Chapter 5: “A new moon arises! SunAngel appears?”
“So let me get this straight…”

The Sol senshi and the Elemental Angels were gathered around the small table in Rei’s temple, the Sol senshi crammed on one side while the Angels seemed to crowd into another apprehensively. Michiru kept shifting nervously in Haruka’s arms and Kazeno shot untrusting glances to the other senshi, muttering under her breath in Greek.

“So,” began Usagi, who had been listening to them tell their story. “You four are from Greece, your avatars for different Greek gods, and there is an avatar for each one. The evil goddess, ‘Hecate’, I think you called her, was sealed inside the moon, but now she’s free, and you four have to seal her up again?”

Eitai nodded gravely. “Yes, Usagi-sama. We need to prevent any of the future avatars from being killed AND seal Hecate back in the moon. Selene and Zeus will take care of everything from there.” Michishirube nodded behind her silently, her braids shining dully.

PallaPalla turned to talk to Eitai. “Is she that senshi that attacked us on Tokyo Tower last night?”

This time Chiba nodded, suddenly serious. “Yes, PallaPalla-sama. She was trying to kill WaterAngel because then she could not be sealed again and would be free to leave Japan. As long as all four of us are together on one landmass, she cannot leave its borders. She can only stay on the main island… if she tries to leave and touches the water, she will be burned. Zeus made it so that she can bleed like a mortal as well, which helps us only slightly… it slows her down for a little while, but as soon as a new moon comes she is at full strength. Then she can summon her ultimate minion.”

Makoto looked up, shocked. “Minion? You mean the gods have those?”

Kazeno shook her head this time. “No, they don’t. They have avatars, but it Hecate’s case, it is different. See, if she is free if and when we awaken, her avatar will die. The last time this happened, a little while before Usagi-sama saw us in the park with Mamoru-sama, she went down to Hades, the underworld, and committed the foulest act. She took the soul of her avatar, drained its power, and made it a mindless and totally obedient servant. See, normal avatars, such as ourselves, can disapprove of what the gods order us to do, but Hecate’s ‘avatar’ isn’t even that. It was reduced to a creature of shadow, which can only be called upon when Hecate is in full strength, during a new moon. If I remember correctly, she, or it in this case, appears to be a tall, lanky creature clothed in shadow… I remember her… only a part of her beauty still shines through.”

“How could Hecate to do something so terrible to her own avatar?” Chibi-Usa asked.

Kazeno turned to her. “Hecate is not like the others… even Hades, lord of the underworld, has compassion, but she has none. She would rather see the world be cast to darkness and burn before she saw the pure light of compassion shine through.” She fell into a disturbed silence.

VesVes crossed her arms and fell into her own thoughtful silence. The Sol senshi glanced around at each other with questioning glances, until at last Eitai broke the silence.

“You can help us if you like, but only to weaken her. She cannot be killed by any of us here, remember that. We have almost gotten her weak enough to seal her, but so far nothing has worked. If one of you has a draining sort of attack, one that basically takes her energy, that would help us greatly.” And she, too, fell silent.

A wisp of cloud passed by the sun, covering them in a disturbed shade for but a moment. The room seemed to turn cold, and Chibi-Usa shivered. The wisp passed and the room warmed up again. A clock struck noon somewhere on the temple grounds.

Chiba sighed irritably. “It makes not difference to me, or us, whether you help or not, although it would be appreciated. You can find us at an old manor house just outside the city limits, if you change your mind. Walk down the north road and keep going until you see an old, abandoned-looking house, and knock on the door five times. If you change your minds, that is.” With that statement, she left. A whirlwind crazy with cherry blossoms passed over her and she was gone.

The other Angels nodded to the Sol senshi respectfully, and they too left the temple to a disturbed silence. The Sol senshi looked around to each other in curiosity and utter bafflement.

Haruka finally spoke up. “This is ridiculous. How can we trust them? I mean, we don’t really know that they’re avatars at all. Maybe they’re trying to trick us and band with this ‘Hecate’.”

Usagi shook her head vigorously, her blonde pigtails shaking about. “No, I don’t think they are, Haruka-chan. I can feel it… I feel like we can trust them. Rei-chan?”

