"Shitzwarpywher?" Sailor Makemake said to herself, trying and failing to pronounce the mysterious man's name. She watched in awe as the man captured the attention of the crowd. Hell, he did it better than she did and she was a sailor senshi for pete's sake. Now, she felt like she was part of the background. She felt rather embarrassed standing there, having nothing to do but listen to this guy.

She turned slowly when she was addressed. Her voice fell in a whispered surprise.

"What! You were kidnapped? But you're standing right here! How'd you get out?"

She leaned closer to Walter with a suspicious look in her eyes.

"Are you sure that's a bad guy. I mean, he's not wearing a dog's mask. That's clearly a horse."

It seems Sailor Makemake would need a lot more convincing to go and try to do something about the speaker.

Walter fidgeted, his gaze wavering between the nearby buildings and the sailor senshi who was shielding him - at least for the moment. "The police eventually found me alone in a warehouse; I was alone at the time. But to see a man in a horse mask a week after I was kidnapped? That's too much of a coincidence for me."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Of course, you're right.. I don't have any evidence to prove otherwise, but I'm getting a bad feeling from him."

---

A soft voice echoed through the Crown Arcade, one whose whisper was oddly loud enough to be heard over the electronic games. It spoke directly into the minds of all those present, taking on the aspect of each individual's own voice as it echoed through their thoughts.

Come outside. There's an event happening that you wouldn't want to miss.

"Did you hear that?"

A young girl moved up to the window, then called out to the other patrons. "Everyone, look! There's a strange man in a horse mask outside with money in his hand! Do you think he's one of those shock jocks?"

"Do you think he's giving it away?!"

The occupants of the Crown began to move in unison towards the exit, intent on finding out why the masked man was speaking to the public. Through word of mouth, the notion that Schwarzpferd was giving out money was quickly spreading through the young clientele; they were eager for a chance to get some of that cash for themselves.

OOC:

Kyuusuke froze in mid-game when a voice that sounded like his own rang through his ears. he stared blankly at the screen for the moment while the monster on the screen attacked the pixel Sailor V, causing her to collapse. A sad tune played as the words "GAME OVER" rolled up to the center of the screen.

"Darn," Chibiusa murmured sympathetically for her friend, though it seemed unusual for him to be unfazed by such an incident. He had actually been known to start tilting machines when he lost, but now nothing.

"...Kyuusuke?"

Chibiusa gave her friend's shoulder a mild shake, but he remained unresponsive. She then turned her attention over to Momoko who was standing beside her, but she was staring at the screen just as intently as Kyuusuke.

...Outside! Come outside!

"...What?"

The pink haired girl took a half step back and put her hand on her head. Where on earth had that idea come from? Suddenly everyone in the arcade was beginning filing towards the door. When Kyuusuke rose from his seat and turned along with Momoko the two pushed Chibiusa along with them until she had become part of the mass exodus as well. There was scattered talk of money among the crowd, but she didn't have any interest in that. What was going on?

Outside, the source of the commotion finally became apparent. There were two mean and... a Sailor Senshi? Chibiusa recognized the man from inside the arcade who had been watching the news report with such interest, but who was the man wearing the horse mask? 
Chibiusa lowered her head slightly. Even if the soldier-in-training wanted to She couldn't exactly transform in front of all of these people. All she could do was wait and listen now that she had become part of the crowd.

As soon as Usagi exited the door and got on the bike with her helmet on, Haruka gunned the engine, taking off with a roar. She spent the next little while weaving in and out of rush hour traffic, easily keeping them from crashing. She knew she had terrified Usagi a few times if the grip around her waist getting tighter was any indication. Eventually she pulled into a parking lot that was within walking distance to the metro entrance in question and to another one further up the line in case they couldn’t get near this one.

“Looks like we’re going on foot from here Kitten,” Haruka said, hanging her helmet off one of the handles. “Common, let’s go and check this out, I have a bad feeling about the entire situation.” The older girl walked towards the metro, trying to gauge if it was worth trying to go through this entrance or not.

Usagi couldn't help but squeal as Haruka gunned the bike, sending them flying down the road. Her arms tightened around the older girl's waist, in fear of falling off (she was a clutz like that). She had always loved the thrill of riding on motorcycles, whether it was Haruka's or Mamoru's, but there was always that small bit of fear that accompanied her.

