Chapter 385
Sailor Moon raced down the street.
"This is getting out of hand!" She shouted. Down the street raced several hundred small doll sized creatures all chasing after her.
"I thought we had taken care of this!" she shouted.
"Apparently not.." Sailor Uranus said leaping down to the ground.
"Uranus World Shaking!"
The attack blasted through the evil dolls and knocked several of them to the ground. Others jumped over the attack and rushed forward.
"Neptune Deep Submerge!"
Another attack slammed into them and destroyed several more.
They stopped and stared at the three scouts.
"Now what are they going to do.." Sailor Moon said.
The creatures started dancing.
"Enough of this! Uranus World Shaking!"
"Neptune Deep Submerge!"
"YAH!" the creatures shouted and self destructed knocking the group back.
"This is just wrong," Sailor Moon muttered. "What's going on?"
Several blocks away.
"You think they're trying to tell us something?" Guardian Neptune asked.
"Of course not," Guardian Moon snapped stepping forward. The nine Guardian Scouts were all facing similar numbers of small dolls, but these were all just standing staring at them occasionally mumbling something.
"So why aren't we attacking them?" Guardian Mars asked.
"Because I'm trying to figure out just what is going on with them," Guardian Moon said studying his watch. "What they're composed of, it is important to know."
"Yeah, but what if they're up to something?" Guardian Uranus asked.
"They probably are," Guardian Moon said. "But we'll see. Just be ready."
The scouts all aimed their swords.
"Yes..this is odd," Guardian Moon said. "They seem to have a different energy type to what we've experienced before."
"Well that's wonderful," Guardian Venus said. "So yet another evil force decides to make itself heard from."
"I'm not certain," Guardian Moon said.
"Let's just take them out," Guardian Pluto said.
"Yeah, I think we've learned all we can," Guardian Earth said.
"HAH!" the creatures shouted.
The scouts eyes all narrowed, and the creatures leapt forward.
"Uranus Fire Spikes Attack!"
"Neptune Golden Triton Impale!"
"Pluto Storm Fist!"
"Saturn Ice Rings Blast!"
"Mars Star Laser!"
"Jupiter Star Inferno!"
"Venus Star Burst!"
"Earth Elemental Vigor!"
"Moon Silver Millennium Retaliation!"
The nine attacks shot out and hit the creatures. A massive explosion filled the street throwing the scouts back.
"What was that?" Guardian Neptune asked.
"I don't know," Guardian Moon said. "Perhaps a bizarre energy reaction."
"Those are always fun," Guardian Neptune said.
Several more blocks away.
"Venus Love Chain encircle!"
The attack flew out at a group of dolls. The dolls dodged it and came at her.
"Hmm..guess this is a problem," she said and leapt away. The dolls leapt after her.
"Uh..anyone who's around I need a little help here," Venus said into her communicator.
"We're a little busy here," Mars said. "We've got a bunch of them. They're dropping from rooftops!"
"Jupiter thunderclap Zap!"
The attack shot up the alley blasting more of the enemy down.
"They just keep coming..." Jupiter said.
"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"
The attack blasted more enemies.
"I'm wondering about all this," Sailor Mercury said staring at her computer.
"What?" Jupiter said. "We've got problems here."
"Well the energy is interacting in strange ways," Sailor Mercury said.
"So?" Mars asked.
"I'm not sure..that.."
"Jupiter Thunder Crash!"
The entire alley blew up.
"WHAT IS GOING ON!" Mars shouted wincing at the pain.
Venus raced by them, chased by more dolls.
"This is insane..someone help!" Venus shouted.
"Saturn......Mist Wave!"
More dolls blew up. Venus was blasted down the alley.
"Sorry," Sailor Saturn said dropping to the ground. The scouts all stood up slowly.
"What happened?" Jupiter said.
"I don't think the dolls interact well with our energy, such that when there is enough energy build up it leads to a collapse.." Mercury said.
"Who made these things though?" Sailor Venus said.
"An excellent question," Sailor Saturn said. "They apparently came out of nowhere, but that isn't possible."
"You're right it isn't," Sailor Mercury said. "They're not the same as what we've been facing either."
Their communicators went off.
"This is Sailor Pluto, I think I've found our troublemaker.."
"Finally," Mars said.
"Exploding dolls, what next?" Jupiter muttered.
"How interesting, a doll shop," Sailor Earth said observing a small shop on a street corner.
"This is where you were picking up that feeling?" Sailor Pluto asked.
"Yes," Sailor Earth said. "I could sense it when I was ambushed by some of those things."
"Then we'd better find out just what is going on. This caught us all by surprise," Sailor Pluto said.
"It seems many of our foes are accomplishing that feat quite easily," Sailor Earth said. "Especially since we were just dealing with a hostage situation hours ago."
"True," Sailor Pluto said.
The other scouts arrived.
"Will someone please explain all this?" Sailor Moon said.
"Jeez..you all look terrible," Sailor Earth said.
"They explode you know!" The scouts shouted back.
"Shush," Sailor Pluto said. "There is our target."
