Mars was confused for a second when she saw Mercury already in the parking lot, making her double check behind her to see that she was, in fact, still behind her. There are two of them? But almost immediately she picked up the different energy types—the Mercury in front of her had that darker signature which she’d detected from the crime scene. She could understand the civilians’ confusion now. This other Mercury definitely looked almost identical to theirs, though the more she looked at her the more the differences became obvious. Her entire aura was icy, unlike Ami’s cool warmth.

And she was definitely affecting the temperatures, too. Everything around her was coated in ice and the place was colder than usual. So that was her power. It was also in line with their own Mercury’s ability to control water. All the similarities made her feel wary. She didn’t like the idea that there could be… well… an evil counterpart to all of them. And then that other person behind her, who hadn’t revealed herself just yet…

Mars flinched at the sound of other Mercury’s voice, so similar to Ami’s. This whole thing was really unsettling. And it became even more so when she introduced herself. Phantom Senshi? What did that mean? Even her way of speaking was like Ami’s. She hadn’t introduced her partner’s name, but judging from her body type and shoe color, Mars could guess at who she was. And she didn’t like the answer one bit.

Sailor Freeze claimed they just wanted to talk, and that the whole jewelry thief thing was just a way to lure them out. Well, it was as she suspected. It was nothing more than a plot to get them out in the open. They weren’t really looking for the Silver Crystal because chances were they already knew who possessed it. Despite the nonthreatening words, Mars didn’t believe they were good for one second. She knew Usagi would, because she wanted to believe the best in everyone, but that was why she had her guardians. Mars definitely did not like the way Freeze looked at Mercury. Everything you needed to know about her was plain in her eyes. She was ice cold and her heart likely was the same.

Rei's heart almost broke for Usagi as she heard her question. She was always so straightforward, so… trusting. Everything was simple with Usagi. Your friend is in trouble. That means you have to protect them. Even after all this time she still believed it was the same way with everyone. She figured she should get down to the core of the problem. Usagi might buy this whole not-an-enemy thing, but she did not. Good people didn’t rob stores or impersonate others and implicate them for their crime. “What do you really want?” she asked, stepping closer so that she stood in front of Sailor Moon, shielding her from them. “What is it you’re looking to discuss with us?”

Likely nothing they would enjoy.

Sailor Freeze and her companion glanced at each other before turning their attention back to Sailor Moon.

"You would honor your friendship over your own safety? An interesting perspective," she said, as if truly contemplating the idea's merits. The cloaked figure tensed when Sailor Mars moved, but did not take action. "Like I said before, we are our queen's messengers, and she has brought us to this planet for a single purpose: reclaiming her lost birthright. In the name of Lady Theia, true ruler of the Earth and Moon, we are here to take back the Silver and Golden Crystals. Our leader has no desire to hurt the people of Earth, and she explicitly told us not to fight if we could, but if you don't comply with our demands..." Sailor Freeze's gaze intensified, and the store's window behind them froze over in an instant. "We will have no choice but to resort to violence. And do not pretend that you don't have it, we can sense the crystals' energy from space, and one of you is holding at least one of them."

Sailor Venus looked at the other senshi, deciding to consult the group. "What do you think we should do?" she said in a whisper. "We can't just give up the Silver Crystal, or the Golden one."

Her lost birthright? Sailor Moon's brows knitted in confusion, incomphrehension growing the longer Sailor Freeze spoke. Lady Theia, the true ruler of Earth and Moon... Queen Nehellenia flashed through her mind, her cold smile and empty eyes sending a shiver though her. As their demands came to light, a familiar doubt filled her - should she be here? They, like others before them, were after the Silver Crystal, and would be prepared to resort to violence to retrieve it. ...unlike previous attempts, however, Usagi knew more about her personal connection to the Crystal: to surrender it may mean surrendering herself, her very soul, in the process. Could she do that to maintain peace? ... she kept her thoughts close to her chest, up until she realized that she would be part of a packaged deal. Theia did not just want her crystal - she wanted Mamoru's, too. Her lips formed a hard line at the thought, her fist clenching tighter by her chest. 

She would not let that happen.

Mamoru might be willing to make that sacrifice with her if there were no other option, but she would fight to create options. There must be options beyond Sailor Freeze's ultimatum.

"Maybe we could talk to Theia?" Sailor Moon offered, "She doesn't want them to hurt anyone; we might be able to reason with her."

Mars wasn’t surprised to learn that they were one of those people who didn’t understand the meaning of friendship. Listening to Freeze’s next words made her raise her eyebrows. Lost birthright? True ruler of not only the Earth but also the Moon? Damn, this Theia woman was even worse than Nehelenia. Both the Silver and Golden Crystals, huh? Yeah, that was never going to happen. Did they really think the senshi would just hand it over because they claimed to be the true owners or whatever? And was the whole not hurting people command supposed to impress them? They’d already hurt people with the chaos they were making. No choice, Mars thought as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She had never heard such crap from an enemy before. At least everyone they’d fought before had the decency to admit they were real villains.

