Temptation and Seduction Disclaimer: "Sailor Moon V: The Dark Adventures of the Sailor Scouts" is the property of Troy "Silver" Stanton. This is here because several of the concepts I'm going to use in this series originated with Troy and his wonderful series. Sailor Moon V: The Dark Adventures of the Sailor Scouts can be found at: Forward: This series will be a strange one for many readers, especially since the first installment has the Sailor Senshi reviewing and critiquing a Sailor Moon fanfic series they found on the Internet. Their exposure to this fanfic leads them down the path of temptation and seduction. Copyright: August 19, 2004 Timeline: This takes place just after Sailor Moon Stars, Usagi is engaged to Mamoru but they haven't married. Hikawa Shrine The scarlet lights of dusk cut through the elongated shadows of its creation, in dark shades it painted the people heading home from school, work or some other place, except for the blue-haired girl rushing up the stairs of the Hikawa Shrine. "God, I'm late!" visible wisps of cold breath accompanied the girl's words, mentally she admonished, 'if only I didn't get into that discussion with Ryo-kun about inter-dimensional travel,' then her cold reddened cheeks darken when she remembered why she didn't want to leave him. It was only a few more minutes before she reached the combination study and strategy room the Sailor Senshi had set up in the shrine's living quarters, and Ami tried to calm herself down as she slid the door open, her face chagrined and her apology in soft tones, "I'm so sorry, everyone, for being late!" Everyone looked up at Ami from their seated positions around the low table, but before she could add anything more, Rei frowned at her and said, "I thought the world was coming to an end, Usagi coming early to a study session and you coming late." "What was it, Ami-chan," the Goddess-of-Love look was on Minako's bright face, "you find Ryo-kun more interesting to 'be with' than your study buddies?" 'Leave it to Minako to divine the truth,' only the winter evening kept Ami's friends from seeing the truth on her face plus Makoto came to her rescue, "Give it a rest, Minako-chan, at least Ami- chan has a steady squeeze, unlike someone we both know." "I have a boyfriend," Minako looked upside-down at Makoto so she could give the ginger-haired girl a dirty look. "Sure you do, Minako-chan, every young Tom, Dick and Harry at our school," Makoto returned the dirty look in spades. "I'm just shopping around," a smug look on the blonde bombshell's face, "how else am I going to find the right guy unless I sample all thirty-one favors." "Could you two please change the subject?" Rei looked up from the papers she was reading, "I don't need to hear about anyone's love life." "C'mon Rei-chan," Minako shifted her gaze to the shrine maiden, "It's not our fault you can't cut loose until you're twenty-five," then the Goddess-Of-Love look was back, "although I'll bet there's lots of boys at your Catholic school who'd love to turn you into a Christian." Forgotten in this exchange was the instigator of this argument, so Ami closed the door behind her, slipped off her shoes and took off her heavy sky blue coat, Usagi didn't even look up when the shorthaired girl knelt down next to her. Each of her friends was dressed warmly for the winter weather although Rei seemed the least affected by the cold, the violet-haired girl wearing only a heavy red scarf around her neck in addition to her shrine maiden clothes. It was at this point Ami noticed everyone were holding various numbers of loose leaf pages in their hands and looking over the odango blonde's shoulder, the top student was surprised to find that instead of manga pictures they were covered with English words, she knew the petite girl had improved her ability with the foreign tongue but not to the level her eyes-glued-the- pages seem to suggest. Almost reluctant to interrupt the petite blonde's concentration, Ami asked, "What are you reading, Usagi- chan." Without looking up, Usagi's right hand took a neat stack of paper off the table and handed them to Ami, the teen wonder used both hands to accept the unlooked offer and the first thing she saw was the title, "Sailor Moon V: The Dark Adventures of the Sailor Scouts," then she saw the byline, by Troy "Silver" Stanton. Looking around, Ami noticed her other friends also held pages with English type on them, so wanting answers immediately, the usually soft spoken girl raised her voice above the barbs being traded, "Is everyone reading the same thing?" "Aye-aye, Ami-chan," Minako's attention span changed in record time, "this is a groovy fanfic written by some guy in the US." "A fanfic?" Ami was momentarily confused before her dictionary mind kicked in, "you mean a story written by a fan of another author's work." "Yep," Makoto added her two-cents, "it's based on that manga Naoko-san is writing about us and that anime being done by Toei." Ami had been against allowing someone to do a manga and an anime series based loosely on their exploits but she, Artemis and Luna were outvoted, six-to-three, besides the added income allowed them to go to Okinawa during the spring break. With this on her mind, Ami asked, "With Scout in its title, I presume this Stanton-san used the dub version as his reference point, correct?" "About right," Rei answered as she made eye contact with Ami, "although he does take liberties with our names." "I could live with being called, Leda, since it does mean something in English," the emotion developing in Makoto's green eyes didn't look friendly, "if that was the only liberty he was taking." "Huh?" Ami was caught off-guard by Makoto's reaction, usually it took a physical threat to get her tall friend this mad, then the teen wonder flipped through the pages, her eyes going wide at finding the first chapter were sixty pages long, "How long is this story?" "About two-thousand-and-sixty pages, give or take," Rei answered as she picked up a cookie from a tray and took a nibble. "What?" Ami was always under the impression that most fanfics were short and very skimpy on details. "Makes you wonder what his day job is, doesn't it?" Minako momentarily looked up before returning to her reading. "Probably some Melvin look-a-like," Makoto growled out as her nose crinkled. "Now, now, Makoto-chan, so he made you a bi with a puddytate boyfriend as well as a yen for the vine," Minako waved a dismissive hand at her pissed off friend, "he doing it to liven things up for your character, I mean the dub makes you out to be about as exciting as cherry Jell-O." "What about you, Minako-chan," a nasty grin on Makoto's pretty face, "Stanton-san makes you out as a mercenary vixen with a split personality