Plot Summary:  
Luna is searching for the sailor senshi, but has not found them for months. The Dark Kingdom's power is increasing as the military are unable to control them. Out of sheer desperation, Luna asks the Disguise Pen to turn her into a sailor senshi.

Jasper, the apprentice of the Shittenou, uses the phobian parasites to attack and influence key individuals throughout military and civilian social structures of Earth. The phobian parasites are similar to a parasite that can influence and/or control the actions of its host. If the world's defenders finally reveal themselves and destroy the parasites, then Jasper will have found worthy foes and have fulfilled his original obligations. If not, then Earth probably wasn't worth his time anyway!

Sailor Luna begins her role as Earth's defender, but who is providing her with help?

Details on any necessary information:  
Luna - AVAILABLE
Artemis - Sailor Uranus
Jasper - Jasper
Graffias - Sailor Venus
Kunzite - Sailor Venus

Restrictions: This role-play will not include the canon or otaku sailor senshi, because they have not been found. Canon and otaku Dark Kingdom villains and youma are allowed to join this role-play.

The Dark Kingdom had established a presence on Earth approximately a year ago. They infiltrated Earth's society by maintaining a low profile until members of the Dark Kingdom had created bases in Japan, North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Queen Beryl, the leader of the Dark Kingdom forces, announced their arrival on Earth after the location of their headquarters had been secured. By the time the announcement had been made, the Dark Kingdom had a moderate presence throughout the globe.

Several of Earth's key governments dispatched their military and local protection units, but discovered their technology had a limited effect on the youma and the higher-ranking officials of Queen Beryl's forces. After several failed military strategies, the governments poured more resources into the protection of the local populace, as well as the research and development of more suitable technologies and strategies. Of course, there are those in the government who find it more profitable to ally with Queen Beryl or, at the very least, profit from her presence.

Without true opposition, the Dark Kingdom has begun to flourish under Queen Beryl's leadership. The bases in any one country have not yet become strongholds, but the localized Dark Kingdom forces still hold significant power and sway in their respective regions.

But, can the world place some hope on the shoulders of two cats from the Silver Millennium? Neither Luna nor Artemis have announced their presence to Earth, lest the Dark Kingdom take advantage of the information. Instead, the two secretly search for the sailor senshi, the protectors of the solar system from the Silver Millennium. But, Luna and Artemis have been searching for months. The sailor senshi are nowhere to be found. Neither do they know the existence of the other moon cat. Both believe they are on their own and doubt has settled strongly in their hearts.

Where are Earth's defenders? What will happen if they cannot be found?

Is the Earth truly alone?

Somewhere within the Dark Kingdom's Japan division..

A young man in a blue jumpsuit leaned over a dusty table, meticulously etching characters into a stiff piece of paper. He had arrived a week ago, coming from the North American sphere of influence. An important task had been set upon his shoulders; he was assigned to a specialized form of pest control.

Taking up a small knife, Jasper scored out the traced characters along the paper until he had a functioning stencil. Over the next few minutes, Jasper traced and cut three additional stencils. He aligned and taped them onto a smooth wooden board, then took up a can of aerosol paint and began to spray onto the blank sign.

Official Notice:

Looking over the message with approval, Jasper laid the sign down on the table to allow the paint to cure. The cavern that served as his workspace was cool and slightly dry, ensuring the paint would set within twenty four Earth hours.

Jasper then turned and approached a glass jar resting on a nearby shelf. Within, minuscule wormlike beings no longer than six centimeters slithered and crawled over each other as they sensed his presence. He smiled in spite of himself as he examined the writhing creatures; these were the object of the suppressive policies Beryl had chosen to enact in the interest of preserving the Dark Kingdom's personnel.

To many, the mere appearance of these tiny beige horrors were unsettling enough to warrant their destruction. The real reason was no less pleasant; the phobians invaded their hosts' central nervous system and would attempt to assimilate their mind. By a certain point of growth, the parasite would be inextricably linked with the host.

To Jasper, however, the phobians only presented him with questions. What if their growth was stunted? Could they still influence their host prior to fusing with their brain?

The Research and Development division within the Dark Kingdom, as true of most divisions, had only been developed recently. The work completed by this division had been imperative to the Dark Kingdom's quick rise to power within Earth. A portion of that work could be credited to Graffias, a human who approached the Dark Kingdom over a year ago with a mutually beneficial proposal. He provided the Dark Kingdom with insider knowledge of the humans and served as a key figure within the research and development sector already established on Earth. In return, he received access to their technology, mysticism, and a substantial amount of freedom and financial backing for his own personal projects.

He had elevated his position respectably within the ranks of the Dark Kingdom, but felt annoyed by the restrictions they placed upon him because of his race. Even now Graffias had been 'encouraged' to work on a research project concerning the phobian parasites, a parasitic thorn in the backside of Queen Beryl. Queen Beryl undervalued the potential of these phobian parasites. She agreed to contribute some effort to the research of the alien parasites, but encouraged the research to focus on the destruction of these creatures.