They arrived at the subway station and Usagi swung her leg around the bike, getting back on solid ground. She wobbled a bit, her legs slightly shaky from the fast-paced ride, but quickly caught her balance and followed Haruka towards the metro. "They're too preoccupied to notice us. Just pretend like you're official," Usagi giggled. With confidence, she marched forward, searching for anything that caught her attention.

Luna nodded and took down what the victims where saying. She had wished that she could talk to the man going to the hospital but he wasn't up for answering her questions for now. But as they were taking him away the Mau noticed a tattoo on his wrist. Was that a bird? She wondered if it might be part of a sleeve tattoo that spanned the whole of his arm. She jotted this down to remember to look up later. 

She couldn't help but feel like the victims statements were measured. Like they had be practiced over and over. The story was too coherent, the details too matched up. Someone would have remembered something just a little differently but this was like a rehearsed play, and Luna was the audience. Something wasn't right here. 

Feel that she had gotten all she could from the victims, Officer Luna made her way back to the Inspector. The  least she could do at this point was to share her notes, she felt it was better not to leave them all in the dark.

"Inspector." Luna said approaching Mori. "I have those statements you asked for." She said handing him copies of her notes without her own speculations attached to them. "Is there anything else?" Luna planned on ditching this costume as soon as he was out of sight but she had to at least play the part till she could. 

She noticed two girls that could have been Haruka and Usagi, but there was no way they were at the arcade today. Luna made sure of that before she came down here. Well if it was them Luna would deal with them if needed.

"Thank you." Mori briefly smiled, accepting the notes and giving them a cursory glance. His smile soon faded; while Luna herself might not have known the implications of the information she collected, the inspector's brooding countenance suggested that his experiences with the men were nothing new.

He blinked and looked over Luna's shoulder, picking up the appearances of two girls. Damn it! How did he lose track of them? The only permitted personnel inside the subway were police and transit authorities. Taking a brisk walk towards Haruka and Usagi, the police inspector waved them down as he removed his orange vest. "Excuse me, ladies! I must apologize, but the Metro is currently closed due to an ongoing investigation. We will be reopening the subway later this evening."

Mori's teeth suddenly ground together in mild irritation. Though he appeared (rightfully) grumpy and had a lingering scent of cigarette smoke, his displeasure wasn't directed at the plucky youth. Instead, his chagrin had arisen the specific ringtone that he had assigned to a certain individual. It was his preference to contact Yamaguchi, the employer of these shady individuals, outside of work. He surely wanted to ask Mori what had happened to his men.

The inspector turned to Luna, gesturing to the girls behind him as he procured his phone and verified the caller's identity. "Could you see to them, please? I have to take this call."

"Whoah," Sailor Makemake said with wide eyes. "That's super scary, dude."

It seemed the sailor senshi had a predicament. Should we try and stop whatever this man was doing? Was this man just a very strange mask wearing person? Her teenage mind could only think of one thing to do.

"Hey! You!"

The sailor senshi stood proudly with her hands on her hip. If she had just been a normal person like the adorable pink haired girl in the crowd, she would have never found the courage to say something. But she was a sailor senshi! She had to fight for justice!

"Horse Man Shappaferf! Did any of your friends kidnap this guy last week? Just making sure."

Her plan was flawless.

Schwarzpferd caught notice of Makemake's question, deciding to feign ignorance by looking in her direction and raising one hand towards his ear as if to indicate he didn't hear her clearly. As more and more people surged around him, he clicked on his megaphone to address the growing pool of civilians.

"A little space for me, please! Thank you; I need room to work." Taking on a more relaxed posture, Schwarzpferd then began to intricately fold the four bank notes he held into tiny planelike shapes. A simple flick of the wrist gave them flight, swirling about in the air to the excited clamour of the twenty-something gathered pedestrians.

Once he had finished sending out the money 'planes', Schwarzpferd then clicked on his megaphone to resume speaking. "Now for those of you who were paying attention, can you tell me what I was holding a moment ago?" He was greeted by a chorus of common replies.

"Money!" "Ten thousand yen!"

