Title:  Sailor Moon: Storming Overcast
By: Magic713
Rated: PG13
Fandom: Sailor Moon
Pairing: Light MamoruxUsagi, but romance doesn't drive the plot  
Notes:
A few months following Stars, the story will have mixtures of both manga and anime Sailor Moon.
Story Summary: After the battle against Chaos, things have begun to calm down for the Senshi. But another enemy arrives from beyond the borders of the Milky Way. Will Sailor Moon and her friends continue to maintain the will to fight on, or will this be the final straw that brakes the camels back.
Comments allowed:Absolutely! And encouraged! They help me update faster.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

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Chapter 1
Asteroid

The day had finally arrived.  Usagi was in a church, standing next to the love of her life. So much fighting, so much loss, but here she was. The priest gave the couple the honor of ending the ceremony with a kiss as man and wife. She prepared herself for the moment where she can finally call herself Mrs. Usagi Chiba. The gap between them was closing and her heart started beating faster, and-

“Ms. Tsukino!!!,” a loud voice screamed, waking the 16-year old teenager from her dream.  She looked around and saw many of her fellow students laughing. She looked up and saw the source of her disturbance. Her teacher was giving her a furious glare at her. Usagi gave her a nervous smile saying, “Uh, hello”.
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“I can’t believe I fell asleep again,” Usagi was saying to her friend and school genius, Ami, “I swear, I got my full eight hours of sleep. Why do I even need to know math?” Ami was reading her book, partially listening to her friend as they were on the way to the arcade. As they enter the arcade, they were greeted by their friend, Motoki. They took their seats and waited for their friends to arrive. Meanwhile, the television broadcaster announced a special bulletin.

“According to astronomers, citizens should not be concerned. With the trajectory and speed, the asteroid will only be skimming the Earth’s atmosphere, before continuing towards its destination towards the sun. Tonight, we will be witnessing the event of the largest asteroid to pass through our atmosphere. Be sure to check out this spectacular event. And now…”.

As Usagi was watching the report, she felt shivers down her spine. After two years of fighting, Usagi started developing an instinct when trouble was going to spread and unfortunately, a 'once-in-a-lifetime' astronomical event has never been a good sign for the planet, and the report of the asteroid gave her chills. Perhaps it was the recent battle that made her feel on edge. It had been three months since Galaxia and Chaos had taken everyone away from her, and she was still unsettled after those events. She still could not believe how quickly she came to losing herself and just giving up fighting. While she always put up a confident, happy demeanor, but she hasn't moved past the battle yet. She was glad everyone else was trying to move on with their lives.

Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru were taking a family vacation to tour Europe. Rei had begun to work twice as long, training to be a priestess for her shrine. Makoto was already looking through college brochures for the best culinary schools. Minako was asked to do a movie as Sailor V, which she accepted, seeing as filming started on summer break. Ami was applying to one of the best colleges in Japan in hopes of becoming a doctor someday like her mother. As for Mamoru, he had put his education plans on hold, since he missed the semester, thanks to Galaxia. But he did not let it bring him down. He worked part time at the arcade, and he admitted that he enjoyed having some more time to spend with Usagi.

Usagi thought of how all her friends seemed to know where they would go in life, while she was struggling just to keep an average GPA in high school. While she knew someday she would become Neo Queen Serenity, she also knew she could not simply slack off, waiting for her destiny to happen. It could be years until she can assume the throne. Until then, she needed some kind of direction in her life after high school. The problem is, she had no idea what she wanted to do.

She snapped out of her thoughts when Minako arrived. “Hey guys,” she said cheerfully.

“So, how are the auditions going?” Ami said setting down her book. Minako gave an exhausted exhale saying, “They are so tiring. These actors...”

Usagi laughed, saying, “Well, you insisted on knowing who you were going to work with.”

“I know, it’s just that some of the actors are so arrogant. I don’t know where this production team is getting these jerks. Makes me want to use my Love-Me chain and-”

“Here’s your shakes,” Motoki said, handing Usagi, Ami, and Minako their shakes which they order every day.

