To catch a Sailor Senshi...
Chapter 7
Brock twitched in his sleep, his face contorting. A cool hand slowly traced over his face, and his features smoothed into a smile.
"Brock, wake up." came a soft, melodious voice.
He groaned in his sleep and rolled over, ignoring the voice.
The first hand was joined by another and they cupped Brock's cheeks. The ghostly white of the hands contrasted with the tan of his skin. In fact, if you were to look closely, you could faintly see the outline of Brock's face through the hands. He shivered slightly and stirred.
"Brock," repeated the voice more insistently, "wake up."
He opened his eyes slowly. His vision was a bit blurred from the deep memory induced trance he had been in, and his eyes took a moment to focus on the figure in front of him.
"Who are you?!?!" he asked in shock.
The figure backed up. "I think you know me, Brock, even if we never met. Do I look at all familiar to you?"
Brock looked at the woman standing in front of him. Her hair, two silvery odangoes with long was trails of hair hanging from them, were the typical style of the Moon Kingdom royalty. The slightest tint of purple in her hair made it shimmer in the moonlight. Her eyes were a misty blue, and her simple gown clung to her figure. A small gold crescent moon was in the exact center of her forehead and her lips were the palest pink. In the back of his mind, buried deeply, he could just recall a portrait he had seen once, long ago.
"Queen Serenity?" he asked hesitantly.
"Correct." she replied. "You never visited the palace during my rein, but I heard plenty about you from Hotaru-chan."
Brock sat up. "You knew Hota-chan?" he asked.
"A long, long time ago." she murmured.
Looking closer, he noticed something very disturbing. He could see right through her. He stood up and took a shaky step back.
"You're a ghost!" he whispered hoarsely.
"I suppose you could say that." Serenity said. She smiled. "I can become a bit more solid, but I have to decrease my size a lot. I figured you'd be easier to approach if I looked more human."
Brock just watched her, eyes wide.
With a sigh, Serenity shrunk until she was no longer than his arm. She had grown a pair of butterfly-like wings and her smooth white dress pooled around her on the ground. "I'm sorry I appear like this, Brock, but my powers are growing weaker. I'm surprised I managed to get here as fast as I wanted. I guess my desire to help a friend pushed me past my normal boundaries."
"What do you mean, ‘Help her'?" asked Brock. "The only way you could would be to... to..." he paused, not wanting to voice his last hope.
"I owe that charming girl a favor, Brock. I'm afraid she was rather lonely at my palace. My daughter and her friends were too involved with finding their loved ones to be really kind to her, and after your death, she was unreachable. I think I was the only friend she had at the palace, and though she was dear to me, I wish she had better. I want to make it up to her, and I think I can now." Serenity trailed off and looked down. "Getting you to her dimension won't be easy, Brock, and it might be painful, but I think it would be worth it to you."
Brock stood up and dusted himself off. He picked the limp red tulip off the ground and stroked it softly. "I think you are right, my queen."
Serenity floated to the center of the grove and regained her former size. She stood gracefully in the chill grass and clutched the crescent moon in the center of her dress's bow in her right hand. She looked at Brock and gave him a sad smile.
"My powers have waned, Brock. I can no longer make it back to my dimension with you, nor can I send you alone. You have the power to make it with my guidance... but only in your powered up form."
"I didn't think I could transform here!" Brock said, sounding puzzled. "Hota-chan couldn't."
"I know. That's because her power, as well as yours, lies in the pokemon you keep. You will have to draw their power into you to complete your transformation, and after that... I'm afraid you will never see them again."
"How... how do I do this?" he asked.
"I cannot tell you." the Queen replied.
Brock slowly brought out his first pokeball. He set it gently on the ground and whispered, "Pokeball, go." His newly acquired Ninetails leapt out of confinement and stood in the grass next to him.
"Ninetails." Brock murmured. "I really don't know how I can do this to you, old friend, but this is important to me. I'll understand if you'd like to leave now." He bent down and gave the fire pokemon a hug. He let it go reluctantly and turned away.
"Ninte tails. Tails..." the elegant creature walked over and licked Brock on the cheek. It's eyes closed and it settled comfortably on the ground.
