On the side of the moon hidden from Earth’s view, a high-tech space ship rested. Theia stared outside to large viewing window, looking at the lights of Earth’s cities, so bright that they were viewable from orbit. The sight on the moon’s horizon was beautiful to her, and she had watched it constantly since she had landed a month ago.

“It’s even nicer looking on the planet itself, you know.” The ancient princess jumped slightly at the voice, but she calmed down when she saw it was only Sailor Luster. The blonde, silver eyed young woman laughed to herself and went to stand beside her. “Did I scare you, milady? I thought you’d like to hear our progress so far. Freeze’s studies on current Earth society are going well, and we should be ready to begin in a few days’ time,” she said cheerfully. Her expression then turned serious.

“We can find the crystals you’re looking for easily, but taking them is another story. Our intel shows that the area we need to search is guarded by Senshi. The odds of them allowing us free reign of the place are slim, and they’re well organized too. Freeze predicts that they’ll be on to us as soon as we make a move.” Luster grinned to herself. “But she’s already planned a way to use the pests to our advantage, and I see no flaws in it so far. It’s very ‘cloak and daggery’ and whatnot.”

“Oh, excellent! Who should we send down first?” Theia asked. “I want to make sure they can work together well.”

“Since Freeze is the one who made the plan, she might as well take part in it. And I guess she’ll need some muscle to go with her just in case things go downhill, and she and Thunder get along well enough.” Luster snorted in contempt. “Don’t ask me how that happened, considering I’ve never even heard Thunder talk before. I still think you’re all just pulling my leg and she’s really mute, but whatever.”

“No she’s not, she’s just…quiet.”

“It makes it hard to read her, that’s what it does. Can’t tell if I’ve crossed a line and she’s going to snap at me until it’s too late. At least Blaze is obvious about whether she wants to knock my lights out or not.” Theia laughed.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Tell Freeze and Thunder I want them to go down first, and no unnecessary fighting unless they’re forced to defend themselves. If we explain ourselves, the native Earth people may work with us." Sailor Luster dropped onto one knee in a bow before standing again.

“As you wish, Princess."
----------------------

In the night sky, a bright blue point of light appeared. To anyone with a high powered telescope however, this star was
really a planet. The planet was eerily similar to Mercury, but it looked almost transparent at times and its gravity had no effect on other object’s orbits. This phenomenon baffled amateur and professional astronomers around the world for days, and the media caught wind of it soon after, dubbing it a “Ghost Planet”. Speculation and predictions have started on whether more will appear.
-------------

Meanwhile, it was another Monday morning for everyone in Tokyo. Adults were on their way to work while the children made their way to school.

Ami Mizuno was waiting at the usual place she met with her friends before they walked to Juuban High together, glancing around nervously. After seeing a news report last night that had grabbed her attention, they needed to have a senshi meeting as soon as possible. Ami had called them all on their communicators as soon at the report was over.

She watched the crowds of early commuter pass by, nervously looking for her friends to appear. Above her, she knew that weird ghost planet was still visible even in the daytime, like a tiny moon. The sight of it made her uncomfortable for some reason. There was something sinister about it, but that's all she could tell.

Rei usually didn’t meet the other girls until after school, due to her going to a different school and all. But Ami had sounded urgent in the communicator earlier, so she figured she could spare a couple minutes to talk about the matter at hand quickly before they had to part ways. Last night Rei had tried to divine something about the mysterious new planet in front of the sacred flame. Unfortunately, the best she could get was a nagging feeling of worry, which sometimes could be nothing at all. She wished her psychic abilities were more reliable. It would be nice to be able to get answers the moment she needed them.

She looked up briefly at the planet in question. What was it, really? A planet wouldn’t just appear out of nowhere. Not something that close and easily seen… it would have been discovered long ago if it had always been there. The worried feeling crept upon her again, and she sped up. Just ahead she could see Ami already waiting for her. The girl was always early—it was almost impossible to beat her somewhere. And judging from the looks of it, Rei was the first person to arrive after her.

“Good morning, Ami-chan,” she greeted her friend with a small smile. “No one else’s here yet, huh?” She stopped beside the other girl, leaning against a nearby wall. “You have your concerned face on,” she noted. It usually wasn’t easy to rattle Ami—she was as calm as the water itself—so when she looked like this, Rei knew that it had to be something serious. Did Ami find something about the planet that was more worrisome than her vague feelings?