The horse-masked man chuckled in his metallic, distorted voice. "Those are technically correct! They were bank notes, a form of promissory note commonly issued as legal tender for debts public and private.." When a couple of raised brows targeted the speaker, he shook his head. Did some of them not really understand what he meant?

"Promissory notes are a written promise of payment by the issuer to the recipient," Schwarzpferd quickly explained. "You'd better brace yourselves, because I have some bad news to share with you." His voice then took on a slightly sinister tone - was that his modulator, or perhaps the subject material? "Those promises were made by selfish individuals who seek only to line their own pockets at your expense. While the concept of currency was made with good intentions, your so-called guardians and defenders of the public have lost sight of their duties! In my case, I have some of their ill-gotten gains. I need to dispose of it with you here as my witness."

At that moment, Schwarzpferd produced a blue bottle of fluid and cracked open his briefcase. A few excited gasps rang out in the crowd once they saw the familiar signs of money within the case, only to be cut short as their orator inverted the bottle and spilled the contents directly onto the notes. Schwarzpferd then closed the briefcase and vigorously shook the contents up and down. Sloshing noises could be heard by everyone present, as if to add a bit of sting to the fact that he had just deliberately ruined a large amount of cash.

Well.. it was his to do with as he wished, right? One of the more insightful bystanders then caught note of a peculiar attribute. That fluid was a bit too blue to be water. Water was clear and odorless; one wouldn't be able to smell water unless it was either tainted with impurities, or was not water at all.

"Hey, what's that smell?"

Schwarzpferd turned to the speaker, smiling as best as he could through his modulated voice and rubber horse mask. "That's the smell of dirty money being exposed." Then, through a feat of strength and a swift motion of his arm, Schwarzpferd hurled the soaked case tens of meters upward into the air.

Again came the familiar thoughts formed into words, beckoning the bystanders to look out for their personal safety. Hey, look up! That case could hurt someone if it landed on their head. While this was happening, the white van that originally brought Schwarzpferd to the arcade began to pull out into the street and drive away.

Luna followed his gesture and in near horror saw Haruka and Usagi. What in the world were they doing here? Luna hadn't alerted them to anything, so they were here on their own. This was not good. "Right away, Sir." Officer Luna said, giving the inspector a slight bow before starting towards the girls. 

She knew that they had this habit of finding themselves in situations that would in the end get them in trouble, but this wasn't one that they should have found. Luna grabbed them both by the upper arms and steered them away from the metro entrance. Normally the Mau woman wouldn't nearly drag her friends around like that but she had to keep her cover. 

"What are you two doing here?" She hissed. "This is really bad timing!" She said once they were out of sight of the inspector and other official eyes. Luna reached up and pulled off her hat letting her long black-purple hair fall down her back. "You better have a good reason." She said more mom than friend. She didn't want the girl's to get involved until she was sure there was something here, other than random human violence.

Stepping away from Luna and the wayward girls, Inspector Mori answered the phone after confirming the caller's identity. He quickly set the tone of his conversation with Yamaguchi, speaking with terse words that made no attempt to hide his displeasure.

"We've discussed this before; I'll contact you outside of work."

The detective drew in a quiet breath, his tone turning more poignant as his discussion continued. What the hell was he thinking? This man had connections with unsavory elements of society, which presumably meant that these two would be enemies. By contacting the inspector during his work hours, the corporate investor was placing them both at risk.

Things were rarely simple in Mori's career. Fate had conspired to place him in a position of friendship with Yamaguchi; this led to him walking a very fine line between honesty and corruption during his service to the general welfare of the public. It had hounded him ever since their first meeting, at a time when the inspector sought a path to fame and fortune through professional boxing.

The piercing questions arrived right on schedule - the health of Yamaguchi's injured 'employees', the alleged weapons, and if the operator was alone or part of a team. Mori only felt obligated to report the paramedics' findings to his old friend, citing legal reasons for not leaking any other details.

---

Warnings on the Wind (Haruka):

The onlookers gazed upward with a collective gasp of surprise and foreboding. That briefcase could hurt somebody if it landed on their head! What was most strange about the spectacle was how all of the bystanders appeared to shift their attention up to the briefcase in unison.