A red, shimmering smoke curled out from Ninetails' eyes and mouth and surrounded Brock. It seeped into his skin and settled there. Brock's head arched back and his eyes opened wide. Fiery pins and needles flowed through his veins and his pulse quickened. His pupils turned red for a brief second and he could feel the power coursing through him.
"Thank you..." he whispered as each pokemon in turn gave their strength to the man they all had grown to cherish.
When all his pokemon were drained, he turned to Serenity again. His movements were more graceful and calculated, and his speed was obviously much greater. He looked much stronger than he had been minutes ago and a new kind of fire was burning behind his calm eyes. "What now, Serenity-sama?"
"Now comes the hard part." she said. She gestured at him to come closer, and when he came, she made a chopping motion with her hand. A small blue tear appeared in the sky in front of him.
"The path to the destination you desire is different for everyone. Follow what you think is right, and you will make it to Hotaru-chan. Tell her... I said hello." Serenity smiled. "Repeat after me. ‘Saturn Knight Power-up!'"
"Saturn Knight POWER UP!" shouted Brock.
A purple bolt of lightning shot out of the sky and hit him. When it struck the earth, it burst into a roaring flame flecked with purple sparkles. Brock's figure could be faintly made out in the center, kneeling with his palms outstretched. The fire died all at once and a spear dropped from the sky squarely into Brock's palms. The spear was about as long as Brock's arm and one end was a traditional spearhead. The other, sharper point was shaped exactly like the one on the Silence Glaive Hotaru carried.
"I am the Saturn Knight, protector of innocent and good. I fight for my friends and for the lives of others. Those who threaten them, beware!"
Serenity watched bemused at the change in the man in front of her. He was now in a tuxedo similar to the one Mamoru often donned. The cape's lining was a dark purple and matched the bow tie and buttons he wore. His pristine white gloves carried the deadly weapon confidently and any trace of his former shyness was gone. Brock's sleek grace and air of confidence decided Serenity; she had made the right choice.
"Go, Brock, and protect Hotaru. I have the feeling she will need it soon."
Brock strode forward briskly and walked into the small tear without hesitation. When he had passed through and Queen Serenity couldn't see him any longer, she dropped the portal. She collapsed to the ground and her breathing grew shallower.
"I really despise half-life." she murmured. "But I don't think I'll have to bear it much longer. That rip took more of my strength than I bargained for... I hope you make it, Brock. And... good luck with Hotaru." Her form began to pulse and her outline blurred and faded. The trees behind her were now not even barely obscured by her ghostly presence. She gave one last sad smile and disappeared completely for the final time from the mortal plane.
A shadow flew over the spot the old queen had deserted moments before. The shadow slowed down, turned, and circled the area. It landed softly in the dewey grass and walked over to the center of the grove. It bent and looked at the small crescent moon pin that was illuminated by the faint glow it was giving off. With a little cheep, it picked the pin up in it's mouth and launched itself into the air. The long, golden tails of the creature disappeared into the rising sun, leaving only it's hauntingly beautiful cry behind.
* * *
Hotaru gave a small sigh and sat with her back against a tree watching the senshi train. Ever since Pluto's words a few days ago, their training sessions had gone into overtime. Each was greatly improving, but Hotaru was worried.
"Hotaru-chan, care to tell me what's bothering you? They all look great." said Pluto with false cheeriness.
"Setsuna-san," Hotaru said with great formality, "Don't kid yourself. As good as they are now, it won't be enough. I can barely even help in this state!"
"Hotaru, there is nothing you can do until you can transform again. It's not your fault."
"I know..." she trailed off and looked at her long time friend. Her eyes widened lightly, and her breath hissed out between her teeth. "Setsuna! I know that look. What has the time gate told you?"
"I... I..." Setsuna looked worried. "I haven't been able to return since I mentioned the creature breaking through." She bit her lip and shook her head. "I don't understand it. I haven't done anything wrong, or broken any rules. The monster was a guess!"
"What do you mean? How can you *not* be able to go there?" Hotaru asked.
"When I reach out for a door to take me back, I literally hit a solid, blank wall. No matter how often I try, I don't get a single response. I'm really worried. I can't monitor who comes in, or what..."