“Thanks,” they said in unison.

Makoto and Rei had arrived shortly after and they five girls started talking about their day and what they were planning. “Say, are you guys going to see the asteroid tonight at the park,” Makoto asked, “I heard it will be beautiful to see skimming across the sky.”

Ami said, “I can’t. I have to study for my exam tomorrow.”

“And I don’t think I’ll be able to stay up long enough to see it,” Minako said.

“Mamoru has made plans for our date tonight,” Usagi answered, with some regret, though Makoto didn't seem upset.

“And I just have no interest in seeing a shooting star,” Rei responded.

They stayed and talked for another half hour before heading on their way. “Um, Rei, I need to talk to you about something,” Usagi said after the rest of the girls left.

“What is it,” Rei said in concern. She saw worry on her friend’s face and knew this had to be serious.

“Rei, I have a very bad feeling about the asteroid”

“Usagi, you don't have to worry. It will soon fly by our planet and we will never have to worry about it again.”

“We thought the solar eclipse was just an ordinary eclipse and the meteor shower a few months ago was just that, a meteor shower.”

“Usagi,” Rei said, grasping her friend’s shoulders, “Me and the girls...we’re a little concerned. It’s been three months since the last battle and you still act like monsters are going to pop out of every corner”.

“Why is it you complain that I don’t take our enemies seriously and now that I am, you are berating me for it”.

“I’m saying this as a friend. You seem to be bordering on paranoia now. Chaos, the Galaxy’s greatest enemy is gone for now. You defeated the source of all the evil in the Galaxy. You can relax”.

“Rei,” Usagi said, almost in tears, but keeping a strong stance, “I have a very bad feeling and I do not want to be caught off guard like we were before. I know in my heart that we must be ready. I can't just wait for an attack and you guys end up hurt, and then I'm alone and-"

"OK, calm down. If it will make you feel better, I’ll read the fire tonight and see if there are any omens of danger,” Rei interrupted. She had never seen her friend so distraught before. Then again, considering what she went through the last time, seeing her friends and boyfriend killed, who could blame her.

Usagi looked like she was about to tear up but put on her happy face, hugging Rei saying, “Thanks Rei, you’re the best.”

“Alright already, just get off me,” Rei said annoyed. Usagi let go quickly and said her goodbyes to Rei.

Usagi was walking home when she ran into her lifetime friend, Naru. “Hey Usagi. I was just going to my mom’s store to check out her new jewelry. Wanna come along and try out a few of them before they are put on shelves.” Usagi gave her embarrassing smile, saying, “Sorry Naru, I have to get home and get ready for my date. How about we hang out tomorrow.”

“Sure that would be fun,” Naru said, a little disappointed. Usagi ran home without really seeing the lonely look on her friend’s face. It has been months, if not at least a year, since they actually hung out together. Now most days she hangs out with Ami and the others. Naru never understood why she could not join in on their group. And when Usagi wasn’t hanging out with them, she would hang out with the man who use to taunt her every day, which she now calls her boyfriend. Naru didn’t even know how they jumped from bickering enemies to couple in such a short time. Naru knew Usagi since they were in first year elementary and now they were lucky to see each other outside of school in a week. She did not hate Usagi’s friends, but she just missed her best friend. She sighed and continued home.

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Rei sat by the fire, and started chanting to the spirits to send her signs of dangers that might be approaching. She focused with the asteroid pictured in her mind, as it was floating by above her and the rest of the planet. She continued concentrating when she saw shades appearing within the flames. She started hearing their voices speaking through. Two figures stood clearly together talking. Her powers have advanced much, now that she can divine a full vision of her target.

“It's hard to believe this backwater planet is really all that important,” the first being said, “It doesn’t look like they have the power to protect themselves, let alone a galaxy”.

“And their technology does not even come close most other advanced societies that we have seen in the universe,” the second being said, "What does our comrade say, anyway?"