Ami returned the smile, relieved that she could finally talk to someone. But it only lasted for a moment before fading away, replaced with the earlier fear. She bit her lip and looked down at the sidewalk.

"... I think something's trying to attack again," she started, and then hesitated, the thing she discovered last night still scaring her. Rei and the others would be able to help, right? Ami glanced around and discreetly pulled out her computer.

"I was watching a program on TV about the ghost planet yesterday to see if anything new came up, but then a news report interrupted." Ami had been doing her own research with her telescope since it appeared, but it was still a mystery to her. The small blue device opened, showing the beginning of a video clip. "Someone's been breaking into jewelry stores recently, starting on the day the ghost planet was discovered. I taped the segment so I could look at it closer later."

Ami tapped a button and the clip played. The news report showed the security camera feed from one of the robberies. It was dark, but Rei would clearly be able to make out a girl right around their age in a sailor suit. The burglar's clothing looked exactly like Mercury's, except more worn down and frayed. It even glinted in placed, like it was partially covered in ice. The girl's hair was a lighter shade of blue, and was dusted in frost, but was still in the same cut Ami wore it. The look-alike touched a glass case and ice bloomed from her fingertips to glaze it over. It shattered a moment later, and she took her time inspecting the case's contents. The feed suddenly cut out, and the clip went back to the reporter.

"Authorities are on the lookout for what appears to be...a Sailor Senshi robbing a store?" Even the anchorman seemed confused.

"Yes, the Juuban police force has examined this video and multiple others and determined that the culprit is indeed Sailor Mercury. They are less sure of a reason for this sudden turn to petty crime or if the 8 other Senshi are also involved in this, but they do want this particular one in custody for questioning as soon as possible. I guess this shows that not even vigilante magical schoolgirls are above the law!" The computer ended the recording.

"Rei-chan, what should I do? I don't want to go to jail!" she asked, trying to keep her voice low and not attract attention. "It wasn't me, but the police don't know that! I can't give an alibi without telling them my identity..."

Rei merely raised an eyebrow at Ami’s statement, not at all surprised by it. If something unexplainable happened in Tokyo, chances were it was about a new enemy. She didn’t really expect it to ever stop, although it had been quiet for a couple years now. She had at least hoped a new threat wouldn’t appear until after they were all safely in university. She had finally gotten used to living a normal life and actually enjoying school.

She watched the clip Ami was playing on her computer, not getting the importance of it at first. It was just a regular robbery. She supposed it was odd that jewelry stores had been targeted in particular coinciding with the appearance of the planet, but then again it could just be a coincidence. Their enemies usually weren’t interested in material things after all.

When she saw the girl in the video, however, she was really surprised. At first, it looked a lot like… well… Ami. In her senshi suit. She blinked and the differences became clearer—the strange glimmer, the lighter hair, the overall effect of… frost. Her eyes widened when she saw the girl releasing her powers—not at all surprised that they were of the icy nature—and broke the glass of the display case. She kept waiting for the girl to turn around so they could see her face clearer, but the clip soon ended.

The news anchor was clearly confused, but Rei was aghast when they outright declared Sailor Mercury to be the culprit. Her jaw dropped further and further as the anchor continued on, saying that she was wanted for questioning. “Seriously? They couldn’t tell that that wasn’t you? After years of seeing us, they can be so easily deceived by someone in a wannabe costume?!” she said indignantly.

Seeing Ami panicking, however, she quickly focused back on her friend. “Ami-chan, it’s going to be okay. Nobody actually knows who Sailor Mercury is, so it’s not like they’re going to show up on your door at any moment. I mean, they would’ve if they knew that. You’re safe.” She sighed, contemplating the matter. This was bad. If the enemy was trying to paint a bad picture of the senshi and turn the city against them… then they could not do their job properly and protect everyone. She had to admit, though, grudgingly, that it was by far the smartest strategy an enemy had come up with yet.

“You don’t need an alibi at all. We just… need to find this impostor and take care of them. And then we can show everyone who they really are. Have you any idea at all who this might be? Could your computer analyze their face or powers or something?”

