the three lights.

[mooneternal]

The sound of an expertly played piano fills the air, its tune something akin to the rushing wind... And then the sounds of a violin, its strings lovingly caressed, taking the listener down, somehow, to the depths of the deepest seas... The lights come on in a flash -- its a concert.

"It's Haruka!" someone exclaimed.

"She's so cool!" Usagi agreed, unable to take her eyes off of the pair. The music that had just filled the concert hall drifted away, as the musicians took their bows and accepted the applause that washed over from the crowds, just as someone screamed...

"It's the Three Lights!"

"Huh? Where?!" Usagi cried, looking around furiously, "I can't see! Where's my binoculars?!" No way was she going to miss the biggest concert of the century!! The Three Lights, the hugest pop group to come to Tokyo!

Comments

[waterfell]

Ami managed to look disinterested, though a sharper eye would notice the way her eyes strayed to the stage far more often than this would suggest. It was, perhaps, only fair that she would find herself here after the film Usagi had somehow managed to sit through.

She was, she told herself, only here to discover what Uranus and Neptune were doing here. And the Three Lights - no, the Sailor Starlights. Her seemingly dispassionate look around the concert hall took in the exits and open paths.

[mooneternal]

"Ne, ne, can you see them Ami-chan?" she prodded at her friend, attempting to weasel her way into some sort of nook between all the bodies in front of her. Curse her lack of height! She was going to miss the whole thing at this rate! "I can't see anything!!"

[waterfell]

Ami had grown over the past few years, not to anything approaching Makoto's height, but at least to a height that wouldn't find itself at so much of a disadvantage looking through crowds. She decided very quickly that she was not going to follow Usagi if the other girl took advantage of short stature to slip through the openings in the crowd or crawl through it.

"They're just now taking the stage," she said coolly. "There's no need to fuss like that."

This was shamelessly putting Usagi down. Even knowing who they were, Ami had a suspicious fondness for the Three Lights' music.

[mooneternal]

The advice did nothing to calm her, in fact, it seemed that knowing they were on stage made her bounce even more in her place. Where had she put those binoculars, darn it?!

However, there wasn't any time to dwell on it. From the back of the auditorium called a squeaky voice, one that carried over the music and the crowd -- "The ultimate Starseed! The Sailor Crystal! It will belong to me, Sailor Iron Mouse!" it cried.

Screams filled the air as people began to panic. The electronic voice overhead called, "Please remain calm. Evacuate to the south exit..."

"Wh... what's going on?! Who is that?!"

[waterfell]

Ami didn't bother answering, or explaining. This wasn't the way she remembered it happening, but she certainly knew that name. Her eyes narrowed. There was a dark aura, an impression of black rose petals, and Mercury stood in Ami's place. After all, she, too carried a true star seed - the mouse's target.

"Transform." The blunt word was an order to the girl next to her.

She didn't wait to see whether it was obeyed. Without hesitation, Mercury sprang forward, and slashed against the air with her sword. It released the low vibration of an arc of dark energy sent straight for Sailor Iron Mouse, who was about to have a very difficult time collecting her hoped-for prize.

[mooneternal]

"Right!" She shot her hand into the air, shouting out her transformation as she change overtook her. Eternal Sailormoon soon stood in her place, a serious look on her face. "Sailormoon is here!" she announced.

The crowds of people began to scream louder, the exits failing to give way to their masses. They were locked in.

But admist their chaos, a strange figure emerged. A sailor-suited enemy, mouse ears perched on her head.

Sailormoon drew in a sharp breath.

"I've been waiting for you, sailor senshi!" Sailor Iron Mouse cried with glee, raising up a arm to attack. "Galactica Crunch!"

[waterfell]

"You haven't been waiting long enough," Mercury said, and her lips curved in that tell-tale smirk. She seemed undisturbed by the panic - she'd caused those public disruptions often enough in her career with the Dark Kingdom in their early days - and she focused on the enemy first.

She was interrupted.

"Star Sensitive Inferno!" The attack came from nowhere, and struck Iron Mouse square on. Mercury's head turned sharply.