and a hunger for the kinky." "So what," Minako's sly chuckle sent a shiver up-and-down Ami's spine, "true love ain't cheap and when I say I'm the Goddess of Love, I mean I'm the Goddess of 'All' Love." "I think the author has Minako-chan peg just about right," Rei muttered as she turned a page, carefully laying it neatly on the read pile. "Besides, I saw the way your green eyes lit up when Leda put on her catgirl suit," merriment danced in Minako's baby blues. "Eh . . . ah . . ." Makoto hymned-and-hared before saying, "It was kind of cute." "I hope she gets a chance to wear it more," Minako suggested. Usagi let out a lover's sigh but her gaze never left the page she was reading, upon hearing the sound Makoto commented, "Usagi-chan must've reached the part where she became an angel." "As if we didn't already know that," Rei's darkening mood filled her words. "Don't get your panties in a bunch, Rei-chan," one blonde bombshell trying to defuse another bombshell, "it's not his fault he doesn't know anything about Shinto, it's not a part of his culture after all." "Yeah, I know," sighed Rei, "I just wished some of these fanfics didn't always picture me as either a dominatrix, a firebrand bitch or a closet lesbian." "You mean you didn't like the part where Serena confessed her love for you?" Peter Pan mischief in Minako's grin. "That was . . . that was . . ." Rei stammered, her face as red as Minako's hair ribbon, "nice." Without warning Usagi leaned over the low table, catching Rei by surprise when the princess' lips lightly touched both of the violet-haired girl's blushing cheeks, then the petite blonde sat back down, saying, "Soulmates," before going back to her reading. All of Usagi's friends just stared at her with Makoto finally breaking the silence, "I think Stanton-san going to get a big thank-you card from Usagi-chan." "No lie, Kimo Sabe," Minako giggled at Rei's bugged out expression, "Stanton-san turns her into an angel, gives her a voice an opera singer would kill for, gets her laid by Darien and then she gets the chance to tell her best friend how much she loves her." All these comments flying back and forth between Ami's friends got the teen wonder curious and she was intrigued because the first chapter was titled, "For The Love Of Mercury," so she started to speed read the first chapter. "I wonder what Setsuna-san's reaction would be if she discovered Stanton-san turned her into a succubus?" Makoto smirked. "Since Setsuna-san is the Mistress of Time," Rei tried to recover from her earlier shock, "she probably knew about it before Usagi- chan did." "I wouldn't be surprised if Setsuna-san wasn't spreading disinformation to these writers," Makoto added with a frown, "some of this stuff has her twisted sense of humor written all over it, especially the way Stanton-san racked Darien's behind over hot coals." "What you expect to happen when someone makes a pack with the Devil," Rei pointed out, "Anyway, we can't afford these fanfics to get even close to the truth, our lives are busy enough without having to outrun our groupies." "Although I wouldn't mind the full body massages Rei, Susan and Serena got," Makoto grinned while giving Usagi an evil look, "especially since Darien was with them." Usagi looked up at Makoto and gave her tall friend plenty of tongue before going back to her reading, Rei giggled before saying, "It looks like our Usagi-chan isn't ready yet to share her stud muffin with anyone." "Although some of Stanton-san's style is kind of strange," Minako commented. "This coming from an inhabitant of the Twilight Zone," Rei shook her head. "I mean, I like the idea of the Negaverse inhabitants speaking Klingonese," Minako elaborated, "and I recognize some of the swear words they use, but he doesn't let us swear unless we are speaking that language." "It is a little awkward," Makoto agreed, "Him saying we said something acidic in Japanese but not actually writing down the words." "And this alphabet soup of characters that Stanton-san has in his series can be a little confusing," Minako pointed out, then she amended, "don't get me wrong, I do like all of them but sometimes it's hard to connect names with faces, especially if they've been gone from the storyline for some time." "I do hope Mephisto gets a bigger part in the later chapters," Rei hoped, "I like his style." "So you like the John Wayne type," Minako teased, "maybe we can get him to show up for your twenty-fifth birthday, eh?" Rei just rolled her eyes but then a new thought entered her mind and turning her attention to Makoto, commenting, "The rape scene must've been hard for you to read, Makoto-chan." "It . . . it was . . . difficult" for a moment there was dark sadness in Makoto's emerald eyes, "I know Leda is a fictional version of me but what happened to her and Alex in the alley re . . . reminded m . . . me . . ." again her words were choking on the lump in her throat. "It's okay, Makoto-chan, we understand," Minako reached over and squeeze Makoto's shoulder while Rei gave an assertive nod, then the flaxen blonde changed the subject "So what did you think of his version of Haruka-san and Michiru-san?" "Well," Makoto took in a deep breath and shook off her dark feelings before answering, "I thought Haruka-san would get a kick out of her counterpart being a Viking but Michelle seemed a little too mousy." "I don't know, Makoto-chan," Rei countered her friend with a cool smile, "Michelle was wicked with that pretzel bag." "And the way Alex looked at the end of chapter ten," Minako was back in Goddess-Of-Love mode, "they must be a regular pair of typhoons in bed." "Minako-chan, could you give it a . . ." "Tolaris." Everyone but Usagi looked at Ami, it wasn't just the name coming from the teenager's lips that drew their attention, it was the way she said it, like the name signified every romantic encounter a young girl could dream, it was Minako who broke the silence this time, "Such a dreamboat isn't he, Ami-chan?" "Huh-huh," Ami dreamily nodded her head, "he risked his life for me." "Of course Tolaris did turn you into a vampire," Makoto couldn't resist the punch line. "A WHAT?" not a ladylike shout coming this time from Ami. "Close your mouth, Ami-chan, you drawing flies," Usagi said without looking up from her reading but she still was able to hand to the teen wonder another neat stack of paper. Ami gave a Sherlock Holmes look at her smiling friends before she began to speed read the second chapter, once they were sure the blue-haired girl was engrossed with the tale, Makoto asked the others, "What did you think of Stanton-san's portrayal of Ami as a vampire?" "I was worried at first," Rei answered, "I thought he was having Ami going all Dracula on us." "Well, you