Senshi Kurai
Part 6: A-Mazing Ordeal or Green With Envy
Jackie Chiang
http://sailorneptune.simplenet.com

Quick Copyright notes: This is a fanfic based on Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon,
 an anime/manga created by Takeuchi Naoko.  Characters belong to her and
 all others associated with rights [Toei, Bandai, Kodansha, etc], but the storyline,
 ideas, and any other characters are created by me.  1997 - Jackie Chiang


"Ok, now I'm totally lost," Minako said to herself as she walked 
around.  She could hear her friends laughing and giggling as they 
tried to find their way through the maze.  She had walked straight
 into this one.

How big is this maze anyway? she wondered as she walked around. 
 It was probably very big, like the rest of Terra's home, she thought 
dryly.  The maze itself was made of carefully tended hedge that grew
 straight up (over 7 feet high) and was too thick to see through.

Minako stopped short and sighed as she realized that she was going
 around in circles.  I wonder how everyone else is doing.


Luna waggled her tail as she watched the squirrel.  Suddenly Artemis
 sneezed and the squirrel scampered away.

"Baka," Luna said, reprovingly, "you scared it away."

"Sorry, Luna," Artemis said, sneezing, "but I think I'm allergic to them."

"Great."


"Haruka, really," Michiru reprimanded as she watched Haruka moved 
her hand on the side of the maze as they walked.  It was a rather simple
 method of getting out of a maze.  One kept their hand on the side of the
 maze, following the wall until he reached the end of it.  "Using that 
technique takes all the fun out of solving the maze by yourself."

Haruka grinned.  "Sorry, Michiru.  So I guess asking the mirror the way
 out is out of the question."

Michiru laughed.  "Do you think anyone else found their was out yet?"


"It's this way, Rei-chan!" Usagi said, pointing down one path.

"But the scroll said it was that way!" Rei protested, pointing to the other.

Usagi made a face.  "Ha!  You cheated.  This is supposed to be fun, you
 know."

"I don't want to be stuck in here for three days!" Rei retorted.  "You heard 
Terra-chan talk about her great aunt being lost in the house for that long!"

The blonde giggled.  "Ok, fine.  You go your way, I'll go mine.  We'll see 
who was right.  If you win, I'll do your temple chores for a week."

"And if you win?" Rei asked, smiling.

"If I win, you do my homework for a week," Usagi said triumphantly.  
"And you can't use those scrolls of yours, Rei-chan."

"Deal," Rei said, unable to resist the challenge.  "See you when I win, 
Usagi."


"That was a short maze," Hotaru said, disappointed as she and Setsuna
 found the exit.  A wooden sign with 'Exit' printed in red letters greeted
 them as they left the maze.  No one else was there; they had found the
 way out first.

"Want to do it again?" Setsuna asked mischievously, her eyes bright.

"Hai!" Hotaru said, and they headed back to the entrance.


Makoto smiled tenderly at the plants.  They were so pretty, she thought
 as she looked at them.  There were so many exotic plants from all over
 the world.  They were very well kept.  Makoto wondered how Terra 
kept everything so nice, but dismissed the thought as she realized that 
Terra probably had a staff to do everything.

Makoto came up to the rose portion of the flowers.  Her green eyes danced
 as she saw all the colors.  Usagi and Mamoru would love them, she thought.
  Vibrant red roses, soft pink ones, white ones, and yellow ones.  Makoto eyed
 the yellow ones carefully.  They looked startlingly like the ones Sailor Earth 
threw...

"Enjoying the greenhouse, Mako-chan?" a voice said from behind her.

Makoto whirled around to see Terra studying the flowers from behind her. 
 She sighed with relief.

"You startled me!" Makoto said.  Terra smiled and shrugged.

"You like roses?" Terra asked, turning away from the brunette.  Her eyes
 started to glow.  She picked up some nearby clippers and neatly trimmed the roses.

Makoto nodded.  "Usagi-chan likes them a lot too.  Do you take care of
 them by yourself?"

"Yes," Terra said, her voice peculiar.  "Roses are my favorite.  Especially
 the yellow ones.  Red ones are too loud and common; pink ones are 
nice but too soft.  White ones are too plain.  Yellow ones have the right
 balance."

"I see," Makoto said, when she really didn't.  Terra was acting funny 
again.

Suddenly the black haired girl dropped the clippers and turned around.
  Her bright blue eyes stared into Makoto's.  "Do you really, Mako-chan?"
 she said.  "Or should I say, Sailor Jupiter?"

Makoto gasped, stepping away.  "How do you know who I am?"