Ami calmed down at Rei's logic. The police had no real way of tracking her down because of their disguises' built in magic, and the imposter had yet to do anything that would call for a full scale manhunt. She'd just have to try not to stay in the public's sight for longer than necessary when she was Sailor Mercury, at least until her name was cleared.

"There haven't been any new people showing up recently in school that would come off as suspicious, and there's no new popular figure in the media either. Whoever it is seems to be content to sticking to breaking and entering," Ami said. "I've been collecting other videos of her hitting different stores and comparing them all, and I've noticed a few trends. She always breaks the cases with an application of ice, never with a tool or with brute force. She doesn't steal anything either, she just looks at the gems and then leaves empty handed. It's very much like what Tuxedo Mask did when we were all searching for the Silver Crystal and the Moon Princess-er, Usagi I mean." Ami looked thoughtful.

"And the security cameras always seem to short circuit due to electrical issues whenever her face is about to be shown. There's no clear frontal shot of her to analyze, and that looks to me like less of a coincidence and more like a deliberate sabotage, which would need assistance. There may be more than one person at work here." She looked at Rei again with more confidence, fully throwing herself into figuring the situation out.

"I do want to see one of the crime scenes up close to get a sample of the ice left behind, and maybe examine the camera systems, but I think your psychic abilities would be more useful. Do you think you could find and follow her energy signature if she left traces of it around?"

"It's okay, Usagi-chan, you're not that late," Ami said. When she asks what was wrong, Ami hesitated. She felt bad having to involve Usagi in this at all, especially after Galaxia, but what if the imposter started going after them all directly? Usagi needed to know so her guard would be up.

"Usagi-chan, you've heard about the Ghost Planet, right?" Reluctantly, she explained her research on it and then showed her friend the same video as Rei. "...And now the police may be after Sailor Mercury," she finished. "Rei-chan and I were making plans to look at one of the crime scenes this afternoon to see if we could find anything more out."

"Ami-chan, that's terrible!" Usagi had waited for Ami to finish her presentation before lunging forward to surround her friend in a bear-hug. She was being framed! That people would believe that a Sailor Senshi would steal was terrible, but thinking that Sailor Mercury - that Ami-chan would do that?! Their only redemption was that the announcers sounded confused when they went over the evidence. But what would Ami do now?

They had to clear her name!

"I'll come, too!" Usagi announced, determined to come with them to help figure out what really went on at the jewelry store. 

OOC:

“Well, then they’re much more careful and smarter than our previous enemies,” Rei mused, contemplating what Ami said about no one suspicious immersing themselves among the regular citizens. “So we can deduce that ice is indeed her power… I mean, if she simply wanted to mimic you and was able to, she would have just gone with water to make it more obvious.” She agreed with Ami’s assessment that there might be more than one person doing this. Someone could have taken care of the cameras while the mysterious senshi was doing the breaking and entering. It seemed unlikely that she could be doing it herself while appearing on said camera, though not entirely impossible.

“We definitely need to visit the crime scene, then.” They would have to be careful about it in case the police were still around the area, but this wasn’t the first time they’d done something like this. As for Ami’s question, Rei had to think for a bit. “I could certainly recognize it if I feel it again, but to directly follow it? I’m not sure. We’ll have to see. They may also be cloaking it, and the enemy’s hiding place isn’t usually that easy to find anyway.”

Unless… She glanced up involuntarily at the planet hanging above them. “Do you think that has something to do with…?”

The sound of hurried footsteps and a familiar flash of blonde hair cut her short, and Rei looked back down to see Usagi hurrying toward them. She swallowed an urge to yell at her—it seemed like wasted breath at this point. Instead, she just gave a long-suffering sigh. Usagi’s pleading for Ami to help her quickly changed into a look of concern when she saw the seriousness of the situation, and Rei was a little bit impressed at how not completely oblivious Usagi was being this morning.

Only a little bit.

Ami caught her up on what was going on, and Usagi agreed that they should all come and investigate. Rei glanced at her watch. “Mako-chan and Minako-chan are late. You two can tell them the plan at school, I guess. Are we meeting directly at the crime scene or should I meet you all at Juban High once classes are over?”