With the audience distracted, Schwarzpferd was free to make his move. He reached into the pocket of his boilersuit, producing a bright orange object resembling a firearm. To any individual familiar with recreational boating, the masked man was holding a flare gun.

And here is where it begins, the vandal thought to himself.

Once the hammer was set, Schwarzpferd raised the unorthodox weapon skyward and fired. The report was loud and jarring, but too many things were happening at once to stop and acknowledge that single noise on its own. A red and orange bolt leapt forth from the barrel of the flare gun, streaking upwards on an inevitable collision course with the kerosene-soaked briefcase.

Was it a blistering fireball, or some kind of rocket? The pedestrians only knew one proper reaction upon witnessing the projectile make brilliant and explosive contact with the briefcase, expressed through a shrill chorus of panicked screaming and a sudden need to leave the vicinity.

Standing at the center of this storm of emotion, Schwarzpferd casually leaned over to pick up his megaphone, flicking on the switch. Charred, burning cinders of what was formerly currency wafted down from from the sky in a mockery of winter snow. "My fellow citizens! Those promises of payment are only worth their weight in ashes. Let none stand in the way of justice. If we don't correct this problem now, the solution will only be more painful in the future."

He then turned and stared in Walter's direction. Only one sailor-suited guardian stood between him and the CEO of Home Phone.

Haruka grinned; confidence was most definitely the key. If you looked like you knew what you were doing, people generally left you alone. The blonde and Michiru had used this tactic to sneak into various places in order to conduct senshi business in the past. Tonight, Lady Luck did not seem to be with them. Someone, an inspector by the looks of it, was coming over to them, yelling saying that they shouldn't be here, the metro was closed. The man talked to an officer who than began to escort the girls away.

When the officer began demanding to know why they were there and chastising them, Haruka eyes narrowed in annoyance at her questions. Who did this woman think she was? Taking a closer look, the officer began to look more and more familiar. It was Luna in her human form. Haruka had only seen the Mau's human form once before, so she wasn't surprised it took her while to recognize her.

"I'm doing my job as a senshi. Something weird is going on and I'm investigating it to see if it's a threat or not," Haruka explained. She was a soldier, an outer senshi. It was her duty to protect her Princess and future Queen from any danger. As an out senshi, she was the first line of defense for the system. The wind gave her this information for a reason and it had never been wrong before.

Just as Haruka was about to give Luna a piece of her mind, the wind gently blew across her face and she froze. She knew that scent. Kerosene. It was a common fuel that was extremely flammable. The scent wasn't coming from the metro which was at least some good news.

Crown Fruit Parlour. The wind whispered to her, supplying the information she needed.

Chibiusa. She was still there with her friend. If Usagi found out, she would go to no lengths to save her future daughter, putting herself in risk. Haruka couldn't allow that to happen, nor did she want anything to happen to the young vivacious girl. She knew what she had to do.

"Stay here Usagi with Luna, or better yet, go home, I'll contact you later," She said before running back to her bike. She shoved her helmet on, tossing the one Usagi had worn early to the ground. It was easily replaceable and she didn't have time to deal with it. Gunning the engine, she raced back towards the future Princess. She only hoped she wasn't too late.

Usagi squeaked when Officer Luna grabbed her arm, shoving her away from the crime scene. "Ow, watch it!" she whined. "That hurts, you know!" She turned on the unfamiliar officer and was about to start defending herself when the woman took off her hat, letting her long hair cascade down her back. "L-Luna..?" Usagi quipped, feeling stupid. How could she not recognize her own guardian? Perhaps it was the element of surprise that prevented her from recognizing her closest companion.

Usagi refrained from rolling her eyes at Haruka's stern response. She was still the same-old Haruka, interested in only her task at hand. "Haruka-san felt something on the wind, and it led us here. We were just doing senshi work, like you taught me to," Usagi said, placing her hands on her hips and sticking her nose into the air. She didn't like when Luna scolded her for doing her job.

Usagi was about to speak again when Haruka suddenly tensed. Curious, Usagi watched her friend's expression change from confused to worried. Usagi had no time to react has Haruka announced her departure and sped off, demanding for Usagi and Luna to stay put.

Glancing at her guardian, Usagi said, "There's no way I'm going to just sit here." She winked and started sprinting after Haruka. She knew that the senshi of winds was long gone, but she would follow the smell of the gasoline in Haruka's bike.