"Setsuna, it's ok. Maybe that thing is supposed to come. And from what I saw in my dream, you alone wouldn't be able to stop it. If you fought it at the gate, you might be killed and we'd all be in a lot more trouble."
"I guess that makes sense," Pluto said, drawing a deep breath, "but I don't like it."
"Hey guys, Usagi and I need to go now. I'm going to tutor her a bit tonight." Ami said, finishing her final attack. She took out her transformation wand and returned to her normal self.
Usagi made a face and followed suit. Waving at the rest of the scouts, they walked out of the woods where they had been training together.
"I've gotta jet, too." said Minako. "I have a date!" She giggled and chased the other two scouts out.
One by one they trailed off until only Pluto was left. She closed her eyes and reached for the gate one last time. She met with no success and she looked worriedly around. "I don't like it at all."
* * *
A black oozing pile of darkness slid around the abyss it was imprisoned in. "Damn Selenity and her little scouts! I've been here for two thousand years already. They are all DEAD and I'm STILL trapped! This is disgusting. How could that stupid queen defeat me?" A gravely voice rasped.
"Quite easily, Argyle, quite easily." echoed a voice from the other side of the room.
The blob froze for a minute, then surged up into a female human shape. Within seconds, it looked like an attractive, average human with inky black eyes.
"Who's there?" came a sweet voice. "Have you come to free me from my plight, oh great hero?"
"Argyle, does it occur to you that if I know your name I might also know of your past and your little tricks?" the voice asked tauntingly.
"Meanie." the girl pouted. "If you aren't here to free me, oh mysterious one, then why bother me?" she added sarcastically.
"I require your services in defeating an annoying foe." The voice's owner materialized in the middle of the blackness.
She was clothed in a Sailor-esque uniform which surprised the shape shifter. Her fuku was black with a single gray stripe along the border. Her skirt was layered. The top was a dark gray that matched the stripe on the fuku. The bottom was an electric green color, and her ribbons were a matching shade. The brooch in the center of her upper bow was a dark maroon color, almost like dried blood. Her choker had a small black star in the middle, but the band itself was the green of her bows.
On her feet were a pair of black lace up sandals that ended mid-thigh and her hair was a luxuriant strawberry blonde done up in a pair or mock-odangoes.
"I can get you out of here." she murmured. "For a price, of course."
Argyle watched the girl warily. "Who are you? You look like one of the ones who imprisoned me here thousands of years ago."
"You may call me Sailor Shadow Stealer. I am not who you accuse me of being, but I will let you get revenge on your captors."
"Really?" asked Argyle, interested.
"Not exactly." the girl replied. "You were trapped by Queen Selenity. All I can offer you is one of her relatives, Serenity."
Argyle recalled vaguely a princess named Serenity who had tried to help the past queen... and had called her ‘Mother'. "You mean her child? I can have her child?!?" An evil smirk lit up her face.
"Not quite. Though they carry the same name, this is her granddaughter."
"Good enough. Just point me at her."
"Be warned - Serenity has her court of Senshi with her now, and though they aren't as strong, they have new attacks." Shadow Stealer told Argyle.
"I can take them. I've had 2 thousand years to practice." she said dismissively.
"Good." said the Scout, smiling. "If I were you, I might test the wall straight across from me."
With a cry of glee, the shifter ran to the mentioned wall and shoved. When she felt something begin to give, a demonic glow lit in her eyes. "They will pay!"
* * *
Brock stumbled into a thicket filled with brambles. The spiny thorns towered above him and in front of him were two paths that both curved off abruptly. It was impossible to tell which led where. He looked at each one and noticed, perched in the branch of a tree hanging over the second path, a pokeball. Over the other branch over the first path, a gold necklace with a partially obscured purple charm swayed back an forth in the light wind.
"The pokeball should be the right choice!" he said, nodding. He walked over to the path and stood right in front of it. Nodding again, he marched down it.
The little charm hanging over the first path came unhooked and hit the ground. The beautifully crafted heart shattered and the links of the chain came apart and blew away.
After the first few minutes on the second path, Brock stopped walking. Something felt distinctly *wrong* about the whole thing. He started to back track, but when he reached the entrance it was sealed.
