Chapter 183

"Good question, Maverick you track it...Saturn and I will go after it," Pluto said.

"But.." Tuxedo Mask began.

"We can handle it," Pluto said.

"I just lost it," Maverick said.

"How?" Pluto asked.

"It..somehow shut the camera off..." Maverick said stoically containing his surprise.

"We'd better hurry," Pluto said to Saturn. Saturn nodded and the two dived into the hole.

Maverick and Tuxedo Mask glanced at each other.

"Well..that was different," Tuxedo Mask said.

"I noticed," Maverick said.

"Should we follow them?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

"No idea," Maverick said.

"You know something though.."

"What?"

"They're have been a heck of a lot of enemies running around in the sewer lately."

"Whatever works," Maverick muttered.

"Would someone mind telling me what's going on?" Chief Ozaki shouted from behind a wrecked police car.

"Wish we could," Tuxedo Mask said.

"We don't know," Maverick said and the two leapt off in opposite directions.

"How do you like that..." Ozaki said.

"I'd like to know who built that robot," Nagumo said.

"I'll look into it if you want," General Patterson said.

"I do, that thing was a match for even the scouts," Nagumo said.

"Uh..gentlemen.." came a voice. They all looked to see Principal Oksua standing there.

"Principal Oksua? What is it?" Patterson asked.

"Uh..is it gone?" Oksua asked.

"Yes, we hope," Patterson said.

"Aw..good...all that crashing was distracting the students," Oksua said. "Finals you know."

"Wait a second, are you telling me that there are students in there who were taking finals through all this?" Ozaki asked.

"Well..they've gotta take them sometime ey..." Oksua said. Ozaki glanced at Nagumo who just shrugged.

"That's our educational system for you," Nagumo said.

"Uh..I'll just be going now," Oksua said and slinked off.

"I'm going home now..." Ozaki muttered and stalked off.

"Don't blame him," Patterson said.

"Patterson..." Nagumo said.

"Sir?"

"Just how many of those scouts are there now anyway?"

"Last count...fifteen sir."

"Oh...I was just curious."

"Well I can't be blamed for failing the exam, there was a war going on outside," Mina said.

"What we're they thinking?" Lita said. "Keeping us in like that."

"I guess school was as safe a place as any," Raye said.

"We were twenty feet from a very dangerous robot," Lita said.

"Well..at least the finals are over," Raye said.

"That's the cloud to this silver lining!" Serena said.

The other four glanced at her.

"You know what I mean," she said. "And I don't care...because I'm done with finals!"

The other girls couldn't help but let out some similar shouts.

"Say..what happened to the guys?" Lita asked herself.

"Where are we going?" Rick asked with annoyance.

"Trust me this will be great," Mike said.

"I've heard that before," Steve said.

"Just what is going on?" Greg asked.

The four were walking down the sidewalk away from school.

"I'm going to reveal to you one of Tokyo's greatest secrets," Mike said.

"Mike, what about the whole robot thing, shouldn't we be talking about that or seeing if the girls need some help or something?" Rick asked.

"You'd think so wouldn't you?" Mike replied and rounded a corner.

The others all sighed and followed.

"We've come this far," Steve said.

The others nodded still not knowing what to expect.

Meanwhile underground Maverick wandered through the sewer water with a small flashlight studying a readout on his watch. He stopped abruptly and pointed the flashlight down. He reached into the water and pulled out a handful, the water fell away revealing a small mini camera.

"Damaged, but it will repair itself," Maverick muttered. His eyes then narrowed.

"Neptune...Uranus...why do you still believe you can sneak up on me?" he said and turned. Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus emerged from the darkness behind him.

"We were following Pluto and Saturn," Uranus said.

"Wouldn't it make more sense to call them on the communicators?" Maverick asked.

"We tried, something is jamming it," Uranus said.

"Perhaps any residual negaenergy from the last sewer battle, or it could be something the robot is emitting," Neptune said.

"Possibilities," Maverick said. "Don't let me stop you," he said and jumped back up onto the walkway beside the water. Uranus and Neptune leapt by.

"I told you he would see us," Neptune said as they moved down the tunnel.

"He didn't see us, he sensed us," Uranus said.

"So?" Neptune asked.

"He doesn't need skill to sense us, he was given that ability," Uranus said.

"Uranus..have you forgotten that this is someone who beat you in a fight?" Neptune asked.

"Just whose side are you on anyway?"

"I am by your side Uranus, and that is why I tell you to be wary of him. He is very dangerous, and you're emotions hide that from you."

"I know what I'm dealing with," Uranus said.

"Good," Neptune said and the two continued along.

"We lost it," Saturn said stoically as Pluto and herself stood at a crossroads in the sewer tunnel.

"How'd it move so fast?" Pluto asked.