She looked at Venus in disbelief. “Of course we can’t. Are you crazy? They’re going to destroy the world anyway if they had them.” The only thing to do was obvious. Fight. Get rid of this new threat the way they’d gotten rid of all the other threats. She looked at Sailor Moon and saw the briefest flicker of doubt on her face. But before she could say anything, something seemed to shift. Determination replaced it, and Mars mentally pat her on the back.

Though she doubted this Theia would listen to reason—she’d already ruled out talking as a potentially fruitful option—she did want to see this new enemy. And if they wanted to eliminate her, they needed to meet her first. “Yeah, sure. Maybe we can find out more about who’s been telling her about this birthright nonsense.”

"You're right Mars, they'll do what they want regardless of whether we give them the crystals or not. I guess we might as well try to get some more information," Venus said, agreeing with her before turning to Sailor Moon. "We're going to try to negotiate, but I really doubt we'll come to an agreement that doesn't involve sacrificing your crystal or Mamoru's. Just be ready to fight when this goes wrong, guys..." Venus raised her voice again.

"Before we agree to any of your demands, we want to talk to your leader."

"...If you want to, but Lady Theia will only give you the same options as I did," Sailor Freeze answered. She nodded to her cloaked partner, and she took a step back to give the senshi some more space. "This will take a moment." Sailor Freeze closed her eyes and touched her palms together. A moment later, the symbol for Mercury flickered on her forehead. The air got even colder and a light fog started to form in response to her magic. Her eyes opened again and she kneeled to touched her palms to the parking lot asphalt. Ice trailed from her hands and massed together to form a cylindrical chamber, just tall enough to fit a person.

A strange, warm energy could be felt in the area as the sunlight itself seemed to collect within the chamber. As the magic grew in power even more, Sailor Moon would start to feel odd, like her own power was being called upon. The light turned bronze and pulsed as a translucent figure took shape. The young woman's image was still fuzzy from the bad reception, but her long hair tied up in two odangos and her flowing gown were still discernable. Her eyes were a startling gold color, and they latched onto the sight of the senshi before her.

"Are you the guardians of this planet?" she asked, tilting her head. She didn't sound aggressive or disdainful, just curious.

Sailor Moon watched carefully as Sailor Freeze created her strange device, the freezing air calling goosebumps to her skin. Just as Freeze was finishing, Usagi softly reached out for Sailor Venus's hand and squeezed it once, gently. Venus had been talking for them up until now; Usagi trusted her to continue acting as leader in this situation, unless direct action need be taken by her.

Her eyes were rapt with attention on the device as soon as the warm energy broke through, and she watched with nervous energy as a figure took shape. When finally it had materialized, though fuzzy, even she could not deny the resemblance to her Lunar lineage - Theia's pale skin and silver hair styled in odangos would have blended in nicely in the Moon Kingdom. Her eyes, though, were a vastly different shade than either hers or her mother's. 

Usagi waited before answering Theia's question, giving Venus the opportunity to respond. 

OOC:

Sailor Venus squeezed her hand back, feeling more confident with everyone behind her. The sight of the mysterious new enemy called Theia shook her, but she couldn't allow the familiar appearance to put her off guard. Nehellenia looked like Usagi too, but that didn't stop her from being dangerous.

"Yes, we are," Venus said. "We wanted to talk to you about the crystals." Before she could get anything else out, Theia's eyes lit up.

"Oooh, are you going to give them to me?" She asked, excited. Theia turned to Sailor Freeze. "See, I told you they would work with us! Now we don't have to fight anymore!" Freeze looked away from the ice chamber.

"Not quite, milady..."

"You cannot have the Silver or Golden Crystal," Sailor Moon called, her expression determined but sympathetic. "We cannot give them to you." She took a halting step forward - they were all there, together; they could work out their differences. The Silver and Golden Crystals were not Theia's birthright, they were quite literally hers and Mamoru's, but perhaps Theia was confused; perhaps she was in a tight spot, and believed, like others had, that the Crystals could help her. If she needed help, Usagi would try her best. "But we are all senshi, we are all on the same side. Why do you want them? We might be able to help you." 

OOC:

Mars had to admit she was surprised when she saw the Mercury symbol on Sailor Freeze’s forehead. But that was impossible. There couldn’t be two Sailor Mercury. Suddenly all this birthright business seemed more worrisome. What if…? They knew they were the true senshi, but now how could they claim that if the others had the same powers and appearance and… could they possess identical Sailor Crystals? That seemed impossible.

Her thoughts were still spinning when the figure appeared in front of her. Again, she reminded her of Usagi, but then again so did Nehelenia. She was a bit disappointed, actually. She expected for them to be transported to where Theia was or for Theia to be summoned to them, but instead all they got was her hologram. They couldn’t touch her this way. Maybe that was the entire reason she hadn’t come herself.