Oh, yes, there was great research potential and Graffias was eager to begin, but there was another issue... Who he would be working with. Looking down at a memo in his hand, Graffias momentarily recalled the young man's name, Jasper. Prior interactions had been limited, so only the barest of familiarity had been established. The Dark Kingdom had already established the parameters of their relationship, even if Graffias did not wholly agree with being considered a 'lackey.'

Rapping on the door loudly with his hand, Graffias folded the memo and placed it in the inner pocket of his tailored jacket. When the door was answered, he attended to the business of introductions before offering encouragement to begin 'field testing' the capabilities of the parasites in the cities.

After wiping his hands on a towel, Jasper moved towards the door to receive his guest. He had just finished painting a fourth sign; unlike the powerful figures of the Dark Kingdom, Jasper did not bear the accoutrements of royalty or prestige. The so-called 'cleaner' was wearing a blue boilersuit replete with black specks of paint. What Jasper did have in common with the ruling class was a hungry, ambitious drive that glittered in his hazel eyes.

"Welcome aboard, Graffias." Jasper offered to shake the veteran scientist's hand as a gesture of mutual respect. "I trust that your trip here was uneventful; our people were given explicit instruction to let you pass without incident." Dropping Jasper's name would be enough to deter some of the Dark Kingdom's youma, but he of all people knew the limitations of fear. Some beings, himself included, would fight with a dangerous and vicious zeal when cornered. It was better to win them over through respect and diplomacy, and that belief would be the cornerstone of a working relationship between himself and Graffias.

"As you might understand, I do not like to see talent going to waste." Jasper excused himself momentarily to retrieve the glass jar filled with phobian larvae, bringing it forward for his new associate to observe more closely. "That is what brings us together. We want to explore this talent, that which lies within these annelid parasites."

Jasper then flashed a grin towards Graffias. "If we start small, we won't have an immediate need for the kill switch that our Queen desires to keep large-scale infestations in check. Where would you like to begin your research?"

Luna sighed. How hard could it be to find one girl? The small black cat sat on a tree branch nearly hidden by the leaves. She'd been looking all over the city at every school. mall or arcade. "At this rate I'll never find her in time." Luna sighed again and watched the girls in the park mill around. One of them had to be her, Sailor Moon. The one person she was looking for. But none of them seemed to have the innate aura of power that the senshi would possess.

The moon cat's attention was grabbed by a small girl, with red hair and bright green eyes. She followed her hoping that she might be the girl the cat was looking for but it seemed that Luna's bad luck was holding. With a defeated posture Luna made her way back to her little command center.
Things had been too quite from the Dark Kingdom for too long. They were up to something and Luna didn't like how long between attacks it had been. With a defeated sigh and a thump Luna allowed herself to drift off to sleep for a few hours before she set out again to find her missing unawakened Senshi.

As he held the jar of larvae, Graffias recognized the two of them shared similar sentiments concerning the potential of the phobians. He smiled appreciatively as he held and rotated the glass in his hands for a closer look. After a few moments, the older man placed the jar on the nearby table. And then, he retrieved a notebook from within his jacket. Flipping to a fresh page, he motioned for Jasper to sit down.

"Listen to my ideas and we will discuss our research design."

Graffias and Jasper had quickly laid down the foundations for their working relationship and the scientific research to be conducted on the phobians within a few hours of their initial meeting. Soon, very soon, Tokyo would get a taste of the potential Jasper and Graffias craved to unlock.

~~~~~

A 'willing' volunteer had graciously offered to serve as the victim for the first, public field test in Japan. Of course, Beryl had offered some fodder for Graffias' experiment, which was designed to test the potential of the parasite's abilities and several methods for proper disposal. After a successful attempt at infestation and the conduct of baseline tests in Graffias' laboratory, the volunteer was allowed to wander the streets.

Unfortunately for Morga, the youma was considered to be expendable, but she hardly seemed to care after the phobian entered her body. For all of the humans who saw Morga, she would appear to be another of the Dark Kingdom's terrible youma. Only Graffias and Jasper knew she was no longer in control of her body. Either way, the havoc was unmistakable.

Both the host and the phobian were hungry and, lucky for the parasite, Morga had the capabilities to absorb energy from nearby humans. No longer in a human facade, but her youma form, Morga ran down the streets and tackled humans to the ground. When she had finished with one body and moved to the next, she left behind a body as shriveled as her own body.

As the youma began her assault on the public, a young man ran towards one of her other victims. He inspected the individual, a young brunette in her early twenties, and pressed two fingers to her neck to feel for a pulse. Still alive, but she needs immediate medical attention.

He then dashed towards a telephone, dialing an emergency number. He took a deep breath, then spoke in a wavering voice that carried hints of fear and anxiety. "There is a tall woman assaulting pedestrians in the central district. I can't make out what happened, but her victims are unconscious and barely breathing. Please hurry!"