"Uh-oh..." he said. Something clicked in his mind and he had a flash of memory. "That was the necklace I gave Hota-chan! Shoot!" He looked at the solid wall of thorns and frowned.
"Nine tails..." whispered a soft voice.
Brock turned around and saw a small Ninetails, or at least the outline of one, standing by his foot. It pantomimed using it's flame attack on the dry mass of plant in front of him.
"But how would I do that?" asked Brock.
The Ninetails smiled and made eye contact. It's brown eyes stared into his and Brock could feel something in his memory twitch.
"I have... a fire attack?" he asked.
"Ninetails!" it said encouragingly.
Brock twirled his spear in his hands and tried to remember. "Saturn... Saturn... ummm, geez, how did that go?"
The Ninetail's outline flopped to the ground. It shook it's head and turned to him, humor glinting in it's eyes. He heard a patient female voice in his mind.
"Saturn Silence Inferno. Be glad I like you, Brock-sama!"
Brock did a double take and stared at the mischievous pokemon in disbelief. It winked at him and leapt through the brambles, turning into a puff of smoke as it crossed through. He shook his head and smiled.
"Saturn Silence Inferno!" he shouted. He threw his spear at the brambles where it lodged itself in the tangle and held firm. Purple fire built up in an aura around him and his hands were thrust forward. The purple fire was channeled to his fingers, but when it leapt off them it was black. The black flame jumped from his fingers to the waiting spear and engulfed the thick wall of plants. Within seconds, the entire wall was nothing more than a fine layer of purple dust.
With a smirk, Brock walked over the ash and continued down the correct path.
* * *
Argyle burst through the inky wall and landed at the time gate. Leaping up, she prepared for an attack from the scout that guarded the junction. When nothing happened, she rose from her defensive crouch and laughed.
"How cute! The one time that stupid girl needs to be here to guard her puny planet, she's out! Now that's poetic justice."
She looked around a bit wistfully and sighed. If she wasn't in such a hurry, she would have loved to poke around the gate a while. The amazing things that could be learned were priceless - but she didn't have time. Perhaps later. she thought
Walking over to a particular niche in the wall, she summoned the door to a secluded part of Tokyo. Before she opened it, the voice of the mystery scout came from behind her.
"A word of advice. If you want a good target, I recommend Sailor Mercury. She should be easy prey." A photograph of both Sailor Mercury and Ami Mizuno floated down to rest in her hands.
Argyle bit her lip nervously and looked at the pictures in her hand. "But Alanai was one of the strongest inner senshi. She was the one who managed to keep me pinned long enough for Selenity to catch me."
"Ami is not even fit to be compared to her grandmother. Her intelligence is at the same level, but her fighting skills are quite lax. Mercury would be the easiest target."
"Ok. Thank you for the advice." Argyle turned back to the door and reached for the knob again.
"One last thing. Try looking like him." Shadow Stealer tossed a wrinkled photograph to the shape shifter. She caught it, and when realization dawned on her, her smile became very large.
"Consider it done."
Argyle disappeared through the gate, her form already melting and changing into her target's biggest weakness.
* * *
"Bye, Usagi-chan! You're doing great." called Ami, walking down the steps of the Tsukino home.
"Arigato, Ami-chan! I couldn't do it without you." Usagi replied with a wave.
Ami allowed herself a small smile of pride. Usagi was the best student she tutored, and she was proud of her queen's progress. Her grades had improved exponentially and even her teachers were beginning to regain faith in her.
She was so enthralled in her thoughts that she didn't notice the boy with his head down and hands in his pocket walk toward her. At least, not until she ran into him and knocked them both down.
"G..gomen!" she said, looking to see who she had bumped into. Her eyes widened in delight when she realized who it was. "Ryo-chan!" she squealed happily.
"Ami?" he asked uncertainly.
"Of course it's me. I couldn't have hit you that hard." she smiled.
"Uhh... no. I was just kidding." he replied.
"I didn't think you were coming back for weeks! This is great."
"I came back to surprise you, Ami-chan." And what a surprise this will be. Argyle thought gleefully. "Want to go for a moonlit walk? I found a spot at the park where you can see Mercury in the sky tonight."
The two got up and Argyle/Ryo linked arms with Ami. They walked in what anyone else would call companionable silence until they reached the park. He pulled her to a secluded spot and they sat on a bench together.
