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Sailor Moon: Knights of Valor
Chapter 5 - Punishments, Planning and Plenty of 'P's. Not to Mention 'V's.
by A-kun
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"KUNZITE! ZOICITE!" Beryl bellowed.
The two generals appeared.
"Tell me why we only have four Nijizuishou and the SENSHI HAVE THREE?!" Beryl demanded.
"My queen, it's all my fault. I underestimated their abilities to work together." Kunzite said.
"Then why is Zoicite missing his right arm?!" Beryl demanded.
"The Holy Knight of Mars caught me off-guard as I was about to get a Nijizuishou." Zoicite explained, hoping that Beryl wouldn't kill him.
"Without the other three Nijizuishou, we can't unlock the seven Shadows! And you STILL haven't found the Maboroshi no Guinzuishou!" Beryl yelled.
"My queen, if I may, if you allow us three days to rest, I can promise you that Zoicite and I can get those last three crystals." Kunzite ventured.
Beryl's eyes narrowed.
"You had best follow up on that promise, Kunzite. Or else DON'T BOTHER COMING BACK!" Beryl snarled.
Kunzite didn't want to push his luck by asking for more energy. He just hoped he and Zoicite had enough resources to defeat the senshi and Holy Knight by themselves.
Ben awoke to hear a siren. He looked at his clock. It read: "5:11 AM". He staggered out of his room to see his mother walking out of the house following a stretcher. Then, he saw who was on the stretcher.
"MARIKO!" Ben cried, racing up behind his mother. His father stopped him.
"DAD!" Ben snapped.
"Look, she's just had another attack. She's just going back to the hospital." his father replied.
Ben clenched his fists. He just knew whatever that silver-haired general had done to her was responsible. Ben declared to himself that that general last night and the other general would die horrible deaths.
"Good game." Ben commented, staggering a bit. Caffeine, sugar and the pain from his bruises that he received dodging the shrapnel from the cement last night was all that seemed to keep him upright. The day had seemed to draw on and on forever.
"Ben, you look like Hell stood up and stepped on you a few thousand times, then decided to go wild on you." Shigeru commented as they walked home from the building where the last game had been played and won by the Raptors, Shigeru's team.
"Thanks a lot, Shigeru. Really." Ben replied snidely.
"Yeesh. What the hell were you doing last night...oh. Sorry. Didn't realize." Shigeru said.
"I know I'm going to regret this, but, what are you talking about?" Ben asked tiredly.
"Well, scoring with those four girls you're always with. That is damn lucky, buddy!" Shigeru exclaimed.
"THAT'S NOT IT, YOU MORON!!!" Ben yelled.
"Then what IS it?" Shigeru asked.
"Don't ask." Ben responded.
Shigeru grabbed Ben and spun him around.
"No, Ben. You've been walling me off for a while now and I'm damned tired of it! I get enough of that from my parents, I don't need it from you." Shigeru told him.
Ben sighed.
"Okay. Come on." Ben said.
"Where are we going?" Shigeru asked.
"To Kino Makoto's apartment." Ben responded.
"You mean that new transfer student?" Shigeru inquired.
"Yep." Ben answered.
"Um, why are we going there?" Shigeru asked.
"That's where we're meeting today." Ben answered.
"Huh?" Shigeru inquired.
"Just wait until we're there. I'll explain later." Ben said.
"Um, no offense, Ben, but what the hell is he doing here?" Makoto asked, pointing to Shigeru.
"Well, I figured that he could be a nice coat-rack, but then I realized, hey, I might well bring him along." Ben replied.
"Hmmmm." Luna murmured.
"What?" Usagi asked Luna.
"Well, looks like we've got another recruit." Luna said.
"You mean.....SHIGERU?!" Ben asked, incredulous.
"That cat just talked." Shigeru noted.
"Yeah, ain't it cute?" Usagi asked, stretching Luna's face.
"Usagi, let go off my face before I tell them about... that." Luna said.
Usagi let go of Luna's face.
"Sorry." Luna said.
"So, another Knight, eh? Or is he a senshi?" Makoto asked.
"I'm hoping for the former. I don't think Shigeru would look good in a fuku." Rei commented.