She frowned when Theia seemed positively delighted, as if she actually believed she would get the crystals if she just asked nicely. Could she really be that naïve? The way she reacted was almost… Usagi-like. So trusting. So straightforward. It made her shiver. She had never met an enemy who wasn’t obviously malicious before.

Sailor Moon stepped forward to address her, and Mars waited, leaving the diplomacy to her and Venus. She would keep an eye for attacks instead.

"I'd like it if you could help me, but...I'd be impossible," Theia said. She was disappointed now. "For you see, you senshi are the problem I face." Venus narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean? We use the crystals to protect this planet, how does that cause problems?" she asked.

"You mean you don't know?"

"Are you sure it's wise to tell them everything, Lady Theia?" Sailor Freeze interrupted.  

"They need to know if we want them to understand us." Theia countered before continuing. "You are the guardians of this Solar System, yes? Yet as far as I could tell, everything except this one you call Earth is dead." She grew more serious as she spoke, looking at all the senshi now.

 "What if I told you I could fix that? Whatever happened to those planets can be reversed with only a small sacrifice, if I had my full power. And I can only regain it with all of my Sailor Crystal intact. At the moment, I only have a few shards to work with, but with your Silver and Golden Crystals added to it, I'd be whole again. Imagine having your kingdoms back, your entire lost civilizations reborn. I saw the ruins of them as we travelled here, and I can't imagine you not missing them. So how about it? Will you give them to us now?"

They were the problem? Well, that was just convenient. Maybe Theia would like them to vanish or die while she was at it.

She didn’t like the enigmatic nature of Theia and Freeze’s conversation; how it actually made her question things. How it gave her doubts that they’d been protecting the earth the right way. But that was just stupid. These enemies would say anything to manipulate them and make them believe ridiculous things, right?

However, Mars didn’t expect what Theia said next. She had honestly never even thought about her own planet or how bare it was. Her past memories didn’t extend to a time before Silver Millennium; as far as she knew, she had always been a member of the Moon Kingdom and the guardian of Serenity. And she had never questioned it. Never wondered about her parents, about her life in Mars… if there had ever been any.

Why?

She balled up her fists and tried not to let the doubts creep in. What did it matter? It was all such a long time ago. She couldn’t miss people she never even knew. And yet it bothered her, not knowing how her people were wiped out of her planet… if they ever even existed in the first place.

Theia seemed to suggest that there once was a civilization there. And that she could bring it back.

Damn. She didn’t know about the other senshi, but that was tempting. Suddenly she wanted to know so badly about what life in her home planet was like. Could she really bring it back…?

Mars still didn’t trust her, though. Even if what she said was true—that their kingdoms once existed—then that still didn’t mean she could truly bring her back with the Silver and Golden Crystals.

“Why does it have to be you?” she finally spoke up. “If this were truly possible, and I’m not saying I believe it is, why can’t the true owners of the Silver and Golden Crystal do it?”

Hope flared within her despite her best attempt to quench it. To see Mars flourish again…

It was an image that was too good to be true.

As her offer of aide was turned down with an accusation of fault, Usagi's brows furrowed in defensive confusion - what did she mean by they were the problem she faced? She braced for a fight - despite what Theia claimed earlier about not wanting combat between them, her statement put a split between their teams, placing herself and her senshi on some sort of "solution" side, while firmly calling Usagi and her friends a "problem" it sounded like she intended to deal with. As Venus called out her challenge, Usagi listened closely, and a great guilt built within her.

She had never truly considered life and civilizations on the other planets within the Solar System. The closest she had come was the fight against Nehelennia, when her friends called upon the palaces given to them at their birth by Queen Serenity, and at that point she had only considered them as a passing curiosity. In her travels towards Sagittarius Zero Star, she had visited Uranus's, Neptune's and Pluto's respective palaces, but had never stopped to think of them as more than the bases of operation they were used for now. What had they been like back in the Silver Millennium? Were they populated with people? Were balls held there? Did life and love exist outside of the Moon and Earth, in other kingdoms spread on the planets during the Silver Millennium? 

Had her and Endymion's love ended many more lives than those physically on the Moon that night, when Saturn's glaive fell? 

Guiltily she looked to her closest friends and saw the conflicting emotions there, and her guilt thickened. She had never considered their own palaces, their lives outside the Moon Kingdom, their lives outside of their friendship. Did they often think of what their planets used to be like, before the time of the Silver Millennium had ended? Were they lonely, thinking of all those they had left behind? She had never even asked them, never even thought...

Mars's words, so carefully chosen, only added to the sadness she was feeling, and also made the familiar twinge of jealousy rear up within her. She was being selfish and she knew it, but she wanted all of her friends to be with her, on Earth, always. She had thought that they would build Crystal Tokyo together, and always be with each other until the end of time - recreating the lost civilizations on other planets could take them away from her. They would have to spend time elsewhere. Her jaw clenched shut, her selfish nature at war with how much she wanted them to be fulfilled and happy.

