Little hands, legs and eyes protruded from every inch of the monster’s body, even its head, which also had an assortment of mouths. It appeared to be comprised of old doll parts. Suddenly, the creature lunged at the corner of the playground where a large group of children were huddled in fear. Its hundreds of doll eyes flipped open at once, and their irises began to glow an eerie green. The cornered children collapsed as their lifeforce was visibly drained from them.

“Ah, such marvelous energy!” the monster proclaimed, its multiple mouths echoing the words. “To think we are wasting precious time collecting such pitiful amounts in secret, while these little humans are just running around, ripe for the picking!”

Makoto’s heart raced, her hands shook, and beads of cold sweat began to form on her forehead as her panic rose in waves. However, her instinct to protect the children gave her the strength to step forward. “G-get away from them!” she demanded with all the confidence she could muster. “Everyone, run inside now!”

Most of the children who weren’t being targeted by the monster moved at her command, but some were obviously too scared.

“No, no, we can’t have that!” said the monster before charging at Makoto, knocking her aside as though she were made of paper, and leaping over the fleeing children to block their escape. As Makoto clambered to her feet, she saw its many eyes flip open once more.

Makoto sprinted over and threw herself in front of the group, raising her arms in a protective manner. “Leave them,” she pleaded, “They’re just children! T-take my energy, instead.”

“Miss Kino!” several of the students cried.

“Instead? Why would I do tha-aaaaahhhhh! What is this power?” the doll creature exclaimed with ecstasy as it got its first taste of Makoto’s lifeforce. “Wha-what areyou? Why do you have so much energy, human? And how is it so pure?”

Makoto winced as she felt herself weakening. “Just leave the children. Please!” she begged.

“I may not need the small humans if I have you!” said the creature, taking hold of Makoto’s shoulders and turning all its creepy eyes in her direction. “Jadeite will surely forgive me for attacking in the open if I deliver someone with energy like yours!”

“Jadeite?” Makoto repeated, feeling dizzy from the power drain. Just as she felt close to blacking out, the creature’s grip loosened, and she fell to the floor.

“Mr. Mori!” she heard the students say.

“Inside now, everyone!” said the male teacher authoritatively.

Looking up, Makoto saw kids rushing by and Mr. Mori pounding on the now headless doll monstrosity with a child-size baseball bat he must have secured from the gym. With each of his furious swings, more doll parts were scattered in every direction.

Makoto took the opportunity to return to the playground and gather up the remaining students. She then led them inside while Mr. Mori continued to swing at the monster relentlessly. Unfortunately, as she reached the door, the man cried out. Makoto turned back to see him being swarmed by the fallen doll limbs as if caught in a twister full of them.

“Ren!” Makoto called out in concern, using the man’s forename for the first time. She didn’t know what to do. Her hands shook with fear and anger. Makoto wanted to help him, she wanted to fight, she wanted to punish the foul creature for preying on the young. But could she?

Standing in the doorway so unsure of herself, Makoto observed the monster’s head beginning to reform while Mr. Mori was still being barraged by its other parts. It was now or never. She had to make a choice. Makoto compelled herself to move and headed straight for her desk. She threw open the bottom drawer, ignoring the sounds of the crying children all around her, and rummaged through the sea of stationery.

There it was, her Crystal Change Rod. Makoto wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve, her heart feeling as though it might burst from her chest at any moment. She gritted her teeth, contemplating how long it had been since she had last invoked the powers of her alter ego, Sailor Jupiter. Then, she plunged her hand into the drawer, hesitated for a moment, and withdrew her cellphone.

“Police. I need the police!” Makoto spoke into the phone after punching in the emergency number, a tear dripping down her cheek. “I need help!”

As the emergency call handler took the necessary information and assured her that officers were already on their way, Makoto’s panic was replaced by feelings of guilt and shame. When she hung up the phone, she began to sob uncontrollably, and the old memories resurfaced.

She remembered the battle with the gelatinous, yellow space invaders. They hadn’t been all that strong, but there was so many of them. Too many. She and her fellow Sailor Soldiers were overwhelmed.

The aliens used their malleable, stretching bodies to entangle the guardians and restrain them, but this tactic didn’t work well against Makoto. Physical contact made them vulnerable to the electrical powers afforded to her as Sailor Jupiter. She was able to keep them at bay to an extent, while Sailor Moon prepared to unleash the Silver Crystal.

However, when the aliens finally began to flee, it wasn’t from the awesome power of the crystal. A different power was unleashed that day; one triggered by loss. Makoto hadn’t known what was happening at the time. The aliens were running away, not even trying to attack her. They had no mouths from which to speak, so when Makoto heard the screams, she didn’t understand.

That was when an enormous blast of energy had torn through the scene, swallowing every enemy in its path, and rending the ground beneath her feet. It missed Makoto by inches, but its blowback caused her to hit her head, though, not so hard that she couldn’t wonder about the attack. It wasn’t fitting with Sailor Moon’s abilities. In fact, it was a power unlike any that the soldiers possessed.

Makoto got to her feet, clutching her head with one of her hands. She stared dumbfounded as the thick beams of yellow energy continued to raze the battlefield and vaporize their helpless enemies. She couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing. The aliens had given up. They were trying to return to their ship. So why was Sailor Moon doing this?

As Sailor Soldiers, it was their sacred duty to protect the planet from evil and those who would do Earth harm, human or alien. But this wasn’t right. The aliens weren’t resisting. Even so, they were being wiped out.

Makoto focused her vision, trying to track the source of the blasts. There, unleashing terrible cries of despair with every deadly, sweeping beam, was Sailor Venus, surrounded by a pulsating golden aura. Her waist-length blonde hair had been haphazardly severed, her signature red bow barely hanging on, and in place of her tiara was a shining Venus symbol.

Makoto watched in disbelief as her friend’s wild, merciless attacks continued. She didn’t know what was wrong with Minako, but the girl had to be stopped, if only for her own sake. After narrowly dodging several beams, Makoto reached her friend, but Minako showed no signs of recognition as she continued to shoot and scream. Makoto made to grab the girl, but the incredible cloak of energy surrounding Venus repelled her.

“Venus!” she called out. “What are you doing? They’re retreating! You’ve got to stop this!”

Suddenly, Venus swatted Makoto away with a wave of force, sending her hurtling through the air. She landed hard but managed to avoid hitting her head this time. However, as she rolled over, she finally understood what was happening. Lying not twenty feet away, looking back at her through lifeless, unblinking eyes, was Sailor Moon.

The sound of approaching sirens stirred Makoto. The police had arrived. Someone must have called before she did, accounting for the quick response. Makoto wiped her face and instructed the children to gather and sit low on the floor, while she moved to the window. Pulling back a curtain, she was relieved to see that a whole team of armed officers had been dispatched and were lining up beyond the school playground’s low perimeter fence.

She warned the students to prepare for loud noises just in time. From her position, she couldn’t see the monster, but it had surely been riddled with bullets. Makoto only hoped they had arrived soon enough to save Mr. Mori. If he died after saving her, while she had hidden inside like a coward, she would never be able to forgive herself.

Shortly after the shooting ceased, officers appeared through the door.

“Everything okay in here? Any more of them?” one of them asked sternly.

Makoto shook her head, replying, “No. It was just the one. Is it gone?”

“It’s gone. Disappeared through some kinda wormhole,” the officer surmised.

“And Ren—the man outside—is he okay?” Makoto asked hopefully. However, on seeing the police officer’s grim expression, her face fell. She ran to the window, where she witnessed the monster’s victims being loaded on to stretchers. Mr. Mori was among them.