"True." Ami added.
"Well, guess I don't have to hide anything from you now. Luna, where's his little transformation gizmo?" Ben asked.
"Huh? Oh, right. One moment." Luna said, before doing a backflip.
"And how come you have to keep backflipping? It's a cute trick, but it gets a little silly after a while." Ben commented.
A green watch with the symbol of Jupiter appeared on it.
"True, but it's how my magic works. Anyway, Shigeru, this is your new watch. With it, you can transform into the Holy Knight of Jupiter." Luna said, before explaining how to transform. Shigeru stood there, staring at Luna.
"Shigeru? Shigeruuuuu. SHIIIIIGEEEEERUUUUU!" Usagi yelled into Shigeru's ear.
"No, no, Usagi. That isn't the way to get his attention. Hey, Shigeru, Ami's naked!" Ben exclaimed.
"HUH?! WHOA-dammit! You tricked me again, Ben!" Shigeru growled.
"Heh. Just put on the damn watch and do what the nice talking cat told you." Ben said.
"You mean...I run around in spandex?" Shigeru asked.
"No, more of a silk-like by-product." Ben commented.
"Hey, that means....you all have been getting it on?" Shigeru asked, before everyone, including Luna, bopped him.
"Owwwww!" Shigeru 'Owwwww'ed.
Ben checked his watch.
"Damn. Look, I gotta run." Ben said, running out the door.
"Hey, what's up with him?" Makoto asked.
"Don't know. This is rather unusual for him." Rei commented.
"If you don't mind, I'm going to check out something. Fill Shigeru in on what's going on, girls. I'll be back soon." Luna said, leaping out an open window.
"Okay..." Usagi said, looking at Luna before beginning to relate the story to Shigeru.
Luna followed Ben for a bit before he stopped and looked back at her.
"What?" Ben asked.
"I would like to know why you are just leaving your friend at the meeting." Luna said.
"Look, my cousin is sick and in the hospital. It's most likely an after-affect of whatever that jerk last night tried to do to her and since I wasn't there when I should've been, I'm not about to leave her alone again." Ben told her.
"Ben. Listen to me. You can't do anything about her illness and poor constitution. You CAN do something about the Dark Kingdom. And, if we can find the Moon Princess and the Guinzuishou, we'll be able to help her." Luna said.
Ben paused.
"The Ginzuishou can do that?" Ben asked.
"My memory is quite clear on it's use to clear up a horrible plague that raged across the moon." Luna said.
"But what if she doesn't live to get healed? We don't even know where this princess is!" Ben demanded.
"No, we don't. But the more people we have to look for her, the likely we'll find her. And the more likely we find her, the faster we can heal your cousin." Luna told him.
Ben was torn between his cousin and his duty. If he visited his cousin, he could help her feel better mentally. But if he went to find the princess, he could help her heal physically.
"Listen, Luna. I'm going to visit my cousin, all right? I'll spend some time with her and then I'll return to help you out, okay?" Ben asked.
"I understand. I hope she recovers." Luna said, before heading back to the meeting.
"I hope we can find the princess in time. Or at all." Ben muttered beneath his breath.
When Luna returned to the meeting, the Senshi were filling Shigeru in what happened the previous night. Shigeru was now sitting in a chair.
"You mean he actually kept a Dark Kingdom General chasing him for an HOUR?" Shigeru asked, impressed.
"Yeah. I know I received his call at about 11:35 and when Kunzite finally left, the time on my watch said 12:54." Usagi said.
"Man. If I looks like I can't joke about his training with that guy in Nerima. Not like I joked about it too much anyway." Shigeru commented.
"Girls, Shigeru. It looks like Ben's cousin was affected by whatever that Dark Kingdom last night tried to do." Luna said.
"Crap!" Shigeru cursed.
"What?" Rei asked.
"Ben's cousin has anemia. She's always in and out of the hospital." Shigeru explained.
"I hope she's going to be all right." Usagi said.
"She will be IF we can find the Moon Princess and the Guinzuishou. The Guinzuishou can heal anything." Luna declared.
"Well, where should we look?" Makoto asked.
"I have no idea..." Luna said, lowering her head.