Ami stumbled under the force of Usagi’s hug, but caught her balance and steadied them both before returning it. Knowing that her friends still believed in her helped her ignore the slandering she was getting in the news, if only a little.

“Thank you, Usagi-chan.” Addressing both Usagi and Rei, she said, “We can meet up by the school gates and go over to the crime scene together. I think it’s best that we stay together as much as possible in case the enemy tries to attack us directly. We don’t know how strong they are yet.”

The school bell rang again and the three went their separate ways. Over lunch break, Ami and Usagi caught Makoto and Minako up on the situation. Hours later, high school let out and the four girls were now waiting for Rei to show up so they could start looking for more information. A few students passed them by, gossiping loudly.

“Did you see the report last night?”

"What, about the Sailor Senshi?”

"Yeah! Can you believe Mercury broke into a jewelry store?”

“Not until I saw the video! But then again, it was kind of dark looking…”

"Oh come on, who else could use magic like that?”

((Going to use NP Cs for a little bit))

Minako patted Ami on the shoulder in a consoling way.

"Look on the bright side of it all, Ami-chan. Now you can say that you’ve gotten your own section on the evening news!”

“I don’t think she wants to be on TV for being a fugitive, Minako,” Makoto said, glaring at the backs of the students they had just overheard.

"Just trying to lighten the mood..." Mina said.

Rei walked quickly to Juuban High as soon as her school bell rang. She didn’t want to make Ami wait longer than necessary. Her friend was worried enough as she was, and Rei deeply sympathized. Ami had never been put in a position like this before, where she was viewed as the bad guy. Ami was never the bad guy. Everyone knew that. And for the world to believe it…

Rei felt her anger building within her, the desire to pummel everyone who dared to even doubt her sweetest, gentlest friend. But of course nobody knew what Sailor Mercury was like. Who she really was or what kind of girl she would be. They all only saw the mask, and it was how it should always remain. It was a pity, because her friends were all great people, and yet they had such a thankless job. Protecting the world from the shadows. Not that Rei wanted to be famous or anything, but it would be nice to have a little gratitude sometimes.

Instead now they were accused of being criminals. How easy they changed their minds about the senshi with a couple obscure videos after years of knowing them. Shaking her head in frustration, Rei sped up and finally arrived by the school gates, where she saw the girls had already gathered, waiting for her. At least she could see them all hovering protectively around Ami, probably offering her encouraging words. One thing she knew she could always depend on was her friends’ support.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said as she stopped beside them. “Shall we?” she added, not seeing the point of wasting any more time than they already did. The sooner they figured out who was behind this, the sooner Ami could sleep peacefully again at night, and that was all Rei wanted.

Ami nodded and started leading the group in the direction of the shopping district. A few of the jewelry stores, including Naru's mother's shop, were either closed down early or had increased security.

"It might be harder than I originally thought to look at the crime scene if people are this cautious," Ami said.

"Don't worry about it, guys!" Minako said, rummaging through her pocket for something. "I've got connections with the police, remember? Or at least Sailor V does." She pulled out an old compact, the same one she had used before she went by Sailor Venus. "I think I can call in a few favors."

Rei was surprised to see the other jewelry shops being closed. The people must be really scared, then, if they’d rather sacrifice days of sales than risk getting robbed. She supposed neither was an appealing choice either way. It only made her more determined to crack the case as soon as possible. Looking at Minako as she claimed she had connections in the police force, Rei felt torn between dread and hope. She couldn’t deny that Minako was a capable senshi and that she’d been at it the longest out of all of them, but then other times she could just be so… unpredictable.

“What are you going to do?” she couldn’t help but ask.

She had to admit five teenage girls lurking around a crime scene would definitely attract some attention. Maybe this was better done during the night after all? At least then they’d have the cover of darkness, and might in fact catch the thief during the act. Of course, they’d have to predict the next store to be robbed, but there were five of them. They could spread out.

Usagi followed along, somber in the serious mood; all day she had been yelling at classmates who dared question the morality of the beautiful wonderful smart and talented Sailor Mercury, but with nothing but "She would never do that!" to back up her statements of Mercury's innocence, her efforts weren't exactly successful. 