do know vampires, incubus and succubus are the ultimate sex symbols," Minako said matter-of-factly, "in our modern age they represent unfettered sexual hunger, animalistic charisma and uninhibited love." "You would know those kinds of things," Rei looked skyward, "Anyway, I thought all that I'm-the-big-bad was getting to be too much, and Mina flip-flopping between kinky curiosity and being the descendant of Mina Hawker wasn't helping either." "Yeah," Makoto agreed, "but it changed, Stanton-san did say he did a little soul searching and changed the direction he was taking the story, because he did go over some of the same ground in the later chapters that he covered in the early chapters, I think he did that to reestablish the interrelationships of the characters, especially the Sailor Scouts and especially Ami." "I agree," Minako nodded, "I think he decided that Ami would be the Barnabas Collins type of vampire." "Don't you mean the Angel type of vampire?" suggested Rei. "Nah! Angel is just a Johnny-come-lately," Minako shook her head, "Barnabas was the real deal, a handsome man cursed to be a vampire, searching for true love yet willing to sacrifice everything to protect his family and friends." Makoto and Rei exchanged looks due to Minako's mile high tone before Makoto leaned toward Rei and whispered behind her hand, "I think Minako-chan is taking this Goddess-of-Love thing just a little to far." "As I said before, Stanton-san has her pegged," Rei affirmed, then she switched the subject, "so what other things did you like about his cosmology?" Makoto looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling before answering, "Very Gothic with a lot of Faustian, Machiavellian and Hollywood mixed in." "And don't forget sex," Minako chimed in. Both Makoto and Rei groaned in unison while Ami said, "Next chapter please," Usagi gave it to her, "Thank you," and then the petite blonde went back to her own reading. "Gosh! Ami-chan is sure reading fast," Makoto commented as she watched Ami's eyes seem to glance at each page. "She gets that way when she is engrossed with a story," Minako's face was all lit up, "I saw her do the same thing when I lent her my copy of Frankenstein." There was something about Ami's reading that bugged Makoto, then she realized what it was, "Hold it, Ami-chan's not wearing her glasses." "Took you long enough," Usagi commented, once more not taking her eyes off of what she was reading, "they're normal glass, I put them on once when I was waiting for her to finish her shower." "I'll be," Makoto rubbed the back of her neck, "Ami-chan wears her shyness like a suit of armor." "Maybe too much so," a sliver of sadness in Minako's voice, "it could explain why she finds Stanton-san's story so appealing." "Makoto-chan, Minako-chan, what did you think of the villains?" Rei had decided to change the subject slightly, "You know how much a story's success is dependent upon well-crafted villains." "You right, Rei-chan," Makoto replied, "I watched El Hazard and part of the reason I liked it so much was because of the main villain." "Reminded you of your sempai, did he?" Minako couldn't resist the lead-in. "Minako-chan!" Makoto's eyes flash green fire before she took a deep breath and let it out, her tone going neutral, "That's besides the point, what I'm trying to say is I found Stanton-san's villains to be well developed and understandable, they weren't cardboard cutouts for the Sailor Scouts to beat on." "I was kind of disappointed that Queen Beryl was out of the storyline so fast," Minako commented, "Several of the comments about how we trashed the Negaverse to get at her had me intrigued, and there is the fact that the denizens' point-of-view about the Sailor Scouts is based on that rescue mission." "I think Stanton-san did that because other writers had written similar stories," Rei said, when the shrine maiden got confused looks from Makoto and Minako, she explained, "you know, alternate universe stories that gave a different account of the Sailor Scouts' invasion of the Negaverse." "What I found interesting about the villains were their differences," Makoto pointed out, "Rune is basically your typical military bureaucrat who reached the top of the dung heap, Shar-Tei could have been a friend if she wasn't trapped between her sense of duty and her love for Tolaris, Nop'tera is your Napoleon Bonaparte kind of person, and that I'm-the-presence-with-the-big- voice is obvious someone whom the gods really messed up and he wants revenge against them." "Yeah," Minako agreed but then added, "but the way Mr. Big Voice is going to do it is going to get Nop'tera really pissed at him." "Mean that avatar crack he made at the end of chapter ten?" Makoto asked. Minako slowly nodded her blond head, saying, "we all know whose brooch he has, don't we?" "Since Stanton-san has made it clear that avatar means Sailor Scout or someone equal to one," Rei fully knew who Minako was referring to, "and he has dropped enough hints about whom Freya truly is." "I wouldn't want to be Mr. Big Voice when Nop'tera gets her fangs around his or her neck," Minako's baby blues flashed with anticipation, "she's going to give him such an hickey." "Actually the only weakness to this story is the fact we've already seen Miss. Pink show-up a few times," Makoto pointed out, "her appearance kind of killed the suspense." "I wonder if she's going to clog Serena on the head like she did Usagi-chan?" Rei speculated. "Don't remind me," Usagi tossed in, her eyes glued to her reading. "Of course with Serena being an angel, it makes you ponder about Stanton-san's cosmology," a thoughtful look to Rei's features. "Well, Stanton-san did seem to make it clear that it was the Chaos Factor that made Serena an angel," Makoto pointed out, "although it is possible the Ginzuishou might have added its own two-cents into the mix." "But what if the Chaos Factor isn't so chaotic," Rei suggested. "What do you mean?" Makoto asked. "As defined by Stanton-san, each dimension has its own power structure, going from the mundane to the spiritual," Rei's eyes very serious, "but what if there is a power structure above and beyond these dimensions, one that exists outside the confines of time and space." "You mean the Big G, Rei-chan?" Minako asked with her baby blues very wide. "And what if Serena becoming an angel is the manifestation of that entity's will," Rei wasn't pulling any punches. "Hold on, Rei-chan, Susan already stated that all mortal spirits go to Hades except for the Sailor Scouts, their essences are pulled into the Ginzuishou," Minako held up her hand, "and Susan didn't seem to know anything about angels." "If we have succubus, vampires and demons, then there should be angels, most