~~~~~

Once he had finished placing the call to the appropriate public service, Jasper spoke into a tiny transceiver that had been sewn into his collar. "You're getting all of this, right?" The device was developed by his new associate, and was indistinguishable from an ordinary button. By venturing out into the city streets on his own, Jasper could communicate with Graffias without putting the scientist at risk. Judging from the thoroughness of their planning, Graffias likely had devised his own methods of recording Morga's rampage from the safety of his laboratory.

Earthlings are full of surprises, Jasper mused to himself as he walked past Morga's unconscious victims to follow after the infested youma. There had to be someone on this planet that could offer resistance to the Dark Kingdom's dominance, and the thought of them having stealth on their side didn't sit well with the young operative.

If those heroes did exist, Jasper was going to force their hand.

Luna had been downtown hoping to find one of the senshi she was so desperately searching for in one of the shopping areas of the city. What she found was the opposite of one of the senshi but a youma causing all kinds of havoc in the area. Luna the cat hid in the shadows of an ally while she listened to the screams of terror the people were emitting, wishing she had found one of the senshi by now. She sunk low to the ground and covered her ears with her paws and closed her eyes tightly, wishing there was something she could do. Something pressed to her belly. Shocked she sat up a little to look at what it was. The Disguise pen. The soft pink of the pen reflected luna back at herself and the gem at the top sparkled with the little light reaching this deep into the shadows. 

In shock Luna sat up and looked down at the pen. It was something she was to give to Sailor Moon, but she hadn't found the Moon Senshi yet, so why was it here? Why now? Was Sailor Moon close? She felt her heart skip a beat. If the girl was close she was in trouble and there was no way she would listen right now, but Luna had been all over the area recently, if the girl was near by she would have found her by now. 

Hanging her head and listening to the screams from the street Luna felt like crying. This was all seeming so pointless. She rested her paw on the pen and sighed. "If only I could be a senshi, then I could defend these people."She paused. "I wish I was a Sailor Senshi." She whispered. 

In a sudden flash of bright yellow light Luna was engulfed. She was lifted into the air and her body began to change. Her form shifted into that of a human girl, it wasn't painful at all more like taking a shape she was meant to, or stretching after a long nap in the sun. 

The light became mixed with purple and she landed gently on her feet but the light kept swirling around her, turning her black fur to a fuku. The white bodice hugged her torso and the skirt flared out from her hips, in a lacy purple petticoat and a soft shiny yellow over skirt. As she shifted to look at the bow at the small of her back, she heard a small tinkling from the sliver bell sitting on the yellow bow on her chest, the bow behind her was a shade of purple that oddly matched her fur when she was a cat. Her hair was long and in odangos and pigtails like the women of the moon kingdom used to wear but where they wore 2 small buns, she had 4. There was a yellow ribbon around her throat, with a small gold crescent on it. Another crescent rested in the middle of her belt. Her boots where the same shade of purple that her back bow was and trimmed in white soft fur. The Sailor collar was the same shade of purple as her boots and bow. She was in awe of what had happened. The Disguise  Pen, was in her hand and it started to shift forms, becoming something that looked like the moon stick that Queen Serenity used all those years ago. 

*Swish**Swish* Looking behind her again Luna was surprised to see she had not lost her tail. She was glad to have the appendage still, it offered her a sense of comfort that no matter what she looked like now she was still a cat. 

"Thank you." She whispered and smiled. Now she had the power to help those people, to stop their screams for the good of all. Taking off towards the mouth of the ally, Sailor Luna skidded to a stop and looked around. The mess that youma was leaving needed to be stopped and fast. Turning in the direction of the screams Sailor Luna ran with all her might stepping or jumping over people as she needed till she came skidding to a halt just behind the youma. 

"Stop right there!" She called, hoping her voice was steady. "I can't allow you to keep hurting people!" She put her hands up in front of her, as if she were a lucky cat." In the name of Serenity I will stop you!" Where had that come from? she thought to herself. That was certainly not something she would usually  say but then usually she wasn't a senshi.  Sailor Luna steadied herself for battle, her first in what would be come a long line of battles, little did she know at the time.

Nothing.
 
He felt nothing from any of these girls. No hint of power, no rush of familiarity; some were talented, he’d give them that, but none of them had the air of Venus. Nor any of the other senshi. He felt defeated. How long had he been searching for her? For any of them? The Dark Kingdom was here, attacking the innocent people of Earth. Their chance at taking a dominant stance was long gone; they were now truly on the defensive, and they were losing edge every passing day. How long would it be before the Dark Kingdom was fully powered?…and what kind of world would it be?
 