Terra's artificial smile made Makoto's skin crawl.  "The same way I 
know that Ami-chan is Sailor Mercury.  Zeus!"

All of a sudden, a girl appeared beside Terra.  She looks like me, Makoto
 thought dizzily, stepping back until she ran into a table.  Her fuku is like
 Ares's and Hermes's...

"Very good, Gaia," Zeus said.  "You are dismissed."

Terra looked at Makoto, her eyes filled with horror at what she had
 done, 
and then replaced by blankness.  "I'm sorry, Mako-chan," she 
whispered, and disappeared.

"Well, well," the girl said, twisting her long brown braid around her
 finger.  "So we meet each other again, Jupiter."

"What are you talking about?" Makoto exclaimed.  "I've never met 
you before in my life!"

"No, not in _this_ life, we haven't," Zeus said, a javelin appearing in
 her hand.  "But in our previous one...  And you're going to pay for 
what you have done!  Zeus Lightning Strike!"

A blast of pure electricity struck Makoto, and she screamed as she 
collapsed onto the ground.  But being a Sailor Senshi had hardened her,
 and she weakly stood up, grasping her henshin stick.  "Jupiter Crystal
 Power, Make-Up!" she shouted.

In a matter of seconds, she had transformed into Super Sailor Jupiter.  
"In place of the thunder planet, Jupiter, I will punish you!  I am Sailor
 Jupiter!"

Zeus laughed.  "Really, Jupiter, dear, you needn't go into dramatics 
with _me_!"

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"  Jupiter spun around as her tiara electrified 
eaves and flowers around her, then striking Zeus.

But Zeus had jumped out of the way.  "We're going to end this now, 
Jupiter!" she said maliciously.  She started to chant and suddenly 
yelled out, "Sleep!"

A green mist floated towards Jupiter.  Jupiter resisted and yelled, "Jupiter
 Oak Evolution" once again, this time hitting the unprepared Zeus.

"You always had to be the best, didn't you?" Zeus shrieked, her anger 
overtaking her.  "Always had to have the last word!  This time, _I'm_ 
going to have it!  I call upon the magic of darkness to give me strength!"
  She chanted under her breath again.  "Lightening of the second power!
  Strike!"

A heavy bolt of lightening struck Jupiter, and the girl collapsed from 
pain, exhaustion, and her wounds.  Zeus breathed heavily, drained of 
power.  She laughed weakly.  Hermes appeared by her side, and the two
 of them took Jupiter's body away, Zeus tightly grasping Jupiter's 
henshin stick.


Earth watched them disappear, and her hand tightened around her 
crystal rose in her hand.  It did not shatter, however.  Two down,
 she thought, nine to go.  I will not fail you, she thought as 
she stared at the rose.  Too much depended on her succeeding.


"Aphrodite Hatred Arrow!" Aphrodite shouted as she let an arrow
 from her bow loose at Venus as she was landing from her jump.

The arrow hit Venus in the chest and disappeared as it struck her 
body.  Venus fell into the maze wall.

"Minako-chan!  Minako-chan!" shouts came from all over the maze.
  "Where are you?"

Venus slowly stood up to face her laughing opponent, ignoring her 
friends' cries.  "Venus Love and Beauty...  Shock!"

The attack missed Aphrodite by several inches.  Aphrodite sneered.  
"Pathetic!  Do you _really_ think you can defeat me?"

Venus grimaced as the pain intensified.  "I must defeat you!  To save 
Earth from people like you from taking over!"

Aphrodite stared at her.  Venus watched her warily.  Aphrodite 
suddenly laughed out loud.  "Take over the Earth?  Why would we 
want to do that?  That's the problem with you, Venus!  So narrow 
minded and ditzy!  To think, everyone on Venus was proud of you!"

"What are you talking about?" Venus shouted.

"You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about, you fool!" Aphrodite 
said.  She caressed her bow in her hands.  "They chose _you_ over me!
  And that's why I must do this!  Aphrodite Hatred Arrow!"  The arrow
 hit Venus in the chest again.

She fell to her knees.  I have to... defeat... her...  It hurts... so much...
  Venus fell to the ground, unconscious.

Laughing, Aphrodite watched as her victim's body floated up into 
the air and disappeared.  I wonder if Ares is doing all right? she 
thought wryly.  Wonder, nothing.  She'll need help with that Mars 
girl.  Aphrodite teleported to herself to Ares's side, where a disappointing
 battle was raging.


At first, Rei was so intent on winning the bet that she didn't even 
hear the screams coming from the other side of the maze.

"Aphrodite Hatred Arrow!"

"Ahhhhh!"

That was Minako!  What was going on?