If the Silver and Golden Crystals together - no, if she and Mamoru together could give life back to the other planets in the system, she should do it, right? It was the right thing to do, right? Even if... her eyes moved to catch each of her friend's visages, and selfishly she allowed herself to wallow in the thought. Even if it took them away from her. 

Truly conflicted, her heart at war, Usagi tried to continue listening to what Sailor Theia said.

OOC:

"Lady Theia is the true owner of the crystals, you scavengers!" the cloaked figure said, bristling at Mars's word choice. Her voice was rough from sheer disuse, but it sounded familiar as well. Her eyes flickered bright green under the shadow of her hood before disappearing again. A nearby street lamp exploded into glass shards as it was temporarily overloaded with energy. Sailor Jupiter winced for a moment as if she had sensed something, but decided to just step closer to Sailor Moon. Behind the rest of the group, Mercury had her goggles on and was focusing on monitoring something with her computer as they spoke with the enemy.

"Please, there's no need to get angry," Theia said in a calming tone, the hologram figure breaking a little at the sudden electrical interference. The cloaked senshi gave Sailor Mars a hard glare, but complied.

"She insulted your claim..." she mumbled.

"And I will explain it to them now." Theia went to address Sailor Mars. "If you've managed to use the Silver and Golden Crystals at all, it was most likely because you've somehow adapted to their unlimited power. But in reality, they are far older than you can imagine. Before the moon was even an object in the sky, the crystals belonged to me," she said. "And I am capable of doing far greater things with them because of that bond."

Venus pursed her lips as she listened to the conversation. Phantom Senshi? This woman, this creature? Whatever she was, she looked so much like Ami-chan it wasn’t funny! They also had similar powers, Ami’s more of the water variety while this Sailor Freeze was more of the ice variety. She wasn’t sure what to make of all these similarities other than the fact that they were unsettling her completely.

She couldn’t help but wonder if there was a Sailor Freeze, who was the phantom of Sailor Mercury, were there phantoms of all of the inner senshi? What about a phantom of Sailor Moon? And what was this about just wanting to talk? What kind of enemy just wanted to talk? Something was going on here, and Venus refused to let her guard down. She loved Usagi dearly but the girl tended to trust way too easily. Usually it worked out, but there was going to be a time when her trusting nature blew up in her face and Minako felt she had to be ready for it at all times.

When the symbol of Mercury appeared on Sailor Freeze Venus was shocked. What, what if they possessed the senshi star seeds as well? What would that mean? Were they the real senshi’s or were the imposters? No, no, Minako thought. We are the real senshi’s and these imposters…she wasn’t quite sure what they were anymore.

The cloaked figure finally spoke for the first time, though her outburst hardly fazed Mars. Up until now, she only seemed like a silent guardian, until her mistress’ claim had been insulted. A lot of her attitude reminded her of Makoto. Much like it had been with Freeze and Mercury, the similarities between this mysterious figure and her counterpart—for she had already suspected it would be Jupiter’s—were downright eerie. It reminded her of how Mako would immediately jump to Usagi’s defense—or any of theirs, really—the moment someone tried talking bad about them.

Mars returned the dark senshi’s glare with her own, telling her enemy that if she thought Mars would be easily intimidated, she’d be sorely mistaken.

She listened to Theia’s so-called explanation, though she found it hard to believe. The Silver Moon Crystal was Usagi’s. She was the moon princess. It was her birthright. Had the crystal truly existed before Queen Serenity? She knew it had been passed down to Usagi from her mother, but once again, she knew little about what happened before that.

“Have you got any way at all to prove this?” she asked finally, trying to sound logical instead of confrontational. “Because, no offense, but a lot of people in the past have fought to get those crystals, and quite a lot of them were convinced they’re the rightful owners too.”

"If seeing an example makes you more likely to cooperate, then so be it." Theia said. "I will show you my connection to the crystals." The projection of Theia closed her eyes, and the bronze light coming off it grew even more intense. All the senshi in the immediate area would feel a strange, calming energy sweep over them. Their fatigue from earlier in the day would momentarily fade into nothing. The plants and trees near the store suddenly bloomed to life. Even the two Phantom Senshi seemed more relaxed.

Seconds after Theia's action, Usagi would feel the Silver Moon Crystal stir within her and start to react, as if it had gained a mind of its own.

"Is that not just like the power you've felt from your own crystals?" The projection asked, letting the energy fade away.

As Sailor Jupiter stepped closer to Sailor Moon she began to wonder about Theia's words. She rarely thought of her past life on the moon kingdom and now this woman was claiming she could restore everyone's respective planets. It all sounded unconvincing to her, and she thought this Theia figure was after something else. She knew Usagi could be easily influenced and wanted to be close to her princess as Theia began to show them a vision she claimed would prove both the crytals had truly belonged to her.