“He assures us this planet is necessary for our success which is why we have to act cautiously,” the first being answered, “We can’t just attack it full force until we know what we are dealing with. We can’t risk losing everything before-”

“Silence,” a third voice spoke. The two beings looked at a giant globe and kneeled to it. A being, hidden in shadow, but clearly human looking appeared. “Someone is listening.” While the creature or being was still in shadow, Rei could see it looking straight at her.

Rei had a look of panic as the other three beings turned to her. She tried to break away, but she was held in state. The being in the globe said in a horrible voice, “So, little flame reader, you want to know what is to come. Let me show you.” Suddenly Rei was hit with hundreds of visions, all of which were of death and destruction caused by these creatures. She tried to block it out, but no matter what she did the visions kept coming. She held her head in pain, screaming as she collapsed on the floor.

Rei saw the first being lift up its hand, palm facing her, speaking in an unknown dialect and a sudden blast of wind flew from the flames, causing the fire to blaze out of control, burning the walls and room. The beings vanished from the fire, but Rei couldn’t stop the images appearing in her mind, nor silencing the screams of the victims. These sights were far more painful than the flames toughing her skin.
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Meanwhile, in space, the asteroid was blazing close to Earth. It heated up, skimming the atmosphere, starting to slow from the friction. Suddenly a dark aura formed around it and it slowed to a stop, hanging over the planet, overlooking Japan.
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A/N: I actually had this idea in my mind for years, but I never had the nerve of typing it. I hope you enjoy the first chapter. The feedback will tell me if I am on the right track.

Chapter 2
First Strike

Usagi sat in her booth, not caring that she is missing school. She still had an abundant amount of unshed tears from last night and this morning, and they were not going away anytime soon.

Usagi was sitting in the hospital waiting room, leaning on Mamoru while he wrapped his arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. She wore a modest pink dress, while Mamoru wore a casual suit and tie from their date earlier. They were having a wonderful dinner at a nice restaurant when she got the call from Rei’s grandpa that Rei was in the hospital. Before she could hear the rest of the message, Usagi dropped the phone and grabbed Mamoru as she ran out of the restaurant, with Mamoru following behind, remembering to pay and probably leaving a generous tip. They drove quickly to the hospital where they were told to wait with Minako, Makoto, and Ami who arrived earlier.

After waiting several hours Yuuichirou arrived with Grandpa after talking to the doctor. Yuuichirou told Rei’s friends he was awakened by Rei’s screams and he found Rei screaming in a panic as the shrine started burning around her. He told them he pulled her out of the shrine but she struggled, flailing in a psychotic state. He called the hospital and the ambulance picked them up.

Grandpa told Usagi and her friends that her burns were treated, but she has been admitted to the hospital’s psychiatric ward. Usagi was in shock, wondering what had happened.

When Usagi was finally able to see Rei, she saw her friend was awake in a tranquil state, thanks to the drugs, staring blankly at the ceiling. While she looked calm Usagi could see in her eyes that Rei was still being tormented.

Usagi approached the bed, placing a hand on one of Rei’s restrained hands. Rei took no notice, continuing to look up at the ceiling.

“Rei?” Usagi asked, not getting a response, “This is my fault. I should’ve been there. Rei, I promise you, I’ll find a way to help you. Just hold on.”

Rei suddenly grabbed Usagi’s hand, turning to look at her. “Usagi, you were right.  You have to stop them. We can’t let them have Earth”.

Rei’s grip tightened, and her heart rate increased. Nurses rushed in and pried Rei hand off Usagi’s arm. Usagi was still stunned as she was forced out of the room, while the staff took care of Rei. Without saying a word to her friends, she ran out of the hospital.

‘It’s my fault,’ Usagi kept thinking. She knew that it was because she asked Rei to read the fire for a possible threat. Usagi put her head down on the table, hoping Motoki would think she was just sleeping, and not see her tears. And she was certainly glad Mamoru wasn’t there. She had concealed her connection with him, not wanting him to find her and be bothered with her emotions. She just wanted some solitude, and Motoki was always nice enough to give her space when she needed it.