As if to remind him of the dark situation, screams erupted from the city streets nearby. He stalked the tree branch, moving to see down the street, now that the citizens that had been playing were running off. Their movements were ordered and disciplined despite the stark fear in their faces. It was routine by now – hear a scream, get out as soon as you can. Don’t cause a fuss, or you could die, or get more people killed. He heard sirens off in the distance – the military police had been alerted and would be on their way soon. Preparing himself, he bunched his muscles and sprung over to the neighboring tree – he would need to get there before them to find a good spot to watch. He hadn’t found a Senshi yet, but when he did, he would try to be ready with some sort of strategy. The military police had their own way of fighting; they were still learning and growing, but the enemies they found were adaptive. He needed to know as much as possible about their standard techniques to train the girls to combat them.
 
He hit the ground running, keeping close to the building fronts as the last of the crowd rushed away, fighting for their lives to get out of the way in the latest energy stealing threat. But as people slowed, beginning to turn to look over their shoulders with confusion rather than fear, Artemis went faster. Something was happening up ahead.
 
“In the name of Serenity I will stop you!"
 
His ears perked and in a final burst of speed, he found the youma, and the Sailor Senshi squaring off against it. Confusion rushed through him as his paws skidded to a halt; still covered by street debris, he tried and failed at placing the senshi. It wasn’t Venus, Mercury, Mars or Jupiter, yet the young woman was most definitely a Sailor Warrior. Had they taken new forms after their rebirth? Could it be that they had not been reborn – the fleeting thought weighted on his heart – and rather she were a senshi native to Earth? But she had evoked the name of Serenity – who was she?

ooc:

The parasite that now controlled the youma had briefly communicated with the humans, but truly had little interest in negotiation and cooperation. While it was in control of Morga's body, the parasite agreed to collect energy for the Dark Kingdom in exchange for a more suitable host in a position of power within a government of Earth. It also cared little for the standards and morals held in common by many of the humans, hence its rampage throughout the streets. Either way, it had been told not to worry about resistance.

Well, in truth, Graffias had told it not to care about resistance, because he had little invested in this first trial run. He watched remotely from his laboratory and collected raw data through various computer programs. As a vulnerable human protected only by his wit and intellect, he felt it necessary to 'play it safe' until he and Jasper understood the capabilities of the phobians. Based upon the initial encounter, the potential for bargaining was present.

He leaned forward with wider eyes as a new event unfolded on the screen. "In the name of Serenity, I will stop you!" Graffias quirked an eyebrow and settled into the chair with a cup of coffee in his hands as a young woman in a mini skirt challenged the infested youma. Graffias hummed with interest as his eyes surveyed the young woman who stood defiantly and provided the parasite a chance to respond.

Not too interested in the human yelling at her, Morga finished her 'meal' of energy and dropped the body to the ground. Her hand lingered on the body as her head turned 180 degrees to look behind her at the human female. "Why?" It questioned simply, because it did not understand what was happening. After pausing for a moment to consider the situation, Morga decided instead to continue with what it had been doing before. With a cackle of laughter, she lunged forward with the claws on her hands bared.

Wait a minute, what do we have here? That's a girl.. with a cat's tail?

Jasper studied the young woman from a distance, having selected the cool shade between two buildings as a location for him to observe Morga and her parasite. Up until now, the Dark Kingdom agent had maintained a low profile as he shadowed the youma through the downtown districts. However, he was not yet prepared to cast aside his cover.

The catlike human was unknown to him, her apparent battle dress a complete enigma. Though the name of Serenity was invoked, he did not recognize it at all. Having nothing to work with in terms of the woman's identity, Jasper instead decided to examine her posture and her body language.

How quaint; she reminds me of a maneki-neko.

Could this be the champion of Earth that he was looking to expose? If she was capable of ending Morga's rampage, then the youma's sacrifice would not have been in vain. Revealing enemy threats before they could jepoardize the queen's plans would surely further their cause, provided that Jasper did not fail to meet the high expectations that Beryl had set for him.

"AHHH!" With a scream and a near hiss Sailor Luna jumped out of the way as the youma charged. She was not ready for this. What was she suppose to do? She landed gracefully a few feet away. "I can't allow you to hurt innocents." she said, wishing she knew how to attack. Maybe if she just yelled the first thing that came to mind she might find her special attack, or at least throw the youma off guard. Closing her eyes for just a moment, Sailor Luna took a deep breath and thought about attacking, then words came to her like lightening. Bringing her hands up again, like before she called out "Kitty Cat Scratch!" then launched herself, hands now with claws flitting in front of her. She hoped her attack made contact, she wasn't sure how many attacks she had or if she could even use them. This was at the moment her best option.

To her surprise she found her attack may contact and with all the fury of a wet cat right from a bath, Sailor Luna clawed and scratched at the Youma sending it sliding backwards from her. "Oh wow that worked!" She said jumping for joy, she felt stronger now, like she could actually defeat this monster. But what in the world would she do for a follow up? "Not good." She gulped.

A sudden flash blinded her and in her hand was a moon stick. Now there was now way that could be right. "Wha-?" She stared at the weapon in her hand. The last time she had seen this was at the end of the Silver Millennium, when Queen Serenity had sent them all for reincarnation. There was no way she was holding it now.