"It is a very interesting creation," Saturn said.

"Well..it must have gone one of these three ways, we could use some backup," Pluto said and pulled out her communicator.

"Come in Uranus and Neptune," She said.

A few seconds passed.

"Pluto...you're there...that means the interference has passed," Uranus said.

"What interference..no never mind..tell me later, where are you?" Pluto said.

"Heading up the tunnel you were headed down," Uranus said.

"All right...keep heading straight..we've reached a crossroads," Pluto said. "I need you two to help me split up and look for that thing."

"We already have two paths covered," Saturn said.

"Saturn, I don't want you going alone," Pluto said.

"Too bad," Saturn said and leapt down the left cooridor.

"Saturn!" Pluto said.

"I must investigate this," Saturn called back.

"Hurry you two," Pluto said into her communicator. "When you get to the crossroads one of you go straight, the other right. I've got to follow Saturn!"

"Understood," Uranus said.

Another transmission came through. Pluto recieved.

"I hate to say this," Maverick said as his face appeared on the screen.

"What is it?" Pluto asked.

"That robot of yours just got into the back of a truck and is headed west on the highway," Maverick said.

"Didn't you try and stop it!" Uranus shouted into her communicator.

"I didn't get the chance," Maverick said.

"How'd you find it anyway?" Uranus snapped.

"Think about it...you're smart enough to figure it out," Maverick said.

"Will you two quit it!" Pluto said. "We have to get moving."

"I suggest you hurry," Maverick said.

"Can you follow it?" Neptune asked.

"Highway traffic is not something i'd like to try leaping through and I've only got one camera left," Maverick said.

"We'll handle it," Pluto said.

"And you won't Maverick," Uranus added.

"Uranus...shut up," Maverick said.

"Maverick...don't insitgate anything," Pluto said. "We're taking over, you just withdraw."

"Enjoy yourselves," Maverick muttered and cut the link.

"What an..." Uranus said.

"Uranus..not now.." Pluto said into her own communicator.

Meanwhile at the restaurant the tired scouts were all sitting around a table sipping milkshakes, Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy only had question on their mind.

"Serena..why are you lying on the table?" the four asked.

Serena sighed.

"Because I'm tired and this table seems as good a place as any to relax and try not to let life's subtle flaws get to me," Serena said.

"First of all it's not as good a place as any..." Raye growled. "You never know when someone might spill something..."

Not unexpectedly Raye turned her glass upside down, causing Serena to scurry out of the way backwards and fall to the floor on her butt.

"Ouch! Raye you meanie!" Serena shouted.

"Raye that was a little more than was required..." Lita said.

"Ehh.." Raye said and shrugged.

"I'll ehh you!" Serena said and leapt at her. Raye was caught so off guard she backed off suddenly smashing into Mina who sat beside her. Mina was bumped to the middle of the table and Serena and Raye were soon grappling. Amy and Lita sighed and continued to sip their shakes.

"Where are we going?" Steve asked.

"Stop asking that," Mike said. "We're almost there."

"Almost where?" Greg asked.

Mike grimaced.

Fifteen minutes later at the restaurant.

"Raye! I've had enough of your constant teasing! I'm going to end this right now!" Serena shouted standing at one end of the room.

"How?" Raye muttered. "You're looking to fight me?"

"I will win on pure heart alone," Serena said.

"Oh..I see.." Raye said. "You're welcome to try."

"Uh..should we really let this go on?" Amy asked.

"Are you about to step between them?" Lita asked.

"I'm sure not," Mina replied.

"I guess that is a problem," Amy said. "You'd think the restaurant staff would have a problem with this though."

"Five bucks on the dark haired one!" Came a shout from the kitchen.

"Typical," the three girls said.

"Serena..I'm giving you five more seconds to back out of this," Raye said.

"No..we're going to settle this..right here..right now...hey..." She said noticing a table full of food. "Where'd you get that pie?" She asked one of the diners.

"YAHHH!" Raye shouted and leapt at her. Serena scurried out of the way with her usual whine.

Mike stopped before they turned a corner.

"Gentlemen..I give you my big surprise..." he said and lead them around the corner. The three looked and saw sitting in front of them, a sculpture of a figure of some kind reaching upward majestically. The interesting thing was that the ten foot tall figure was made entirely of squash.

The other three sighed.

"You brought us all the way out here for a squash sculpture!" Rick shouted.

"What were you thinking," Steve said.

"Uh..guys..we're only two blocks from school.." Mike said.

"WHAT?" Rick and Steve shouted.

"I just took the long route," Mike said.

"You're making that up," Rick said.

"No..guys..he's right," Greg said.

"You could have told us about this Greg," Steve said.

"I just thought I'd play along," Greg said.

Steve and Rick glared at him.