"Where is our planet, Ryo-chan?" asked Ami.
"It's right above us, my love." he said. An evil grin spread across his features, but Ami didn't notice.
"There it is. It's so breathtaking..."
"And it will be the last sight you ever see." Argyle shifted her hand into a club and hit her in the back of the head. Ami crumpled to the ground and the body of her love shifted into the petite girl from the time warp.
"Pitiful, Sailor Mercury! One blow and you're down." A small pout formed on her lips. "This won't be bait at all! She has to at least be transformed. Stupid girl... I was only trying to scare her."
Argyle walked over to the nearby lake and formed a jug with her hands. Carefully filling up the makeshift holder, she dashed back to the Scout. Dumping the cool water on the scout's face, she leapt for the nearest tree and re-transformed into Ami's love.
Ami moaned softly. "Ryo-chan? What just happened?"
Standing up with one hand on the bump on her head, she turned around. A gasp slipped past her lips as she saw the man she loved suspend from a tree. He was covered with bruises and hanging limply.
"Ryo-chan! What happened?"
"We were looking at Mercury and suddenly this *thing* came out of nowhere and clobbered you. I only caught a few brief glimpses of it, but it was really big and had spikes all up and down it's arms. I jumped in front of you and tried to protect you, but it got by me. It strung me up, then left. Mercury, transform in case it comes back!" Smooth>. thought Argyle sarcastically. I messed that one up a bit.
Ami's eyes narrowed slightly. "You never call me Mercury." As she stared at the boy hanging from the tree and looking at her earnestly, something else clicked in her mind. "And Ryo-chan doesn't have black eyes!"
"Dammit. Fine then, make this hard, Mercurial brat!"
The ropes around his/her wrists unbound and he fell towards the ground. When he hit the soft earth, he exploded into a puddle of black ooze. Ami took an involuntary step back. The puddled reformed into a small woman in a black kimono. Her hair and eyes were jet black and her mouth was twisted into a sarcastic smile.
"Who are you?" asked Ami, her voice no louder than a whisper.
"Argyle. And I believe I know you already - so prepare to defend yourself!"
She waited patiently while Mercury went through her personal light show and speech. She watched with an experienced eye as Mercury posed in her finale.
"Very nice. Alanai would be proud of that much. But your earlier performance on the bench, well, that was just shameful."
Without warning, she rushed forward. Her hands curved into wicked scythe blades and she slashed at the unprepared scout. Ami stumbled as one blade ripped through her upper bow and the other slashed a gash along her leg.
She regained her footing and launched her trademark Shabon Spray at Argyle. As the bubbly fog closed around the two, Argyle lunged forward again. Her blade was aimed straight for Ami's head and dodging just wasn't possible.
Instead, Sailor Mercury brought one white gloved arm in front of her unprotected face. As the blade cut deeply into the flesh of her forearm, Ami thought she was going to pass out from the pain. She stumbled back into her fog and ducked behind a tree. This isn't going to work. She's too good! I have to get the other scouts here or I'm toast. She reached for her communicator but it wasn't in the usual spot. She had a brief flash of memory in which she set her compact on Usagi's living room table....
"Boo." said Argyle, appearing on the limb above Mercury. She jumped off the branch, arm/blade arching down. Ami jumped away, but the sharp edge caught her boot. Not giving herself time to think about the immense pain in her leg, she twisted and screamed "MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!"
"Huh?" asked the surprised shifter.
She was hit full in the face by a blast of water and ice powered by Mercury's growing fear for her life. The woman screamed in pain and clawed at the ice lodged into her skin. She quickly dropped into a puddle and then back to herself, but a long cut marred her features.
"Brat!" shrieked Argyle. She reached out, her hand shifting as she moved, and once again caught the poor Senshi of water with a club to the head.
Mercury went down.
***
"Hey guys, have any of you seen Ami?" asked Usagi over her communicator.
"No. Why?" asked Rei.
"I haven't heard from her since last night, and she left some of her stuff here. I'm worried cause her communicator is with me and she might be in trouble."
"Don't worry about it," said Minako. "She's fine. Probably ran into Ryo-kun! He was supposed to show up again soon."
***
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