Chapter 2: Daughters of Mercury

Old music from the 1960’s played on a CD as Shizuka Mizuno lounged on her bed. Early that morning, Ami, her mother, had told Shizuka and her sisters that she had been mysteriously poked with a needle during the night. She then went to the doctor’s office where she worked, presumably to do tests on herself, and she hadn’t returned since then. She heard sounds coming from downstairs, and then someone knocked on her door.

“Mom’s back! And she says she’s got the most beautiful presents for us!” Akira, Shizuka’s older sister, squealed eagerly. Shizuka was curious, and she followed her sister downstairs, although she was much calmer than Akira, who grabbed Ami in a big hug.

“Where were you? You didn’t get presents from the doctor’s office, did you?” Kaori, the youngest Mizuno daughter, asked skeptically.

“No, I went to the Crystal Palace. It turns out that I wasn’t the only one who was mysteriously poked in the middle of the night. All of the other former Sailor Senshi were victims too, except for King Endymion,” Ami explained, “We think it has to do with a new enemy. When I said I had presents for you girls, they’re not really presents. More like new responsibilities.” Ami set three objects on a small table next to one of the chairs. Two of these objects were rings, one with a pink jewel and the other with a silvery-white jewel. The other was a pink wand, topped with a turquoise heart, that had an upside-down moon symbol on it.

“Are those Sailor Senshi things? Are we Sailor Senshi like you were?” Kaori guessed, and Ami nodded.

“They are. Luna and Artemis produced items like these for all of our children. There are several new Senshi this time, and even Chibi-Usa has new powers. She’s Sailor Asteroid now, not Sailor Chibi Moon anymore. I don’t think any of you will inherit my Sailor Mercury powers either, these all seem like they’re for new Senshi too,” she explained, and she held up the wand. “This one does have the symbol of Nemesis on it, so maybe one of you will be Sailor Nemesis.”

“If we’re Senshi, and there’s a new enemy, what is this enemy like? Are they the ones who poked you in the night?” Kaori wondered as she reached out and took the ring with the pink jewel. It was the one that seemed to fit her.

“I’m not sure. At the meeting we had at the Crystal Palace, a girl who looked a lot like Serenity with black hair came. She claimed to be Serenity and Seiya’s daughter, and that Chibi-Usa and Ayumi were fakes. So these enemies may be trying to pose as our children as a trick,” Ami said, “That’s all we know at the moment, and I’m going back to my doctor’s office to meet with the other former Sailor Senshi. I’m going to give them all a similar test to the one I did on myself, to make sure they don’t have any poisons injected into their bodies.”

“You’re leaving so soon? You don’t even know what our new powers are?” Akira pouted, but then she shrugged. “It might be interesting to find out what they are on our own, though.”

“You girls be good while I’m gone. Hopefully we will know more information about this new enemy by the time I return. And if that girl who looks like Serenity comes back, please use your new powers to defend yourselves,” Ami told them, and then she left to return to her doctor’s office.

“I want to see what my new powers can do,” Kaori stated, and she held her hand up. “Taurus Star Power, Make Up!” Pink lights swirled out of the ring, forming her Senshi outfit. It was pink with lime green bows, and on her feet were little pink heel shoes, very similar to the ones Sailor Mars used to wear.

“I think my Senshi name is a Zodiac sign too. Pisces Star Power, Make Up!” called Akira. Her new Senshi outfit was silver with black bows, and she had silver shoes that matched Sailor Taurus’s. Shizuka held her new wand in her hands, but she did not transform like her sisters.

“This one is obviously for me, since it’s the only one left. Given the symbol on the wand and what Mom said, I suppose I’m going to be Sailor Nemesis,” she said. She wasn’t sure she should use her powers needlessly, and she didn’t understand why her sisters were so eager to try out theirs. Well, in Akira’s case, she could probably guess it had something to do with her older sister’s interest in magical girl anime, but Shizuka really didn’t feel like making the effort when there was no need to.

“Sailor Nemesis? So does that mean you’re part of that Black Moon group now? Does that mean you’re some kind of evil Sailor Senshi?” Sailor Taurus questioned her.