"Perhaps my computer can find her." Ami commented.
"How long do you think it'll take?" Makoto asked.
"To isolate an approximate guess? About four hours." Ami said.
Everyone face-faulted.
"Well, might as well watch some TV in the meantime." Makoto said, turning on the TV via Remote Control.
"Oh Tetsuya, I feel as though my pants are going to rotate in joy..." *CLICK* "DON'T TOUCH THAT BUBBLE HEAD!" *CLICK* "Yappa yappa-" *CLICK* "I am the lovely suited soldier SAILOR MOOSE-" *CLICK* "HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY!" *CLICK* "All Johnson needs is to pick up this seven-ten split and he'll win the ten million dollar prize... Remember, Johnson, no pressure...." *CLICK* "%Do the wombat!%" *CLICK* "I spent half my career without any trousers on..." *CLICK* "Tonight on a Mystery Anime Theater, Bad Boy Bowser's Full Moon Fiend-" *CLICK* "SLAM INTO A SLIM JIM!" *CLICK* "Visit the Anime Turnpike at http://www.anipike.com/" *CLICK* "You can easily find your stapler with this handy, dandy little device that we call-" *CLICK* "OH MY GOD! THEY KILLED WEDGE!" "YOU BASTARDS!" *CLICK* "Today on Oprah-" *CLICK* "Today on Ricki Lake-" *CLICK* "Today on Donahue-" *CLICK* "Today on TharzZzDunN, a pile of cheese!" *CLICK* "Earlier today, a girl named Sailor Moose...sorry, I mean Sailor Moon, saved some people from getting injured."
"HUH?!" The Senshi, Luna and Shigeru asked in unison.
A picture of a virtual double of Sailor Moon appeared on the screen. The only differences were that her outfit was a different color scheme and her hair was a light purple.
"Luna, could that be another scout?" Rei asked.
"I don't know." Luna said, shaking her head.
"Well, who ever she is, she's taking MY schtick!" Usagi declared angrily.
Shigeru, Luna, Makoto and Rei stared at Usagi while Ami went back to typing on her computer.
It was about an hour and a half before Ben returned to the meeting which had dissolved into a minor arguement between Rei and Usagi, who were debating people who could be Tuxedo Kamen, Makoto, who was watching TV, and Shigeru and Luna, who were discussing the winner of the NBA Final Four in the US. Ami was in the bathroom. Shigeru was the first to notice Ben's entrance.
"Hey, Ben," Shigeru began, before switching to a softer tone, "How is she?"
"She's recovering, slowly." Ben replied.
"You sound kinda depressed." Shigeru noted.
"My parents decided to announce that they are moving back to the states in about eight months." Ben responded.
That caught everyone off-guard. Even Ami, who had just gotten out of the bathroom.
"You got some of the _NICEST_ parents, Ben. Of course, mine are about as good." Shigeru replied, feeling bitter.
"What are you going to do?" Rei asked.
"Well, my folks said that if I can get someone to look after me by then, I can stay here. Or, I could go with them." Ben responded slowly as he sat down.
Shigeru sighed. He knew Ben better than the rest of the Senshi. He knew that if his cousin's condition worsened, or worse yet, passed away, Ben would leave for good and never return. He couldn't handle anything emotionally stressful.
"Hey Ami, any luck on finding that Moon Princess or that Moon rock? Shigeru asked.
"Well, I think I've located some high energy readings, but unless I find the right frequency, I'll never be sure I'm getting the right kind of energy." Ami said.
"Hey, that computer was with the original Sailor Mercury, right? Maybe it has some old scans of her or Queen Serenity." Usagi said.
"That's pretty good thinking, Usagi." Luna complimented.
"Well, it just seemed kinda obvious." Usagi laughed.
"Now maybe you could use that brain power for school someday." Luna remarked.
"I think I've got it!" Ami exclaimed.
"Really?!" Everyone else asked.
"Well, it's high energy reading. There are seven right here, that would make us, and then there's four others in the area....sorry, make that tweleve others." Ami said as her computer finished scanning the city.
"Okay, so I guess we'll have to find these energy readings. Where are the closest ones?" Luna inquired.
