "They've been weakened, so they'll need to return to the Dark Prism to recover. They won't show their faces around for a while." Almost distant in her own mind, she nodded lightly and looked into his tired, but still lively, peat green eyes. After a moment, he chuckled lightly and canted his head to the side, "Strange. I've been all over my Earth, and have never seen anything quite as beautiful as you are."

She blushed deeply and took a few short breaths, her voice stuttering a bit, "What?"

By now he was speaking so quietly, that the others strained to hear. Shadow Mercury shook his head with a smile and let his own eyes wander about the Sailor senshi. Shadow Jupiter continued and raised his hand up, letting his fingers come very close to Super Sailor Jupiter's cheek, "Your green eyes glimmering in the light of the full moon, like two emeralds sailing in a sea of white rose petals. I know it's corny but, I've never seen anything so pretty." A flush of color burned in her cheeks and she couldn't think of anything to say, she was so taken with his words. Before his gloved hand could touch her skin, he jumped back a little and floated into the air, hovering a moment and winking at her. Without another word, he flew into the night after Shadow Mars and left her with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Totally lost on what they said to each other, Super Sailor Venus huffed at the fact he could have said something really good to Makoto, and she didn't even get to hear it. Something in the corner of her eye got her attention and she blinked, looking over at Shadow Venus. He was looking at the side of her head intently and rubbing his chin lightly. She just put her hand to the side of her head and blinked, "What? What are you looking at?"

Shadow Venus just walked up to her and shook his head lightly, "Oh, nothing. I was just curious how this," He startled her a bit as he reached up to the side of her head, and pulled a beautiful, orange-colored rose out of nowhere, Holding out to her, he grinned widely and rubbed his head a bit, "Not a bad trick, huh?"

She smiled happily and took it from his hand, looking at the beautiful color of the pedals, "It's beautiful. Thank you." He just nodded and gestured over his back with his thumb, talking in a nervous voice.

"Uh, I gotta go with the others. I hope I get to see you again, Sailor Venus."

She just nodded and held the rose to her chest, looking at him with sparkling blue eyes. Rubbing his head still, he laughed like a dork and floated up into the air, then spun around and flew after the others. As the others watched them, Super Sailor Moon looked to Tuxedo Kamen and felt a little left out. To his surprise, she latched onto his arm and grinned, "Mamo-chan, would you give me one of your roses?" Tuxedo Kamen looked at her oddly and sighed, then pulled a rose from his cape and handed it to her. Cheering loudly, she clutched the rose and stayed on his arm, feeling included now in all of the romance. The others, by now, had noticed Shadow Mercury whispering into Super Sailor Mercury's ear. Much to their surprise, she started to giggle lightly and nodded to him. He just floated up from her and smiled back, giving her a small wave and flying off after the others as well. Now with the Shadow senshi gone, Super Sailor Uranus and Super Sailor Neptune started to leave from the mushy scene, still not fully trusting of the Shadow senshi. Still holding her orange rose, Super Sailor Venus ran over to Super Sailor Mercury prodded her with her elbow, grinning widely.

"What did he say?"

Super Sailor Mercury looked at her and blushed a bit, a little embarrassed at the idea of telling her, "Oh, nothing."

"Come on, Ami-chan, what did he say?"

By now, Super Sailor Jupiter had come over as well and joined in on it, "Yeah, was it incredibly romantic?"

"Really, he didn't say anything." Super Sailor Mercury said and clasped her hands in front of her. They kept bugging her while Super Sailor Mars leaned against a tree and looked off into the night with a scowl on her face. After a moment, a deep voice pulled her from her thoughts and she looked to Tuxedo Kamen.

"Penny for your thoughts."

She just sighed a bit and leaned off the tree, smiling a bit weakly at him, "I was just thinking about all of this. As much as they trust those Shadow senshi," Her eyes wandered to the side and she watched the others, with Super Sailor Moon now joining in as well. Then, looking back to him, she shook her head a bit, "I can't get over the fact that I can almost sense Shadow Mars's feelings. And what I sense from him, Mamoru, scares me."


Next Chapter; Daytime Sessions