likely more than one," Rei countered, "besides Susan is very limited by her chains to what she knows." "But there could be a dimension with angels in them," Makoto knew Rei could get metaphysical at times, "we've only seen three dimensions so far so they don't have to come from some kind of Heaven." "True but I doubt it," Rei countered, "Serena's multidimensional nature and the power of her love seem to suggest something else at least it does to me." "There's one way to find out," Usagi said as she stood up. Makoto, Minako and Rei knew by Usagi's earlier comments that she had kept one ear trained on their conversation, but three pairs of eyebrows shot up when the odango blonde brought the Luna Pen out of her blouse pocket with a flourish. "Usagi-chan, don't!" Rei shouted, "You don't . . ." "LUNA PEN! MAKE ME AN ANGEL JUST LIKE SERENA IN SAILOR MOON V!" The lightshow that accompanied the Luna Pen's activation occurred and the next thing Makoto, Minako and Rei knew they heard a tearing sound. They didn't really look like wings, not like those shown in all the pictures painted by the masters, but they were beautiful to the teenagers' eyes as they watched them unfurl from Usagi's back, the princess' eyes were closed but there was a heavenly smile upon her face and when she spoke, "Wow," her harmonic voice was easy on the ears. The wings half-filled the room with their floating luminosity, which brought a surprised look to Makoto's face, the ginger-haired girl asked, "Should they be floating?" "Look," Rei said as she slowly stood, her look neutral but her eyes shimmered with poorly concealed emotions. Makoto looked but it was Minako who spotted it first, saying, "She's wearing the crystal Mina created." There it was nestled between the furls of Usagi's cream-colored blouse, the dark gem attached to a golden chain that went around her neck, both Minako's and Makoto's attention upon it was interrupted when both felt something wrap around one of their arms. They were like butterfly wings, so light in their touching and so soft in their embrace, yet it was the sigh from Rei that caught the two girls' attention, there were several wings sliding up and down Rei's clothed body, her stance jelly, her eyes half- closed and her features soothed. It was apparent to Makoto that the wings were having a different effort on Rei than on them, "It's Rei-chan's gift and training, isn't it?" "I believe you're right, Makoto-chan," Minako nodded before she worked her way around the table, along with Makoto, to stand beside Usagi, the flaxen blonde asked, "Are you okay, Usagi-chan?" Usagi opened her eyes, Makoto and Minako knew they had changed but both still made wordless exclamations at the gold irises they saw, their friend's words wobbled from her lips, "I . . . I can feel your souls . . . see them shining from each of you," then tears filled her sparkling orbs, her wings reached and pulled the three to her, Usagi hands and wings held them in a tight hug. How could she know about Makoto's aching losses, how could she know about the loveless day-to-day existence Minako went through, how could she know about the dashed love that Rei carried within her and the princess' voice choused their sorrow, "the pain, how can you live with such pain!" Once more Makoto and Minako exchanged looks but it was Rei who answered their unspoken question, the shrine maiden fighting to get through the peaceful sensations the wings' caresses were filling her brain, "Our Usagi-chan is different from their Serena, Usagi-chan is more experienced and her connection is different with our version of the Ginzuishou." It was at this point a heartbroken sob came from beside them and everyone looked at Ami, her blue-haired head bowed, her trembling hands dropping the pages she was holding. Immediately Usagi let go of the others and knelt next to her sad friend, the odango blonde's wings cocooned Ami from head to foot. It didn't take long, a few seconds at most, for Usagi's new abilities to sense the emotional state in the young girl's soul, the golden-eyed girl asking, "Ami-chan?" "You know, Usagi-chan, I have never kissed Ryo-kun," Ami's confession loaded with pathos, "holding hands yes but nothing else in the two years I've known him." Makoto navigated around Usagi, knelt on the other side of Ami and faced the teen wonder, the ginger girl's strong hands slipped between the folds of the princess' wings to take her friend's hands, her voice ringing with gentle strength, "We all move at our own individual pace, Ami-chan, just look at me, I haven't even reached the point where I can make up my own mind about liking girls more than I do boys." Usagi felt a shift in Ami's state-of-being even before the lessening of her sobs, her watery blue orbs and voice full of understanding, "the sempei bit . . ." "You could say it is my armor," Makoto's contact with Usagi's wings transmitted to the odango blonde the many painful scars in her tall friend's heart, "a way to use my loss to keep my own attraction in check." Ami nodded at Makoto but then said, "I've watched Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san, how their love keeps on getting stronger and stronger, I've seen the rock solid relationship between Haruka-san and Michiru-san, and I just want the same thing for me and Ryo-kun." Now came the rustle of cloth and Usagi felt an arm slip between her wings to hug Ami around the middle, it was the favor of the emotions from the contact that told her it was Minako, who sat behind the blue-haired girl, caring love in the flaxen blonde's words, "Act on your feelings, Ami-chan." "But what if I go too far, too fast, for Ryo-kun," alarm visibly on Ami's tear-stained face, "maybe he doesn't want a full-time girlfriend." "Everything has risks, Ami-chan," Ami looked up at Rei, the shrine maiden's eyes as bottomless as her words, "but you have to ask yourself, will the longing, aching need go away if I do nothing?" "But I never have taken risks before, Rei-chan," new tears split from Ami's sapphire eyes. "You became Sailor Mercury," harmonic support in Usagi's words. "I wasn't given a choice, Usagi-chan," accusation and resignation in Ami's words, "just as you accepted being the reincarnation of the Moon Princess as well as Sailor Moon, I accepted my role as one of your reincarnated protectors," then the teen wonder voice softened, "yet I wouldn't have met Ryo-kun if not for you and it's my own nature that seals my lips from speaking my love to him." "Then speak your love, Ami-chan," Minako told her along with a little squeeze of Ami's small waist, "you can't hurt more from the knowing than you are right now from not knowing." "But I've always weighed my options, studied and learn from reading," Ami