Usagi's attention now turned to where Rei had directed her own: Chibi Usa. That's right! Chibi Usa had been right in the middle of the blast, hadn't she? The child had been running and the girls all rushed to save her, and right before the attack from Magnes collided, there was a flash of light... A flash of light from Chibi Usa.

But here she was, apparently fine. Other than looking extremely uncomfortable, of course—something Usagi only noticed right now. The blue eyes regarded the younger girl critically. There was so much they still didn't know or understand about this kid with a certain stolen hairstyle and name.

"Do you know something about this, Chibi Usa?" she asked. Her tone was a little bit too blunt, even though she wasn't trying to be mean.

Oh right, Chibiusa did seem completely normal. Makoto had at first chalked up her untouched appearance to the senshi having successfully blocked her from the attack, but was that explosion more complicated than they first thought?

Chibiusa was startled as Usagi asked her the question she'd been dreading, and she couldn't even look her in the eye and pretend to not be guilty. 

"Uh... Ummmm...." The pressure seemed to be crushing her, until she sniffled and started crying. "I..I'm sorry! I was so scared when that monster attacked me, and I just didn't want to get hurt! I'm not sure what I did! I dunno how to help..." She remembered that the crescent moon on her forehead had flared up, but she never had any control over it, and now everyone was messed up...

Luna and Artemis looked stunned, but Luna recovered first. 

"Well this is starting to make more sense now, at least. It might be a combination of the Black Moon Clan and Chibiusa's abilities that led to whatever's going on now. But the first thing we should test is if you all can still fight. If you girls can't, then we're in trouble if that monster returns..."

A black crescent moon? Like the ones their enemies had on their foreheads? Ami frowned as she considered this. Was this the enemy’s doing?

Then Rei directed their attention to Chibiusa, and Ami turned toward the pink-haired girl who looked as if she’d rather be anywhere but there. The mysterious girl who’d fallen from the sky… the one they didn’t know whether she was friend or foe.

As the child broke down, Ami blinked in surprise, though at the same time a part of her wanted to hug her, the instinct to protect still there. Chibiusa had done this?

If only there was a way for her to analyze what had happened in that explosion…

When Luna said they should do some tests, Ami nodded. Tests were the sensible solution. She could deal with that; solving problems in a logical way. “I did transform earlier, so that part seems fine, but it’s worth trying out our powers. Maybe we should go outside for this… demonstration.”

She stood up, pulling out her transformation pen again as she headed outside.

The little girl's terrified, tearful reaction only made Usagi feel awful about having asked her question. Even a kid that was annoying sometimes didn't deserve to cry like this.

"It's okay, Chibi Usa-chan," she replied, trying to sound comforting. She would have gladly offered the younger girl a hug if it would make her feel any better. "We'll figure it out. After all, even a tough Ami-chan is still a genius!"

Luna's suggestion made sense, and Ami was already heading outside to test it out. Usagi was ready to follow and see what was going to happen. She hadn't tried to transform, herself, so she didn't really know what to expect—even though she didn't seem to be experiencing the same kind of identity crises her friends clearly were.

"Just leave it to us, okay?" the blonde added, winking at the pink-haired girl.

While Rei wasn't angry with the child, she was no stranger to being young with mysterious powers, her tears kept her from making any other comments. Watching Usagi act maturely with Chibi-usa cause her to smile. She reminded her of a mother comforting her child.

Rei pulled out her transformation pen as well and nodded her head in agreement with Usagi.

"Let's do this!"

She headed outside to a secluded area of the shrine, but not without one last comment, despite her knowledge of their personality switch dilemma.

"Cause after this I still have to practice for the tryouts!"

Usagi was not about to get left behind. As Rei pulled out her transformation pen, raring and ready to go, the blonde placed a hand gently atop the brooch affixed to the bow of her school uniform. She felt a brief wave of anxiety when she touched it—what if my powers don't work?—but shook her head and tried to think positively. She just had to trust that they'd make it through this, because she knew that they would.

She followed Rei outside of the building, towards a relatively secluded area among the trees that surrounded the Hikawa Shrine. Ami was out here, as well, also ready to give her powers a try.

Usagi took a deep breath, supposing that it might make sense for her to transform first. She was Sailor Moon, after all. As she once again touched the Crystal Star, she felt the cover raise to reveal the Silver Crystal glittering within it.

"Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!"

