Storyline Name: Foreign Distraction
Creators: Sailor Mercury & Anait Zelleire

Plot Summary:
Daeka, as Sailor Litae, has just connected with the spirit Cacus, gaining fire powers. Her three spirit trials on the planet Litae have left her feeling somewhat exhausted and yearning for rest and relaxation. Returning to her study of the journals of past mesites, she finds numerous mentions of a blue planet filled with life and energy in a distant galaxy. It becomes apparent to Daeka that this unknown world must be her next destination—if only to get away for a little bit!

On Earth, it is the 20th century, and Sailor Moon and her friends are occupied battling against the powers of the Black Moon Clan. Sailor Litae arrives on Earth, completely avoiding the sailor soldiers, but winds up entangling herself with a young woman of her same age named Misaki. Daeka entreats Misaki to act as her guide, claiming to be a poor lost foreigner in Japan. Misaki reluctantly agrees.

Unfortunately, the two women soon encounter an emissary of the Black Moon Clan: Peridoto. Separate from the rest of her group, Peridoto has been sent to use fragments of the Black Crystal to replace humans with Droids. She was tasked to operate outside of the Juuban district, to avoid humans from nearby regions creating interference where the heart of the Black Moon Clan plan existed. Peridoto targets a group of tourists that includes both Daeka and Misaki. To fight back against the unexpected threat the two women transform, revealing to each other that they are both sailor soldiers.

Daeka is rather excited to meet another sailor soldier, but Misaki remains reserved. She hesitates to connect with Daeka, but finds that the other woman is determined to get to know her. Misaki reveals how little she knows about her identity as Sailor Orphelin. Daeka is determined to help uncover the mystery of who Misaki was in her past life...even if Misaki isn't particularly enthusiastic about this.

Sailor Orphelin and Sailor Litae find themselves allied to accomplish two goals: prevent Peridoto from harming innocent civilians and help Sailor Orphelin learn about her past.

Details on any necessary information: Takes place during the manga timeline of the "Black Moon" arc, but the setting for this storyline is located outside of Juuban. Sailor Moon and her friends will not be encountered. (The same is also true for the Black Moon family canon characters, although Peridoto may communicate via telecommunications with Esmeraude or Saphir.)

Restrictions: Sailor Litae, Sailor Orphelin, and Peridoto are the only playable characters. Other characters will be NPC if absolutely necessary.

OOC Thread: Skype OOC

Member to Character List:
Daeka Nicopolis/Sailor Litae - Anait Zelliere
Misaki Togawa/Sailor Orphelin - Sailor Mercury
Peridoto - Sailor Mercury

Storyline Approval

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

Another day at the bookstore. Alone. Empty. Through the glass doors facing the streets she could watch the wind blowing the last of the leaves off the trees. The minutes refused to tick away. The hours sat stiff and permanent. She wasn't even working a full shift today, and it already felt like she was being buried alive between the shelves of books. Even the foliage and people outside moved in slow motion.

Misaki kept thinking about the monster that had attacked right here, only a week ago, in this quiet and unassuming bookstore. The damage hadn't been too bad, although at the time it seemed utterly catastrophic to Misaki. The owner freaked out, of course, but the insurance pulled through. With a bit of extra clean-up work from the part-time staff, it was only closed for two days. Now there were only the smallest hints of what had happened, probably only things Misaki recognized because she had been there at the time. The monster thing actually helped their sales; people kept dropping by for the novelty seeing the place mentioned in that crazy news article.

She kind of wished some of those people would stop by today. So far this was the slowest Thursday she had ever worked. (Okay, it probably wasn't, but it felt like it!) There were only so many times she could sweep the floors, face the merchandise, count the cash in the till, and review the inventory. She felt like her sanity was at risk. There hadn't been a single customer all day.

When Takuya strolled in, 15 minutes late for his shift, Misaki practically threw the keys at him in her haste to leave.

"Woah, someone's in a hurry!" he laughed, tossing his apron over his head. "Got a hot date?"

Misaki blushed at his comment, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. Sure, make fun of me. Misaki, the loser. What kind of guy would ever want someone like her? But there was no way she was going to say anything to him. Takuya, with his easygoing grin and expertly-styled hair, looked like he could have been a model. Even though he was still taller than Misaki, it was only by the slightest extra tidbit. And next to his lean frame, she looked positively dumpy. He had friends and girlfriends. People like him could always get away with teasing people like her. She only shook her head, avoiding eye contact, shouldered her purse, and hurried out into the brisk November air.

She was dying to get out of the store, but once she emerged she didn't want to go home just yet. Mom was working, and would probably be at work until long after dark. It was late afternoon now, and the schoolkids—at least the ones without club activities or cram school—were just starting to flood the town. It made Misaki feel uncomfortable to walk among them. It only reminded her how much she missed everything before, when she was one of their laughing members. That seemed like ages ago, now.

What she should have done with this bit of spare time was work on her novel.

There was nothing she wanted to avoid more thoroughly right now than working on her novel.