The youma recovered apparently and was again coming at Sailor Luna, who in her daze didn't see the youma till it was too late. Flying backwards, Sailor Luna berated herself for not paying attention she had time to wonder about things later now she needed to beat this monster. Getting to her feet she shook her head."That hurt!" She said, throwing her hands to her sides in fists and her heels together. "GRRRR!" She growled at the monster. "LUNA SUCRE CANDY!" The words where out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying and those where apparently her right words for out of no where candies and other hard sweets where hurtling towards the youma at speeds that Sailor Luna could only guess. She hoped that this would stop the youma in it's tracks and maybe set the Dark Kingdom back a bit.

I have given her the rope; it's now up to her to choose if she climbs to greater heights or hangs herself.

As Morga and the mysterious girl with catlike features locked horns.. or more specifically claws, Jasper reached into the pocket of his overalls and withdrew a notepad. He crouched down near the corner of the building's shadow to observe the defiant young woman and the monstrous, phobian-enhanced youma that threatened her home.

Long before he had set the youma loose, Jasper had determined that she would be operating alone for this particular exercise. His feelings were borne neither of love or hatred for Morga's twisted flesh and personality, but the expectation that she would perform if given a suitable opportunity. The girl in yellow, on the other hand, invoked a sense of excitement and insatiable curiosity. Palming a pen from his pocket, Jasper began taking notes on her appearance and the magical powers that were seemingly at her command.

Well, this exercise was proving mildly interesting, Graffias concluded. An anime otaku with a penchant for magical girls and cats had attacked Morga with a flair that could only have come from hours of mirroring the moves of magical girls on the television. He quirked his eyes and pursed his lips in amusement, then scoffed in disbelief as he swiveled in his chair to see the readings from another electronic device.

As Sailor Luna shouted "Kitty Cat Scratch!" a nearby computer began to alarm. Graffias looked at the monitor in mild surprise, well, maybe the otaku had a couple of tricks up her sleeve. He arranged for the collection of data from the otaku, but refocused his attention on how Morga was faring. The phobian-infested youma appeared surprised by the retaliation, but willing to press forward and fight to defend itself and it's host.

Morga was flung backwards by the force of Sailor Luna's attack with a startled squeal. It only took moments for the phobian to recover and guide Morga's body to attack again. It had a vague idea how to use Morga's powers for its own, but really had not given too much thought to using them for battle. It was at a disadvantage and it wasn't going to make it. Just as Morga was about to make contact with Sailor Luna, the next attack hit the youma with full-force.

As the youma began to disintegrate, Graffias cursed and slammed his fist on the table. His eyes glued to the screen, he flinched as he saw the phobian did not disintegrate with the youma's fleeting body. The slug-like creature began to descend to the ground as it's defeated host vanished.

"Jasper, either get it or kill it! No one else can have it," he barked into their communication device.

Jasper's shorthand notetaking trailed off as the mystical candied attack bore down upon Morga and crashed into her with a surreal sense of finality. With a nonchalant smile, he thumbed the top of his pen to retract the ball point and stuffed it into one of the many pockets of his boilersuit.

The sorcery that the lady in yellow had at her fingertips destabilized Morga entirely, causing Jasper's intrepid volunteer to disperse and moulder into a fine dust. The defeat of a Dark Kingdom servant was mildly annoying, but he had prepared for this possibility; civilian targets had been identified prior to his first meeting with Graffias, and even more were singled out during their convention.

In order to retain some autonomy, Jasper would avoid requesting support from the Dark Kingdom on a formal basis. Putting more of their precious personnel on the line would undermine his ideals of a low-cost operation to weaken Tokyo's government. In the case of unexpected outcomes like the one that flashed before his eyes, Jasper would also be left holding the bill when Kunzite or the Queen herself demanded a full account of the resources they spent. He wanted to keep that number as low as possible. The Shitennou, and perhaps Beryl in turn, would be more likely to applaud his ambitions of trawling out treasure from the subsentient slime they called phobians. At the very least, he was still completing his original obligations in the event they were destroyed..

Graffias's shouting shook Jasper free from his thoughts; the rogue researcher had also realized the importance of recovering their test subject. Graf's tone warranted immediate action, and possibly a reprimand. Assuring himself that it could be addressed at a later time, Jasper broke cover to approach the slug-like creature and drew it towards his awaiting hand through his own mystical means.

"That was quite a show, young lady. You can leave now."

Sailor Luna watched in disbelief as the youma was turned into a pile of dust from her attack. "I can't believe that worked." She said in shock then after the reality that she had just beaten her first youma by accident no less, hit her fully she, jumped for joy. "It worked!" She cried out. This wasn't so bad after all. If Sailor Luna could help defeat the youmas then maybe the search for the Senshi wouldn't be so rushed. 