With a flash of pink light a swirl of feathers, the heels of Sailor Moon's red boots touched the ground. She stared at her gloved hands, and blinked a few times at her friends.

"I... I feel fine. I think?" she said.

Rei followed suit with Usagi and with a quick shout of her transformation phrase, she became Sailor Mars. The transformation had felt the same as usual, the warm comforting flames of her planet's powers surrounding her. However, once it was done something felt off, she couldn't quite put her finger on it but it was a similar feeling to when she attempted a fire reading earlier.

Once transformed, Sailor Moon announced that she felt fine, but Mars with held from saying anything. Her eyebrows furrowed, trying to understand what it was that was off.

"Fire Soul!" she announced her attack without warning, aiming up in the air to avoid burning anyone. The only thing that happened was a large puff of smoke coming from her finger tips, once again covering Mars in soot.

She grumbled in annoyance, "Well...that was something."

Chibiusa rubbed her face with her palms and did her best to stop crying.

"O-okay..." she mumbled, watching the other girls as they transformed. Luna sat on Chibiusa's lap, absentmindedly purring to comfort the child.

Sailor Moon claimed to feel fine, but Mars getting nothing but a puff of smoke as an attack was worrying. Makoto, looking nervous, stepped outside with her transformation pan and held it up once more. She had transformed fine a few minutes earlier, but what if her attacks failed too?

"Jupiter Star Power, Make Up!" After a flash of green lightning covered her, Sailor Jupiter didn't seem to have gained any confidence at all.

"I...I guess I'll try next?" She concentrated and crossed her arms, trying to find her usual power to call upon. She felt strange, like the electricity was fighting against her instead of complying. She mentally recoiled from it a few times. "Uh, hold on..." she mumbled, embarrassed. This had been so easy before, she never had to think about how to fight.

"Supreme Thunder!" The antenna extended form her tiara, and it crackled with electricity, but only a few errant sparks flew off. Jupiter released the tension, feeling exhausted. "Sorry, I'm not sure what's going on..."

Neither Mars nor Jupiter had been successful with their powers. That made Sailor Moon feel uneasy inside, almost as though she had eaten a spoiled manju bun. The blonde hesitated for a moment. She knew that she had transformed without any issue, but they had transformed, too. She took her time summoning the Cutie Moon Rod, weighing the thing in her hand. What if... what if her powers didn't work?

She bit her lip, feeling that overwhelming urge to ignore something scary, but shook her head. If the others had tried, she had to try, too.

Sailor Moon tried to aim carefully, setting her sights on one of the many trees that surrounded the shrine. She spun her wand in the usual way, feeling it spin past her fingers.

"Moon Princess Halation!"

Thankfully, the blast of energy did not harm or destroy the tree, just briefly illuminated it. Sailor Moon sighed, as though she had suddenly released every last drop of tension from her frame. Well, it worked. It worked just fine. Just like always. She was still the same old crybaby Usagi and also Princess Serenity and also Sailor Moon. (Okay, maybe "same old" wasn't the right phrase...)

"Well, what do you think?" she asked, looking around for Luna or Ami. Perhaps the cat's keen sense or the Mini Supercomputer would give them a clue.

Luna's eyes watched the senshi intently as they tested their abilities, as if she could see beyond their outer appearances. She was used to how their magic felt, at at the moment, it was even more obvious that something was internally wrong. 

"You're out of sync," Luna said, trying to explain what she had sensed. "Your powers are meant to be extensions of yourself, but the way you are now... something's scrambled, and it's affecting your control. I think we need to find a way to, uh... re-calibrate, I guess. You have to get back in touch with yourselves and find a different way to call on your magic, at least until we fix this permanently." Maybe meditation could help? But Rei didn't seem up to leading it today...

"Don't think about your old attacks, try to reach inside yourselves and find whatever works for you now." Luna knew it might be difficult, but they had to be able to defend themselves.

Spoiler:

Rei nodded at Luna as she wiped her face of the soot from her failed attack.

"Got it."

She closed her eyes and concentrated. "Whatever works huh?" She concentrated, although finding it difficult as her mind felt distracted. "Yuuichiro was really cute looking today. No! Concentrate. We need to figure this out. But that idol contest...I really need to practice my modeling poses. Ugh damnit Rei get yourself together!"

Her eyes flashed open. That was it!

"Mars Burning Love Chain!"

