Frantically searching the crowded streets for Luna, Rei and Usagi peeled around a corner, and both stopped dead in surprise! There should have been the sights and sounds of a bustling crowd in front of them, but instead the street was deathly silent. Everyone was sheathed in a thick layer of gleaming ice, utterly frozen and totally still. "What in the world is going on?" Rei exclaimed. Michiru looked across the table at Haruka with a great deal of amusement. "You really liked that cat, didn't you? Why don't we keep it, then?" she asked her curiously. Michiru picked up her cup of tea, sipping a little as she kept one eye looking out the window. Setsuna said they all had to be here, waiting for them to arrive, so... Haruka shrugged, and blushed a little bit. She had just met them here at the cafe, and both had fiercely quizzed her on why she was so late for the meeting. Somehow, they managed to worm out the tale of the cat's rescue. "She's obviously been domesticated," Haruka protested. "I think her owner would really miss her," she added softly. She shrugged and smiled, "So I tied a yellow ribbon around her neck and sent her home." Setsuna looked at her with more restrained, but visible amusement. "Did you figure out her name, at least?" Setsuna asked her curiously, picking her cup off the table and taking a drink. She took a moment to savor the pleasant flavor. "Luna, I think," Haruka answered them morosely. "Luna?!" Setsuna suddenly gasped, and then she began to choke on a mouthful of her tea. Both her fellow Outers looked at her with concern. "What's wrong?" Michiru asked her, alarmed. "Do you realize who's cat you may have rescued?" a slightly stunned Setsuna asked Haruka, a large sweatdrop on the back of her head. Before Haruka could answer the question, an overweight man ran by the window, obviously scared out of his mind. Suddenly, a blinding wave of snow passed over him, and he reappeared encased in a block of solid ice! "What in the world?" Haruka asked the room in general, just before the window they were sitting by exploded inwards in a wave of cold. Haruka grabbed Michiru to pull her to the relative safety inside the cafe even as Setsuna softly whispered to herself, "At last." Michiru and Haruka didn't have any time to respond to that, as even more ice rushed inside! The three ran right out the door, where they saw two very familiar figures standing, looking up into the overcast sky. Outside, the snow dancers descended, floating gently down to the street below. "What are they?" Natsuna asked Minako quietly, her official pistol cradled in her hands. The street was eerily quiet, the ice covered figures as still as death. "Big trouble," Minako answered her shortly. She raised her transformation wand to cry out, "Venus Star Power, Make UP!" Light and rainbow energy swirled around her to quickly form into the distinctive costume of Sailor V! The three had ducked reflexedly into a nearby alley to talk. "Lets go," Setsuna quickly said to Haruka and Michiru. "Haruka, transform and find Usagi and Rei. Michiru, go to Makoto and Ami. I'll stay here to help these two." "But they'll see us," a very confused Michiru protested, but Haruka was nodding to herself slightly. It looked like she understood what Setsuna was doing, at least. "For some reason you want them to meet us now," Haruka said to her thoughtfully. She smiled, reaching over to gently take Michiru's hand in hers for a moment in reassurance, "I'll be back, I promise." The two took off in different directions even as Setsuna ran back to where Minako and Natsuna were standing. "Pluto Planet Power!" the running Setsuna loudly yelled, raising her transformation wand over her head as the currents of time's energies itself began to wash over her and change her into the senshi of time. "Sparkling wide pressure!" Sailor Jupiter yelled, and her battle suit responded to the preset command being given it. A burst of gas formed around her carefully cupped hands, which her gloves then charged with pure electricity into a shining ball of white lightning. She threw it with deadly accuracy, and the snow dancer exploded in a blaze of light! "Very nice," a smiling Mercury complimented her. "It's my turn now," she continued, crying out "Shine Aqua Illusion!" A stream of super cooled liquid sprayed outward from her outstretched hands, sealing the next snow dancer in a solid casement of dense ice. Mercury then stepped forward and gently tapped it with her knuckle, shattering both the icy container and the snow dancer that was trapped inside. "Good job, Mercury," Jupiter started to say in return, only to stop as she looked up into the cloudy sky above them. "Oh hell," Sailor Jupiter whispered, pointing up where three more of the snow dancers descended towards them! "We'll have to try using our weapons together," Sailor Mercury said to her, keeping herself outwardly as calm as possible. But inside, her heart dropped in her chest. 'I don't know if we can handle three at once...' she worried. "Neptune Planet Power!" she whispered, gazing out at the two senshi from the shadows. Her wand cut a circle of water, which then washed over her to transform her from normal Michiru to the heroic Sailor Neptune. She stepped outside, ready to do battle! "Neptune Deep Submerge!" Ami and Makoto heard, and a shining sphere of water shot right by them! It soared to where the snow dancers flew towards them and destroyed all three in an instant's burst of power! Mercury and Jupiter whirled about, to see a totally unknown senshi standing there behind them. "Who are you?" Jupiter asked her softly. "Sailor Neptune, at your service," Neptune said with a small smile. She faltered a bit, as Mercury and Jupiter gave her looks of pure horror. "What's wrong?" she quickly asked. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen stood there back to back, facing off against a ring of the snow dancers, twisting and turning all around them. It would be almost beautiful, if they weren't so very deadly. "Ready, Sailor Moon?" Tuxedo Kamen asked her softly. Sailor Moon nodded, "Yes." Usagi didn't know what Rei had planned, but she suspected it was going to be interesting. She blushed a bit, reaching behind her to grasp Rei's hand and squeeze it for a moment, feeling Rei squeeze back. "Fire Blossom!" Tuxedo Kamen cried, leaping up into the air. A handful of roses suddenly burst into cheery flame as she cast them into their enemies. As each rose struck, the flames engulfed the snow dancer! Covering her back, Sailor Moon used her scepter's power to blast away any snow dancer that grew too close! But even their combined efforts weren't enough to defeat the many enemies that tried to swarm around and over them. "There's just too many," Sailor Moon barked, resorting to using her scepter to club a far too near snow dancer! On a nearby rooftop, a figure gazes down at the battle thoughtfully. The two had done pretty well so far, but the numbers were just against them. She steps forward, leaping down from the heights to the ground below, her lips already forming the words. "Uranus Planet Power, Make-Up!" Rei heard the voice cry out behind them, but she couldn't take the time to look. She wildly used her sword cane to drive the enemy back to reach Sailor Moon's side, reaching out to take her hand. "There is no way," Tuxedo Kamen vowed to her through gritted teeth, "I am going to loose you to these glorified snowmen!" Sailor Moon's eyes widened, and they shared a confident smile as more snow dancers descended. "Uranus World Shaking!" they heard, as a golden ball of energy skimmed across the ground to blast the remaining snow dancers to powder! They both whirled about, to see a sandy hared, boyish young woman in a senshi fuku make her way towards them. "It's good to see you well, Princess," Sailor Uranus said, taking Sailor Moon's hand, kneeling and kissing it lightly. "Wh... who are you?" Sailor Moon managed to stammer out. "Sailor Uranus," the young woman said, smiling at her charmingly. "She's a friend of yours?" Natsuna asked Sailor V dryly, as the dark hared senshi took her place at their side. The snow dancers faltered a moment, unsure what to do, their song taking on a keening note of inquiry. "I think we've met," Sailor V said, giving the dark hared woman a curious glance and recognizing the long hair and distinctive staff. "It was about ten years ago, in London, right?" she asked her calmly. "It's been a long time," she said with a respectful nod. "Sailor Pluto, at your service," she twirled her staff, casually striking a snow dancer down. Another descended, and before Sailor V or Pluto could act, Natsuna fired a single shot, and it exploded into a swirl of falling snow. "Looks like Rei's charm on my gun worked," Natsuna remarked to Sailor V dryly. Pluto looked at the two, obviously reassessing the situation. "I believe I can deal with the central mass of them, but I'll be weakened afterwards," she said calmly. "Can you protect me while I recover?" she asked. Sailor V gave her the 'V' for victory sign. "Of course," she answered, as if it was a extremely foolish question to have even asked her. Natsuna just silently raised her gun and nodded seriously, ready for action. "Pluto..." she started, marshaling her power, purple light shining around her, "Dead Scream!" A shining orb formed in front of her, the snow dancers diving down frantically to be picked off by Natsuna and Sailor V. She hoisted her staff and released the blast, the sphere expanding to tear the core from the mass of snow dancers in the air above them. In a few moments, it was all over. "And they just disappeared on you, too?" Rei asked to the others as they stood on a overpass using its height to help look around for Luna. "Pluto said that the Outers would be here for us if we needed them," Natsuna reported to the senshi calmly. Poor Minako still looked more than a little miffed that Sailor Pluto hadn't stuck around to explain herself to them. 'Disappearing after the battle was won was Sailor V's routine, darn it!' she thought to herself with a slightly self-mocking smile. 'Now I know how it feels,' she thought with a nearly silent chuckle. "I grabbed Neptune's arm, but she shook me off," Ami said softly, "she said that the Outers guard separately." She looked thoughtful, "I think she and her companions are the representatives of the outer planets, while we are the inner worlds." "That fits with something Pluto said when I first met her," Minako said reluctantly. All the senshi turned to gaze at her in surprise. "She said some fairly enigmatic things about the her allies watching over the Inners, but other than that," she shrugged. A uncomfortable looking Makoto reluctantly spoke up, "Do you want us to leave?" Usagi, Rei and Minako looked at her in great surprise. "The three new senshi, they can do the job much better than either Ami and I could, so..." "I'm surprised you'd say that," Usagi said, smiling reassuringly at Makoto and Ami, "You're part of the team, we rely on both of you." Makoto was about to say something more when Ami saw something moving through the crowd. "Look, it's Luna," she said happily. They all charged down the steps to meet the little black cat, Usagi immediately sweeping her up in her arms. She suddenly broke into twin streams of tears as she cried out "Luna, we were so worried about you!" Natsuna looked at the little black cat oddly, as it struggled in Usagi's arms. "Luna, where did that ribbon come from?" she asked, reaching out to touch the yellow ribbon that was tied around her neck gently. A little flush appeared on Luna's cheeks as she remembered what happened. Haruka had smiled down at Luna, gently petting her as she tied the silky ribbon around her neck. Luna had purred madly at her touch. "Come back and see me, anytime," she had said to Luna with a sad, almost lonely smile on her handsome face. Picking Luna up, she had taken her out of her apartment building and back to where she found Luna, before waving good-bye. Luna quickly shook away the memory as she asked them impatiently "What on Earth's been going on?" Nearby, three young women watched from the shadows before they finally walked away silently from the gathered senshi. "What were you going to say about that cat?" Haruka asked Setsuna, remembering something the senshi of time mentioned.. Setsuna just shook her head. "It may not matter," she said to Haruka calmly. She looked back at them a moment, her gaze lingering on Rei, "At least now they know that the snow dancers are out there, and that we are ready to aide them." "I would have liked to talk to them some more," Michiru said a little bit wistfully. It would have been nice to make friends with the senshi. "You'll get the chance," a smiling Setsuna said, giving her friend a calm gaze. "This is all nowhere near being over."
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