She could sense something happening with Usagi and moved even closer, determined to not let her princess out of her sights. She also had her eye on the figure in the cloak, something about the figure had Jupiter very unsettled, but she hid her fears as she put a hand on Sailor Moon's shoulder and asked if she was okay.

Wary and filled with suspicion, Usagi watched as Theia closed her eyes, waiting to see what would happen, when suddenly her very soul started to rebel against her. It started out as a draining feeling, almost like the sensation she had when using her power to heal, but rather than moving through her, following her carefully guided will, it was being yanked from her forcefully. A trickle at first, a slight pain, like a needle drawing blood, but as the light intensified so did the sensation, and Usagi could not help but to wince and falter, grabbing hold of her locket to steady herself, but the crystal guarded within did nothing to comfort her. Rather, it seemed almost foreign, something cold and unknown, and her eyes shot open in shock.

She had felt that way towards the crystal on less than a handful of occasions: before the fight against Queen Metallia, upon learning its great power and the deadly consequences of using it when visiting Crystal Tokyo, and the fear of seeing it in the hands of Prince Diamond; and yet now, after years of knowing what it truly was and believing herself to be able to control it completely, she was feeling as though she knew nothing about what it really was. Theia was not even holding the crystal, and yet she had made it react, much like Usagi could make it react. 

But the crystal was hers, was it not? They were connected intimately. It reacted to her emotions, followed her thoughts - if it were damaged, so, too, would she be. When it shattered, she had died... they were connected, one and the same; the crystal was the physical manifestation of her power, of her soul... 

So why could Theia control it?!

As Theia released her hold, Usagi could breathe freely again, and she drew in a sharp breath in relief. Feeling Jupiter's comforting hand on her shoulder, the soft question in her ear, Usagi, completely unsettled, managed to shake her head to say she was fine, but honestly she was anything but.


Tuxedo Mask dashed across rooftops, bounding from one to the next, following the sensation in his gut, the feeling in his heart. Usako had transformed, and he was determined to join her, to be of any use to her he could be. He had seen the news reports, had been informed of the plan to visit the Jewelry Store after school and get to the bottom of the break-ins, and while he had hoped it had been nothing but a malicious prank meant to drum up rumors of the city's guardians going bad, he couldn't help feel overcome with trepidation. Why would someone frame a Sailor Senshi? What would they gain? During his various classes, from labs to lectures, the back of his mind had been coming up with reasons, and none of them ended well. Smear campaigns typically meant that something even worse was coming, and the attempt to make the city distrust its defenders had lead him to two logical conclusions: they wanted the senshi to be outlawed to allow a new team of vigilantes to take their place and run Tokyo into the ground, or they already had a case like the Black Moon Clan on their hands, wherein people who believed that the Senshi held too great a power to be allowed to run freely.

As he jumped to the next rooftop, his eyes were drawn to planet Mars, hanging high overhead, and could not help but think about the newest scientific phenomena, the "Ghost Planet", and his frown deepened. They said it was physically reminiscent of planet Mercury in size and had appeared to be on Mercury's orbit, and yet it apparently had not modified other planetary orbits with its gravitational pull. It disobeyed any law of physics known to them, appearing and disappearing at will, rising before sunrise and setting after sunset, seeming to jump to various parts in Mercury's orbit without moving through the orbit. His professors were all distracted, some even calling off class and calling in the graduate students to help them pour over data that they were frantically trying to make sense of, but so far nothing had come of it. They were baffled, and when scientists were baffled, typically something bigger was in the works.

His thoughts being as such for most of the day, when he had felt Usako transform he needed to be there. Even if she and the others were just stopping a mugging, or helping direct traffic again, he couldn't just let the incident go without checking it out. While he was preparing for whatever he might drop in on, however, he was thoroughly unprepared for the sudden attack on himself.

Midleap from building to building, he felt a sharp tug from within, a pulling sensation that came so suddenly he was shocked to the point of distraction, landing hard on the concrete rooftop and skidding to a stop, his cape catching on the surface and causing him to roll, his elbows and knees scraping. The attack continued, and while he tried, he could barely pull himself to his feet, his breath hard to catch as the energy was pulled from him forcibly, getting stronger and stronger, until finally it dropped off dramatically. He caught his breath on his hands and knees, throwing his senses outward for any sign of enemies, and his psychometric powers downwards, searching for Usako and the others. He found them, still several blocks away, the shines from their Sailor Crystals a homing beacon he had used on many occasions, but with them were three others... their glow similar to the shine of a senshi, but somehow darker, emptier... 

He pushed himself to his feet, his healing energy already at work to mend his cuts and bruises, and pushed forward. There was trouble.

OOC:

Mars narrowed her eyes at Theia’s image, wondering what she was up to. How could she possibly show her connection to the crystals when she wasn’t their true owner? She did not believe for a second that Theia could do it. But then she felt that strange energy; the dissipation of the tiredness, an odd serenity… She blinked at the plants coming to life in disbelief. She was definitely sensing some serious energy in the air, and what terrified her was that it was almost similar to what she used to feel with the Silver Crystal.