Rei looked up after having stared at a burn mark on the table. “Yes, I feel the same way Usagi-chan feels. Although that WindAngel Kazeno person seemed a little… apprehensive, I guess you can say, I don’t get any evil vibes from them. There’s one girl I’ve seen walking around the city that makes me feel clammy and small whenever I pass her, though… perhaps we should find out about her?”

Usagi nodded, and opened her mouth to speak when Haruka intervened. “Fine. But keep a lookout for those Angels though… I still don’t feel like I can trust them.”

--

“They don’t trust us.”

The Angels trudged back to their house, the events of the meeting buzzing in their minds. Eitai had stayed in a brooding silence while Chiba simply chattered away happily about random things and Kazeno kept saying how the Sol senshi could not be trusted. After about five times of her saying this, Michishirube erupted at her.

“Will you give it a rest, already?! We get the point, they don’t trust us, but they can still help us! Jeez, Kazeno, you need to see the brighter side of things…” she fell to an upset silence.

Kazeno’s eyes narrowed apprehensively at her companion, but she said nothing and became thoughtful. She crossed her arms and didn’t speak the rest of the way back.

The house was dark when they entered, and sunset had begun to grip the city. Chiba sighed, and started complaining while the other Angels just stepped back outside and transformed.

FireAngel rolled her eyes. “Chiba, will you transform already? It’s a full moon tonight, you know this, we can’t waste any time!”

Chiba shot her an annoyed look then transformed, swinging her hammer up onto her shoulder irritably. The four Angels jumped out into the sunset silently.

--

The city was once again asleep as they jumped from building to building. There was no moonlight that night, leaving their figures shadowless and dark. They jumped in silence, yet each concerned, and continued on their way. Several times one or more of the Angels saw a figure moving below, expecting to see Hecate, but instead it was always something else, something unimportant. They were on edge, and Hecate would know this, yet they neither did nor said nothing to ease their concerns.

They landed, but before they could jump off again a swish of a skirt and the clicking of heels met them. FireAngel turned quickly with her arrow readied, only to see that Sailor Star Juno had landed before them.

She smirked at FireAngel’s reaction. “The other senshi will be here soon, you know. It’d probably be best to put that toy down.”

FireAngel’s eyes narrowed in anger yet she lowered her bow nonetheless. “You don’t need to follow us. It’s best to split up tonight… Hecate will be at her full power. It will be no easy task to find her.”

Juno waved her hand around nonchalantly and rolled her eyes, then jumped off the building to the street below. EarthAngel looked over the edge to see the Sailor Quartet, along with Sailors Mars, Neptune and ChibiMoon below. She sighed heavily and jumped down to meet the group.

The seven Sol senshi glanced her way as she landed, but said nothing to her as she walked towards them silently. The other three Angels jumped down, despite their own annoyances, and the rest of the Sol senshi slowly but surely began to arrive.

Eternal Sailor Moon walked up to FireAngel once they had all arrived, but FireAngel silenced her with her hand and counted the senshi that were there. Fourteen… She thought. Good sized number, I suppose. This will do. She turned back to Moon and began to speak.

“Sailor Moon… you, Venus, Neptune, and Pallas will come with me. Mercury, ChibiMoon, Saturn, and Ceres will go with WaterAngel. Mars, Uranus, and Vesta will go with EarthAngel and Jupiter, Pluto and Juno will go with WindAngel. We must act quickly if we’re to catch Hecate before she finds the next Power Scroll… come!” With that, she jumped back onto the building, not waiting for Moon or anyone else to follow her. The Sol senshi had blank stares on their faces, but Moon nodded and they went to where they were assigned. Moon, Venus, Neptune and Pallas followed FireAngel promptly.

The night was silent for the most part, except for the swish of the wind in skirts and hair. Moon pondered quietly while FireAngel led them around the city, glancing down ever so often to shifts in the shadow or on plain gut feeling. The four Sol senshi followed her quietly yet pondered her motives nonetheless.

Meanwhile, EarthAngel had been doing the same, not speaking a word to her apprehensive companions. She glanced back at them, but instead of jumping onto another building she landed on the street below instead. Mars, Uranus and Vesta almost missed where she had gone but caught themselves at the last minute.