A fiery chain with heart shaped links appeared. This new attack felt very familiar. She whipped the chain at a near by tree, it wrapping itself around its trunk, leaving burn marks. Rei turned to Luna, grinning at her success.

"Will that do?"

She almost felt jealous to see Sailor Mars use a totally new power, but that feeling was quickly overridden with relief that yes, her friends would still be able to fight. Sailor Moon intended to protect everyone, because she loved them all so much, but knowing that she would not be alone lifted additional weight of doubt from her heart. Sailor Mars was still Rei, one of her very best friends, even if her personality and powers were... scrambled, as Luna put it. The same was true for the rest of the girls. With the Sailor Team by her side, they'd find a way to get through this!

Sailor Moon bounced her Cutie Moon Rod idly in her hand as she waited to see what the others would do.

“Mercury Star Power, Make Up!” she cried for the second time that day, feeling the familiar water embrace her. Except, now that she was paying more attention, they felt… different. More like the roaring, dangerous waters of a river with strong current than the gentle wash of a calm lake. She frowned as Mars then Jupiter tried their usual attacks and did not manage to generate much. Meanwhile, the water inside her felt yearning to be released, she was afraid it might explode out of her.

She turned on her visor to analyze as the others tested their powers and narrowed her eyes. Again, the energy signature was messed up. Normally, Jupiter would be all green, but now she had patches of blue, and then… as Mars released her new power, she could see orange shades among the red hue. Which, yes, fire normally contained both, but Mars’ energy had always been just red…

Luna was saying something about recalibration and finding another way to channel their magic, which wasn’t a lot to go on, to be honest. But then again, maybe she should just surrender to this wave of pent-up energy inside her…

“Shine Aqua Torrent!”

A deluge of water exploded from her, rushing to all directions, but primarily focused on the tree the others had used as target earlier. The others were immediately drenched as if they’d just been dunked under a huge waterfall, and for a moment, everything was silent.

Then the tree slowly toppled over and fell backwards.

“Oops,” Mercury held her hand up to cover her mouth in shock.

But a part of her felt that was kind of good, too. She’d never had such a badass attack before!

"That's great, Mars!" Luna said. This proved that they at least were capable of fighting with Usagi. If the Black Moon Clan came back, they could be pushed back again. "Now let's see if"- Luna jumped and screeched in fear as a torrent of water erupted from Mercury and knocked down a tree. She and Chibiusa were far enough away to miss being caught in the splash, but the other girls were less lucky.

"Wow... that was really strong, Mercury!" Jupiter said, smiling even as she squeezed the excess water out of her hair. It was warm outside, so they'd dry off....eventually. Besides, learning how to use their powers was more important. But...what if she couldn't do it? Mercury and Mars figured it out quickly, but she felt disheartened from her last attempt. 

She should at least try one more time, if only for Luna's sake. She pushed her wet hair-bangs out of her face and concentrated. She couldn't help protect her friends if she didn't get control over her powers again. As if sensing her determination, the lighting she had been struggling to call forth began to work with her. The antennae in her tiara extended again, and the air around her became charged.

"Jupiter Guardian Storm!" Instead of calling a bolt of electricity, miniature storm clouds formed around her, and then melded into a crackling, translucent sphere of energy, like a protective bubble. "I'm...not sure what I did, but I think I figured it out," she said, her voice muffled by the shield she was within. It was not a direct attack like her old one, but at least this way, she didn't have to stay out of battles.

"A-ami-chan!" Sailor Moon exclaimed, when she caught her breath after the wave of water washed over her. She was completely drenched, having been at an unfortunate distance and angle within range of the blue-haired sailor soldier's attack. Her blonde hair was plastered to her face and body, along with her soaked uniform. The bows hung down awkwardly, almost sadly. Sailor Moon was torn between happiness that her friend was able to use some of her powers and intense discomfort at her current state. Her face wrinkled for a moment as if she might cry, but she tried to hold it back instead.

"G-good job..." she managed weakly instead.

Thankfully, Sailor Jupiter managed as well. Sailor Moon eyed the sphere with curiosity, temporarily (and appreciatively) distracted from just how sopping she felt. The orb that engulfed her friend emitted the soft sound of sparks, charged with electricity. This was not something she had ever seen from Jupiter before, much like what the others had done, and in a way it was very pretty. Sailor Moon's heart felt a revived wave of hope knowing that she wouldn't have to do this alone.