A woman walked past the arcade, going unnoticed by Usagi. She had red hair that ran down inches past her shoulders. She wore a long white trench jacket and a white fedora with a black feather pinned to the side of it. She also wore a blue mask covering her eyes and light blue high-heels. She reached the corner of a crowded intersection and looked around. Despite her bizarre outfit, no one in the crowd seemed to take notice of her presence. She smiled mischievously.

“Hm, this should be a good spot,” she said to herself. With a flick of her wrist, a sheet of paper with some strange writing on it appeared instantly in her hand. She brought the paper close to her face.

“Rampage, my faithful yokai,” she whispered before speaking some words in an unknown dialect, and threw the paper into the air. Suddenly the paper changed shape and turned into a hideous large snake-like creature with clawed hands. The crowd noticed this monster, as it charged at a pedestrian. With its hands, it grabbed the man and threw him across the street, into a stand. It hit a few more civilians behind it with its tail. The crowd panicked, causing everyone to run in every direction, trying to escape the chaos. The woman in white stood back against the wall, calmly. She pulled out a black pendant from under her coat. Dark energy poured out of the panicking people and began to be absorbed into the pendant. The people took no notice of it and continued to run.

Usagi lifted her head up and saw a large group of people running down the street, screaming. She got up and went to the direction where people were running away from. She saw the creature attacking and hissing loudly, as it cornered more civilians. Usagi got out her communicator, about to call her friends. But she remembered her friend in the hospital and recalled seeing her friends disintegrate in front of her. She closed her communicator and pulled out her broach. Seeing the coast clear, she transformed into Eternal Sailor Moon.

“Leave them alone,” Sailor Moon shouted, catching the creature’s attention. The civilians used this distraction to escape the yokai’s rage. It hissed and began to approach Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon pulls out the Eternal Tiare, pointing it at the monster.

“Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!!!”

The attack went straight at the monster. It screamed in pain, as Sailor Moon poured more energy into the attack. She knew that if the creature was human it would heal, and if not then it would perish.

The monster turned its head at Sailor Moon and with a swipe of its arm, the attack broke, leaving the creature unharmed. Sailor Moon collapsed on the ground, exhausted from the attack. “Why,” she whispered, “why can’t I protect them”.

The creature charged at her, and Sailor Moon prepared for the attack. However, the mysterious summoner whispered a phrase, causing fish hook line to be released from her fingertips and latch on to Eternal Sailor Moon’s wings. With a strong pull, it threw the Senshi off balance and Sailor Moon was swiped by the monster’s tail, throwing her against the wall as the hooks vanished. She struggled to get up, but the creature attacked again, slashing her back with its claws. It grabbed her and pushed her up against the wall, and raised its other arm to swipe at her again. She closed her eyes, preparing for the pain. After a few seconds, she felt nothing and looked at the monster to see its free arm restrained by a glowing chain.

The creature turned to see Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus, who was holding the chain. The yokai struggled to try and break the chain, but Sailor Venus wouldn’t allow it. With a pull, she yanked the creature off Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Mask arrived and picked Sailor Moon up, carrying her away from the monster. She saw her friends had arrived to fight, already in their Sailor forms. The creature charged at its captor.

“Mercury Aqua Rhapsody”

Sailor Merury’s attack froze the yokai where it stood. Sailor Jupiter prepared herself.

“Jupiter Oak Evolution”

Jupiter’s attack hit the frozen creature, causing it to shatter into many pieces, before the pieces dissolved into the air and vanished. The Senshi sighed in relief.

“Sailor Moon, are you OK,” Tuxedo Mask asked. She did not look at him, ashamed of her weakness. He gently leaned her forward, looking at her back. He saw her back bleeding from three ugly scratch marks. He put his hand over her back and began healing her injury.

“Sailor Moon,” said Sailor Mercury, kneeling down to see to her other injuries, “Why didn’t you call us sooner?”.