"So I see you're admiring my sculpture," Came a voice. The four turned in surprise to see a very beautiful woman standing there. Rick, Steve, and Mike did a double take.

"You're Ayumi Sakada aren't you?" Greg asked.

"You've heard of me?" the woman asked beaming.

"Uh yeah..you're work is quite unique," Greg said.

"We'll say," the other three guys said.

"I had no idea such a beautiful woman created such beautiful work," Mike said. "But then again it only makes sense."

"Oh..don't kid, my work isn't that beautiful," Ayumi said with a smile. The guys laughed.

"Spin Kick!" Raye shouted leaping across the restaurant. Serena screeched and dived out of the way. Raye bounced off the top of a restaurant booth spun around and faced her.

"You're no match for me!" Raye shouted and charged. Serena dashed into the kitchen.

"Come out of there and fight!" Raye shouted as she skidded to a stop.

Serena raced back out the kitchen door.

"Moon Spiral Pie Attack!" Serena shouted and threw a pie. Raye screeched and ducked as the pie hit a window.

"Now you're playing dirty!" Raye shouted.

"You bet," Serena said and tossed another pie. Raye swung forward and lunged at her. Serena screeched and stepped on spot of spilled milkshake and slipped crashing to the floor.

Raye stood over her.

"You lose Serena," Raye said seconds before being hit in back with a pie. She whirled. A chef was standing in the doorway.

"This is fun!" he shouted and tossed another pie.

"So..uh..can I ask a quesition?" Rick asked as the four guys sat on some benches staring at the squash statue. Ayumi sat beside them.

"Of course?" Ayumi asked.

"Why squash?" Rick asked.

"It attracts attention doesn't it?" Ayumi asked. The four guys nodded.

"For a long time I tried to do conventional art, but it just didn't work.." she said. "But then I had an idea, a way to improve my chances of being recognized."

The four guys listened attentively.

"I made everything with SQUASH!" Ayumi shouted and started laughing. The four guys all glanced at each other.

"Sure...they laughed at me..but look at this beautiful thing," Ayumi said. "And you like it don't you?"

The four guys looked at each other.

"Uh..yeah..yeah.." they all said hurriedly.

"Why?" Ayumi asked.

The four looked at each other.

"Mike...you first.." the other three said.

"Oh..uh..well..it is an interesting combination of both pre-squashian and post squashian revivial techniques," Mike said. The other three guys glanced at him.

The restaurant situation had rapidly degraded. The kitchen staff had decided to bombard their customers with pies as fast as they could produce them. The customers meanwhile were fully willing to do battle in return and the area was filled with the debris of food. Lita and Mina leapt up from behind a booth and squeezed bottles of mustard and ketchup across the floor. Amy huddled under a table.

"This defies all explanation," She said to herself.

"Yaaahhhh!" Mina shouted as she was hit with a pie and propelled backwards.

"I think it's better that we stay on the same side don't you?" Raye asked as she and Serena huddled behind another booth.

"We could just leave..." Serena said.

"While the enemy is still in control of the territory, no way," Raye said with a dangerous grin.

"Uh..stop being so scary," Serena said.

"Hah hah hah..foolish mortals you are no match for us!" the kitchen staff shouted. "We have all the pies we need..and you have nothing!"

"That's about to change..." Raye said with a grin as she looked outside. Up rolled a truck with a sign on it that said "Yuchiro's Pizza City."

"Heh heh...thirty pizzas to go," Raye said.

"How did you.." Serena asked.

"Later Serena, time to strike back!" Raye shouted and flipped forward, rolled along the floor and out the door, she paid the driver and ran back in a pizza cradled under her arm.

"Come on..there's plenty for everyone!" She shouted and through a slice. The kitchen staff got worried as many of the customers acquired their own pizzas and began to return fire.

"Hah hah! Look at them cower in fear!" Raye shouted flinging another slice. She was hit with a pie seconds later.

"Raye just because you're fighting back doesn't mean they can't hit you," Serena muttered. "Or me for that matter," she said scraping cream off of her dress.

"Ehh..they're on the run!" Raye shouted.

"The run to where!" Lita shouted.

"Stop asking questions!" Raye shouted back.

"Wow..that was weird, here we expected to hear the trials and tribulations of a struggling artist, and instead we find out she is insane," Rick muttered.

"Yeah...that was unexpected," Steve said.

"This never happens to the girls," Mike said.

"Yeah they actually meet people that can inspire them.." Rick said.

"She seemed nice enough though," Greg said.

The other three looked at him.

"Well she did..." Greg said.

They nodded.

"She was a babe too.." Rick said.

The group all nodded.

"Too bad she's insane," Rick said.

"Well..it's not like you need a girlfriend," Steve said.

"It's not a matter of that," Rick said. "It's purely a matter of options."