blurted out, her eyes blinking fast, "but love is an experience, there isn't anything called Love 101." It did take a super brain for Usagi to know these words and the feelings her wings were picking up from Ami weren't new, so what had brought them to a head and then a thought popped in the petite blonde's head, "Ami-chan, it's what is happening in Stanton-san's story that got you all stir up, right?" Wordlessly Ami nodded her head before a soul-rending shudder ran through her body, her words quake, "I . . . I shouldn't . . . be . . . envious . . . of . . . of . . . her freedom . . . she . . . she took off . . . her shyness." "That Ami paid a price for that freedom," Rei's voice careful to show her concern for her friend, "and now she is afraid that everything that makes her Ami will disappear in the darkness." "I wish for just one time to experience what she has," Ami's head drooped, ashamed at showing her weakness, "something to guide my steps so I won't be afraid of losing Ryo-kun's love." "Does Ryo-kun love you?" the thumbs of Makoto's hands gently rub the backs of Ami's hands. "I think so," Ami barely raised her head to lock eyes with her tall friend, "I think Ryo-kun is just as afraid as I am." A sound of frustration was heard coming from Rei and everyone looked, Rei's face captured the anger they heard in her words, "No wonder Ami-chan is mixed up inside, her heart chained to a man afraid of making a commitment." "Please, Rei-chan, it's not Ryo-kun's fault," Ami said defensively, "how can it be, I don't even have the courage to call him, Ryo-chan or just Ryo." "I don't believe that, Ami-chan," Usagi felt the sparks in Minako's mind that came with the words, "and I'll prove it," with those ending words the blond bombshell placed the Venus Compact on the table in front of Ami. Usagi sensed the electricity run through Ami as she looked at Minako's compact, then she looked over her shoulder at the flaxen blonde, her tone was uncertain, "Minako-chan . . ." "Take up my compact and become the Ami in Stanton-san's story," Minako told the blue-haired girl, "split the shell and let out your feelings." "That's not a good idea, Minako-chan," a warning tone in Rei's voice and Ami heard someone drop behind her, a quick glance showed the shrine maiden right behind her and next to Usagi. "We're here to help Ami-chan," Makoto gave Ami a supportive look, "I know she wouldn't hurt us." "If we use Usagi-chan as an example, we should realize the vampirism will affect Ami-chan differently from the one in Stanton-san's series," Rei countered, "also remember the vampire is a predator, using its abilities to tap into the darkness in each of us, using it to pervert our most cherished dreams and turning our strengths into weaknesses." Time was in suspension, Ami stared at Minako's compact, her logical mind struggling through the emotional haze her heart created, her body transmitted the sensations of the caring squeezes on her hands and waist by her friends as well as the feathery cocoon of Usagi's love. It was out of character or was it? Ami's spirit wanting balance between mind and heart, yin and yang, her hands pull from Makoto's grasp, they push through the silky affection and pick up the compact. For Ami the artifacts of the Moon Kingdom weren't inert objects, when she held her henshin ward there is warmth in her palm. It had taken some months before the teen wonder pieced together what that warmth meant; there was a presence within the colorful metal object. To not be afraid in battle, to think logically even in the most stressful moment, to sacrifice her life without forethought and to care about a perfect stranger automatically, these weren't the normal characteristics of a mouse of a girl, a teenager who hid amongst her books, her tests and her grades, her one single goal in life was to become a doctor just like her mother. No friends, no husband and no children. Now here she was kneeling between good friends, people she had fought beside, people she had died with, people she had joined to help protect a princess who fought as a warrior, a princess who used her power to take them out of the land of the dead. Now here she was with the Venus Compact in her hands, the warmth of living flesh and the pulse of a beating heart in its golden metal, words running through her mind, telling her what she needed to know to call upon the artifact's power, her voice giving them life: Venus Aphrodite Goddesses of Love Protectors of the Heart Keepers of Desire Hear my appeal Grant my request Let me become the Vampire Ami. Everyone touching Ami felt her body stiffen just as a rainbow of brilliance filled the room while inside her young frame, the blue- haired girl felt every inch of her flesh being rearranged. There was shock in her mind because of the new dimensions her senses revealed, how sharp was now her sense of smell, taste and feel, sharp enough to smell the hormonal signature coming from Makoto, sharp enough to taste the apprehension coming from Rei, sharp enough to feel Usagi's love. As her shock faded with the blinding light another feeling stormed in, hunger. Makoto grasped when she saw Ami's eyes go steel-blue, the siren of fear whisperings in her ears but the ginger-haired girl turned a deaf ear to its poison and instead she placed her right hand on Ami's clinched hands, they still holding Minako's compact. The school genius didn't feel her friends' hands nor Usagi's wings, her own terror at the animal hunger boiling in her blood swallowed her whole attention, mentally fighting against the instinct to make her friends her first victims and caught between the two polar emotions her body began to go into convulsions. 'Shhhhh, Ami-chan,' was it Ami's ears that heard them or was it her mind that felt them, 'stay calm,' there it was again, words that touched her mind, stopping her convulsions, 'don't be afraid,' there was comfort in them, 'let it come out,' Ami's spirit followed the words' path, found a zone in her psyche where another stood, an angel with wings of light. "What's wrong?" Minako asked when she felt for a few seconds Ami's convulsions. "The transformation did the same thing to Ami as it did to her counterpart in Stanton-san's story," Rei's face paled as she added, "she should change back." "No, it could kill her," Usagi's unique voice negating Rei's unease. "She must feed to live," a determined tone to Minako's words, her left hand reaching for the top button of her sunflower yellow blouse. A note of resignation rumbled from Rei, "Alright, since Ami-chan needs to feed, I'm the one she should do it to," the others looked at her with surprise, the shrine maiden stared hotly back, adding, "I'm the strongest spiritually so I have the best chance of minimizing the corruption it will inflict on my soul." "Then I should do it, because I'm not afraid of this so-called 'corruption'," contempt very obvious in Makoto tone, "because I'm a hell of a lot better at handling the intimacy than you can, Rei- chan." "Nah! You're both wrong," Minako waved her left hand in front of her face, "I've got black spots already, another one won't make any difference." 