Instead, she wandered into the large park. It was not quite deserted, but today's weather and the changing seasons made it less crowded than summer months. Conveniently located just about halfway between her job and her home, it was the perfect place to waste some time. She found an area that seemed emptier than the rest of it and flopped down on a bench, glancing up at the sky. Her hands were cold, and she tried to tuck them into her sleeves for warmth.

The clear autumn sky slowly tinted with violet hues as the sun began to set.

Staring up at it, Misaki sighed.

Why is my life like this? Why couldn't it be something better? Nothing good ever happens to me.

She spotted a beverage vending machine nearby. At least a warm can of tea would keep her hands from freezing. Misaki trudged over, fishing in her purse for the right coins, and made her selection.

Daeka fell onto her bed, allowing the soft blankets to swallow her up, thinking that maybe she could just disappear into this sea of softness for a year.  The morning's practice with Cacus had been frustrating to say the least. 'You need passion', he kept telling her. All of her attempts had ended with the courtyard on fire.  After quickly switching to Aura and putting the fire out, the trainer was heading towards her.  Daeka did not want to deal with this, she ducked behind some workers who were still trying to clean up after her fire.  After losing his trail, she had come back to her room.

She sighed deeply, wondering it really had been mistake, maybe she wasn't supposed to be Litae after all.  Pages in a book on her desk were ruffled by the breeze flowing in through the window. Her thoughts turned to a passage she had read recently, about another planet. "Why not?" The low woman's voice surprised her and sat up to see Arete sitting on the edge of her bed.  "Why not what?" Daeka replied settling back down into the bed.  "Oh come on, you know I know what you're thinking," Arete answered back, she could hear the grin in her voice.  "I don't think the head priest would appreciate it if I suddenly asked to go visit another planet."
"So don't ask."
"And just how do I do that?"
"Tell him it's part of your training, that if you want to get any better with Cacus, you need to go visit this planet."
For a second, she was very tempted, maybe it would work... "Wait-why would you want to help me run off to another planet?"
"Because you really are getting nowhere with Cacus, you need to experience more, traveling can help with that."
"How is is that you always make so much sense?"
Arete chuckled, "I'm the goddess of wisdom, it's in my nature," and with that she was gone.

After much deliberation she brought her request to the head priest.  Reluctantly he agreed and Daeka made preparations to leave the next day at dawn.  Although she had explored the area around her planet, she had never left her solar system.  She stopped just at the edge and collected herself.  The journal had given her easy directions to find the planet.  Now Litae, she oriented herself and aimed towards the planet Earth.  The journey hadn't taken long, only a few hours and she found herself at the edge of the solar system.  As she approached the planet she tried to slow down, the journal had mentioned senshi on this planet before.  As she struggled to slow down, she hadn't practiced too many landings before, she located the senshi, several of them in fact.  She felt a sudden twang of anxiety, maybe later, she'll introduce herself later.  She angled away from where she felt their crystals, now trying to control her descent.  She was considerably slower now, but the ground was still rushing towards her.  A moment later she had successfully touched ground but her feet kept moving.  Her excess energy pushed forward into some strange metal object, knocking it over.  She fell back onto the ground and detransformed, tired after her space travel.

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

An object flew out of the sky and obliterated the vending machine only seconds before it would have dispensed Misaki's toasty can of green tea. She caught a glimpse of the streak in the sky before realizing it was coming right at her, but her attempt to jump backwards and out of the way only resulted in tripping over her own feet and falling into a tangled heap. Pale blue eyes watched the destruction with sheer terror.

"Screamed like a girl" would be the best way to describe the shrill noise that the orange-haired girl emitted as she watched it all, frozen in place with fear. She kept screaming even when it became apparent that what had happened was a single moment of something incredibly strange, not a continued onslaught. Her eyes darted around, trying to make sense of it all, and suddenly she was struck with the thought that this could be another monster. Another turn of her head, and she saw the creature.

No. No, not anything like that monster from the previous time. Instead, she saw another woman. Probably her own age.

Misaki moved forwards now, instead of backwards. She leaned over the prone figure, puzzled by what she saw. Not a meteor, an alien, or a robot—you know, the kinds of things one expects to see falling out of the sky—but a young woman with darker skin and pale hair, dressed in something that kind of looked like window curtains.

"Are you dead?!" she asked, panicked.

Her mind whirled with confusion. Oh! Oh, I should call the cops! Or should I call an ambulance first? Wait, can I just leave her here? She looked around, but she didn't see a nearby phone booth. Misaki hesitated, unsure if she should stay or try to find help. This was crazy! Different than the monster in the bookstore, but still crazy!

At the sound of a feminine voice, Daeka opened her eyes to see a woman with orange hair crouched over her.  For a moment she wasn't sure what to do or say, not having expected contact this quickly.  She placed a default grin on her face and replied to the girl, "Only a few bumps and bruises, thank you."  Maybe things like this happen all the time and she could distract the girl from asking questions.  Daeka pulled herself to her feet and noticed that the girl was wearing very strange clothing, and also that it was cold, colder than what she experienced on her planet.  She looked over at the metal object she broke, "Wow I can't believe that thing just fell apart, how strange, you weren't hurt were you?"