“Hm,” the mysterious woman said under her breath, watching around the corner. As the Senshi began to help Sailor Moon up, the woman vanished in thin white smoke when she saw them begin to look in her direction.

Sailor Moon struggled to get up, so Tuxedo Mask gently grabbed her arm, helping her up.

“We need to get off the streets,” he said to the Senshi, “I’ll heal her at my place”.

“Guys, I’m fine,” Sailor Moon said weakly. She tried to let go of him, but the pain from the battle kept her clinging to him. Getting a better look at her injuries, he picked her up, and jumped up to the buildings, heading to the direction of his apartment.

Once they reached his apartment, Tuxedo Mask changed back into Mamoru. Usagi’s transformation broke on the way over to the apartment, when she lost consciousness. Mamoru carefully placed his girlfriend on his bed and he began using his energy from his Golden Crystal to restore her, healing her most serious injuries. She was still asleep when he decided to call Ami to tell Usagi’s parents that she is sleeping over at her apartment. Ami agreed, knowing Usagi would still need time to recover. After hanging up, Mamoru entered his bedroom, seeing his love still asleep. He got into bed, and pulled her close to him. He felt guilty allowing harm to come to his princess. He still needed to talk to her, but for now, he was just content knowing his love was safe in his arms as he dozed off.

=========

Cirrus appeared in a darken room. The room had a cauldron filled with a thick black boiling substance. It also held shelves of vials with strange substances and books with writing unknown. The room was at the bottom of a spiral staircase which led to the next floor of the fortress. She walked over to the cauldron and took out her pendent. The black energy poured out of the pendant, dropping into the cauldron. A line of dark smoke left the cauldron, heading up through the ceiling.

“I see your mission was a success, Cirrus” a figure in a long grey scientist lab coat said, walking down the steps. He had goggles strapped on his eyes, and wore black gloves and black shoes. As he was walking down, he was looking at a thin, metallic, cylinder-shaped device. He used an electrical device, resembling a tiny blow torch to set adjustments, and cylinder-device sparked, causing him to flinch away from it. He set his device and tool down gently on a table, and lifted his goggles up to his forehead as he approached Cirrus.

“Stratus, good to see you. Yes, a complete success. I even got the pleasure to see the ‘Legendary’ Sailor Senshi,” she said with confidence.

“You know our job will be harder now,” he said, “We had the element of surprise today. It won’t happen again so easily”.

“It doesn’t matter. They know nothing about us, and if your assumption is correct, they’re one Senshi short. Whatever the great Emperor did, it has gotten one Senshi out of the way and without her seer powers, her companions are cut off from discovering our true purpose. And let’s not forget, my magic might have burned her to ashes by her own sacred flames. How fitting would that be?”

“Still, we can’t be careless. The Senshi have defeated beings that could have put our Empire at risk if left to their own devices.”

“I know that,” Cirrus said, angrily annoyed, “And I’m not careless. Everything I do is for the Empire and our great Emperor.”

“Then let’s hope our next mission is just as successful.”

“Our next mission?”

“Yep, I’m not staying up here while you unleash your creatures to collect. I’m a scientist, I need to be in the field to study my subjects”.

“And would about our other friendly cohort? When will he be joining us?”

“Who knows,” Stratus said in a bitter manner, “He says he has a mission of his own. Says it’s of the upmost importance”.

“Shame, oh well,” Cirrus said, snapping her fingers as a large viewing window appeared in the room, looking at Earth, “Look how small and vulnerable this world is. Billions of people and a few unique girls are its only protection”.

“Its fate is sealed. It will either become dust, or it will submit and become a vassal of the Void Empire.”

“And it will be interesting to see which the Senshi chose,” Cirrus said, smirking with Stratus as they enjoyed the sight of Earth from the Asteroid.

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A/N: So thoughts? Comments? Constructive Criticism? Hope you liked it.