Sailor Luna was in the midst of her victory dance when a strange young man, walked over to where the youma had been. "What is that?!" Sailor Luna exclaimed as a slug like thing was called into his hand. "And I wont be going anywhere." She took her battle stance again, this time she would be ready. "Who are you and what is that thing?" She held her moon stick at the ready should the need for her to attack again arise.

Jasper kept his posture loose and relaxed, ready to assume a defense in the event the young lady was foolish enough to attack him head on. He slipped the slug-like creature into a breast pocket on his jumpsuit, maintaining a broad smile as Luna stared at him inquisitively.

While playing the part of a confidence artist to mislead the magical girl had come to mind, Jasper didn't have enough patience to invest that kind of energy in the context of their situation. It was an amusing thought, but impractical. The Dark Kingdom's stranglehold on Earth was a few steps shy of being absolute, and it bored him to tears. Perhaps it was worth getting under this woman's skin.. an eventual fight with her promised to be more exciting than a slow and drawn-out victory over a defenseless planet.

"I'm Jasper, and I work for pest control." Jasper patted the pocket where the icky slug creature was resting, ignoring its low shriek of protest for the moment. "As for what this thing is.. well, why should I tell you anything? Why don't you wait and see for yourself?"

"Pest control?" Sailor Luna looked at the man with a skeptical gaze. She didn't like him and he gave off a creepy, skeevy vibe that set her fur on end. "Why do I not believe you?" She asked the man with as much sass as she could muster, which was a lot, a certain senshi would have been proud of the small black cat in a senshi's clothing.

"Don't think you're getting away with this." She said as held her moon stick out in front of her. She called all the power she could muster into her hands and challenged it into her moon stick. "LUNA SUCRE CANDY!!" The cat senshi called again, throwing all the power she could behind her attack as she let the hard candy pieces and other sugary sweets fly at the mysterious man.

'I hope that hit.' The cat in human form thought. 'I wont be able to pull that off again.'

To Jasper, Sailor Luna's range of facial expressions were amusing, though her disgust and contempt for his presence was all too evident. Did he smell funny? He wasn't one to miss a morning shower. Perhaps another would be in order once he delivered the phobian test subject to Graffias for further analysis. When the otaku catgirl's cheeky comment spoiled the air, Jasper was quick to retort with a cutting remark of his own. "Because you might have two brain cells to rub together," came his reply. She was brave and determined, but her offensive posturing caused Jasper's opinion of her mental faculties to waver.

No matter; I'll have to give her a thorough lesson. Jasper shifted his weight onto his back foot as Sailor Luna gripped her artifact. The malicious and oppressive aura that surrounded him grew tenfold as his right arm drew backwards, dark energies coalescing into his palm. At the instant she cried out her attack, Jasper thrust his hand forward and unleashed his own technique.

The two conflicting energies collided in mid-air, cancelling out each other in a spectacular display of light. Sugary hard candies absorbed the impact of his shockwave, while the dark force in turn shattered the sweets and left only so much sparkling dust behind to drift harmlessly to the ground. Jasper stalked forward with Sailor Luna in his sights, cracking his knuckles as he trampled over the dust.

"This cannot end well for you, dear. If you retreat, I wouldn't think any less of you for it." Whether it was possible for him to think less of Luna was a different matter altogether.

"Well that didn't go as planned." Luna mused to herself only a moment before she noticed Jasper stalking towards her. "Oh kitty litter." Luna said and darted away as fast as she could. 'Crap Crap Crap!' Ran across her mind as she tried to distance herself from Jasper.

Her energy levels were far to low, there was no way she could attack again. She felt drained and tired. She needed an out, but there wasn't one to be found. Luna stopped at the next interaction and turned to the strange man. "Why don't we just call a tie?" She tried to reason with the man, she knew she couldn't fight back if he caught her. Her offer of truce didn't seem to go over well, with a squeak of anxiety Sailor Luna took off again. She skidded around a corner and felt her her form slip. "Not now." She whispered to her new form. "Please not now." She said as she took off down another corner.

As she slid around the next corner her Senshi form and her human body slipped away leaving her as a small black cat again, in the middle of the ally. The Disguise pen now where to be seen. Her first time as a Sailor Senshi was over.

Artemis silently watched all of this closely, wincing at the near-hits, internally cheering with every successful attack – but when the Moon Stick appeared in the mysterious senshi’s hands, his heart nearly stopped beating. Who…. Was she a reborn senshi then? One of the four protectors of the Princess? She recovered quickly from an attack and sent power right back at them, in the form of…candy? Venus had metal and light, Mars flame, Jupiter pressure, lightning and flowers, Mercury ice and water… none of them had sugar candy. Would their new forms be so different?
 
But what did it truly matter? She was a senshi, and she could stand up to the Dark Kingdom! What could he do to help her?
 
A new figure took to the scene as the monster vanished, and Artemis, who had been padding forward, stopped immediately and carefully retreated; who was this character? The unknown senshi bounced back from her confusion easily, brandishing the Moon Stick effortlessly.
 