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

Misaki's mouth opened, as if to protest, hung open silently, and then snapped shut.

Just fell apart? But you... you crashed into it... didn't you?

She didn't really feel so sure about that right now. Had she imagined everything she thought she had seen moments before? Misaki had been pretty darn sure that something shot out of the sky and obliterated the vending machine, and a few seconds ago her conviction that the "something" was this young woman was also pretty strong. Now it faltered, faced with what the other girl was telling her. She had never been good at spotting a lie. Not even a bad lie. So obviously, the story she doubted was her own.

"Um, I'm fine," she replied, still incredibly confused. "I'm glad you are okay."

Misaki watched the woman shiver, and thought of her own cold hands. In that light fabric, there was no way the woman could be properly insulated from these temperatures. And this wasn't even an extremely cold day—Misaki herself wore a jacket and warmish clothes, but her scarf and hat were for awesomeness not really for warmth. She paused for a moment, unsure of what to do, and then shrugged out of her jacket. A bit of an awkward dance was involved when she became trapped under her purse strap.

She offered it over, ashamed at how limp and unfashionable it looked. Still, it would be warm enough. Misaki could feel the chill slightly more, but her sweater and thick tights would absolutely keep her from freezing. She readjusted her scarf, tucking it close to her neck to help. The stranger was much thinner than she was, so she knew the girl would be absolutely swimming in her coat, but that was definitely better than nothing.

"So, um, what's your name? I'm Misaki."

There were probably other, more important questions to ask, but she couldn't think of them.

Daeka took the woman's coat gratefully, wrapping it around herself.  Misaki, as she introduced herself, asked no more questions about the landing and crash, and Daeka was relieved that for the moment she wouldn't have to explain the whole 'not from your planet' thing.  "My name is Daeka," she paused, deciding how to ask Misaki for help without appearing suspicious. "I'm not from around here, I'm-" Her mind raced for a plausible excuse, "On vacation. Would you be my host and guide?" She asked this question confidently, like this was exactly how things worked here.  If the girl didn't agree she wasn't sure what she would do next.

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

A normal person would have immediately found all of this suspicious. Even the most rational person, confronted with someone who fell out of the sky, denied it, and then claimed to be on vacation, would start suspecting an alien infiltration. Even if they couldn't admit that to themselves, they would at least call the cops. Or just try to get away from the evidently-untrustworthy person to avoid being pulled into something nefarious.

Luckily for Daeka, Misaki was not like that.

"Your host and guide?" she repeated, blinking with confusion. Didn't people who went on vacation usually have this sort of thing all planned out? Granted, it had been a long time since Misaki had been on a trip—that was all before her father died. Mom hated taking time off of work, avoiding it at all cost.

"Well, maybe we should start with warmer clothes," she commented. The exposed feet in those sandals were probably going numb. "You're not going to have a good trip if you get hypothermia."

Maybe they could go shopping, possibly stop at a café to get some hot tea and/or snacks. Misaki didn't know if Daeka was hungry, but she was still pretty down about missing out on that can of tea. She didn't mind helping—the woman seemed nice enough—but this whole situation still seemed so incredibly weird. Childhood reminders of "stranger danger" were vaguely floating through her mind, but foreigners often needed help. At least this one spoke the language! If they had to all this talking in English it never would have worked out.

"You do have, uh, money for your trip? Do you?"

Daeka relaxed a little as Misaki agreed to help her. In response to her money questions, she began looking around until she saw it.  She walked over a few yards from where she had landed earlier and found her sack.  Turning so that her back was to Misaki she opened it up pulled out a small leather bag the size of her hand.  Daeka untied the leather laces and pulled out a few gold coins etched with the symbols of her country.  She returned the leather bag to her bigger sack and turned back around to face Misaki, four gold coins rested in her fist.  It's not that she wanted to lie to Misaki, she just didn't trust her yet.  A grin on her face, Daeka held out her hand and showed the gold coins to her new companion.  "Will this be enough?"

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

Even as they walked out of the shopping center, Misaki still felt like she was in a daze. Or in a dream. She had never even seen gold before that moment, at least not gold that wasn't plated on jewelry. What kind of tourist carried around gold bullion? Japan was fairly safe, but she wasn't sure that it was really safe enough that one could walk around with precious metals. Weren't there all kinds of rules and laws about bringing that into foreign countries? All of these questions buzzed around in her mind.

She hadn't been the only one confused. The guys at the pawn shop—not the kind of citizens Misaki typically felt comfortable in the presence of—were overwhelmed and confused to find two young women carrying so much gold. They hemmed and hawed over the sale. The coins that Daeka carried were completely unknown in origin. They weren't from any country or time period that the workers could identify. Yet the coins were absolutely genuine, no question about that. These heavy, solid coins fetched a price that made Misaki think she had lost her mind when she first heard it.