Then, having been so attuned to Usagi’s every slight change, she saw how Sailor Moon visibly faltered, looking as if in pain and seeming as if she was fighting to control her own crystal. Immediately she moved toward her, her heart beating fast with worry. She was about to yell at Theia to stop whatever it was she was doing that was hurting Sailor Moon when all at once the energy disappeared. She saw the relief that came over her friend, but her bewilderment wasn’t so easily dispelled.

“What did you do to her?” she demanded of Theia, putting one protective arm on Sailor Moon’s shoulder. She didn’t care that this new enemy could control the Silver Crystal without even physically being there. She couldn’t think about it now because it terrified her. She’d rather fight Theia and eliminate her threat so that she could never hurt Usagi again, her promises about life on the planets be damned.

As Theia unleashed a strange wave of energy, feelings of content and peace suddenly swept over Sailor Mercury. She relaxed despite knowing that an enemy was right in front of them. What was she so stressed out about earlier? She couldn't recall. Even with Mercury's temporary distraction, her computer still registered and saved the data it had just recorded from the event. As soon as it had come, the energy disappeared again, all of Mercury's fears and worries returning just as fast. For a moment, she wished for the numbing sensation to return again, but she knew she had to concentrate. 

To her surprise, Usagi looked far worse for wear. Did Theia's power affect her differently from the rest of the senshi? And did the Phantom Senshi notice? As if responding to Mercury's thoughts, Sailor Freeze locked her eyes on Usagi, observing her and the other senshis' behavior closely.

"I was not trying to do anything to your friend," Theia answered Mars, watching curiously as Sailor Moon struggled. She had never thought such a reaction was possible. Just how much had this girl adapted to a power that wasn't even her own? It was impressive in a way. "You asked for evidence, and I gave it to you. It seems that she's more closely intertwined with the Silver Crystal than I had imagined." She turned to her own Phantom Senshi, still thinking about what she had just observed. "Retrieve the crystals from them please. And if they won't give it up, bring this senshi in particular back to base instead."

 The hologram in the ice disappeared, leaving the Sailor Senshi with two Phantoms with orders. Sailor Freeze broke the ice apart and reformed it into multiple smaller, but deadly sharp shards. The cloaked Phantom took on a more aggressive stance, small sparks of green jumping off her form. Pushing aside the uneasy feeling she'd been having all day, Sailor Mercury moved closer to Sailor Moon protectively, ready to react to anything thrown at them.

"Stay behind us," she said, visor covering her eyes to scan the enemy's attack patterns. 

"As I said before, give us your crystal, or we will fight for it." Freeze said, a hard edge in her tone. "We know which of you is holding it now, do not pretend she isn't."

Read Me:

“Of course she is, seeing that it’s her Sailor Crystal!” Mars was losing her patience now, and when Theia ordered her henchwomen to retrieve the crystals or else take Sailor Moon with them, she was actually glad that she had a legitimate reason for jumping into action. There was no way they were letting these fake senshi take the crystals or Usagi. Now there was no choice but to fight.

She stepped forward, shielding Sailor Moon from their enemies’ view completely. “Then fight us,” she said simply, with a grim determination. She summoned the flames that were her friend and her power, sending a powerful burst toward Freeze’s ice shards to melt them. “Burning Mandala!” she yelled, sending the circles of fire toward the two phantom senshi to surround and engulf them completely in it.

Let’s see who’s stronger… the real senshi or the fake ones.

The ice crystals immediately turned to steam as the flames reached them, and Sailor Freeze had to take a couple of steps back from the intense heat. When she tried to attack again, the ice shards were far smaller than before. The air started to grow warm again, her magic loosing its effect.

Sailor Mercury tried her best to analyze the data streaming across her visor as it recorded the battle. She noticed that Freeze looked more fatigued after coming in contact with the fire, as if she were suffering heat exhaustion.

"Sailor Mars, your attacks are weakening her. Try to keep raising the temperature!" she suggested. if they could just keep the pressure on the Phantom, she could be defeated. Mercury easily blocked Freeze's now lackluster icicle shards with a blast of Shine Aqua Illusion. Soon the Phantom Senshi were surrounded in a burning vortex, and Sailor Freeze seemed ready to collapse from the warmth. Her partner took notice and stepped in front of her protectively. The hood of her cloak ripped as two antennae resembling prongs extended from her head.

As green electricity jumped between them, Mercury's computer registered a sudden building of power. She yelled out a warning right as the senshi released her on attack, an electrical shockwave that obliterated Mars's Burning Mandala. The shockwave's intensity also completely destroyed the senshi's cloak, revealing her appearance.