Jasper… he would remember that name. And Pest control – he must have something to do with the grub-like bug that had remained when the enemy had been defeated. The senshi attacked! Good instincts! …but whatever power he commanded seemed to negate her energy. The Moon Stick was matched? A darker fear gripped him – was the Dark Kingdom that much stronger now? Did they have a chance at all?
 
The senshi started backing away from the advancing Dark Kingdom threat, then retreated entirely; would the enemy give chase?! She was weakened now – anyone could see that! There’d be no way she could defend herself!
 
If only there was some way for him to help, but he was only a cat! Any distraction he could provide would be over in moments! Unless… his fevered thoughts came to clarity as the senshi dashed around the corner of a neighboring building. He could disguise himself using Sailor Venus’s compact and distract the enemy before he caught up to her. Would it work?
 
Only one way to find out.
 
He jumped into the air and flipped, summoning the crescent-shaped compact; it fell open to the ground in a clatter and he quickly gazed at his reflection and yelled, “Disguise Power! Turn me into a traffic cop!”
 
His body felt lighter as it raised into the air, and a peculiar sensation came over him; he was getting taller. And longer. And less hairy – he could feel his ears and tail disappearing, and soon he saw the world from a height he had not owned for millennia – he was his old self, his humanoid Mauan self… dressed as a traffic cop to distract the enemy!
 
He adjusted the traffic officer’s cap on his head and strode forward purposefully, feeling amazed familiarity at the weight of his long white hair down his back. “Excuse me, sir,” he called, then put his traffic-whistle to his lips and blew shrilly, “I’m afraid that alleyway is closed to Dark Kingdom Scum – You’ll have to find another path!”
 

One that the city’s only hope wasn’t using!

OOC:

A menacing smile slowly began to take shape upon Jasper's visage as Sailor Luna began to realize that she was unable to continue her fight. He could sense weakness when she offered the notion of a truce! No one would say that without reason. She might as well have poured a bucket of chum into shark-infested waters.

And then, suddenly, before Jasper could continue forward, a very handsome man with white hair and an officer's uniform appeared to bar his path. His eyebrow twitched with irritation at the sudden appearance of the 'traffic cop', with the shrill peal of a whistle only further rattling his nerves. Despite his teeth being set on edge, Jasper's thoughts turned to the remarkable physical similarities that this individual shared with Lord Kunzite, whom he knew to possess a great deal of power and experience behind his regal persona.
 
Attempting to assert a cool face, Jasper set his attention on the new arrival. Any thoughts of pursuing the mystery catwoman were abandoned for the sake of his pride. Who was this person to insult him so casually? More specifically, how did he know of the Dark Kingdom's presence and involvement? Perhaps there were more would-be heroes waiting to assault him. It could also be a bluff, but Jasper couldn't discount the notion of the clever girl feigning weakness to lure him into a more vulnerable location.

"What a pain.. that's a rude thing to say, isn't it? What's your stake in this matter?"

'What a pain'? Artemis's mouth twitched up in a half-smile. Yes, he was a pain, and would be a pain, for as long as it took to make sure the senshi would escape to fight again another day. He stopped his strut between the enemy and her fall-back route and put one hand on his hip, the other straight out in front of him in the common body-language sign for 'stop'. "Just a traffic cop, sir, here to protect the streets from you and your ilk," he said, a smug expression coloring his features. "I think you've done enough for today, why don't you head on home?"

OOC:

Luna stood on four shaky legs as she slowly creeping from shadow to shadow towards the street she had just left. When she stopped she saw the strange young man who, she had assumed to this point had been following her, stopped by a traffic cop, but the man's hair was far to long for him to be any normal traffic cop. With the little strength she had she stopped and watched straining her ears to catch the conversation they were having.

She was in shock as the traffic cop with long white hair talked about stopping the Dark Kingdom. This set Luna on edge. Was this newcomer friend or foe?

' I can't handle another enemy right now.' she thought with a groan. Could this day get any worse? She started just looking for the sleeping senshi, only to become one herself. With that power she was able to defeat the youma, only to be attacked and nearly defeated herself by this strange man. She almost didn't get away from that, but she was grateful to the strange cop for giving her time to get away. So in her cat form Luna watched from the shadows, wondering if she could make it out of the ally without being seen.

Jasper returned the smug expression of the alleged traffic officer with a thin smile. "If you're just a traffic cop, then I'm the Prime Minister. But I am in a good mood, so I'll play along for now." He didn't want to produce a name? That was wise, though an alias would have also been perfectly acceptable.

Unknown to either of those two strangely beautiful people, Jasper had more phobian specimens to test. They were going to help him with his research, and Jasper would secure it by simply applying more pressure to this city. Their desire to protect was a vulnerability that he was only too happy to exploit.

Jasper began to walk out of the alleyway opposite of Artemis, lingering near the other side. He called out to the handsome white-haired man with a nonchalant tone, pointing at the officer to emphasize his words.