"Thanks for the bath, Mercury!" Mars grumbled in annoyance at having been soaked, but despite that she was happy to see everyone able to summon a new form of attack. It was like they were all combined versions of each others attacks. Mercury's powerful and strong water deluge, felt similar's to Jupiter's powers, while on the other hand Jupiter's lightning fog was a new strategic abilities, much like Mercury's, and then there was hers...It was definitely an influence of Venus.

As she attempted to dry her self off, she couldn't help but feel relieved and a little excited at hers and everyone's new abilities. This meant they weren't completely useless and there could be some way to defeat the Black Moon attack, or better yet, hunt down the enemy that got away and probably caused this mess to begin with.

Sailor Mars turned to face everyone to start discussing the next plan of attack but seeing Sailor Moon looking like a sad wet bunny rabbit forced a giggle to her mouth that she tried to suppress.

"Let's go back inside so we can dry off. I'll ask grandpa to make us some hot tea," Sailor Mars released her transformation and returned to a still soaking wet, Rei.

"We need to form a plan of attack to get back at that monster so we can get back to our regular lives!"

Despite everything, she still couldn't quite relieve herself of thoughts of Yuuichiro and the idol contest. Maybe after this is all over, she'll still try out and then confess to Yuuichiro once she was successful and famous!  Rei smiled confidently at the thought.

The senshi dropped their transfromations and went back inside, doing their best to find a workaround with their new powers. They were so used to how they usually fought together that Luna feared they would struggle when the Black Moon Clan attacked again, so the sooner they came up wiht a new strategy, the better. Not even an hour after they all went back inside, the television playing in Rei's room started to report on another attack in the shopping district. Magnes, the same Droid that had evaded them last time, was clearly shown on the screen.

Makoto looked a little worried, but stood up to go anyway. "I guess we'll have to just wing it and hope for the best..." she said, trying to sound confident. 

"Chibiusa, you should stay here while we handle this," Luna said. "They shouldn't know where you are yet."

Seeing that same Droid on the screen once more, Usagi felt a shiver run down her spine. While she was glad to know that she wouldn't have to face it alone, without her friends, she couldn't quite push back the doubts that crept into her mind. Could they actually fight a monster in their current states? Would their teamwork and cooperation be off now, since they were all slightly different? In her heart she hoped it wouldn't be true, and that everything would work out just fine. After all, no matter what happened, these people were her very best friends. Did that count for anything in a scenario like this one?

Usagi took a deep breath, wrapping her fingers around her brooch as if searching for comfort from the object. Then she turned towards Chibi Usa and Luna, nodding at the cat's words.

"Luna's right, Chibi Usa. We don't want you to be in danger again."

For a moment she felt that twinge of hurt, thinking about everything that had happened, and remembering that Chibi Usa was in the center of it all. Usagi wanted to blame the little girl, if only to have someone to blame, but she knew it would be wrong. As much as it grated on her when everyone else insisted that the pink-haired child was "just a kid", as if that was a blanket excuse for every behaviour, she understood that they were right. Usagi just hated admitting it, for a variety of reasons including the fact that such an excuse no longer applied to herself.

But none of that was helpful now. They had to get to the shopping district to try and stop that Droid!

"We better get going," Rei insisted, the sight on the TV screen was enough to get her ready for round 2 against the droid. She felt ready to encourage everyone on to battle, like she was the leader. She eyed Usagi, of course she was their leader but...Rei felt like it was up to her to get everyone ready.

"This might be our chance to fix this mess. Let's go!"

With her transformation pen in hand, Rei ran out the door, quickly transforming. They were going to stop that droid. They were going to fix this mess.

"A-ah! Rei-chan!"

Usagi had barely uttered the words, confused and distracted, before the priestess's long black hair followed her exit through the door. The blonde almost felt over herself in her own haste, her almost-signature lack of coordination particularly shining in this moment. The soldier of flames could be passionate, but it was typically Rei who chastised Usagi for rushing into things, not really the other way around. This was just one more thing in a long line of recent events that felt unsettling.

But as she dusted herself off, her fingers closed in that familiar way around her brooch. Feeling the smooth, polished surface beneath her fingers had a slightly soothing quality. She would fight and protect them, and see what could be done to keep everyone safe: even that often-annoying little kid, Chibi Usa.

"We have to follow her, everyone!" Usagi pleaded, even as she herself was halfway out the door.