As the dust form the small explosion settled, it was very obvious that this senshi was a copy of Makoto, with a few differences. Her hair was a dark, intense red, and her eyes were a brighter, flickering green. She was around the same height and build as Sailor Jupiter, and the two prongs on her head were extensions of her tiara. Her uniform was the same green, pink and white pattern, but crackled with static. The senshi's expression was a cross between anger and worry. Behind her, Sailor Freeze slowly steadied herself again and gave her partner a surprised glance.  

Focused on Mars now, the redheaded senshi lifted a hand and fired a singular bolt of lightning at her, ignoring the other senshi entirely.

It seemed her attack was directly affecting Sailor Freeze’s power in particular, and Mars wasn’t surprised. Fire against ice was usually effective. Upon hearing Mercury’s instruction, she added more power to the flames, increasing the temperature as requested.

Then the senshi in green stepped forward, and Mars wasn’t surprised to see that she had a lightning antennae. Mars heard the shouted warning and dove to the side as her flames were extinguished by the shockwave.

Getting back to her feet after the dust settled, Mars looked up and once again was confronted by the ghost of another one of her friends. She wondered how she would feel once she laid eyes on her own counterpart. Somehow, she had the feeling that one in particular would feel like a personal affront. Though, now that she realized it, this pseudo-Jupiter also seemed to behave a bit like Mako. She seemed very protective of Freeze and quite pissed that she’d been harmed.

Could these phantom senshi have relationships with each other that also mirrored the real ones’?

Mars shivered at the thought.

Uh-oh. The green clad senshi focused her attention on her, and Mars didn’t need to be told what was coming. As her opponent raised a hand to attack, she did the only thing she could.

She raised her own hand toward the soldier of lightning. “Akuryou Taisan!”

Only time could tell what kind of explosion would happen when the two attacks met.

Venus watched Teia warily as she spoke, offering o give them a demonstration that would prove that she was the true wielder of the Silver Crystal. When Venus soon felt the bone weary exhaustion she had been feeling of late disappear. She glanced at the others to see how they were reacting. Everyone seamed to be feeling better with the exception of Sailor Moon, who looked like she was in pain.

About to move to her princess's side, she stopped short when Mars got to Sailor Moon first. Just as well, Mars was perfectly capable of taking care of the Princess. This freed up Venus to keep an eye on Theia and the phantom senshi. The woman claiming to be the true owner of the Silver Crystal seemed to be somewhat confused at Sailor Moons reaction to whatever it was Theia had done to them and when Mars demanded to know what Theia had done to Sailor Moon, she woman claimed she hadn't done anything.


Mercury moved to help Mars and protect Sailor Moon, aiding the senshi of flame and passion deal with Sailor Freeze. Turning to look for the other senshi, Sailor Thunder, Venus tried to locate her. Damn, she's fast, she thought to herself. She finally spotted the other phantom senshi only to watch as the imposter sent lightning towards Mars who threw up an attack to try and protect herself. Venus blanched slightly, not knowing what effect the two attacks hitting each other would have. It was time to end this now before anything got more out of hand. Taking aim at Sailor Thunder, Venus called out her attack;

"Crescent Beam Shower!"

Sailor Jupiter kept her stance firm and moved forward to fight with her senshi. She was pleased that Mars was weakening Sailor Freeze, but when the other ghost senshi appeared and was an almost copy of Jupiter, she was taken a bit aback.

Not wanting to give up she stepped forward, determined to eliminate the senshi that dare try to copy the one and only Sailor Jupiter. She summoned the lightening power that had become second nature to her now.

She called out "Sparkling Wide Pressure." and sent the attack jolting towards Sailor Thunder, hoping it would weaken her foe.

The blast of thunder and Mars' fireball met in midair and combined for a few seconds into a glowing orb, before violently exploding in a burst of red and green that resembled a close range firework going off. Before the Phantom of Jupiter could recover from the clash of magic, Venus's shower of lasers crashed down on the her, along with Jupiter's ball of lighting, creating a second explosion. A few car alarms were set off by the shock waves of sound that washed over them, and people were starting to come out of the buildings to investigate.

"Did..did we beat them?" Mercury wondered, coughing from the smoke kicked into the air. She couldn't imagine someone recovering from that very quickly.

When the air cleared, Sailor Freeze was behind a cracked and dented wall of ice, having tried to shield herself from the worst of it. It quickly crumbled away as she put her hands down. In front of her was a shallow crater, with an unmoving figure laying in it. Freeze slowly walked over to the edge and crouched to get a closer look at her face down partner.

"Thunder...?" she asked tentatively. The other senshi sparked green before shifting slightly. Sailor Freeze gave an audible sigh as Sailor Thunder forced herself to stand again, breathing heavily. She was scraped up and her sailor fuku was torn in a few places, but she definitely wasn't done yet. Mercury stared in disbelief. How much abuse could these Phantoms take? Or was this one just tougher than the other?

"...I'm, okay." Thunder shook her head in an attempt to clear it, and stumbled trying to climb back onto flat ground, but caught herself and kept going until she made it out of the crater.