"Remember that you owe me for this small favor. We'll discuss your terms of payment at a later time."

The custodian's smile sharpened into a mischievous smirk before he sidestepped out of view.

He.... he did it?

He did it!

The Dark Kingdom agent had backed off! Artemis remained firm and in place for a few moments after the man disappeared, then slowly turned to look down the alleyway he had protected. She had gotten away... if he followed after, would he have any chance of catching her? Surely she'd be long gone by now. ... but so long as there was a chance, he should take it. She could be alone and confused, and she needed guidance. He strode down the alleyway, keeping an eye out for the senshi, or any girl that had similar energy patterns, and walked right past the small black cat hiding in the shadows without a single glance in her direction. 

OOC:

Graffias drummed his fingers expectantly, awaiting the arrival of his colleague. The last message he received was concerning the appearance of a white-haired fellow that, according to Jasper, resembled one of his own superior officers. Fortunately, Graffias did not have to wait long; Jasper soon arrived without the fetters of ceremony, quickly revealing the grotesque creature who had gorged itself on the vital energies of youma and human alike.

"Yes! This is precisely what I need." The scientist and his able-bodied assistant quickly interred the recovered phobian into one of the nearby tanks. There, it would be sustained through a nutrient-rich fluid that allowed the creature to exist in a form of stasis while its biological processes were closely monitored.

"Jasper, there is another target I would like for you to investigate. While you were off playing with the otaku catgirl, I discovered a compatible host for your next sample.."

Once the two were seated, Graffias passed a clipboard to Jasper with detailed information on a private citizen. Keeping the Dark Kingdom agent occupied with a task would afford the rogue scientist additional time to further study these strange parasitic creatures. If there was something useful to glean from these creatures, then that would provide Graffias some matter of insurance in the event that his relationship with the forces of darkness turned sour.

Meanwhile, Jasper examined the paper before scoffing at the suggestion. "You realize that this man is a burglar, right? He's in police custody and awaiting arraignment. That means he's under heavy surveillance."

Graffias returned the younger man's sneer with interest. "Yes, I am aware. You are rather enthusiastic when it comes to highlighting the shortcomings of their laws; surely you can find some kind of legal loophole that will lead to his freedom and cooperation."

---

A short time after Morga's attack..

A series of low-key robberies have struck pharmacies in the Azabu-Juban area, targeting their supplies of medicine. In every case, the thief broke into the locations at night. Police report that only limited quantities of drugs have been stolen, but in every instance the motivating factor was greed. The stolen medicines are worth a pretty penny on the black market.

One witness to the burglary efforts even has claimed to have accidentally struck a suspicious figure with his car. Beyond the question of gender, the victim wasn't identified or even injured at all; he simply got back up on his feet, dusted himself off, and resumed his larcenous endeavors.

Artemis, back in his familiar cat body, strayed casually towards the police scene, slipping unnoticed beneath the barriers and tape and crept quietly into the storefront as someone opened the door to exit. The manager was being interviewed by police forces, reporting which medicines had been stolen - the brands and types were the very same as previous burglaries, suggesting the culprit was the same. He stayed off to the side, looking around carefully.

In all honesty, he wasn't researching the string of break-ins. Human-on-human crime was the least of the city's worries; what he was after was much bigger, with much greater potential in this war. He was hoping to find the Sailor senshi - Sailor Luna. He had hoped that a fledgling guardian of justice would attempt to stop the recent medicinal crime-wave, and he hoped to stay one step ahead of her - or at least keep up. He was investigating crime scenes, staying current, as best he could, with police intel, and was even narrowing down which stores the criminal might hit next. What he hoped to find today were suspects. Not for the criminal, but for the girl. He seemed to have very little luck in that department - today, for instance, all the police were male, and not one of the gawkers outside the store looked or felt the part of Sailor Luna. 

With a sigh, he sat down, wrapping his tail around his paws, and waited for someone to open the door again. Whispered voices caught his ear, and as the topic became clear Artemis all but jumped up and dashed over to the pair of officers as they leaned over the counter, filling out csi forms. 

"Yeah," one said, "The citizen said that they hit a guy, but there was no sign of blood on the road, no victims reporting to the hospital, nothing!"

"Did he make it up?" the other asked.

"His car has damage that matches hitting someone," the first cop replied, "He seemed to be creeped out about it all. Just kept repeating "He just walked away! Like nothing happened!""

"You don't think..." the second trailed off, his movements nervous.

"The Dark Kingdom?" the first stated quietly. "Maybe... but why would they leave the driver with his energy intact?"

"That's creepy, man."

No, Artemis thought, that's interesting. He waited a few more moments, hoping the pair would return to their conversation, maybe drop a name or an address, but as they turned to talk of dinner and what they would do after work, Artemis gave up. He returned to the door, quickly weaseled his way through, and made his way towards the police station, hoping to glean more information about this mysterious, opposite hit-and-run there.