That much money ought to be in a bank account. The blue-eyed girl kept glancing sideways at her companion, fearful that they would get robbed. Misaki didn't actually remember any part of their subsequent shopping trip to get weather-appropriate attire for this strange visitor. She was so caught up in the weirdness of everything going on that she felt as though she had blacked out, but her body carried her through the motions.

Now they sat in a small pancake café (one of Misaki's favourite places to stop for a hot beverage), Daeka surrounded by her purchases and Misaki staring off into space.

"Welcome to Hotcake Heaven! Are you ready to order?" chirped the waitress, pencil ready to record.

The orange-haired girl didn't even move. Her gaze remained focused at some unknown distant point. Her lips were parted, the mouth slightly open. The waitress raised an eyebrow and waved her hand, chuckling awkwardly.

"Um, hello? Do you need a few more minutes?"

"Oh!" gasped the chubbier of the two girls, blushing with embarrassment. She ordered hastily, fumbling over what she wanted and confusing both herself and the waitress a number of times. When that ordeal was over, she still didn't quite know what to say to the other party seated at the table. Maybe she'd feel better when their drinks arrived. Daeka didn't seem familiar with the menu, so Misaki made a few suggestions for her order. Hopefully the other woman wouldn't hate it.

"So... What do you want to see while you're here?" she finally asked, feeling like a very inadequate host.

Daeka was glad that her gold coins had a high trade value on this planet.  She hadn't really thought about what would happen if the metal wasn't valued or even known here, now she wouldn't have to.  She had followed Misaki around as she found clothing that reflected the weather here.  It was clear that the girl was nervous about the money, her eyes darted to Daeka's sack repeatedly.  She wasn't worried about it, there had been no mention of abnormally strong people here in the journal, and with her training, she was certain she could handle any trouble that came their way.

Daeka watched Misaki staring off into space, curious about the girl's behavior.  She had picked up a complete stranger and helped her pick out appropriate clothing.  Was it a ruse? A trick to lure her into false safety?  Misaki was now fumbling with the menu and deciding her order.  Daeka chuckled under her breath, dismissing those thoughts.  She allowed Misaki to help her choose her food as well before the waitress left.  Where do I want to go? She honestly had no idea, the place was completely different then when the last Litae had visited the planet.  "I'm not picky, wherever you would like to go should be fine."  She sat back and smiled, more genuinely this time.

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

The response that this stranger gave made Misaki blink in surprise. She shook her head, slightly confused, and nearly caused the returning waitress to upset the entire tray of beverages.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry!" the orange-haired young woman gasped, trying to get out of the way and just winding up more in it.

The waitress smiled, a smile that vaguely concealed her mounting exasperation with this particular customer. She remained polite and calm, even if she internally groaned at being stuck with a table like this one. The young woman carefully extricated herself from the bumbling customer, the required smile never leaving her face. Once no longer in danger, she placed the hot beverages on the table, and did her best to take her leave swiftly, after enduring the litany of apologies from Misaki.

Misaki gripped her mug with both hands, staring down into the café latte with a deep sigh. At least it was warm and comforting.

All of that nonsense with the waitress had distracted her from the sheer absurdity of Daeka's comment. No tourist would travel to an unfamiliar country without having even a slight idea of what she might like to do once there. People traveled to broaden their horizons, of course, but that was different from just wandering around and asking others what they preferred to do. This should have been a clue to Misaki that there was something very odd about the young woman she was sitting with. It did not. Now that her initial reaction was forgotten, she was instead trying to determine what would be most interesting nearby—and what they could do before it was night.

"Well, there's a small art museum nearby. It specializes in Japanese watercolour paintings. I guess that's not interesting, but I like going there..."

Misaki chuckled awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. She knew she wasn't suited to be anyone's host! The other girl was probably thinking right now about what a boring suggestion it was. Maybe she would have preferred to enjoy the nightlife of the other nearby area... but that was absolutely not something Misaki was interested in. She would have died before stepping into a dance club.



Standing outside the Yamatane Museum, a very suspicious-looking woman in a very conspicuous outfit seemed to be completely ignored by the others walking around nearby. She wore a long black trench coat and black opaque sunglasses, apparently trying to disguise herself. It didn't really do much. The bright yellow-green of her outfit, most of it a combination of leather, velvet, and sheer fabric, looked out of place for most locations. This was especially true here, where the other buildings seemed to be mostly schools and office buildings.

Peridoto checked the name on the sign outside, then looked down at the note she carried. Yes, this was the target that Esmeraude had suggested. The green-haired woman wrinkled her nose. Ugh, art museums. What a drag! No, that did not matter. This was her mission, and she always wanted to succeed at her mission.

She fished around in one pocket and then opened her palm. She cupped a selection of tiny black jewels, each crackling with faint blue-black electricity. These were not just any gems. These were fragments of the Malefic Black Crystal, specifically provided to her by Saphir. With this pieces of the crystal and the Dark Power channeled from them, she'd be able to collect plenty of energy from these pathetic humans.

The tall and imposing woman strode into the museum, ready to begin her work.