[mooneternal]

Her eyes widened as Sailor Iron Mouse seemed to implode in front of their eyes, vanishing almost instantly into a cloud of ash, as a thick golden bracelet clanged to the floor. It settled for only a moment before it also disappeared.

Sailormoon whipped her head in the direction she was sure the attack had come from.

"Who are you?!" someone cried. Was it her? The only thing she was sure of was a poundng between her ears.

Their faces... She'd seen them somewhere before, hadn't she?!

[waterfell]

She'd like to say they're outsiders and that the galaxy has no need of more sailor senshi anyway. She'd like to say they're cowards who couldn't even defend what was their own, who didn't even fight to their last to do that, who fled instead of an honorable death in battle when the final moment came.

Yes, Mercury knows the Sailor Starlights. But she has also known them as capable of the feat they've just performed: eradicating the enemy that she, too, despises. She holds her tongue.

Mercury turns to Sailor Moon instead. "Do you know them?" she asks, and though her face gives nothing away, there seems to be an expectation of a yes, of the other girl putting her finger on that tentative familiarity.

[mooneternal]

"I don't... I don't know," she replied honestly, her eyes searching the place where they stood, thinking somehow the more she focused on them, the more she'd be able to remember... something!

But only a pain in her head reigned. Sailormoon sank to her knees, her hands pressing against her ears as the more she concentrated. "Who are those three?!"

[waterfell]

"They're sailor senshi." Mercury offered no more than that. Even when she relented enough to give more, she said nothing of why they were here. "Sailor senshi from across the galaxy."

Hadn't Usagi felt it? No, perhaps she hadn't; even Mercury recalled Venus' frustration with Usagi's slowness to develop those senshi senses. Or perhaps she had felt it, now that she had a frame of reference for it: the unmistakable aura of stars and planets.

"However," she adds. "The one they just destroyed for you was also a sailor senshi." There was some grim satisfaction and dark pleasure in being the one to show Usagi the truth: she could no longer naively assume that 'senshi' means 'comrade'.

She never could.

[decaying]

[Since the first time Kanda had dealt with the sailor senshi, he always knew there was something strange about them. He hadn't really known just how strange until almost a full year later and, after having had the honor of saving their princess, he really didn't think the girls should be doing any fighting. Especially not this blond as strong as she may seem.

Big crowds weren't his thing and as far as he could tell, he could easily go anywhere else but here. Unfortunately, those buns and that voice were too difficult to ignore. He had learned that the senshi attracted trouble and as much as Ami would dislike knowing he was walking around with her 'enemy', he could still do as he pleased. It's not like he was planning to save her or anything if something really did happen. Nope.]

Idiot, don't go running into crowds like that. You can't even walk without tripping over something, you're just asking to get hurt.

[mooneternal]

Eh?! ( she spun around, facing him with a pout ) Wh-what's that supposed to mean?! ( she totally wasn't that clumsy! no way! not... all the time at least... okay maybe most of the time, but still! ) Forget about that, this is a really important concert! There's no time to worry about tripping when there's so much going-- ahh! ( she turned to face the stage again, and down she went, tripping over her own feet... )

[decaying]

Tch. [Before the blond hit the floor, Kanda had all ready moved forward and caught her by the waist. He brought her back to her two feet and glared at her.]

You see? You can't even walk on your own too feet!

[mooneternal]

Ah... heheh! ( she tried to laugh it off and scratched the side of her head, feeling a little embarrassed. but she didn't have the opportunity to feel sorry for herself long, since the three lights took to the stage, their music filling the air ) Oh, oh! I know this song! It's their newest one! Ah... I think! Kanda-san do you like this kind of music?

[decaying]

[He turned his head to the stage. Yeah, he had never really been to a live performance. The music was loud and there were too many people.] I never heard music like this.

[mooneternal]

It's the latest thing! I didn't know about it until recently either, but they're getting so popular so fast... ( she lowered her voice, snickering slightly under her breath ) Even Ami-chan is a member of their fan club...