The battle broke out so suddenly, and with her confusion over her crystal and the meaning behind Theia's involvement and her abilities, Usagi could barely pay attention as events unfolded and trusted her friends implicitly with the battle; however, when the blasts sounded she quickly came out of her confusion. Watching the Mercury look-a-like worry over Jupiter's mirror senshi bothered Usagi to her core - they could not be truly enemies, could they? If they cared for each other they were not all bad; perhaps they could find some way to find peace together; maybe, if they talked some sense into these two, they could help them convince Theia... and... Usagi was getting a headache, the confusing situation and her crystal's rebellion conspiring together to make her thoughts cloudy and filling her mind with acute pain. She had to concentrate. She had to do what was right.

Placing a hand gently on Mercury's shoulder, she stepped beside her, then moved carefully up between Jupiter and Mars, her eyes never leaving the green and blue senshi in front of them. "Are you alright?" she called.


As explosions caused vibrations through the buildings beneath his feet, Tuxedo Mask redoubled his efforts. Billowing smoke served as a homing beacon, and as he came onto the scene he paused on the rooftop, letting the smoke clear - he needed to see what was going on to judge where he was needed most. He called a rose to hand, ready to provide a distraction if the Senshi needed one, but as the smoke cleared he wondered if some sort of distraction was already at work.

Usako and the girls were standing at one end of the street - Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, all of them - and yet, farther down the street, pulling herself out of a crater, was another Sailor Jupiter, and another Mercury beside her. He held his rose steady as Sailor Moon moved forward to engage the pair, content to watch and wait for now, ready to jump in at a moment's notice if he were needed in any capacity.

How was Thunder still able to get up after that? The ground around the phantom senshi was completely destroyed. It made no sense to her that Thunder had walked away relatively unscathed. As Venus watched the scene before her unfold, something caught her keen eye.

Freeze seemed to be concerned about Thunder. In a weird way, it seemed to mirror the close relationship that Mercury and Jupiter had. They mirror our powers and now our relationships with each other? What is going on? I wonder if the other two mirror my relationship with Mars? She ondered. Who knew how else they mirrored their lives, or how many of these phantom senshi there were. So far, all they knew was that there were phantoms of the inner planets, but there were the outer planets and also the Trans Neptunial objects.

She kept her eye on the enemy infront of her as Sailor Moon attempted to talk to them, her hands gripping her chain in both hands, ready to attack as needed. She wondered if they would be able to save these two. Or are we the ones that need saving? She was getting so confused.

“Do you need help?”

The explosion from both of her and Jupiter’s counterpart’s attacks sent her flying backward, crashing hard on the ground. There were a few more loud crashes, and she watched her friends attack as well, overloading the senshi in green. As Mars slowly got back to her feet, she waited until the dust settled. When the air finally cleared again she could see the two phantom senshi, beaten and bruised but seemingly still alive. Freeze called the other by name—Thunder, of course—and the other senshi moved. The visible relief Freeze seemed to feel upon seeing her friend still alive made her feel uneasy again. Clearly these senshi had the same bond the real ones did, and moreover, they had the capability to care for one another. Could they not be purely evil after all?

Great, now Usagi probably wants to save them…

And she would totally understand that, of course. She just thought it was easier sometimes if they could just eliminate their enemies and be done with it.

She glanced at Venus, trying to catch her eye and questioning what should be done with her gaze. Keep attacking? Try to help them? She decided to wait and see what happened next.

"Why would you ask an enemy if they were alright?" Sailor Freeze asked, looking closely at Sailor Moon to see if she was just lying. Yet she sounded sincere enough. What strange logic did these senshi follow? If they clearly had an advantage why weren't she and Thunder defeated already? Unsure how to react, Freeze didn't attack again. "If you really wanted to help us, you would give us the crystal," she said, still tense. The blonde haired one with the light attacks still had a weapon out, after all.

Sailor Mercury had let their princess pass her, assuming she was going to do something to end this match before it escalated further, but trying to talk some sense into the Phantoms again wasn't quite what she had expected. They seemed too loyal to their master Theia to be so easily swayed. But then again, Usagi had a way with words. Deciding to trust her judgement for now, Mercury stepped forward as well.

"We don't have to fight, you know," she said, trying to look as non threatening as possible. Now that she was closer to the Phantoms, Thunder's condition seemed a little more severe, scrapes covering her visible skin. By the way she was struggling to stay steady, Mercury guessed that the close range explosions might have given her some kind of head wound. A regular person would have been unconscious for far longer than a minute. It was either incredible durability or sheer stubbornness that kept her going. "I could look at your friend's injuries. She really shouldn't be walking around in that condition." Freeze glared at Mercury, offended by even the thought of allowing her to help, but one of Thunder's legs suddenly buckled under her, making her fall on one knee.

"...What if you're just trying to trick us into letting our guard down?" Freeze asked, watching as her partner regained her balance. "How can I trust you?"