Chapter 3
Power Surge

Usagi opened her eyes to the sun beating in through curtains. She pushed herself up and looked around. It took her a few moments to realize she was in her boyfriend’s bedroom. Her boyfriend, however, was nowhere to be seen. She smelled a delicious scent coming from the kitchen. She got out of bed and went to the kitchen, finding Mamoru cooking breakfast.  He looked away from the pan and smiled at her. He put the pan down on the counter and walked up to her and gave her a warm embrace. She hugged him back, feeling guilty. She imagined how badly he must have worried about her. She once again felt useless and weak, not able to defeat the monster without help from her love and her friends.

“I’m so sorry,” Usagi said quietly, failing to hold back her tears.

“It’s alright Usako,” Mamoru said in a comforting tone, “We’ll talk about it later. Right now you should eat something”.

She nodded, and sat down as Mamoru retrieved their breakfast. Usagi didn’t eat much, thinking about what she will say to her friends. She looked to Mamoru, “Are the girls angry”?

“I won’t lie. They are a upset about what happened yesterday..."

Mamoru went quiet for a minute before looking at Usagi.

"You blocked our connection, and then seeing you on the ground with that creature standing over you... It terrified me. I thought…”

Mamoru choked up, not being able to finish his thought.

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t need you to worry about me. If I was stronger, you wouldn’t need to worry.”

“Usako-”

Mamoru’s phone rang. Mamoru went to answer it as Usagi decided to finish her breakfast.

Mamoru came back, “That was Makoto. She said we will meet at her apartment.”

Usagi nodded and the couple finished their breakfast.

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In a room, lit with gadgets and advanced tech devices, a man wearing goggles and a long gray lab coat was working on his newest creation. His new creation was a robot, its chest opened while the scientist worked on the wiring. He took out a container filled with a black gaseous substance and placed it in the robot’s chest.

“And…” a click went off, as the contained locked perfectly into place, “done.”

He closed the chest piece and backed away from it. He pulled the sleeve of his coat back and it revealed a device. At first glance, it would look like a long metallic glove that extended to his elbow. But a closer look, one could see buttons and exposed wires. He lowered his goggles so they wrapped tight and secure on his eyes. He rose his arm up and began pressing buttons on the glove. Data streamed through the frames of his goggles as he looked at his creation. The robot began to move and then began to change its appearance. Lightning was released from the robot and dark energy from its core surrounded it, concealing the transformation from viewers.

The shadows lifted, the robot no longer there, but replaced by a creature that appeared to be a male human, but with mirrors of different shapes and sizes on his suit, and two large flat mirrors on his forearms.

There was a knock on the door, and Cirrus burst in without waiting for an answer.

“Stratus, can you keep it down. I’m trying to call on a new yokai for the next battle”.

“Don’t bother. My bot is much more reliable and stable than those yokai you summon. This one here will get us what we need.”

“Really. What’s it do?”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise. If you want, you can come and see my creation at work.”

“Thanks but I’ll have to pass. I still have work here.”

“Suit yourself,” he said, turning to his creation. He typed on his arm device and the bot walked onto a panel and vanished in a flash. Then Stratus pressed the center red button on the back of his hand and vanished in a flash as well.

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Usagi and Mamoru arrived at Makoto’s apartment, with the girls waiting for them. They first, each had a chance to yell at Usagi for her recklessness, though they didn’t try to offend her. Makoto was most furious, telling how careless she had acted, Minako was upset and explained how she didn’t want another friend hurt, and Ami kept calm but still angry said how Usagi shouldn’t fight all on her own with a new enemy now on Earth that they had no information on.

After yelling at Usagi (followed by hugging, glad she was alive), they began to discuss the new enemy that appeared.

“So, this attack, Luna did you find anything?"

“I actually looked at the street cameras. I saw some woman on the screen who summoned that creature you guys fought,” Luna answered, “I couldn't find anything on her, however. No trace of her anywhere on this planet”.

"My best guess is she came from that asteroid hanging over us right now," Minako said, "The asteroid shows up, Rei is in the hospital, and now this woman appears and summons a monster. It must be a new enemy. I'd wager she isn't acting alone either."