Daeka couldn't hide the grin on her face as Misaki tried and failed to stay out of the waitress's way.  The girl's odd behavior actually helped Daeka to relax a little.  She wasn't a fan of blindly trusting people, assuming most had ill intentions at heart.  However Misaki's odd behavior was just too awkward (and funny) to fake.  This put her at ease, she didn't have to try and guess what the other's aim was or constantly stay on guard, though she didn't fully trust her yet.  For now, maybe she could just enjoy the food and help she had received.  Misaki mentioned watercolor art, the term was strange to her. Even though she wasn't exactly a master of art, the idea sounded relaxing, especially for her first day here.  

Her hands gripped the hot mug, preparing to take a drink,"That sounds interesting, I'd love to go."

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

She managed to mostly stay out of the way when the waitress returned with the rest of their order. Mostly. She felt very sheepish about all the trouble she was causing, especially in front of this visitor. At least the hotcakes, a true specialty of Hotcake Heaven, were living up to their reputation. The two plates on the table each contained one very thick moderate-sized golden-brown fluffy griddlecake, differing only in the fruit and syrup toppings.

One plate offered Misaki's favourite: honey and butter. She didn't like flavours that interfered with her coffee. The other was the shop's most popular: a shortcake style with sliced strawberries and plenty of whipped cream. She could only hope that she had chosen something her guest would not mind. After a pause, she carefully cut each pancake into four pieces, to make it easier for them to share.

"So... where are you staying, while you're here?" Misaki asked, taking another sip of her latte. She didn't really know what to talk about! Thankfully they'd be headed to the museum in just a moment or two. But she wanted to enjoy the coziness of this nice warm drink in peaceful relaxation.

Daeka studied the food with interest as Misaki cut it into pieces for them.  The food looked like hot flat bread and Daeka wondered if it would taste as much.  She quickly gave thanks for the food in her head just as Misaki popped the question about lodgings for her time here.  She had hoped that she would be able to get supplies and stay in the woods, but the weather and highly populated area had stopped that idea.  When she traveled around the country back on Litae, she merely stayed at a Temple when she required food and rest.  She doubted that there were places that worked like that here.  Maybe...

"Good question, where I come from, travelers normally lodge with the locals.  Where do foreigners lodge when they come here?"  

Having both answered and asked a question, Daeka reached over with her utensil and took a bite from the hotcakes covered in fruit.  The sweetness of the bread surprised her, the usual bread of her own culture being more bland to allow flavors of other parts of the meal to be tasted instead.

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

Misaki pondered Daeka's question in-between a forkful of pancake followed by a sip of café latte.

"Usually a hotel. Young people, sometimes a hostel. Really young ones, like kids here for school, stay with local families—but you have to pre-arrange something like that in advance."

There was a part of her that almost offered the other young woman a place to stay. But that would have been crazy! It's true that the apartment Misaki shared with her mother had once contained three additional people (her father, now deceased, and her two older sisters, now moved out). Still, it was small by most standards, and it felt more so now with her mother's ever-increasing "collection" of trinkets. Besides, what would her mother even think, if she let an unknown foreigner into their home? That was just asking to be murdered in your bed.

It was clear that this traveler did not have her lodgings already arranged. They'd have to deal with that before nightfall, but the museum closed early. They didn't have time to do so before arriving at the museum, if they were going to see it. Misaki really enjoyed the peacefulness of walking through the small gallery spaces, looking at the various exhibits on display. At least one thing today would be familiar!

They finished up at Hotcake Heaven, not rushing but not lingering either, and headed out towards the museum. Luckily for both, it was in walking distance. Soon the two young women had purchased their tickets and could now spend an hour or so looking at the artwork.

There had been something strange about the clerk at the ticket desk. Misaki couldn't quite put her finger on it, but he seemed... really stiff. Almost mechanical. His facial expression remained blank and neutral during the entire transaction—as well as before and after it. Now that she was in the museum, her eyes kept getting distracted from the beautiful paintings, looking instead at the other patrons. Some of them seemed... odd. The same kind of odd. How could there be this many people (it wasn't crowded, but it certainly wasn't empty) looking at these beautiful old pieces of art without a smile or talking among each other? The silence in the gallery felt wrong.

Misaki glanced over at Daeka, wondering if the white-haired woman noticed anything, but too embarrassed to actually bring up her concerns.

Daeka ate the rest of her meal quietly, pondering this 'hotel' situation.  Although she didn't like the idea of having another person supervise her, she didn't want to be completely alone either.  She followed Misaki to the museum, noting that her companion's mood seemed to have improved.  Until they arrived anyway, the atmosphere was strange here.  She wasn't sure what normal was exactly, but Misaki's questioning glances told her that something was off.  Although she tried to pay attention to the pieces being displayed, she found the crowd to be a little odd. She turned to Misaki discreetly and whispered, "Are places like this always so... stiff?"

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

It was a relief to hear Daeka voice what Misaki herself had been wondering. She took a side-step closer to her companion, intending to be sly about it, but failing intensely. The other patrons in the museum didn't say anything or move significantly, but all eyes were quietly focusing on the two young women who had just entered. It did not make the place feel more welcoming.