"Minako-chan!  Minako-chan!  Where are you?"  She could hear
 her friends screaming for Minako.

I have to help her! Rei thought.  "Mars Crystal Power, Make-Up!"

As soon as Mars touched the ground, she ran through the maze, using
 the screams as her guide.  Suddenly something materialized in front
 of her in the air.  Mars stopped short.

"Bienvenido, Sailor Mars," the figure said as her features became
 recognizable.

"You, you," Mars stuttered, completely off guard, "look like me!"

Ares laughed.  "Of course I do, except I'm prettier!  I'm sorry we didn't
 get to meet before, Mars.  I am Princess Ares."

Mars got with it.  "If you're Ares, then I must do this!  Mars Flame
 Sniper!" she shouted, an arrow flying from her bow at Ares.  It hit 
the childish girl in the chest.

"Ouch!" Ares shrieked.  "That hurt!  You vicious brat!  You're going to
 pay!"

Mars watched passively as Ares started crying and whining.  "You're 
worse than Usagi!" she said aloud.

That stopped Ares from crying.  "USAGI?  SAILOR MOON?  I AM NOT
 WORSE THAN THAT BRAT!"

Mars sighed.  She needed to defeat this foe, but she really didn't 
have the heart to hurt a girl who just _cried_.  Ares continued to 
screech as Mars whispered, "Mars Flame-"

"Aphrodite Hatred Arrow!"  An arrow hit her back, and she was
 knocked down.  Looking up, she saw a second girl looking at Ares.

She looks like Venus!  Mars thought.  Her blond hair pulled back by
 a clip, her blue eyes, and her face!  The girl glanced at Mars.

"Hello, Sailor Mars," she said, her voice composed and controlled.  
"I'm Aphrodite."

She glared at Ares.  "Do get up, Ares," she said contemptuously.  "You
 wanted her, now you have her!  Stop crying!"

"But it hurts!" Ares protested.

"Poseidon was right about you!" Aphrodite said, sniffing.  "Mars _is_ 
better than you are!"

"WHAT?!" Ares stood up in record time.  "I'll show Poseidon who's 
better!  Ares Destruction Flare!"

Mars screamed as the whip wrapped itself around her neck, making 
her get on her knees.

"Better," Aphrodite said.  "Now knock her out so we can take her 
away!"

"Not so fast!" a voice said from behind.  "Let Mars go!"

Aphrodite turned around.  Standing there were five girls, Super Sailor 
Moon, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn.  The two cats scampered 
to their sides.

"I'm the pretty sailor suited soldier, Sailor Moon!  In the name of the 
moon, I will punish you!" the short blonde said, striking a pose.

"Oh, this is a joke," Aphrodite murmured.  "Very well."  She muttered
 under her breath, and shouted out, "Stop of the first power!  Now!"

Suddenly, Saturn and Moon were frozen, but Neptune, Uranus, and 
Pluto were not.

"World Shaking!" Uranus shouted, the ball of energy slicing the 
whip.  Mars fell to the ground again, breathing harshly before passing
 out.

"Deep Submerge!" Neptune yelled, as her energy ball hit Ares.

"Dead... Scream," Pluto whispered as a blast of energy hit Aphrodite
 down on her posterior.

"That's it!" Ares shouted angrily.  "I've been humiliated enough!"  She
 whispered softly, then screamed, "Flare!"  A huge wave of flame hit
 the three Outer Senshi to the ground, their bodies motionless.

Aphrodite was impressed.  "That was good, Ares.  I think you may 
have advanced up to level 3 or 4 at least."

Ares grinned.  "Really?"

Aphrodite shrugged and dismissed the topic from her mind, picking up
 Mars's body.  "Maybe.  Let's get out of here."

Ares picked up her whip, snickered, and disappeared, Aphrodite 
following suit.  The cats and frozen girls watched helplessly as they
 saw Mars vanish with them.  Ares mocking laughter remained.


Earth watched, puzzled.  Surely the Sailor Senshi weren't _that_ 
ineffective against such weak adversaries.  After all, they _were_ the
 chosen ones while the Senshi Kurai were not.  If this kept up, then 
Hecate would have all twelve of them in her grasp.  Earth frowned. 
 Now only the Outer Senshi, Moon, Tuxedo Kamen, and herself were
 left.

The crystal rose in her hand glowed, and Earth smiled fondly at it.  It
 was time she told them the truth, she decided.

Suddenly, her body shook.  Not again, she said, kneeling down.  It's too
 soon...  Not yet.  The crystal rose shattered, and Earth's pain intensified
 as she passed out.

To be continued.