“What was that for?!” Uranus yelled angrily, and she started to advance upon EarthAngel. With a sharp motion from Mars, however, she stopped and fell silent, looking down to the raven-haired senshi. Mars looked up at her and nodded curtly, and Uranus stood still.

EarthAngel looked around the empty street, the same feeling of mixed foreboding and waiting coming upon her. She’s close…She thought shakily. I can feel it her… she’s strong tonight… She turned back to the other senshi quietly.

“Hecate is here,” she said simply, and Mars nodded again. Uranus and Vesta looked at her with curious looks, but nodded all the same. They ran quietly into a nearby alleyway, waiting for Hecate to appear.

They heard her long before they saw her, a greedy sort of humming meeting their ears. She was jovial that night, and as she passed the four hiding senshi saw that she was rolling a ball of shadow in her hands lovingly. EarthAngel’s eyes narrowed… she knew very well what that ball of shadow held. She looked back to the other three senshi and sighed, but nodded curtly and jumped out of the alleyway silently. She ran towards Hecate, then jumped again, raising her hammer above her head.

“Gaea Vines Entangle!” She yelled, bringing the hammer swinging onto the pavement.

The ground uttered a tired moan as it split and cracked, opening up to the depths below. Hecate turned slowly as vines hard as rock whipped towards her. She made no effort to dodge the attack, but rather, she uttered a high-pitched laugh that echoed eerily through the night. The vines wrapped around her tightly and she laughed.

EarthAngel’s eyes narrowed as the vines continued along their job slowly but surely. Hecate suddenly stopped laughing, but instead, looked towards EarthAngel with greedy, blood-red eyes. They glowed for a sharp second and the vines broke apart into a million obsidian shards. EarthAngel cursed under her breath and got ready to aim another attack.

Mars, in the meanwhile, had started her own attack. “Mars Flame Sniper!” She yelled, sending an arrow of flame to Hecate.

“Vesta FireRage!” Vesta yelled, adding to the fiery attack.

“Uranus Space Blaster!” Uranus yelled, making the attack even stronger. The attack shone a brilliant white, blinding the senshi slightly. Hecate simply continued to roll the shadow-ball in her hands lovingly.

“Gaea Vines Entangle!” Once again, a crack opened up in the earth and the vines mixed with Mars, Vesta and Uranus’ attack. Snakes of green light had appeared in the ball of white.

Hecate smiled softly as the attack hit her. The four senshi only heard a maniac’s giggle as the light engulfed her. For a moment, the three Sol senshi began to celebrate their seeming victory, but EarthAngel silenced them promptly. She knew that Hecate had very well survived that attack, that the new moon fueled her.

And so it was that Hecate simply stood where she was, a slight cut the only mark on one of her arms. She smiled wryly, then ran her opposite over the cut. Both the skin and the glove were mended and she smiled evilly. She kissed the shadow-ball then threw it high into the air.

She chanted slightly as the ball began to fall, then yelled out in Greek. EarthAngel’s eyes widened as the ball came crashing down to earth only to burst into a whirlwind of shadow that blinded them.

When they took their arms away from their eyes they saw a giant creature, tall, gangly, and lanky. She stood seven feet tall and was wreathed in shadow, a forgotten creature of the underworld. A small portion of her china-doll face could be seen through blood-incrusted hair, and long, thin fingers protruded from gangly arms that reached to her knees. A single silver eye could be seen from under her hair.

Hecate walked up to the creature and grasped its hand firmly and lovingly, looking up to the bit of face that she could see. The creature looked down to her with the same blank stare.

“Now, Danihe, could you please get rid of these four? Then I will let you hunt down the others. You would like that, wouldn’t you?”

Danihe nodded, then turned her blank face to the four senshi. Hecate let go of her hand and stepped back, smiling softly as her creature charged forward at the senshi. They jumped out of the way, but barely, and Danihe reached for whichever senshi she could get ahold of. She managed to grab Vesta’s ankle and swung her around, then let her fly. Vesta cried out in pain as she crashed into a nearby building and was gone from sight.

--

FireAngel, WaterAngel, and WindAngel all saw a bright flash of light then a flash of shadow before a scream reached their ears, and the Sol senshi struggled to keep up with them as they jumped and ran from building to building. None of the Sol senshi bothered to question them as they ran, knowing full-well that the Angels knew more about this enemy then they did. They all arrived at the same time to see Vesta hurled into a building by a tall gangly creature while Hecate stood and watched approvingly.