The feeling of the shopping district, the closed down or heavily armed jewelry stores with scores of onlookers attempting to peer through the glass, was eerie; Usagi didn't like any of it. Especially the part about how shops were doing this because they thought Sailor Mercury had gone rogue. Usagi beamed at Minako as she brought out her Sailor V compact and offered to get in touch with contacts from her old life - how fun! She wondered if Minako would disguise herself as her old alter-ego to get them in faster!

ooc:

"Calm down, Rei," Minako said. "I won't do anything crazy, I'm just going to pull some strings." They arrived at the crime scene, a small store called Honda Jewels. The store's door was gone, covered with a wooden board to keep people out. The entire building was inside a square border of yellow police tape. Two Tokyo police cruisers were parked on the curb, and a small group of cops were having a discussion in front of the store.

"Just watch and learn, girls!" Minako ducked into a nearby alleyway, and a flash of light could be seen. Sailor V stepped out again, and she fearlessly approached the police officers. At the distance everyone else was waiting from, they couldn't quite hear what she was saying, but after a few minutes of conversation, one of the officers pulled out a radio and called someone before handing it over to Sailor V. She talked to whoever was on the other end before handing it back, and the police went back to their cars and pulled away soon after. She looked around to see if anyone else was watching, and then signaled for the rest of the senshi to come over and join her.

While Minako assured her she wouldn’t do anything crazy, Rei also knew that Minako had a different threshold for ‘crazy’. Still, she let her friend do her thing, crossing her arms skeptically. She also used the opportunity to look over the storefront and see if she could pick up anything strange. The door was entirely gone—that was worrisome. It meant whoever had attacked here was pretty strong. Rei closed her eyes, tried to concentrate and focus on her psychic intuition. With so many people around and sounds coming from everywhere, it was a bit hard, but she thought she detected a hint of magical energy.

And unsettlingly, it almost felt like a senshi’s energy trace. She couldn’t help but glance at Ami even as she knew that her friend most definitely hadn’t done this. Not unless she was like… possessed or anything.

When Sailor V appeared on the scene, Rei realized that this was the first time she saw this form of Minako with her own eyes, not in some magazine picture or on TV. It felt strange, and different… and she wondered how Minako managed to be a lone senshi for so long. Also, how would she explain how she’d pretty much disappeared since Sailor Moon and the other senshi appeared?

She still obviously had some clout, though. Rei watched her converse easily with the police officers as if they were old friends. When suddenly all the police began to clear out, Rei stared at Minako in amazement. She walked toward her friend, her eyebrows furrowed. “What on earth did you say to them to convince them to abandon the crime scene?”

"I had a talk with the Chief of Police," Minako said, letting her transformation disappear. "She and I still keep in touch even after I "retired". Did you know that we have the same taste in idol music? Crazy, right?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with everyone leaving like that?" Makoto asked.

"Oh, I asked her if the Sailor Senshi could have a look at the crime scene, because it wasn't exactly a regular break in. So then the Chief told everyone on the case to go on lunch break or something," Mina explained. "But they'll be back in an hour, so we need to do it fast."

Ami looked around nervously before stepping behind the yellow tape. "I think I'll need my visor to find anything useful here, so I'll go inside and scan for any evidence the thief left behind," she said, moving the wooden board out of the way. "Mako, can you check the store's fusebox with Usagi? It should be behind the building."

"And I'll keep watch out here," Minako said, pulling out her transformation pen.

Rei raised an eyebrow, not at all surprised that Minako and the Chief of Police got along so well if apparently they shared the same obsession with idols. She hoped the police team were able to function efficiently under such an… unusual chief. She looked around to make sure they were alone, unable to shake her suspicion. After all, Minako had explicitly said the sailor senshi were going to be here. If anyone wanted to find out their civilian identities, all they needed to do was stay and watch. Wait until a group of five girls entered the crime scene. She wished Minako hadn’t been so honest with her intentions.

As the girls started moving, Rei wasn’t quite sure what she was meant to do. She stepped into the crime scene behind Ami, trying to pick up on any strange energies. She wanted to tell her what she had sensed earlier, but she didn’t want to alarm her friend. As soon as they were out of hearing range of the other girls, Rei closed her eyes and focused once more, praying that her psychic ability would give her something else. It was easier if she could start a prayer flame.

There was that energy again, and her eyes snapped open. Looking at the mess around her, Rei wondered just who exactly this mysterious person was. Were they really a senshi? An evil one?