"There are two near to each other and there......near the new construction site down by the docks." Ami said.
"The docks? That's about eight blocks from here." Ben said, frowning.
"Who cares? Let's get rolling, especially if we're going to find the Princess." Shigeru commented.
"First, you'd best transform. We don't know if Ami's computer is just picking up magical sources or Senshi/Knight energy." Luna suggested.
The Senshi and two knights nodded.
"Moon Prism Power, MAKE UP!"
"Mars Power, MAKE UP!"
"Jupiter Power, MAKE UP!"
"Mercury Power, MAKE UP!"
"MARS KNIGHT-IN-TRAINING!"
"JUPITER KNIGHT-IN-TRAINING!"
With multiple bursts of light, the Senshi and two knights headed off to find the energy sources near the docks. When they arrived, Ami began scanning for the sources while Ben, Makoto and Shigeru searched the premises to make sure there weren't any bystanders watching.
Words appeared on the Mercury Visor. Words like, "1. Protect the Innocent.", "2. Arrest the Guilty.", "3. Uphold the Law.", "There are 81531 steel bolts in the nearest builing.", "Approximately 295,252,052 people world-wide just passed gas simultaneously: 9,015,513 noticed, 2,104,023 are embarrassed, 5,254,205 are proud of that fact.", and "There are two sources of magical energy ahead. They are identical to.....please hold, identifying energy sources.........."
"Look!" Rei said, pointing to the Fake Sailor Moon who was dangling from a metal hook.
Makoto raced up.
"There's no one else that I saw. Shigeru and Ben are going to continue searching the perimeter." Makoto said.
"Done." Ben said, landing next to Makoto.
"Right, let's get her down." Rei said.
The mini-group raced forward.
"I'll just leap up and-" Ben began.
That's when the energy dome appeared around them.
"What the-" Makoto began.
"I told you, I'd be back." Kunzite snarled.
"YOU!" Ben snarled.
"That's right. I'm going to crush you all slowly within my Dark Dome." Kunzite laughed.
"Wimp." Ben muttered.
"What was that?" Kunzite demanded.
"I called you a friggin' PANSY! You can't even fight me by yourself. You gotta use a Dome of Energy." Ben snarled.
"Bah! I can destroy you at any time I feel like it. I just want to savor your death." Kunzite replied.
Tuxedo Kamen looked up at the Fake Sailor Moon, suspended in the air by the hook. With a tremendous leap, Tuxedo Kamen leapt up and caught the Fake Sailor Moon and brought her into an alleyway.
"Don't worry, Sailor Moon. You're safe now." Tuxedo Kamen told her.
The Fake's eyes opened and she hugged Tuxedo Kamen. That's when Tuxedo Kamen noted the odd whirring noise and felt a crystal dagger stab into his back.
"AAAAGGGH!!!!!!" Tuxedo Kamen cried, falling backwards as the Fake Sailor Moon stood up.
"Why?" Tuxedo Kamen asked.
"Why? Because you're a sentimental fool, that's why." the Fake Sailor Moon said.
The Fake Sailor Moon morphed into Zoicite.
"CURSE YOU, ZOICITE!" Tuxedo Kamen snarled, before noting Zoicite's new arm. It was a steel arm.
"That cursed Knight of Mars did this! But, don't worry, Kunzite is outside killing him and those pesky Senshi." Zoicite replied.
Zoicite laughed as Tuxedo Kamen fell to his knees. Tuxedo Kamen clutched his head as he felt the world start doing a rigorous gymnastics routine.
"Oh, is the weakening poison on the crystal sapping your strength?" Zoicite asked.
Tuxedo Kamen shuddered as the poison continued to sap his strength. Soon, he wouldn't have enough to walk. He reached back and with a mighty pull, managed to pull the dagger from his back. The crystal disapated and Tuxedo Kamen felt the poisonous effect slow-down. He managed to start standing up.
Zoicite drew his hand back to blast Tuxedo Kamen in unconsciousness when a ray of light cut his real hand. He yelped and clutched his hand before snapping his head up to see the familiar shadow of a Senshi.