'My friends,' Ami thought with pride as she lowered her guard, letting out her vampiric nature. Words of argument died on everyone's lips as a great calm washed through three of the girls' minds. Worry, fear and determination no longer mattered to them, only the happiness of love they were feeling for each mattered now. It was mind control of course, Ami knew she was using her ability to stop the one-upmanship her friends were doing for her benefit, but she froze when a musical giggle came from her left side, the vampire turned her steel-blue eyes to the source and found Usagi grinning at her, a surprised look was the petite girl's reward and she asked, "What's wrong, Ami-chan?" "I can see your aura, Usagi-chan," then she looked at the others with wonder, "and the others too." "What do they look like?" harmonized interest was heard in Usagi's words. "Yours is the first ray of a morning sun, bright and pure," Ami decided science could take a backseat right now, her eyes going to the shrine maiden, "Rei's aura is the dark purple of the last ray of the evening sun, secret and silent," the vampire turned next to the blond bombshell, "Minako's aura is the yellow hair of Indian corn, silky and sexy," finally it was the ginger girl's turn, "Makoto's aura is the dark blue of midnight, strength in solidarity." "Neat!" the music of Usagi's glee making Ami smile, the points of her fangs visible against her pale lips, but next a serious look came to the princess' face, her hands going to the laced pink ribbon around the neck of her blouse. "No, Usagi-chan," the vampire's hands intercepted the angel's hands, an anguished look on the odango blonde's face, "five times your light has defeated the darkness just as it now gives me nominal control over my dark impulses," the blue-haired girl shook her head, adding, "you're too important to risk." Ami looked over Usagi's shoulder and focused on Rei before she again shook her head, "No, Rei-chan, while you are the spiritual strongest of us, my blood kiss would still corrupt your spirit, furthermore your psychic powers come from your celibacy and they are still needed should another foe try to conquer our world." As Ami turned on her knees to face Minako, momentarily she lost her balance and barely righted by grabbing the edge of the low table. A cold steel-blue backward glare at a chagrined Usagi was the only thing necessary for the vampire to get the wings to release her, only for the school genius to let out a resigned sigh at finding the two longest of the wings wrapped carefully around her wrists, again giving the moon rabbit a look that matched her words, "I'm not going to get rid of them, am I?" Usagi shook her head, a little worry creased her brow, "I'm not sure I can support you without touching you." The vampire thought for a moment before she concluded that Usagi had a point, then Ami returned her attention to Minako, her words were gentle but nugatory, "V-chan, it can't be you either," even with the bland peaceful look on flaxen-blonde's face, the blue- haired girl saw the black flicker of sadness in Minako's aura, "you're the dancer upon the sharp edge of the sabre blade, the music guiding your feet to paradise, but if one misstep occurs, you will fall into the black pit waiting below you and you won't rise again," tears suddenly leaked from Minako's baby blues and Ami could only add, "I'm sorry." When her gaze turned to Makoto, Ami had a brief struggle with her vampire nature before it calmed down, the darkness' excitement caused by the swirl of dark blue and dark green in the tall girl's aura. Makoto was excited, she might wear the same tamed expression as Minako and Rei but the rapid beat of her heart, the sexual aroma she filled the air, both heard and smelled by Ami, told a different story. "Makoto, take off your sweater." Makoto pulled off her forest green sweater. "Please, unbutton your blouse." Makoto's strong fingers undid the whalebone buttons of her red- black-and-green checkerboard blouse. Ami wetted her lips, the rosy skin of Makoto's chest made her fangs ache, but the blue-haired girl moved slowly, purposely, her left hand delicately undid the front hook of her tall friend's bra, her steel-blue eyes taking in the sight of the pink round flesh with points already riding high. Usagi swallowed a little as she watched Ami's head dip down, light sounds reached her ears as a field of roses were planted on Makoto's breasts, then the blue-haired head worked its way up the ginger girl's chest, carefully planting more roses. Every inch of Makoto's being was boiling with anticipation, each touch of Ami's pale lips sent pleasurable jolts into her brain, she wanted to moan so bad, wanted so much to let the vampire know her desire, yet the blanket mind control stopped her as well as Minako and Rei, only Usagi seemed immune to the mental power although the tall girl didn't know how. "Lean down, Makoto." There was no hesitation when Makoto's head dripped down, lightning ripping through her mind when Ami's tongue hungrily licked the right side of her neck, the heart under her breasts thundered as does a summer storm when a razor sharp fang nipped her earlobe and she heard the lapping of the blood pearls. It was maple syrup, the sweetest sake, so awesome was the taste of Makoto's blood to Ami's tongue, her vampiric nature roaring to be release so it could properly feed yet the teen wonder kept it in check, with Usagi's help. "Look at me, Makoto." Sensation of tingling pervaded in Makoto's neck where Ami had licked but the attention to it was fleeting when her emerald gaze was lost in the vampire's steel-blue gaze, even the tiny thin fangs in her friend's smiling face didn't alarm her. "Makoto, the warrior of lightning and steel, the first protector of the once and future princess, the blood of the Storm King flows in your veins and I ask you to share it with me." Makoto sensed some control over her body returned and a long pent- up moan of yearning colored her answer, "Yes, Ami, yes." Ami's human concern battled through her vampiric hunger, "Take care, Makoto-chan," a serious tone replaced the melodious one the vampire had been using, "this isn't a transitory thing, what I'm asking you to do will change you, just as it has changed me." "I need you, Ami, I want you," there was no mistaking Makoto's