The recovered monster’s surprise attack had dealt Minako a severe blow. Her right shoulder was severely burned, her left leg was in a lot of pain, and a gash across her forehead was spewing a copious amount of blood, making seeing out of her left eye a problem. She pulled herself up using the door handle of the car she had slammed into, furious with herself. How could she have let her guard down like that?

Knowing that head wounds bled more than others, Minako gave up on wiping away the blood and closed her left eye instead. Wondering why the monster hadn’t followed up on his attack, she struggled to focus and took in her situation. The scaly green man was making his way towards Lieutenant Higa, who fired two shots as she backed away, but he quickly healed as before.

Minako needed to draw his attention. “I’m your opponent, you overgrown iguana!” she yelled with all the vigor she could muster and hurled her compact at him. “Crescent Boomerang!”

Her opponent dodged the dangerously spinning, glowing compact, and Minako forced her aching body to charge him. Once close enough, she immediately launched herself into a back flip, dodging a swipe of the reptilian man’s claw and kicking him hard in the face as she followed through. Enraged by this he lunged for her—just as she had planned.

That was when the Crescent Compact appeared on its return trajectory, about to strike the monster from behind. However, both Minako and the monster were startled by an unexpected flash of white. At the last second, Minako’s weapon was knocked away by an energy bolt, saving the monster from a deadly blow.

Minako bit her lip in frustration as the compact dropped to the floor with a clang. She was banking on the boomerang opening an opportunity for a head shot—despite the monster’s odd physiology, she doubted it would survive a Crescent Beam to the skull—but she had missed her big chance. Additionally, she now had more trouble to contend with.

Minako and the reptile-man looked skyward for the source of interference. An undeniably attractive, gray-haired man in a gray jacket bejeweled with gems, was standing above them. Unlike his scaly, green friend, he was human in appearance. In fact, his unusual clothing—and the fact that he was defying gravity—was the only thing about him that alluded to an alien origin.

“Alexandri!” the Lizard-man hissed. “How dare you interfere with my mission! What are you doing here?”

“I just thought I would check-in and see how you’re doing, Zarg, and it’s a good thing I did, or Sailor V’s attack might have finished you off,” the floating man replied airily.

“Finished me off?” the creature exclaimed. “I am more than a match for the woman!”

“Funny, I don’t remember you having that hole in your chest before you left,” the man named Alexandri quipped.

Minako tried to concentrate, waiting for an opportune moment to strike as the two bickered, but she was acutely aware of the precariousness of her situation. She had already come close to death at the hands of one enemy. Now, a second had appeared and she knew nothing of his abilities. On top of that, she could feel her strength waning. Her head wound wasn’t clotting, and her burn needed attention.

Thankfully, Lieutenant Higa seemed to have taken cover somewhere, but Minako knew she was in trouble. Unfortunately, as a crescendo of sirens met her ears, she realized she wasn’t alone in that. Soon, either end of the street was filled with police cruisers. Officers emerged and took aim with their guns.

“Higa, if you can hear me, call the off!” Minako signaled to the hidden lieutenant.

“FIRE!” someone commanded through a bullhorn.

Minako took cover as a chorus of gunfire filled the air. From her crouched position, she watched the reptile man shrugging off the many shots that hit him, while above, his compatriot had erected a translucent white barrier that blocked all incoming bullets.

When the shooting finally stopped, Minako saw her chance as the lizard-man healed. “Crescent Bea—” she started, but Alexandri hit the floor in front of her with a blast of white energy, the force of which propelled her backward onto the hood of a car. Dazed, she could only watch as the invaders rained energy blasts down on the humans.

After a minute or so, the floating man descended. Minako, who was on her feet again, observed the devastation around her. She couldn’t forgive herself for her weakness. Had she dealt with them sooner, no more lives would have been lost.

“From what I’ve observed, the woman is quite skilled, Zarg,” Alexandri remarked to his ally, “but her power is nothing like we’ve been told. Why isn’t she using the Silver Crystal?”

“I don’t know,” the lizard-man responded. “I was going to take it from her once I killed her.”

“You fool,” sighed Alexandri, “What if she doesn’t have it on her? No, you’ll have to keep her alive, so we can torture her for its whereabouts. That is, unless she wants to hand it over and spare this city any more casualties?”

Alexandri turned to Minako questioningly.

Minako shook her head in disbelief. “What’s the matter with you people? You’re killing innocent civilians over the Silver Crystal? The crystal is gone!” she spat in frustration, her voice full of grief. “It… It died with her!”

“Do not lie, Sailor Soldier,” Alexandri replied calmly. “That's what you would like us to believe, but we know that it was you who used the crystal’s immense power to avenge your fallen leader. We have heard the truth from a survivor of your onslaught. You took control of the Silver Crystal and used it to decimate a race of invaders. Perhaps that was a one-off though? Perhaps this is the extent of your power now? To think that we waited all this time before making our move...."

To her enemies’ surprise, Minako let out a mirthless laugh at that point. She had had enough. "You talk too much,” she said menacingly. “If power is what you’re after, I’ll give you power.”

Minako raised her hand, and an item materialized in her palm. It was her old pink Crystal Change Rod, but strangely, the orange crystal orb that sat on top had a crack down its center. She took a deep breath, raised the rod above her head, then commanded, “Venus Crystal Power!"