"No. It's not usually like this," she replied, lowering her voice. Every time she glanced around her, some of the security guards, docents, and guests made unwavering eye contact. It only intensified Misaki's feelings of nervousness.



Her Droids easily noticed the two women who did not belong there. Peridoto watched them on the security cameras, sitting tucked neatly away in the back office. Around her, guarded by two Droids, were the collapsed and lifeless-looking bodies of the staff members and visitors she had replaced with Black Moon Clan forces. The entire museum belonged to the Black Moon Clan right now. She had drained these foolish humans of their energy, absorbing it into the shards of Malefic Black Crystal that Saphir provided to her. That small tray of shards sparked and snapped with arcs of dark electricity that the energy manifested as. She had already collected twice as much as requested; her mission would be considered quite a success.

The museum would be closing soon, so she only intended to continue until the official hours had elapsed. There wouldn't be many more visitors, but that would not be a problem. Peridoto hadn't even expected these two young ladies. They looked young and healthy, the life force from them almost visible to her. It was time to add them to her growing collection.

She used the power granted to her, conjuring up additional Droids. Two, one for each of the women they would soon replace. Currently they looked like a security guard and a museum docent, but after they knocked out the women they'd look just like the white-haired and orange-haired one. They bowed to her, faces impassive as always, and she pointed at the screen.

"Those two. Replace them. Go!" she commanded.

In the gallery, the security guard and docent carefully maneuvered towards the two, the male security guard approaching the redhead and the female staffer quietly stepping towards the white-haired young woman. They moved with purpose, ready to strike as soon as they were close enough to attack.

Daeka wasn't sure how she should feel about Misaki's confirmation that there was something going.  Movement on the other side of the room caught her attention and she saw a woman coming towards her.  At first she wasn't sure of the woman's intention, until her movement became a run accompanied by a balled up fist pulled back.  Daeka dropped her bags to the ground, lowered her center, and waited.  In a few steps the woman was near enough to launch a punch at Daeka's face.  She waited until the very last second before side-stepping the punch, grabbing the attacker's arm and shoulder and flipping her over, her back hitting the ground hard.  At first she was concerned about hurting a human, not being entirely sure of the general strength of people here, but something had felt weird about the attacker she just laid out on the floor.  She turned to Misaki, maybe they could still escape...

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

She didn't notice the security guard approaching until he lunged at her, grabbing her wrist. Misaki screamed, shrill terror, and flailed around. She glanced over, blue eyes panicked, and saw another museum employee attempt to punch Daeka. What on Earth was going on? This was absolutely crazy! The security guard was strong—so incredibly strong! His grip on her wrist felt like an iron brace.

As she thrashed about, her off-kilter and unpredictable motions nearly knocked him off his feet, and he finally released her. The look in Daeka's eyes was a clear message that they should run, something Misaki was only too willing to do. However, as she bolted towards the exit of the gallery, the few other people in the room suddenly turned towards the two women. They approached slowly, but it wasn't friendly. The blank faces now looked ominous and terrifying. The security guard was among the small group quietly closing in around them, and the fallen museum docent had picked herself up and joined in as well.

Misaki felt a sinking feeling in her stomach that this was all somehow related to that weird thing that had happened to her earlier at her job.

"S-sorry," she stuttered, glancing sideways at the white-haired young woman. "I t-think we're in trouble."

Daeka moved closer to Misaki, trying to go through all the possible strategies.  She could try to fight her way out but she would have to cover for Misaki, who appeared to have no hand-to-hand combat ability.  Maybe if the girl could find a place to hide, but what if there were more? And these weird beings were stronger than humans, she may only last so long before having to transform.  She tsked, Daeka hated the idea of transforming within hours of having landed on the planet.  She glanced to Misaki again, she didn't want the girl to be hurt because of her own pride...

One of the people had gotten within lunging range, their hand out to grab Daeka.  She turned, grabbed their arm, pulled them through their lunge and towards another person, knocking both of them over.  She didn't want to transform! But if she didn't, she risked letting the only friend she had made get hurt.  What should she do?

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

Misaki just didn't know what to do! She backed up closer and closer to Daeka as the others closed in around them, her mind whirling and trying to figure out a way out. The only thing she knew how to do was to run, and right now she couldn't. Her white-haired companion seemed much more equipped for this kind of situation; Misaki was in awe at how easily Daeka seemed to disarm and force back their attackers.

In fact, by marveling at the traveler's prowess she was letting herself be distracted from the situation.

Two of the people rushed towards the orange-haired female. She turned towards the motion, just in time to feel unfamiliar fingers squeeze tightly around a wrist and a shoulder. Another set of hands flew towards her, heading for her throat. Misaki screamed, the noise doing nothing to dissuade her attackers, then threw her body forward. In this scenario, her heavier weight came in handy—she pulled free from the others and rushed through the crowd, shoving the drone-like people back and away from her.

