Magical March 4: Moon Power Shake Up!

Magical March 4

Moon Power Shake Up!

Mark A Davis

315

It was a beautiful spring evening.  The sounds of traffic were all around them, but birds sang and crows cawed in the trees.  Ikarus, Lakshmi, and Sita were gathered in another park, this one in downtown Seattle -- Volunteer Park.  As Ikarus and Lakshmi talked about their next target -- the creation of a moon-themed magical girl -- Sita sat and sketched.

I'm glad we're working as a trio," said Ikarus.  "It seemed excessive at first, but...."

"It would be difficult to divide three people into two teams," Lakshmi replied.  "In any case, Sita is new to the Nibiru Group, so we don't want her working on her own just yet."

"Well yes," said Ikarus, "but -- she was a senior angel on the Angelic Council for many years.  It's not as if she doesn't know here way around magical girls...."

"She knows how the Angelic Council would handle magical girls, then," said Lakshmi patiently.  "She does not know how we would do it."

"But we basically do the same things," said Ikarus.  "We just avoid all of that bureaucracy -- all of the rules and restrictions...."

"Sita, what are you working on?" Lakshmi asked.  She scooted over to sit by her friend and peered at the sketchbook.  A vision of a young girl in a short skirt and a robe-like top greeted her.  The top was reminiscent of a Chinese sage or wise man.  There were long sleeves, but they didn't hide gloves with silver crescent moons at the wrist.

"Wow," said Lakshmi, "that's really good!  I love the colors -- white, silver, and a really dark shadowy, dusty blue.  The moon staff is awesome, and I love the silver moon buckle on the belt, and the matching moons on the shoulder bag, the tiara, the gloves, and the boots.  Moon boots, he he."

"Moon boots?" Ikarus asked, trying to look.

"They're just slender, knee-high boots with a silver moon at the top," said Lakshmi.  "Not literally moon boots, that would be dumb."

Ikarus finally got a good look at the drawing.  "Oh, nice!  I like it!  What powers does she have?"

Sita stared into the darkening night.  "When I think of the moon," she said, "I think of words like quiet and serene.  I think of a quiet, peaceful night, and of moonlight reflected off a mirror-like mountain lake.  Sailor Moon is Princess Serenity after all.  She ought to lull her enemies to sleep, to calm then, and to heal them.  Those are the powers I envision -- a sleep spell, a calming spell, a healing ability."

"No attacks at all?" Ikarus asked.

"Sleep is an attack," Sita insisted, her face suddenly growing angry.  "Holy Heavens, You sound just like Octava.  His answer to everything is to give them more firepower.  Peony Girl?  Giver her a flower blast!  Valentine's Day Girl?  A choco heart blast!  Magical girl modeled on a serene mountain lake?  Water blast!  Giving every magical girl some sort of blast attack is stupid and lazy!  Magical girls are meant to solve problems peacefully, not blast everything into the ground as if they're all Rambo as a twelve year old girl in a cute dress!  That's not how magical girls work!"

"Well," said Icarus, "if you feel that strongly about it...."

***

Serene Moon Sally backed away from the monster.  It was twenty feet tall and seeming made of living shadow, an amorphous humanoid blob with angry red eyes.  It had appeared in downtown Seattle unexpectedly, right into the middle of a traffic jam.  Smashed and broken cars now littered the streets.

"Serene Moon Slumber!" Sally called out again.  Blue energy floated out and enveloped the creature, but to no effect.  Massive black arms snapped power lines and smashed a building facade.  Broken brick rained down.

"It won't sleep!" Sally exclaimed, backing up.  "I can't get it to sleep!  What do I do?  What do I do?"

Behind her cowered three magical girl guides -- a winged  tabby cat, a pure white cat, and something that resembled no earthy animal, it was a floating ball of fur with large eyes and rabbit ears.

"Oh my stars!" the winged tabby exclaimed.  "Give her an attack already!"

"No!" the floating ball of fur replied.  "That's what Octava would do!  I won't violate the purity of my vision!"

From overhead came a shout:  "Sailor Sunburst Attack:  Sunbeam Blast!"  The skies lit up brighter than a fireworks display.  A concentrated beam of sunlight pierced the monster like a blow torch through a chocolate bunny.  The creature shattered and collapsed.

"Wow," said Octava, as he and Daesdamona alighted next to the other three guides, with their new sun-based magical girl floating overhead.  "Looks like you guys could use a little help.  You know, you should have given her a moon blast power...."

FINI