“I don’t know. I don’t feel ‘evil,’ and I don’t really want to fight you,” Shizuka shrugged, hoping that Kaori wouldn’t try to attack her, either in an attempt to fight the supposedly “evil” Sailor Nemesis, or just as an excuse to try out her new powers.

“I know you’re evil, though,” said an unfamiliar voice. There was a flash of blue light, and a new girl appeared in the room. She looked a lot like a younger version of Ami, only she had brown hair and lavender eyes.

“Just her, or all of us? And who are you, anyway?” Sailor Taurus demanded, wondering why this newcomer looked so eeriely like a cross between her own mother and Kou Taiki.

“All three of you,” the girl clarified, “I am Brooke Mizuno, the true daughter of Ami Mizuno and Kou Taiki.” A sad look came into her eyes and then her face hardened as she raised her hands to attack. Icicles flew from her fingers, hitting Sailor Taurus in the face.

“Why are you attacking us? If you’re our mother’s daughter, then you’re our sister!” Sailor Pisces exclaimed, horrified at Brooke’s actions.

“You’re fakes. I am Ami Mizuno’s real daughter. You three are the evil imposter clones, destined to destroy the world with your evil powers,” Brooke accused, “You weren’t even cloned right, not even one of you has blue hair like your mother.”

“What?! Is she telling the truth?!” Sailor Pisces panicked, “I don’t remember Kaori being evil as a baby or being a clone from a science lab!”

“I’m NOT! She’s just trying to trick us, she’s an enemy, like Mom said! Taurus Smashing Charge!” Sailor Taurus called, and pink metallic armor quickly formed over her body. She leapt off the floor and slammed into Brooke, knocking the smaller girl into a bookcase. Brooke had been about to throw more icicles, and they bounced off the ceiling, landing on the carpet harmlessly. Brooke shoved Taurus off of her as the pink armor dissolved, and a dagger of ice formed in her hand.

“Tell me where Ami Mizuno is now,” she ordered coldly, pointing the dagger at Sailor Taurus. Shizuka held her wand nervously, unsure if she should fight back against this intruder or attempt to reason with her.

“Why should we tell you?! You’re the one who called us evil!” Sailor Taurus shouted back, lunging at Brooke and shoving her, knocking the dagger out of her hand.

“Because you obviously know her. I’m sure she will recognize me as being her real daughter,” Brooke replied as she struggled to reach her ice dagger.

“What about Taiki? I think I would know it if she had another kid with our mother,” Sailor Pisces wondered.

“That’s because you’re just a messed-up clone. She’s not your real mother,” Brooke retorted, and she grabbed Sailor Taurus by the arm. Taurus screamed as ice began to form on her arm, freezing it.

“Stop it! Pisces Hydro Contemplation!” Sailor Pisces called out, and she began to float upwards in a meditating position. She then spun around very fast, jets of water spraying out of her body. Both Sailor Taurus and Brooke were hit and they were both knocked into the wall, and so was Shizuka. Brooke got up and was about to attack again, but then she stopped, as if she was listening to a voice the others couldn’t hear.

“I understand. Goodbye, evil clones. We will find a way to stop you,” Brooke said before disappearing in a flash of ice blue light.

“What was that all about?! Who was she talking to?” Sailor Taurus wondered, staring at the spot where Brooke had been standing.

“Maybe someone sent her to attack us, and that person called her back,” Shizuka suggested, glad that she didn’t have to fight yet.

“Why didn’t you transform? The Black Moon family was powerful, so I bet you would be strong too if you used your new powers,” Kaori said, returning to her normal form.

“I don’t like fighting. I don’t want to fight unless I have to. I don’t care about being able to hurt people with stronger attacks,” Shizuka admitted with a sigh, “I wish we could’ve reasoned with her.”

“I’m sorry I hit you two. I didn’t know the water was going to come out of me like that,” Akira apologized.

“You stopped her from freezing me,” Kaori pointed out, and then she turned to her other sister. “Next time one of those enemies attacks, Shizuka, you should at least try to fight. Would you rather be killed or something?” Shizuka wasn’t sure how to answer that. While she certainly didn’t want Brooke or anyone else to kill her, she also didn’t want to be violent without knowing if there were other, more peaceful options.

“When Mom comes home we can tell her what happened. It was kind of scary, but I’m glad I have powers like Mom and my favorite magical girl characters do,” Akira said cheerfully.