“Ami, I think I detected some magical energy here,” she said. “And it’s awfully similar to ours. I can sense that it’s different… more malicious and dangerous… but it certainly feels like a senshi’s.”

"Really?" Ami said, inspecting the store. The inside of Honda Jewels was unnaturally cold compared to outside. Little puddles of water in the rough shape of footsteps led from the doorway to the cases. The door itself was laying on the side of the wall, having been ripped off its hinges and set down by someone or something.

"I thought that maybe this theif would be a disguised youma or something similar, but you believe they're a real senshi? Yet all the ones from our solar system are accounted for. This isn't making any sense..." She said, pulling a small test tube out to take a sample of the melted ice. They could get it analyzed later and maybe get some biological information on this mysterious senshi.

Maybe this new one was from a different system entirely, like Sailor Galaxia and the Starlights. But why would they look and have similar abilities as herself? And what was driving them to hunt for gems?

Ami scanned the store as she thought, and she came upon something interesting. "Rei, look at what she was trying to take." She walked over to the back of the room.

One jewelry case was broken, and the gem gone (as the manager had locked it away in the safe), but the label described it as a silver crystal. "She's not just breaking into places, she's looking for the Silver Crystal! But why would she search in this way?"

Usagi nodded an affirmative to the plan and kept on Makoto's heels as they snuck around to the back of the store, her mind on the Sailor V stunt. Maybe if she used her disguise pen to turn herself into Sailor V... heh heh heh, she mischievously thought, she could try to get free stuff...

When they got to the back of the store, Usagi waited for Makoto to lead the way. She generally knew what a fusebox was, but had no idea how it worked or what to do with one - Kenji-papa or Mamo-chan usually took care of the fuses when the lights suddenly went out. She shuddered, thinking of the spiderweb-covered metallic box outside her house, and hoped this box wouldn't be anything like it.

"Come on Usagi-chan, it should be over here somewhere," Makoto said as they searched along the wall, taking her friend's hand. "The faster we find it, the faster we can go back home," she encouraged her. A flash of electricity could be seen up ahead, and when the two senshi went over to investigate, they found the fuse box.

"Well, it's definitely broken..." The box had been ripped open, showing the snapped and torn up wires inside it. The entire device was smoking and sparking randomly. "I'm not sure what we can get from this thing. It looks pretty wrecked." Makoto put her hand on the brick wall next to the box and squinted at it, as if it would reveal its secrets.

If Usagi looked at the fuse box's metal cover, next to Mako's hand she'd notice that there was a somewhat large handprint indented into it. And on the alleyway's floor, a pair of boot prints were burnt into the ground. Mako stepped back to allow Usagi a chance to look, and her own shoe print fit into the burnt one perfectly. "Usagi, do you see anything that could be useful?" she asked.

A furrow formed between Usagi's brows as she caught the peculiarity; first, Mako-chan's hand was about the same size as the impression left in the metal cover, but then anyone's hand could have done that, right? Well, anyone with big hands anyway... but her footprint matching exactly, too... that was definitely suspicious. Mako-chan would never be involved with anything like this, just as it could not have been Ami inside the store. Still staring at Makoto's feet, she shared her discovery openly. "Mako-chan," she invited, "Look down. There's a footprint beneath your shoe, burned into the pavement; it looks like it's your size."

She paused, waiting for Makoto to move her foot, then continued, "Mako-chan, something really weird is going on."

"Huh?" Makoto lifted her foot to look at the print and frowned at it. "You're right, it is my size. But what are the odds of that? You think it's another imposter?" They were interrupted by the familiar sound of Sailor Venus.

"Crescent Beam Shower!" An explosion rocked the front parking lot of the store.

"Someone's attacking Minako!" Makoto grabbed her transformation item and started running back towards the front, assuming Usagi would follow.

Follow Usagi would, but first she called forth her Holy Moon Calice, staring at the item for only a split second, thinking of their peaceful high school existence and hoping this enemy could be reasoned with rather than destroyed. 

"Silver Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!"


Energy rushed through her, power transforming her school uniform into her multi-tiered Senshi fuku; in tall white heels Usagi gave chase, rushing to the front of the store to support her friend.

