Chapter 4 Whose Next? Makoto leaned against a wall in the throne room. In front of her were the other Senshi. Queen Serenity sat on the throne, head in hand. "Mako-chan," she said at last. "Please tell us what happened after you left the infermery room." Makoto sighed, "I walked down the hall a ways when Ami-chan came after me. We...had a small fight. I was saying that Adonis was the one behind the assassin. Pretty soon we noticed that Adonis was behind us. I felt ashamed of what I said and left. I stopped further down the hall way. I thought about what I had said and wondered why I had said them. Then I heard a voice telling me to get a hold of myself. I looked but couldn't find the source. It continued to say that if Adonis dies then no one else would be hurt and that I should kill him. I started to appose when I was grabbed from behind. I struggled but couldn't get free. I looked up and saw the assassin. Her eyes seemed to glow and I felt them reflect in mine. The next thing I know, I'm not controlling my body. It what like I was unable to move." "Makoto," Setsuna said. "Where were you exactly when you were grabbed?" Makoto thought before answering, "I was leaning against the wall." She stopped and looked at the others. "But...then how could, what was her name, Zeus grab me if I was against a wall?" Minako spoke up, "When Jupiter started walking toward Adonis, Rei said she noticed that her shadow was hitting something like an invisible door." She turned to Setsuna. "Could it be that..." she let it hang. "...the assassin changed places with Makoto," Setsuna finished. Makoto scrached her head and said, "Huh?" "The assassin always stayed out of the way of light until she took control of you. My guess is that she, and the others we saw, were Shadows." "Shadows?" everyone but the Outers and Minako asked. "I think I should console with the Queen before I tell any more," Pluto finished. The others left the two women to talk. --------- "Idiot!!" A large ball of energy flew from the man that spoken. It struck the girl that was in front of him. "I thought I had trained you better than this!" The girl, carefully lifted herself off the floor. "I'm sorry," she replied to the man. "Sorry won't undo what happened because of you, Zeus!" "I know, master." "You and your comrads had best finish the mission and soon or else I will! Leave, now!" Zeus quickly left the room. In the hall, she met Hermes. "He gets worse everyday," Zeus stated. Hermes nodded in agreement. "We need those crystals!" Zeus exclaimed as she punched her palm. "If only we had them, then we could take control of this pathetic world!" "Don't worry," Hermes said with an evil grin. "I'm sure Ami will give us plenty of information when it's my turn." --------- Adonis stood right outside his room, where the large hole still was still in the wall. He still couldn't believe what had happened, yet right before him there was proof that it had happened. He stepped through the hole and into the room. He surveyed the damage that the dopplegannger and Makoto had created. The dent in the wall, the rubble, traces of blood, everything lay as it had been since the day before. Adonis walked towards the place where Makoto changed into what Zeus had called a 'Crystal Warrior'. The floor was singed from the energy she had expanded. He bent down and gently touched one of the scroched markings. He closed his remaining eye and concentrated. Images filled his mind. He saw a little boy running down the halls of the palace then into this room he was in now. The boy peeked out the door to see Makoto rush by calling his name out. Adonis drew his hand back quickly. The vision was powerful, more than he had thought. He shook his head, trying to get his thoughts straight. "That was weird," he said out loud. "What was?" He turned around to see Ami standing behind him. "Uh, nothing. Just thinking about something," he answered. "What are you doing here Ami?" To himself he thought, "IDIOT IDIOT IDIOT!! Why'd you go and have to come here to do that?! You could have come later when no one was around!!" Ami replied, "I was going to check on Small Lady and saw you here. Why are you here anyway?" "No reason. Just a little bored I guess." Adonis took notice that Ami stared at him strangly, like she was thinking about something. "Is there anything wrong?" he asked. She shook her head, not taking her eyes off his face, and answered, "No. You just remind me about someone I knew." She walked out of the room and down the hall towards the imfermery. Adonis sighed with relief at her departure. ---------- "Okay, Mako-chan," Minako's voice boomed from the speaker on the ceiling of the training room, "Get ready." Makoto stood in the middle of the large, circular room, her green eyes darted form left to right. Suddenly a youma appeared in front of her. She grunted as she delivered a powerful kick to it's leg, knocking it out. It screamed in pain as Makota leaped into the air. She swung her leg down and hit it's head. It dropped to the ground and disappeared. Minako and Rei sat in the control room and watched in amazement as Makoto defeated youma after youma without so much as breaking a sweat. "Wow," Rei said. "And she's doing this without transforming?" "Yeah," Minako replied. She tapped a series of buttons saying, "Let's see how she does with level 3." The computer beeped and she told it, "Soildify the youmas." Inside, Minako thought, "I can't believe it. She's awakened. But it's too soon. Way too soon." In the shadows of the room, Setsuna stood. Her red eyes troubled. ---------- Adonis knocked on the door to the training room. It opened. Adonis looked in shocked at what was in the room. Makato