Sailor Moon Snippets Eighteen

(late storyline, ??)

Artemis sat on the rooftop and watched the moon. Luna came out and joined him, but he didn’t seem to notice her.

"Artemis, what’s wrong?" Luna’s tail thumped against the roof.

"Nothing’s wrong." Artemis continued to watch the moon as it rose over the horizon. "It’s a full moon tonight."

"Yes..." Luna looked over at it, It’s a full moon once a month, so? She glanced over at Artemis and noticed the wild look in his eyes. Oh. She took in a deep breath. It’s going to be one of those nights. Well, I guess we haven’t had one for awhile... say, about a thousand years! She let the breath out again, "Try not to get in too much trouble, will you?"

Artemis’ mouth opened to reveal his sharp teeth, that gleamed in the moonlight. "Trouble?" He stood up on the roof and pursed his lips. A low sound came out that was not a meow, and grew steadily louder until a hunting horn sounded out across the cool night air.

In an alley, a cat looked up and dropped the mouse it had just caught. It meowed softly. The mouse shook itself and also looked up. The cat and mouse started running out of the alley together.

The bats feasting on the fruits of a tree stopped their feast and turned their heads. Their wings extended out from their bodies and soundlessly, they left the tree.

In a dark house, a light clicked on in a bedroom. A man looked out his window and frowned, then got dressed and walked out of the house.

The police building at that time of evening was very busy. When the trumpeting call vibrated the walls, all activity stopped. In moments, it resumed -- with purpose and dedication.

A bank, closed for the night, contained a single occupant. The person, busily putting stacks of notes into a bag looked up, startled. Then he continued his activity, wondering why he was suddenly afraid.

At Ami’s cram school, the students were all hunched over their computers. Ami was studying just as hard as the rest of them when the sound of a horn drew her attention. She felt compelled to leave the classroom. When she was in the hallway and the door had closed behind her, she changed to Sailor Mercury without calling on her powers.

Sailor V looked at her outfit, then up at the night sky. "It’s been a long time..." She grinned, and launched herself into the night, seeking the darkness.

Sailor Jupiter dropped the pan of buns she’d taken out of the oven and looked at herself in surprise. Sailor Mars looked at the temple fire and wondered why it was flaring high. Sailor Moon poked her head out of her window, then climbed up to the roof.

"Luna? What’s going on?" She looked around, "Wasn’t Artemis here tonight?"

"He was..." Luna sighed, then did a double-take, "Sailor Moon? Oh, my. I hadn’t thought of that. I guess we should have warned everybody."

A wild beeping was coming from the communicator. When Sailor Moon activated it, three anxious faces divided the screen. "Sailor Moon! We all just changed! What’s happening?"

"I can’t sense any Evil," Sailor Mars looked at the wild flame of the shrine, and wondered.

Sailor Mercury looked up from her computer, "There’s activity all over the city! But I can’t get a reading on anything specific!"

Luna put a foot on the communicator, "It’s okay, mina. It’ll all be over by dawn."

"What will be over?"

"And where’s Sailor Venus?"

"I imagine she joined the Hunt. She always did enjoy it." Luna licked a paw fastidiously. "A little too wild for me, personally."

"The Hunt?"

"Luna, what are you you talking about?"

Luna paused and looked at the full moon, "It’s a full moon."

"So?"

"So Artemis has called the Wild Hunt."