Somehow, through it all, her hand grabbed Daeka's wrist and she pulled the white-haired woman behind her. Misaki ran blindly, her lungs burning. When she found herself near the entrance again, thudding uselessly against the locked front doors, she was momentarily amazed to have gotten so far. There was no time to pause or celebrate; they were still being pursued. Her fingers squeezed around the Jet Brooch in her pocket, and her lips twisted into a frown.

The blue eyes that looked up at Daeka were frightened and desperate.

"I, um... Well, there's this, uh... I just... I..." she tried to explain, the panic inside rising as she thought she heard footsteps coming ever closer. "Ohhhhh, I don't know!"

The orange-haired young woman spotted the open door to the coat check and ducked inside, still bringing the other woman with her.

"She's going to think I'm totally crazy and weird, but..."

There was simply no time to think about it any longer.

"Orphelin Fragment Power, Make Up!" she called, remembering the words she had hoped to never say again.

She heard the dirge echo in her ears, felt the gray mist and the somber feathers flutter around her, but it took no more than a flash of light in a moment for Misaki to transform into Sailor Orphelin. The ornate black costume would have looked out of place anywhere except perhaps a sexy goth fashion show. She felt the heavy black earrings rattle as she turned her head. There wasn't time to explain any of this to the visitor now. It would have to wait. Right now... she had to protect them both!

Her companion grabbing her hand and dragging her toward the front exit surprised her to say the least.  She had expected her to freeze in fear and Daeka would have to fight their way out.  Once they made it to the still locked door Misaki looked terrified as she shoved them both into the small room near them.  At this point Daeka did not understand the plan as Misaki muttered something she couldn't hear.  A moment later Misaki was standing before her... but different... almost like- Then her host ran off!  What was she doing?! She had already shown that fighting was not a particular skill she possessed, she was going to get hurt.  Daeka sat still, unable to decide her course of action.  There were a lot of those weird beings to fight off, it would be difficult if not impossible without transforming.  But more than anything she didn't want to be that person.  Would she really let pride get in the way of protecting her new friend?  She finally decided, and the words "Aura, Answer My Prayer!" left her lips.  She felt the wind swirl around her and the familiar presence enter her mind.  My my, I wasn't expecting to be called so soon. I know, but my friend needs help and I can't do it alone. You don't have too.  Daeka moved out of the closet and towards Misaki dressed as strangely different as she was.  Maybe it was the same thing, maybe she was a soldier as well...  An enemy rushed towards them, no time for that now, first they need to get to safety!

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

Sailor Orphelin raced out of the closet and into the fray of battle, her heart pounding. Her mind buzzed with how completely this was absolutely not what she wanted to be doing. This was supposed to be a peaceful evening sitting in the park, avoiding her novel. Not some kind of... oh, whatever this was! Even when the strange other young woman showed up, shopping and pancakes wasn't so bad. Trips to the watercolour museum, those were nice, too. Evil terrible museum people attacking them? So completely not her style!

There had been no choice. They couldn't run and escape. If they tried to hide in the coat closet—or anywhere else—they'd be found. They were locked in. As much as she hated it... maybe the same thing that saved her in the bookstore could save them now. She wasn't worried about it for herself, but for the foreigner she had accompanying her. No one deserved this kind of a terrible vacation.

The awful museum people were waiting for her, although they were confused by her changed appearance. When one of the women stared at her, she realized now that the eyes were not the eyes of a human. They were something far worse. Some kind of evil, malevolent thing. She shuddered, instinctively pulling back.

In response to her fear, the blank faces of the impostors turned towards her. They made no noise, but she could feel their ill intent.

And then, there was another young woman beside her. Someone dressed similarly, although not the same. Sailor Orphelin turned towards the person, confused, questions filling her mind. Before she could ask them, one of the enemies jumped forward.

Orphelin reacted almost instinctively, jumping out of the way. As she landed on her feet, somehow managing not to fall off her high heels, she crossed her wrists before her and summoned the attack she had used once before.

"Grief Shock!"

The light that raced forward from her hands slammed into the advancing person, enveloping them in a bright light. As it faded, the thing that had looked like a museum patron dissolved into dust, leaving behind only a small gemstone with a strange upside-down black crescent moon. In a few more seconds, even that was gone. So... these people... weren't actually human?



Peridoto's green eyes widened with anger as sailor soldiers appeared. The building had been secured! How in the name of Nemesis had sailor soldiers been able to breach the locks? Those terrible tricky people were just as bad as she had heard whispered among the other Black Moon Clan members. But wait, hadn't Green Esmeraude told her that there were no sailor soldiers in this region? Weren't they concentrated within the district that the leaders were busy targeting?

Well, that didn't change the fact that she had a problem. When the strange one draped in black obliterated one of her Droids, Peridoto knew it was really a problem. She leaned forward, pulling the microphone forward and broadcasting over the loudspeakers.

"Target those sailor soldiers! Kill them!"

The Droids reacted immediately to her instructions, their dead eyes glittering with malice.