"What?! IMPOSSIBLE!" Zoicite said, before remembering that he had to finish Tuxedo Kamen.
He turned back to the masculine warrior and noted that the hero was gone. He turned back to the Senshi to find that she was gone as well.
"Dammit! Kunzite's not going to like this." Zoicite cursed.
Queen Beryl frowned at Zoicite's loss of Tuxedo Kamen. If she could capture him, then she could use him as a consort. She used her crystal to watch Sailor Moon's final moments. Still, there was something bothering her. Something that told her to stop Kunzite. She shoved that something down.
The energy of Makoto's lightning bolt disappated into the barrier.
"It's no use. He's only using the energy to power the dome." Ami said.
"Dammit! Come on, wuss-boy!" Ben said, challenging Kunzite.
"My name is Kunzite. And you hacked the arm off of my beloved Zoicite, so don't think I don't know how to handle you." Kunzite replied snidely.
"Kunzite..." Zoicite asked as the Senshi and the knight fell to their knees as their energy was drained from them.
"What is it, Zoicite? Did you get Tuxedo Kamen?" Kunzite asked.
"No. A senshi stopped me before I could do it." Zoicite said.
"A senshi? We've got them right here." Kunzite responded.
"I know, but..." Zoicite began.
Another ray of light cut Kunzite's hands. Kunzite cursed and clutched his hands.
"LOOK!" Zoicite said.
Kunzite looked up at the same shadowy figure that Zoicite had seen before just as a blade of crackling lightning slammed into the ground in front of him.
"I'm not as kind as the senshi." Shigeru snarled, before glancing at the new Senshi.
"Yes, that's Sailor Venus." came a familiar voice.
Luna turned to see Artemis standing near a pile of pipes.
"Artemis! I noticed that you've found another senshi." Luna commented.
"Of course, beautiful. She's the last senshi, formerly known as Sailor V." Artemis said as Sailor Venus landed near Kunzite and looked ready to blast him again if necessary.
"KUNZITE! ZOICITE! Return immediately!" Queen Beryl roared as her face appeared behind them.
The two generals were about to argue, but decided that it wasn't in their best interest to fight the newly enlarged group of heroes. They vanished.
"Remember, Sailor Senshi, Knights. This world will belong to the Dark Kingdom!" Beryl taunted as she vanished from sight.
The senshi and the knights recovered slowly and transformed back to their civilian forms as did Sailor Venus.
"So, the senshi are finally complete." Artemis declared.
"Yeah, just wished we felt better." Ben commented, clutching his head.
"Hey, Shigeru, how come you took so long?" Ben asked.
"Well, Makoto and I decided that it might be a trap, so I continued acting like I was scanning for witnesses. Then, I ran into a piddling youma and had to hack it to bits. I came here immediately afterwards," Shigeru explained before taking on a sarcastic tone, "oh, and thanks for telling me about my powers before a silly voice in my head had to tell me."
"So, you used to be Sailor V. Can I have your autograph?" Usagi asked Minako.
"Kunzite, Zoicite, you said that you needed three days to recover. It's only been one day and you're already running around. Explain." Beryl said tensely.
"My Queen, it's all part of our strategy. We made a few back-up plans in case they managed to escape or if Tuxedo Kamen managed to rescue them." Kunzite reported.
"Tell me of these 'back-up' plans." Beryl demanded.
"It's all very simple. The Knight of Mars has a cousin who is very ill. I have been draining her strength recently. That will make him nervous, edgy, willing to deal. All we do is make him begin to get desperate while we send random youma attacks and wear the rest of them down. Then, we challenge Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Kamen and the Knight of Mars to a duel. We bet the Nijizuishou to get them to give up theirs, then snatch and unleash the Seven Shadows, then kill Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Kamen and the Knight of Mars. And after they are done for, we kill the rest of the senshi and conquer the world." Kunzite explained.
"A bit lengthy, but a good strategy. Proceed with it. However, I want Tuxedo Kamen and that Knight alive. I want to see the faces on those Senshi when their most powerful allies turn against them." Beryl declared.
"Yes, your majesty." Kunzite said.
Kunzite and Zoicite teleported to Kunzite's domicile. And promptly collapsed from exhuastion.
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