The throne room existed both in real space and in another dimension, a place isolated from the world around it. There was a churning sense of foreboding about the place, a darkness lurking just off in the distance waiting to pounce on the innocent or the unwary. Where there should have been a roof to the chamber there was simply a near infinite void, one that was crossed by flashes of a lightning like power. The room was mostly unfurnished, stone columns spaced around the outer edges for dramatic effect. In the far end of the room a heavy throne sat, seemingly carved out of some off-white stone. Sitting there the woman in golden armor seemed relaxed, her stylized headdress shimmering in the light, but appearances could be deceiving. "How is this possible?" Queen Galaxia asked coldly as the studied a image floating in the air before her of Sailor Iron Mouse. Somehow the Earth born Sailor Mercury had freed Iron Mouse from her control, something she had thought impossible. From the shadows a figure emerged, followed by another as Aluminum Siren and Lead Crow took their places before the throne. "We await your command," Aluminum Siren murmured, her light blue hair flowing over her shoulders. "We've begun planning operations," Lead Crow declared boldly as she pushed back her red hair, "just give your command." Galaxia nodded, "The command is given. I want the star seeds gathered as soon as possible and I want the Earth sailors destroyed." "It will be done," Aluminum Siren smiled sweetly as both women slipped away from their terrible ruler silently. Galaxia watched them go, then frowned to herself as she touched the golden armor over her chest. 'Why did I feel something when that girl used her powers?' she wondered silently. 'What does it mean?' Galaxy TV's offices were as busy as ever as Aluminum Siren and Lead Crow emerged from their queen's hidden sanctuary beyond the warning signs. A shimmering light enveloped both as they assumed their human identities, shedding their sailor costumes for Earth clothes. "Lead Crow," Aluminum Siren looked at her adoringly, "do you really have a plan?" "It's Akane Karasuma when we're like this, remember?" Lead Crow rolled her eyes as the business suited woman strode down the hall. "Sorry, Akane," Aluminum Siren looked sheepish as she hurried after her in her stylish dress and heels, "and I'm Reiko Aya." "Yes, I have a plan Reiko," Akane said impatiently as they reached her office, opening the door for Reiko then following her in. "What is it?" Reiko asked eagerly, sitting down on the side of the desk as Akane sat in the chair behind it. Akane gulped as she noticed Reiko's dress riding up, exposing creamy pale thighs. 'Don't get distracted,' she reminded herself firmly. "We need to do something big to draw out large numbers of people," she said seriously, "then we can examine then as a group for the Star Seeds." "Oooh!" Reiko clapped her hands together enthusiastically, "But what sort of thing? WE could give away free food...." Akane nodded, "Not a bad idea, but people can be suspicious about that kind of thing." She paused as she admitted, "Also, I can't cook." "I can," Reiko mused. She looked at Akane, "You reaklly can't cook? Why don't I come over tonight and make you up something? I bet you could use a home cooked meal...." "Reiko," Akane sighed, "mind on business, please." Reiko smiled sweetly, "Sorry." 'Gah,' Akane shivered slightly, 'I can't even stay angry at her when she makes that cute face.' Marshaling her control she continued, "We need something big, large enough to get the maximum number of people out." "Hmm," Reiko bit her lip cutely, "then I guess we'd need something popular...." "Popular," Akane echoed, her eyes widening. "Why not a pop group!" she exclaimed. Reiko beamed as she threw her arms around the startled woman and cried, "Akane, you're so smart!" "Meep," Akane made a incoherent noise as Reiko nearly fell off the desk, their two bodies pressed close together. "Watch your balance," she cautioned, holding the woman gently. "Sorry," Reiko looked sheepish. "We'll need to bring in the most popular idol group in Japan," Akane said, feeling her body humming from being so close to Reiko's sweet body, "maybe we can even check them for Star Seeds while we're at it." "So who is the most popular idols?" Reiko had to ask. Akane rubbed her hands together thoughtfully, "I think it's the Three Lights." 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 Seiya Kou looked out from the window, his long black hair tied back in it's usual pony tail. He was dressed casually, the usual suit and tie abandoned for jeans and a t-shirt, his hair a bit more messy than usual. "Stop brooding," Yaten said as the smaller, white haired boy carried in a bag of chips and some soda for them all. "I'm not brooding," Seiya shook his head, "I'm stunned." Taiki nodded his agreement, the brown haired young man studying the files they had assembled on Sailor Mercury and her allies. "I wish we knew what caused the change in her powers," he muttered. "Hmm?" Yaten looked at him curiously. "Sailor Mercury," Taiki elaborated, "when she first started her career, she had limited abilities regarding moisture and temperature control." "Sounds weak," Yaten noted thoughtfully. Seiya shook his head, "Not really. Imagine someone chilling the front of your brain, for starters. And I'm sure I can come up with some other nasty variations...." "True enough," Taiki agreed. He flipped through the files, "But sometime over the last year she gained a power up. She began to carry a sword, her costume changed and she's shown a unpredictable set of new abilities." "Was that before or after her buddies vanished?" Yaten asked. Taiki's eyes narrowed, "After...." Seiya looked at him as he saw that distracted look appear on his face. Yaten was about to ask another question when Seiya gestured for him to be silent, "I think Taiki has a idea." Suddenly getting up Taiki said, "Excuse me a moment." Both Seiya and Yaten watched him hurry over to his personal computer, cvalling up the net browser and typing in searches. "Well, at least he's not looking up porn," Yaten grinned. "Yaten," Seiya sighed. "I'm beginning to get very annoyed at myself," Taiki finally said, sitting back in the computer chair with a sigh, "I've missed another obvious thing." "What?" Yaten had to ask, noting that Taiki had the browser open to a site on the now missing Sailor Senshi. "Sailor Mercury began to manifest new abilities around half a year or so ago," Taiki sighed, "the records aren't exact on when. It's ALSO been that long since any of the Sailors have been seen, too." "She has their powers," Seiya realized. "Wonder if she took them somehow?" Yaten wondered, "Or maybe they were given to her for some reason?" "She doesn't seem the type to steal the powers," Taiki said, "though admittedly we don't know her that well." "I doubt the others would work with her, if they knew that," Seiya pointed out firmly. Yaten nodded, "True enough." Taiki tapped the images on the screen thoughtfully, "And I get the feeling I'm missing something more, too...." Seiya shook his head, "Think about it later." He began to pace, "We need to decide what to do... Do we keep searching for the princess? Do we help Sailor Mercury and the others?" "The princess," Yaten said firmly. "This isn't our world, and we have a greater obligation to save her and our own people." "Can we do both?" Taiki asked reasonably. "While our princess is vital to our world, if Galaxia wins here there will be nothing to stop her from continuing her wave of destruction." "Wave of destruction?" Yaten gave him a look, "Melodramatic much?" Seiya shook his head, "Taiki's got a point." Mentally he added, 'And this way, I get to see more of the mysterious Mercury too....' To be continued! Notes: Yes, I know there was no internet when Sailor Moon first came out. Just consider it author's privilege or something like that, okay?
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