Wait a second...

All of a sudden, a bright, fiery ball of red, orange, and yellow, erupted in the sky. It was far enough away that it didn't cause any harm to Usagi, but what about the people who were in that area? Startled, the blonde teen tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and fell, slamming her hands against the concrete to catch herself. From her position on the ground, she watched the ball of fire expand, then seem to pause, resting in the sky.

And then it dawned on her. That wasn't just any street. That was the street where the Parlor was. And...

"Chibiusa!!!!"

Not sparing another second, Usagi scrambled to her feet and sprinted to the Parlor, praying to whatever deity was watching them that her future daughter was alive.

Luna really wanted to pop Haruka on the head. That was no way to talk to a guardian much less her elder! Did this girl think that Luna liked running around like this? 


Oh there was no way she was taking orders from a girl. Luna nodded at Usagi and took off after her. She gasped when the fireball light the air around the arcade. She didn't stop, she was right on Usagis' heels as they headed for the parlor. If Chibiusa was there this could be bad. Not caring for her own safety Luna  ran with all the speed and grace she possessed as a cat. 

"Usa! Did you leave Chibiusa there?!" She more screamed than asked at the young blonde. Luna would have to really talk to the girl when they had a chance. For now the need to protect these girls was over powering to Luna. There was still something so familiar about this, but Luna just couldnt put her paw on it.

At the scene of the fire, Chibiusa and her two friends had scattered along with the rest of the gathered crowd. Schwarzpferd's message had been delivered both loud and clear in every sense, but the example of the money he had used hadn't interested the pink-haired girl in the least so why had Kyuusuke and Momoko been listening so intently? 

Moreover, who was that Sailor Senshi who had also been outside the arcade? Chibiusa had never seen her before, but there was no time for an introduction now.

Most of the flaming notes drifted harmlessly back into the pavement where they quietly burned out, but the threat of something flammable becoming ignited, being scalded, or even being trampled by the panicking crowd was still present.

As if to prove their point, one of the stray bills grazed the back of Chibiusa's hand. She let out a small yelp and quickly retracted her hand to hold it in the other, but the direct contact had already left a small burn.

"This way!" Kyuusuke pointed out a narrow alley between the Game Center Crown and one of its neighboring buildings. It was the one place where the small size of the three of them would be an asset. There they would be away from the fire as the crowd and it was his responsibility to protect the two girls. He was a man, after all!

But still... this seemed more like a job for the police than him... Hadn't he also just seen on of the Sailor Senshi? She might be able to help, but for now it was up to Kyuusuke.

The green haired boy took one of each girl's hand and lead them into the small space where all three of the children ducked down to watch the rest of the scene from a safe distance. None of them had a cell phone and they wouldn't be able to move until one of them could somehow contact somebody...

Luna didn't stop to think about where the others were. she wanted to find Chibiusa and make sure she as safe. The cat in human form was fast maybe faster than Haruka, she arrived just as the last of the burning bills where floating to the ground. She looked around her eyes widening in horror. Where was her princess? 

She frantically looked around and through the windows. It seemed not many where inside, so where was she? 

"Chibiusa!" She cried out hoping the future princess would hear her. "Where are you!?" Luna's heart was beating fast, she could hear it pounding in her ears. She would really hurt someone if any of her girls were hurt. "Chibiusa!" She cried again, waiting to hear something.

"WHAT. WHAT. WHAT."

Sailor Makemake flinched as the briefcase hit her square in the head. She fell over and moaned as she rubbed a newly formed lump. What was going on here? Was this guy giving out free cash or something?

Before she knew it, there was a loud bang. People started to scream as ash rained down from the sky. Was that the money? Why would he destroy so much money? He could have bought so much manga with that cash!

"Calm down!" she said to the deaf ears of the panicking. "It's not that bad, probably! This guy's just a weirdo I bet!"

Glancing for a moment at Walter, she realized that this man was extremely dangerous. It was clear that he was allied with the people who had kidnapped her new acquaintance.

"I should have never let you go!" she said loudly. "Makemake Vine Twister!"

The young senshi flashed a karate pose as another set of vines exploded out from under the ground. She aimed to capture Schwarzpferd so that she could properly turn him into the police.