“Well, I don’t know about ‘real’ senshi. I mean, after the Shadow Galactica, we know it’s possible that they’ve just stolen some real senshi’s Sailor Crystals or something like that.” Rei considered the possibility and tried to suppress the dread she felt about Galaxia and the whole debacle. She had died then. Really and truly died for the second time since she was reincarnated on earth. The feeling of having her Sailor Crystal taken had been one that still haunted her nightmares sometimes. It was like losing her entire being, the core of her soul, and suddenly turning to ashes. It was an experience she didn’t particularly want to relive and hope that wasn’t what was going on now.

She followed Ami to the back of the room and her eyes widened at the sight of the missing gem and its label. “Well, this certainly won’t be the first time someone’s after it. Pretty much all the enemies we encounter want it. But I haven’t seen someone looking for it in actual jewelry stores since Tuxedo Mask.” She figured everyone would know by now who possessed the Silver Crystal. Immediately she felt worried for Usagi and turned back toward the front of the shop. Was this some kind of trap to lure them here?

That was when she heard the explosion, along with Minako yelling her attack. Without hesitation, Rei ran toward it. “Ami-chan, come on! There’s trouble!” She transformed mid-stride, not wanting to waste any time. “Mars Crystal Power, Make Up!” Her own Sailor Crystal flared into life within her, warming her entire body, and in a flash she had turned into the soldier of flame.

Ami quickly transformed as well, turning into Sailor Mercury in a flurry of water and mist. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon were already there when Mars and Mercury exited. Sailor Venus was standing in front of them, glaring across the half torn apart, ice shard covered paring lot at two figures.

"I think the imposter found us..." Venus said, not taking her eyes off of them. "And she brought a friend." Slowly walking towards the group was a girl who looked very much like Sailor Mercury, but as she got closer, the differences became more apparent. Her outfit was ragged looking at the edges, and had an icy sheen to it. Her hair was a far lighter blue, and stuck up a little, and her eyes were so pale blue they were nearly white, like frost. Every time her foot touched the pavement, a thin sheet of ice bloomed from the spot. The temperature outside had dropped rapidly since her appearance, and it felt less like spring and more like late autumn.

The person following behind her was taller, and wearing a simple cloak that covered their face and outfit completely. Only their dark green shoes could be seen. Sailor Mercury's eyes widened in fear as the uneasy feeling from this grew into full panic at the sight of this new senshi. Venus pointed her two fingers at the two and started charging up another Crescent Beam.

"Don't come any closer if you don't want to get hurt! You're outnumbered." The imposter complied and stopped.

"We don't want to fight if we don't have to," she said, even sounding familiar. "We are messengers of our queen who wishes to negotiate with you. I am Sailor Freeze, Phantom Senshi of Mercury." she introduced herself. Her Japanese was polite and sophisticated, as if she had learned from a dictionary. "And this is my partner and guard." The cloaked figure said nothing in response, watching the senshi for any signs of aggression.

"Phantom... Senshi?" Sailor Moon repeated; their initial appearance had her guard up, but their identities as Sailor Senshi put her heart at war - they were all senshi, all soldiers fighting against evil. Their hearts were one; save for the chaotic circumstances of the Sailor War, all senshi had the same goals, the same feelings... but what had she meant by Phantom Senshi? Why was her appearance and powers and even voice similar in form to Mercury's, and why would she claim Mercury's planet as her title?

They did not attack; she stepped forward, just a few steps, and her right hand curled to a loose fist in front of her brooch. "Are you responsible for last night's attack?" she asked pointedly, no malice in her tone.

Sailor Freeze looked at Sailor Moon, eyes softening for a few seconds before going cold again.

"...Yes. I admit that the recent break ins are our doing. We were trying to lure you all out to have a conversation, but didn't know how to contact you. I thought that making it more...personal would make you react faster, and it did. You jumped to your ally's defense very fast," she said, glancing at Mercury like she was observing a rat in a laboratory cage. Mercury shifted uncomfortably behind Mars.

"Of course we did," Eternal Sailor Moon answered, "Sailor Mercury is a good, kind person - we would do anything to help and defend her." She paused, considering the two figures before them before them, her heart wavering at the unspoken implications. "Wouldn't you, for your friend?"