“Well if this is a new enemy, they must be here for a reason. We have to know what they want,” Ami said, “We know nothing about them. We’re basically fighting blind.”

“Especially with Rei now…hurt,” Makoto said, choosing her words carefully, trying not to offend anyone.

“We must find out what they are,” Usagi said, “Maybe other planets might know about this enemy.”

“We’ll contact Kinmoku,” Artemis said, “They might have some information that could help”.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Usagi said, “But just ask them if they know anything about these guys. Tell them we have things under control here and they don’t need to leave their home just to fight for us.”

“Usako…” Mamoru said, concerned.

“They are still recovering from the fight with Galaxia and Chaos,” Usagi said, in a sure voice “I won’t burden them with our problems. Whatever comes, we can handle it.”

“Alright,” Luna said.

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In the middle of a busy section of Tokyo, Stratus and his creation appeared on the top corner of one of the buildings. Stratus looked down at the human and vehicle traffic passing through the area. He turned to his bot, “Go ahead, create some mayhem”.

The bot jumped onto one of the lower buildings, looking at the crowd. He placed up the mirror on one arm, facing it to one place of the street and sidewalks, and pointed the mirror on his other arm, and pointed it to a different section. It drew a small amount of power from the city, causing a short power drain but was quickly replenished. Suddenly, a long, tall field formed from one section of the sidewalk and street, and went down to the opposite side of the road, with the same thing occurring with the other section of the area. Some cars approached the area and as they drove into the field, the cars vanished, and reappeared in another section of the city. People also began to walk into the invisible field and appeared in another random area. Vehicles began to collide with one another and people got lost in the city.

The bot jumped to different sections of the city, creating different fields.

Anger, fear, and confusion began to spread throughout the Tokyo. The people began radiating dark energy, as all that energy began to be gathered by Stratus in the jewel piece built in the palm of his arm device.

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Ami was typing on her laptop in a café, trying to find any indication or clues as to what the Void Empire is. As she was looking through the net, her computer started to surge a little, causing her and the block to lose power for a few seconds. Suddenly, a little toddler just appeared right into the building.

“Mommy,” the girl said, looking around confused and scared, “Where are you?”

“Hey there,” Ami said to the little girl, “My name’s Ami. Did you lose your Mommy?”

“Where am I?” she asked, “We were going to the toy store and now I’m here.”

She started to cry.

“It’s Ok,” Ami said, comforting the girl, “I’ll help you find your Mommy. Where was the last place you saw Mommy.”

The little girl told her the name of the store they were going to before she vanished. Ami knew it was relatively close by, just three blocks away and took the girl’s hand to head to there. Ami reached the area and began to see people and cars begin to vanish randomly. Some people reappeared only a short distance, others on buildings or out of sight. Cars sometimes were unaffected or vanished completely.

“Rina!” a woman screamed to Ami and the child.

“Mommy,” the girl screamed in joy, running to her mother. The two embraced and the mother looked at Ami.

“Thank you,” she said.

“It was no trouble,” Ami said. Ami looked at the roof and saw someone dressed strangely lurking there, “You two might want to get out of here.”

Agreeing, the woman carried her daughter away from the area. Ami clicked her wrist watch, “Guys, we have a problem here.”

After calling them, Ami went behind an ally, and transformed into Sailor Mercury.

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“Hm, such delightful energy” Stratus said, continuing to gathering more of the dark energy.

“What are you doing,” Sailor Mercury said, “I know you’re behind this”.

He smiled, turning around, closing his fist, stopping the stream of energy.

“I was wondering when you Senshi would catch on,” he said confidently, turning away from Sailor Mercury, “I have to say, I’ve done a fine job for my first mission here on this little world. If you listen, you can hear the chaos and disorder sink into your… primitive society. Though from what I’ve read, you certainly aren’t the same as these primitive animals. Maybe we can find a place for you in our empire.”