Schwarzpferd chuckled at Makemake's reactions, straightening up as she addressed him with a defiant challenge. Anticipating the call of her unique powers over plant life, Schwarzpferd leaped upwards and away from the crumbling concrete. He took shelter behind a parked automobile, quickly opening his weapon's breech to replace the spent flare shell.

The black horse-masked villain responded to the lone senshi with a metallic sneer, intending to taunt her over his successful deception. "Is that all, girl? You should 'mah-kay' like a tree and leave while you still can." Though the girl seemed to be lacking a bit in sensibilities, her magical powers were a real threat to his plan. She would have to be dealt with swiftly; it was still too early for him to leave.

Popping back up from behind the convenient cover provided by the car, Schwarzpferd aimed his weapon at Makemake and squeezed the trigger. The bright orange flaregun shuddered as it belched a flaming bolt of destruction in the senshi's direction. It wasn't a perfectly accurate shot, but if the size of the earlier explosion was any indication, it could still threaten a target simply by landing close to its location.

---

Walter quickly got to his feet, and did the one thing he felt was the most prudent choice in this particular situation - running for his life.

He would have to thank Sailor Makemake in the future for her selfless intervention, even if she struck him as an odd girl. Better that than risk Schwarzpferd striking him with one of those fireballs.

Pushing her bike to its limits and nearly getting herself into several crashes in which only her skills as a racecar driver and her quick reflexes had saved her, Haruka made it back to the Crown Fruit Parlour in record time. Spotting a flash of pink hair between two buildings, the blonde senshi turned her bike around and pulled up to the alleys entrance. She dismounted, placing her helmet on the seat.

“Chibiusa, are you and your friends alright?” she asked, walking over the princess and her friends. She was glad to see that they appeared to be uninjured. “What happened was anyone injured in the explosion? Did you see anyone suspicious?” she asked the children, wanting to know what happened, how they had made it out of the Crown Fruit Parlour before the explosion.

"Yeah, we're all okay," Chibiusa smiled at the sight of Haruka. She had already forgotten about the burn on her hand now that the commotion seemed to have stopped and and they had been found by someone reliable.

"Kyuusuke is the one who got us to safety," Momoko added, earning a sheepish but proud grin from the young boy before she continued.

"I'm not exactly sure what happened, though..."

The smile on Chibiusa's face faded and her expression became stern. "There was a strange man standing in the middle of the street saying something about money. Everyone who was inside the arcade came outside to listen to him, but I don't know why. He was the one who caused the" she explained,

"He was with another man who looked really scared..."

"...Don't forget that Sailor Senshi that was there, too!" Kyuusuke cut her off.

Chibiusa only gave an awkward nod at this to prevent from revealing too much to her friends who didn't know that she and Haruka  were both Sailor Senshi as well. She looked back up to continue her explanation, but the small girl was cut off once again. This time, by the second explosive sound of Schwarzpferd's shot aimed at Makemake.

All three children let out a squeal and ducked down, huddling closer together at the sound.

"Hey! That's not funny at all!" Sailor Makemake shouted. She was irritated up until she saw the flare gun. Her expression went sour when Schwarzpferd took out a flare gun. She remained frozen in place in shock. She had never gotten to this point. Criminals had always been subdued by her magic vines. It was all over.

Suddenly, she was tackled by a girl before she was struck from the flare. As her eyes focused, she actually recognized the girl. She had seen her hanging out with Rei Hino at the arcade. Hino was one of the most popular girls at school, so it was often confusing to see her hanging out with so many girls outside of her school.

"I... uh..."

But then out of nowhere, the girl transformed into the famous warrior that Sailor Makemake had always wanted to fight alongside with.

"SAILOR MOON."

She clasped the sides of her face.

"IT'S SAILOR MOON. OH. MY. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH."

Standing up, she clambored for a notebook and pen, hidden in one of the pockets of her skirt.

"Could you give me your autograph? Make it out to Kaede Smi-"

Her eyes lit up in realization.

"Oh, right! Battle! I'll let you handle this one, Sailor Moon. It's your time to shine! This guy's nothing compared to you!"

The glee on Sailor Makemake's face was incredible. She had completely forgotten about seriousness of the crazy situation around them.