longing. "Lay your head on my shoulder." Once more Makoto obeyed, the strength of her friend's shoulder easily supporting her head, but she couldn't feel Ami's hand brushed loose strains of her ginger hair away from her neck nor did she sensed the vampire's lips gliding along her neck, letting its tongue and nose find the jugular, the nerves under the skin deadened by the creature's saliva. A deep throaty growl was the only warning Makoto received before a dull pain told her where Ami's fangs were. "Eep!" came from Usagi when her wings telegraphed the animal lust of a vampire unleashed, at the same moment Minako and Rei swayed and both collapsed to the floor as they were released from the mind control. Rei was the first to recover, the shrine maiden coming up off the floor, her right hand reaching inside her white top and pulling out an ofuda. At seeing this action, the petite blonde raised her hand, her angelic voice saying, "Rei-chan," Rei paused and looked at Usagi, "only if Makoto-chan's life is in danger," the princess ordered. Two instincts conflicted in Rei, obedience to the Moon Princess versus her duty as a Shinto shrine maiden, but then she remembered what the blue-haired vampire had told her, there was still concern on her sharp face but Rei went to at-ease mode. The ringing bells in Minako's head had kept her down the longest, "Watson, the hypodermic," the blonde bombshell muttered as she tried to rub the pain out of her blue orbs, once done she was greeted by two blue-steel eyes gazing over Makoto's shoulder, a predatory warning directed at her. First her eyes go wide and then Minako raised her hands in a silent surrender, the gesture seemed to satisfy the vampire because it began to feed. Boneless would be great description for the way Makoto felt right now, her kneeling body sagged against Ami's smaller body, her ears hearing the exchange of words between Rei and Usagi but not caring about what they meant. What the tall girl cared about was the warm serene feeling waltzing through her soul, every nightmare she had ever dreamt, every horrible wound that ever marred her heart, was for a few precious minutes banished away. Even when one hand begun to knead her right breast and rolled her stiff nipple between thumb and forefinger, Makoto could only moan with happiness. Ami sated her hunger and the anticoagulant in her salvia kept the blood flowing freely through the two small punctured wounds in Makoto's neck, the blue-haired vampire thought she would reach her peak of feeding in the first minute, but this theory instantly changed when the rich hormones in the blood cocktail hit her system. Somewhere in the back of her logical mind, the teen wonder realized it wasn't just the material substance that required a vampire to drink blood, the dark creature also feasted on its victims' sexual fantasies. If Ami had the experience of Minako, Haruka, Michiru or even Usagi, she might have been able to control it, instead she was seduced, one hand reached up to knead Makoto's breasts, to keep the sexual soup coming, while the other hand slipped underneath the elastic band of her own dark cyan pants, to caress her erect clitoris through her pale blue panties. There wasn't a morsel of shyness left in Ami, she knew Minako, Rei and Usagi were watching her, ready to step in if it look like Makoto was going to lose too much blood, but she didn't care, her fingers were busy to keep Makoto in heaven while stoking her own fire. It didn't take long, in fact the blue-haired vampire was so caught up that she missed the first warning sign, her panties soaked by her own juices, so Ami's first orgasm nailed her right between the eyes. Once more, the vampire's fangs clamped down on the tall girl's throat so to suck out every drop of Makoto's arousal, her clawlike fingernails scratched the tall girl's breast, causing red beads to appear on the milky skin, yet only a wordless sigh escaped Makoto's lips. Three observers saw this happen, with Minako and Rei exchanging looks before Rei opened her mouth but Usagi beat her to the punch, "Get ready." Usagi could sense with her wings that Ami had hit the proverbial brick wall even before she retracted her fangs from Makoto's neck, her exhausted voice whispered, "Thunderheart," just before her blue-haired head rolled back with eyes closed and her body started to fall backwards, taking the tall girl with her. "Now!" Usagi shouted as she opened her hands to catch Ami. Usagi caught and lowered Ami into her lap, while Rei had to slide along the low table so she and Minako could keep Makoto's bulk from turning the two petite girls into rice cakes, a concerned Minako asked Rei, "How's Makoto-chan's neck." A concentrated look appeared on Rei's face, "They're oozing a little blood," then the shrine maiden rubbed her thumb over the wounds, "correction, they already closed." "Good," Minako lifted Makoto's head by the jaw, the ginger girl's face was pale but not ghostly white, a good sign, then she snapped her fingers in front of her tall friend's face, saying, "C'mon, Makoto-chan, snap out of it." Makoto's eyes half-open, her green gaze filled with the aftereffects of the blood kiss, seeing this responsive as positive Rei asked, "Makoto-chan, how you feel?" "Like someone just swept my soul clean," Makoto mumbled as her right hand rubbed the wounds on her neck, then she added, "I'm a little thirsty?" Minako looked at Rei, asking, "Do you have any kind of fruit juice?" Rei looked over at the unconscious Ami and then at Usagi, the princess gave the shrine maiden a nod, immediately Rei was on her feet, "I'll be back with the OJ and the first aid kit," and out the door. "I'm taking a nap until then," Makoto's words floated from her lips as she cuddled up to Minako. Thrown off-guard and off-balance Minako tumbled over with Makoto ridding her down and using the blonde bombshell's bazookas as a pillow for her ginger-haired head, this prompt Minako to shout, "Hey! Makoto-chan, I'm straight!" "What about all this Goddess-of-all-stuff," Makoto's sleepy voice asked as she pinned Minako in a stuff-toy-hug. "I represent them!" Minako vainly struggled, "I DON'T practice them!" "You were going to help Ami, Minako-chan?" Makoto's eyes droop closed. "So I was a little curious," Minako fired back, "that doesn't mean I have a kinky tail." During this exchange between Makoto and Minako, Usagi noticed Makoto didn't ask once about how Ami was faring, it didn't surprise her, not at all because her wings sensed the blood bond that now existed between her two friends. The odango blonde believed Ami would revert from her vampire self once the crisis was over just as she believed she would lose her angelic self because it wasn't needed anymore, but she still