was sitting on a huge pile of unconcious youmas, which looked like heck, with a smug look on her face. "Hi Adonis," Minako said into the mikecrophone. "Mako-chan just finished the tests." Makoto looked up at the control room and said, "How'd I do?" "I think you already know the answer to that, Mako-chan." "Cool." Rei and Minako sighed. Makoto just smiled. "Uh..." Adonis said, still surprised, "...okay." Ami appeared from behind Adonis. She looked into the room, a surprised look on her face at the site. The look passed and she said, "Mako-chan, can you come with me for a sec?" "Okay." She jumped off the pile and walked to her. ---------- Ami tapped the keys to the computer. Behind the computer, on a scanning machine, sat the pink and green crystal Makoto had transformed with the other night. Lasers ran through it. Behind Ami, Makoto, Minako, and Rei stood waiting for the results. "Tell me again what you're doing?" Rei asked. Without looking up, Ami answered, "Trying to see what this crystal is. It doesn't read as any type I've ever seen before." She stopped typing and the lasers went off. The glass opened and Makoto picked up the crystal. She looked it over as Ami said, "It has a great amout of power in it, kinda like our transformation wands. Except it has more power, a LOT more. By the way, can you call your wand forth?" Makoto shrugged. She raised her hand and her wand appeared in it. "I guess it still wo-" she started to say when the crystal gave off the pink and green aura as before. The wand also started glowing. "What the heck?!" Makoto gasped. The two objects floated from her hands into the air above her. They began to spin around in a tight circle. Faster and faster until they were a blur. Then, in a bright flash of light, the wand was absorbed into the crystal. The crystal floated back down to Makoto's hands. In the center of it was the symbol of Jupiter. Ami was the first to find her voice. "M-Mako-chan. Trying transforming." Makoto just nodded. She raised her hand with the crystal. "Jupiter Thunder Crystal Activate!!" she repeated the phrase from the other night. It glowed as she finished, "Make-up!!" Pink and green colors surronded her form. As she was transforming, something appeared in her mind. An image. She saw Chibi-usa, lying on her bed in the infermery room. Suddenly a black cloud began to surrond her. Jupiter finished morphing and stood in front of the three spectartors. They stared at her. "What?" she asked. "Something wrong." "Uh," Minako started. " Um--Mako-chan? Your, um, your hair." "My hair? What about it?" "It's green." "It's WHAT??!!!!" Sure enough, Sailor Jupiter's hair had turned from chestnut-brown to a dark green. Rei could bearly keep herself from giggling, but one icy glare from Jupiter silenced her. Ami intterupted, "That's not all. Look at your back." Jupiter, scared at what she would see, turned her head. On her back, close to her shoulders, a pair of wings were attached. They were as wide as Eternal Moon's were and had a green tint to them and they moved at Jupiter's will. "Whoa," Jupiter said. The others just nodded. Minako closed her eyes and sighed. She thought sadly, "It has begun." ---------- Hotaru stood beside Chibi-usa's bed, a look of reget on her face. She raised her hand and let it hover over her friend's forehead. "Chibi- usa," she said, remembering the fun times they had together. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "But I have to do this." The same pink and purple aura sorruonded Chibi-usa's form as a black and purple aura surronded Hotaru. --------- Ami closed the door to her room. She walked to her bed and collasped onto it. She let out a tired breath. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. "This is so tiring," she thought. "Running test after test can sure wear a person out. It would be easier if I didn't have to." As if what she thought surprised her, she sat up on her bed, looking confused. "What am I thinking?! Oh yeah, Ami, just ignore youself." Now she was even more confused. (A.N.--since this scene is VERY confusing, I'll put it like two people are talking. Work with me here people!) "I repeat: What the heck am I thinking?!!" "That's smooth, argue with yourself why don't ya." "This is weird! Maybe I should rest a while." "Yeah maybe you should...if ya want to ignore what's happening!" "Uh...What?????" "Look: Makoto has just gotten a power-up on her Senshi powers. A HUGE power-up. Dosen't that make you a little uneasy?" "Uneasy?" "Yeah. With her power she could destroy this whole city if she wanted." "I wouldn't say that." "It's true. Don't you think that that crystal of hers should be kept under someone else's care?" "'Someone else's care'?" "I mean, come on! Makoto's got this thing that could level a mountain without so much as a thought! Don't you think some else should keep it?" "I don't know..." Suddenly Ami felt something grab her from behind! She started to scream when a hand went over her mouth. "Interesting," a voice from behind her said. Ami gasped. The voice belonged to Hermes! ---------- Rei knocked on Ami's door. "Ami-chan! Are you in there? Ami-chan!" Behind her, her shadow moved closer to her... __________ NEXT: Hermes's back! Will she take over Ami? What will happen to Rei? Why is Makoto's hair green when she transforms? What happened with the wand? What about that image she saw when she morphed? And by the way, what did Hotaru do to Chibi-usa? Next time: Two's A Charm. __________ I'm back!! Did ya miss me? No? Tough beans, jack! Thank you to all who've e-mailed me, and if you haven't, ya better! Give me ideas!! Also, I have no idea when the next part will be out, so keep checking! -Anaconda-