When Sailor Moon made her glorious entrance, Schwarzpferd followed her gestures closely. As the stalwart senshi of justice began her speech, her horse-masked foe lifted the collar of his boilersuit and looked towards it briefly. Perhaps he was attempting to speak into it?

As soon as she addressed Schwarzpferd directly, he began his verbal offensive. "Who I am? My time in the spotlight's already passed." He gestured briefly with his unburdened left hand towards Makemake, then back to Moon. His voice was masked as well as his face, all except for a condescending tone. While Schwarzpferd believed he had a decent chance at beating them in a straight fight, flustering them with words would further tip the scales in his favor. "As your friend says, it's your time to shine! I'll be asking the questions here."

Schwarzpferd circled slowly around the two women, maintaining a distance of at least ten meters. He appraised them with a demeanor that suggested a casual, nonchalant attitude. What secret knowledge did this man possess? Surely he could not be more powerful than either of them, especially Sailor Moon.

"You've fought many battles and strange creatures. Do you enjoy hurting other people?"

Hurting others?

No, that wasn't Sailor Moon. She dedicated her live to helping others. On multiple occasions, she had risked everything she had to save the world and the people she loved. People loved her, admired her. Even her little brother had a thing for her.

She shuddered. That was an awful thing to think about.

So what was this creep talking about? He didn't even know her - who was he to tell her that she hurt others? She had never seen him a day in her life. But for some reason...his words hit her hard. Had she hurt people? Not that she recalled, but...what if she did? The thought was almost too painful to bear.

She wanted to yell back, to attack, to say, "I don't have to answer to you!" But she couldn't. Her curiosity was too much - she had to figure out what this creeper meant.

"How do you know what I've done?" she shouted back, trying to sound as mean as she could. "And what is that supposed to mean, anyway?!"

'Way to make a good impression on the new senshi, Usagi.'

Sailor Makemake looked from Sailor Moon to Schwarzpferd, hoping to see some action. But nothing happened. She looked rather deflated.

"Of course Sailor Moon hurts people! She hurts those who are evil, like you! What right do you have to question the awesome power of Sailor Moon when you yourself were hurting people only minutes ago?"

Sailor Makemake posed in a crane stance as vines shot up from the ground around her.

"This guy's an idiot. Don't you think, Sailor Moon? We should totally beat him!"

Schwarzpferd chuckled dryly at Moon's hasty response as he assessed the legendary senshi and her vine-wielding cohort. He calmly opened the breech of his orange firearm, flicking it upwards to release a spent shell from the barrel.

"You don't know? That's okay, you have plenty of time to think it through. I have a little bit of free time if you want to dance.."

The masked assailant palmed another piece of deadly ammunition from his pocket, dropping it into his weapon. He stared intently towards Sailor Moon and Sailor Makemake while his hands locked the breech back into place. The 'flare' gun was hot once more.

Sailor Moon felt her heart warm at the new senshi's words. "You're right - let's put him in his place!" she said, feeling more determined now. This man was the bad guy - not her. She saved hundreds of lives, even the lives of those who were evil in the past. She gave people chances at redemption, she gave her life to save others. This man was trying to kill her, for reasons she was completely unaware of. He was the one hurting people, and he needed to be stopped. 

Just as Sailor Moon was about to attack, she heard her target speaking once more. Dance? What did he mean by - 

Oh.


The guardian of love and justice froze, her feet unwilling to move despite her brain's screams to do so. The gun, the gun was about to go off! She was going to be nothing but moon dust in mere seconds, so why couldn't she move?!

Sailor Makemake grinned at Sailor Moon's response. Of course she would agree that she was the best. She was the best, at least in Makemake's eyes.

But it was clear that Schwarzpferd didn't understand this. He couldn't to provoke them and even loaded another round into his flare gun.

"Dance?" she asked. "Hah! This is one battle you won't be winning! Welcome to the Jungle, Horse Freak! We've got fun and games! Makemake Vine Twister!"

Instead of her usual method, Makemake's vines broke out of the cement, feet behind Schwarzpferd. It aimed to wrap around his ankles and throw him to the ground.

A stupid grin was over her face. She was totally confident now that they would win the day and she would become the best of friends with Sailor Moon.