Moon cried out and Hecate turned to face the senshi that had just arrived, and smiled evilly. Moon’s eyes narrowed as she brought up her Eternal Tier and yelled out an attack.

“Silvermoon Crystal Power Kiss!” She yelled, and the attack flew for Hecate as FireAngel’s eyes narrowed, knowing full well that it wouldn’t affect her.

Moon’s eyes widened promptly and she cried out, seeing that the attack hadn’t affected Hecate. The Sol senshi started to hurl attacks at Hecate, while the three Angels rushed to EarthAngel, Uranus and Mars’ help.

Mars was running around Danihe, firing her Mars Sniper attack repeatedly, even though each arrow went through Danihe with no effect. Uranus and EarthAngel were attacking Danihe with their weapons, but only Uranus’ seemed to have any effect at all, although it only caused her a sharp pain wherever Uranus hit. It distracted her for EarthAngel to try and immobilize her, but she knew that she needed one other Angel to do so.

Hecate jumped back in frount of Danihe and the other Sol senshi followed, still hurling her attacks at her. All senshi attacked her while Pallas dug Vesta out of the building and stood back, holding her sister senshi in her arms. A hole had started to appear in the street where Hecate was from all the attacks.

Suddenly, a scream of anger emanated from Hecate and the attacks were hurled back to their originators. Danihe grabbed whatever senshi she could get ahold of and threw them into buildings right and left. One by one, the senshi fell bleeding, bruised or unconscious.

Hecate smiled approvingly to Danihe and placed her hand on Danihe’s forearm. She stopped promptly and watched Hecate walk over to FireAngel, who lay semi-concsious nearby. One hand was outstretched and the Darkness Sye appeared. Hecate kneeled down next to FireAngel and raised the sye above her head.

FireAngel’s eyes opened and she saw Hecate lying over her with a menacing grin. Tears started to flow down her face. She had failed, she knew it, she no longer cared. How could it end so soon?

A single tear hit the destroyed street, and it caused Hecate to pause for a moment. A single shining, silver tear rested there. It’s light seemed to grow stronger, and before either of them knew what was happening, the entire sky seemed to glow silver. It started to fluxuate silver and gold, reds coming into the mix. Hecate turned despite herself and the senshi looked up to a shadow that had appeared in the sky.

It was undecernable at first, but as it came closer the senshi could see the figure of a woman with dark skin, her shining silver hair flowing behind her. She had one leg extended and the other was bent, while her arms rested at her sides. A fuku of gold, red, and orange came into view and a sparkling copper tiara with a gold jewel sparkled at the senshi below. The eyes were closed and she was smiling.

The senshi seemed to glow as a pair of shining red boots touched the ground and her heels clicked. She opened her eyes to reveal a pair of glittering orange orbs and glanced over to Hecate.

Hecate had a look of utter astonishment and fear as she looked to the shining senshi. She stood slowly and started to back away from the new senshi as she walked forward. A shining golden flail with red spikes and an orange chain appeared in her outstretched hand as she walked towards Hecate. Hecate finally stopped, and her eyes narrowed as she brought the Darkness Sye above her head.

“Hecate Darkness Engulf!” She yelled, hurling the dark attack towards the senshi.

She simply raised the flail above her head and the attack was obliterated. She then stood with her feet shoulder-width, her left hip facing Hecate. She pointed the flail towards Hecate then brought it back and lifted her right leg. With a yell, she swung the flail over her head into the ground.

“Apollo Light Bringing!” she yelled.

Hecate and Danihe screamed as the ground cracked and splintered, sunlight poring through the ground. Danihe became a ball of shadow once again and Hecate snatched it as she screamed and flew away into the moonlight. The sunlight dwelled for a moment while the dark-skinned senshi simply stood, watching Hecate’s shadow diminish in the distance. WindAngel lifted her head, her hair and fuku covered and dust to look at the shining senshi. The senshi looked back and her orange eyes met with WindAngel’s dark green ones.

“SunAngel?” She said, before loosing all of her strength and falling unconscious.