"Empire?"

"Yes, the invincible Void Empire. I think you could work with us quite nicely."

Mercury saw an opportunity and charged at him, but suddenly the bot appeared from above and punched a hole in the concrete, throwing Mercury away from its master.

“I guess I’ve got what I needed,” Stratus said, looking at his arm device and then looked to his bot, “Take care of her and her friends.”

He then glanced at Mercury, “I look forward seeing you again.” With that, he pressed a button on his arm device and vanished.

The bot used one of its mirrors and focused sunlight on the ground, causing the concentrated sunlight to become a harmful beam of light. It then began to drive the light to Sailor Mercury, who was still a little stunned from the attack. The bot was hit away by Sailor Jupiter, as the other two Senshi went to check on Mercury.

“Are you alright,” Venus said.

“Yeah, I’m OK.”

Before the bot could react, all four Senshi used their attacks. The creature was paralyzed by the damage and it formed a small explosion, with the pieces dissolving into smoke.

“What was that thing,” Moon asked.

“It was some kind of machine,” Mercury answered, “Something much more advanced than anything on Earth.”

“A machine?” Sailor Venus asked, “Do you think someone else is here besides this”.

“No,” Mercury answered, “I saw who created it. He was definitely after the same thing as the woman was after. I know he is working with her. He says they are from the Void Empire”.

"The Void Empire?"

“We need to get out of here,” Sailor Moon said, “Someone could have seen the explosion.”

The others agreed and the fled. It took a few hours for the chaos to dies down, the effects of the attack still present but eventually order was restored. The Senshi still wondered what their enemy might try next and how they might be able to stop them.

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At the base, Stratus appeared in his lab, with Cirrus waiting for him.

“So, how was the mission,” she asked with amusement.

“It was quite enlightening actually. I ran into one of the Senshi, Sailor Mercury. I saw in her eyes, the superiority of her intellect compared to these other Earthlings.”

“Why if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’ve found-”

“Worthy rivals,” he interrupted her, “They will make things interesting. I'll have to step up my game.”

“I see you bot has been destroyed. It was a good try, but I guess it couldn’t stand against the Sailor Senshi”.

Stratus placed his armed hand on a panel, and turned a lever up on the console. Dark energy released from his contraption, and went to a room above his lab. He then turned the lever down again and the remaining energy went into his machines and storage containers.

“No worries,” he said, “That was just the first bot.” He then walked over and turned on a light switch, illuminating the room, revealing an assembly belt and dozens bots yet to be programmed.

“The first of many.”

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In the hospital at night, Rei laid still by the medication that was being given to try and keep her calm. The screams were still strong in her mind and she was desperate to see the end of them.

‘Please, someone, help me,’ she thought.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the dim room. Rei could not see the being and thought it might be something in her mind. Or worse, it could be something trying to hurt her, or even going to bring her eternal peace.

“Don’t worry,” the being said in a soft feminine voice, “I am here to answer you call. I will silence those screams. But it will come at a price, if you are willing to pay for it.”

Rei turned to the being, seeing a somewhat familiar shape within the glow. She felt safe in its presence and trusted it. “Please,” she whispered her voice sore from her own screams.

“Of course,” the being said. It placed its soft hand on her forehead.

Rei began to feel the visions begin to fade. However she had one more flash before her. A voice, “I’m sorry, but the only way to help you was to deafen your powers. My power alone can’t stop them. Rei, you and your friends must be united if you want to defeat this hateful force.”

Rei had one last vision. She saw images flash through her mind of a castle that looked familiar. Then she was looking through the eyes of the being that filled her with light and harmony. ‘She’ stood inside the castle, looking down a huge ledge which stood over what looked like a hole in space. ‘She’ turned around and saw the silhouette of the being, which Rei recognized as the one who cursed her. The evil thing raised its hand unleashing a dark blast at ‘her’ and Rei was suddenly awoken from the vision.

She was in the hospital room, alone, with the voices no longer streams but distant whispers.
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