Daeka watched as her transformed host took out one of the attackers, proving that they were not human but something else.  Knowing this gave her some relief, it meant she wouldn't have to hold back on their enemies.  You should still be careful of the art though.  The low female voice reminder her to be cautious of the museum's treasures.  The enemies all looked at the two, their eyes filled with killer intent.  Daeka crossed the fans in front of her, then pulled them away from each other with force, sending sharp wind towards one of the attackers.  The false guard was torn to pieces, it's crystal also disappearing quickly.  She turned to the transformed Misaki, "What do you say, destroy them all or try to escape?"

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

She wasn't really sure if she could trust this other mysterious person, but so far she was fighting back against the bad guys—that seemed like it would bode well. When the white-haired woman in the tunic asked her question, Sailor Orphelin felt pretty certain that she was on the right side. (The side of whoever was not these weird not-people inside the museum, obviously.) Pale eyes darted around the room at the assembled group. No, it was too many to count.

Orphelin dodged, causing two incoming attempts from more not-people in the gallery to miss their mark, and called her answer back over her shoulder.

"I don't know! Do you think we can fight them all? There are so many."

But she also knew that the museum was probably still sealed. They really didn't have many options!

The veiled sailor soldier sent another attack careening towards a docent, dissolving the figure as it had the previous one. She panted with the effort; there was so much running around! She wasn't in shape for this! Not to mention, it took a lot of focus and energy to retaliate against the monsters or whatever they were. Sailor Orphelin felt a little bit more exhausted with each attempt, and she had only used her strange power twice so far.

"I'm not sure how long I can keep this up! Do you see a way out?"

In response to the other's question of an exit, Daeka quickly looked around the room, her eyes scanning for an exit.  Finding nothing promising, she glanced back towards the entrance they came in.  "Unless you want to destroy part of the building-" She jumped and landed to the side of an enemy trying to tackle her.  Using her fans, she kept the attackers momentum going and shoved them into another one, destroying them both.  Though combat was not exactly exhausting for herself, she could see that Misaki wasn't exactly at full strength anymore. She needed take out as many as she could. Turing towards a group of three, she pulled her fans to her chest and focused on the air currents.  Thrusting her hands out and crossing the fans she caused a small storm of wind that shredded the three to pieces.  She let her breath out slowly and backed up next to her host.

Peridoto hissed, her eyes locked on the security monitor, as she watched these two nuisances destroy more and more of her precious Droids. This was absolutely not the way her plan was supposed to go, and that was unacceptable as far as she was concerned. She had collected enough energy to satisfy her superiors, but the thought of being forced out of this location by sailor soldiers, instead of retiring from it as her own decision, raised the chartreuse-coloured woman's ire. With this kind of nonsense, she could have gone for a glass of chartreuse.

Her Droids did their best to obey her orders, attacking the annoyances with all of their ability, but they were only Droids after all. They were clearly outmatched. The one with the white hair seemed well-versed in combat. Peridoto did her best to watch the woman, hoping to ask Green Esmeraude for additional information. She could only hope that other Black Moon Clan members had information about all sailor soldiers active in the 20th century.

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

Destroying part of the building was not something Sailor Orphelin felt comfortable with. This was a museum—one of her favourites, in fact. If they damaged the building just to save themselves, what would the museum do? It would be so expensive to fix. And the artwork might be compromised! No, that really wasn't something she could do.

All they could do was keep trying to defeat these monsters. Orphelin tried to ignore how tired she felt, steadying herself on these absurd high heels and summoning her power once again. There were so many things she would have rather been doing right now, but she shushed herself for having such thoughts. She needed to focus, or she wasn't going to be able to get out of here alive!

Deep breath, now.

"Grief Shock!"

There were now seven enemies left.  It was possible that she could take them, but the time it would take could mean more reinforcements.  If they attacked all at once, well she couldn't guarantee the museum would be undamaged from her defense.  And she had to guarantee her host's escape as well.  Still this was different and more interesting than what she faced back home on Litae.  Seeing Misaki's movements beside her, Litae quickly decided to attack as well and unleashed a torrent of wind right after Grief Shock was released.

:: Sailor Orphelin :: Misaki Togawa ::

The wind sent forward by Sailor Litae shimmered for a moment, then merged seamlessly with the brilliant white winged shape of Sailor Orphelin's attack. Both glimmered and glowed, intensifying. The wind could be seen trailing the bird, as though it propelled the thing forward. The visible elements of the attack seemed to have magnified as they merged together into this one harmonious grouping.

The light slammed into the ground near the cluster of remaining monsters, exploding outward. As they screeched and tried to cover themselves, as if they could protect the light from hitting them, everything in the gallery went white.

When colour slowly returned, only piles of dust and gemstones marked with that upside-down black crescent moon remained. And soon, even those were gone. The gallery itself was—surprisingly enough—completely intact. No artwork was damaged in the blast of, well, whatever that had been.

Sailor Orphelin took it all in, her pale eyes wide with confusion that merged into relief.

"Is that... is that all?" she gasped, nearly toppling off of her high heels with exhaustion. "Are we done?"

She looked over at the other woman, with the white hair and the yellow fabric wrapped around her body.

"How did you do that? That was amazing!"