saw tiny points visible against bloodstained lips. The princess knew both the Luna Pen and the Venus Compact were artifacts of the Moon Kingdom, created at the same time as the Ginzuishou, with both used to temporary disguise the user, but now for some reason the Venus Compact had turned Ami into a real vampire. Usagi also knew she was responsible for this happening to Ami, if she hadn't impulsively changed herself into the Angel Serena, Ami wouldn't have tried it either, and it left the princess with only one option. With a harmonic hum coming from her triple vocal cords, Usagi once more cocooned the blue-haired vampire in her wings, in moments Ami's eyes fluttered open, "Huh?" questioning looks in her steel-blue eyes. "Sleep," instantly Ami followed Usagi's suggestion, as the princess continued her humming the steel-blue color of Ami's still open eyes darken to her normal sapphire blue, the fangs disappearing under her lips. Carefully the princess used her wings to mold her friend's vampiric nature, making Ami's body more efficient in using the blood she took and giving the teen wonder more control over her blood hunger. As she stopped her humming, Usagi knew she couldn't leave this form she had taken, only an Angel Usagi could both stop and protect a Vampire Ami, Sailor Moon had to be a last resort because if she used any of her Moon Attacks on the vampire, it could mean Ami would die, it could mean Sailor Mercury would die. Hearing Rei returning, Usagi concentrated for a moment and her wings disappeared, the gold drained from her eyes and her fingernails returned to normal, when the shrine maiden slid the door open, the odango blonde said in her normal voice, "Makoto- chan, Ami-chan, time to get up." Rei came in and closed the door, one hand held two plastic pints of orange juice and in her left armpit was the first aid kit, "I thought Ami-chan might like one," she explained. Ami blinked a few times before lifting her head from Usagi's lap, saying, "Thank you, Rei-chan." Smiling, Makoto released Minako so she could get to her knees, "Thanks, Rei-chan," the ginger girl taking one of the pints. "Thank God, saved at last," Minako whooshed from the floor, then her baby blues glanced down her front, "Hey, you got spots all over my blouse, do you know how hard it is to get bloodstains out of silk." Both Makoto and Usagi giggled at Minako's expense, while Rei just smiled while handing the remaining pint to Ami, her dark eyes caught the wink Makoto gave Ami and the blush it produced on the blue-haired girl's cheeks. Believing it was none of her business, Rei simply said, "That was an interesting study session." "Do you think Stanton-san meant his story to have this effect?" Makoto asked with a bit of humor. "Sure puts a new spin on the word, temptation," Minako added as she got up and took the first aid kit from Rei, the shrine maiden's eyes widen at the way the blond bombshell opened the white box and pick up the red bottle of disinfectant with a flourish. "I almost wet my panties," Usagi hid her concern behind her usual happy glow. "I did," Ami's admitted while her blush reached the roots of her blue hair. ******** Notes to Troy: Well, Troy, I'll bet you didn't expect this kind of feedback. I use to do the normal review and feedback thing but I get bored because you can't really do some in-depth theorizing about cosmology, plot creation, storylines and character development in a one or two page piece and if I'm going to go beyond that number, I decided to do it in a story format. This isn't the first time I've done this and I did get some words of encouragement when I did then. I tried really hard to strike a balance between nods of approval, helpful criticisms and a wish list for future chapters, while mixing in an entertaining story. I also modified my usual writing style so it was more like yours and I kept things simple since it has multiple purposes (in my normal writing style, I use a lot of Nihongo words, slang and idioms). Notes to the Readers: When Troy made it plain in his prologue that he wouldn't mind other fanfic writers creating their own versions of SMVDA, I decided to take a stab at it but first I wanted to start out on the right foot with Troy, so I did what you have read, I created a combination review, feedback and wish list in a entertaining story format. I also carefully developed the story so it would have an open ending, so if Troy did find my idea to be acceptable, I could use this story as the first installment. Writing Style: My writing style is going to change from installment to installment, so expect the unexpected. Timeline: This series will take place after Sailor Moon Stars but as I have already laid down, this is going to be an alternate continuum to the manga, the anime and the live action. Storyline: It's non-canon just like SMVDA, it will be Gothic Horror and I will be borrowing several ideas from SMVDA but I'm going to put my own spin on them. There will be elements from the manga, the anime plus a few things from the live action. Characters: I like all the main characters for Sailor Moon, even Mamoru, but at the same time I'm not going to pussyfoot them either, this is Gothic Horror after all. Usagi: I loved Troy's variation to Super Sailor Moon, especially the wings. I really didn't like the small wings they placed on Super Sailor Moon's back (you can tell I enjoyed the final episode of Sailor Stars). Ami: I will be handling Ami's vampirism a little differently than what Troy is doing, those who are familiar with the soap opera series, "Dark Shadows," will instantly know where I'm going. Rei: I've decided to go with the personality developed by Naoko for manga, also expect a lot of Shinto background for the character. Makoto: As some have already noticed, Makoto's star will be tied to Ami's star. I'm not going to go with the simple yuri relationship nor will I treat Makoto simply as Ami's blood bank. I'm going for a very complex relationship. Also Makoto's background will be much darker than it was in the manga. Minako: Minako will be based on the profile I developed for her in my Tenchi Muyo crossover series, "Strange Days Book Two: Fire and Rain." Haruka: Based on the manga version with very little change. Michiru: Based on the manga version with very little change. Hotaru: Based on the manga version but with significant changes. Setsuna: Based on the manga version but with significant changes. Ryo: Based on the anime version but with significant changes. I'm going for the ending Naoko used for the original ending of Sailor Moon, so Ryo knows about Ami being Sailor Mercury and he does have an idea about the identities of the other Sailor Senshi.
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