Tuxedo Mask floated to the rooftop.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Exploding dolls ambushed everyone..isn't that wonderful?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Can't say it is," Tuxedo Mask said.
"All right, let's go in and take out whoever's in there," Guardian Earth said.
"We don't know what's in there," Guardian Moon said. "Let me have a look with my camera."
The roof of the doll shop exploded upward.
"That's not good," Sailor Saturn observed. The building exploded outward showering the street with debris. The scouts all ducked. Smoke rose.
"Let's get rid of this smoke here!" Sailor Mars said.
Energy attacks flew out blowing it away. What they saw was a massive doll facing them now across the street, about four stories high.
"This is the stupidest adventure ever!" Sailor Moon shouted.
The dolls eyes flashed red.
The scouts all jumped off the rooftop as the energy rippled through the building they were in.
"Enough of this we're taking this doll down!" Sailor Venus said.
The scouts unleashed their attacks. They all slammed into the doll. It blew apart quickly.
"Well that was easy," Guardian Neptune said.
"You destroyed my creations!" came a shout.
They all looked as a man wearing only underwear raced out into the street and faced them down with a broken wooden sword.
"Oh..wow..look at our supervillain," Guardian Mars muttered.
"I'm going to slap him around a little!" Guardian Earth said.
"Wait don't!" Guardian Moon and Sailor Mercury said.
The man instantaneously morphed into a sheet of energy and shot at Guardian Earth smashing him into the ground and shooting at the others.
"I repeat..just what is going on!" Sailor Moon shrieked.
The man appeared again.
"Hah..you underestimated me.." he said.
"Now look..there are twenty of us here..you know, we should be able to take care of him, even if he can do that," Sailor Moon said.
"Hmm..his energy readings are quite high, but you're right," Sailor Mercury said.
"He's human though, so we should try and heal him," Guardian Moon said.
"I think it's going to take more than magic to do that," Guardian Neptune said.
The man shot at them again.
"I'll handle this," Sailor Moon said. "Come on you jerk!"
The man shot at her. She threw up an energy wall. The man shot into it and bounced off rolling back down the street angrily.
"Hey! That's cheating!" he shouted.
"How!" the scouts shouted.
"Shut up!" the man said.
"I'll get em!" Guardian Moon said and as the man shot forward he leapt into the attack and swept through it with his sword. The man collapsed.
"Heal him before this gets worse!" Sailor Mars said.
The entire contingent of scouts did just that in record time.
"I think that was overkill," Sailor Pluto said.
"Now maybe we can find out what's happening.." Sailor Mars said. They all walked over to the doll shop.
"Wait a second," Guardian Moon said. "There's an intense amount of energy down there."
"I can sense it," Sailor Saturn said.
"Me too," Sailor Earth said.
They could see into the basement, things were glowing and their seemed to be a good deal of machinery.
"This energy is altogether different then anything we've seen before," Sailor Mercury said.
"I've seen it before," Guardian Moon said. "It's rare, but it's from a different alien race. They infiltrated in the middle east a year ago. But how their energy to here I don't know."
"Well..this has been a nice sideshow," Sailor Moon said. "I want to go home
now."
Elsewhere.
"Oh dear...this is a mess," Beryl said appearing in the air.
"That is obvious!" D.V. Patterson snapped gesturing at his still decidedly feminine body.
"Well..unfortunately it seems this will take some time to undo itself. You see that the more you change when you use the pen, the longer it takes to reverse itself, in this case the changes are so drastic you really need some time to readapt."
"How long?"
"I don't know it depends."
"That's just wonderful.." Patterson muttered.
"That was two days ago," D.V. Patterson said to himself sitting in his command center. Fortunately he had developed an access code in case something like this had happened which wouldn't allow him to use his voice recognition technology. Though he had never thought his was going to happen Here he sat, as a she. He couldn't fathom it. In a way it felt sick, at the very least silly and embarrassed. How could he go out like this?
He had been living off his emergency supply of food rations and hadn't stepped out in those two days. He couldn't. Look at him. That's what he thought. He knew Ayeka was waiting for him. He appreciated that, but couldn't face her, couldn't face anyone...not like this.
He sighed.
This is such a mess. He thought. Of course the scouts knew about it. Everyone but Amy did. She had no sooner arrived off the plane from Okinawa then these dolls had shown up. He suspected and understandably that no one particularly wanted to try and explain the situation.
It was such a mess. Sure he had washed the blue dye out of his hair and reinserted the black contact lenses that had covered up his blue eyes, but that was hardly a help. He had things he didn't want and had lost things he felt he needed. That much was obvious.
He pounded the control center console, trying to think of how one of his
plans, one of his devices might save him from all of this, but that wasn't
happening. He really was stuck, stuck in a body he didn't want, stuck facing an
existence that would continue for how long he didn't know.
"What a homecoming.." Amy said walking towards the house.
"Well we were just as surprised," Greg said. "We've been dealing with the assorted nuts that have been hit with the energy, but there's something else that happened."
"What?"
"Well you see Urawa Ryo..got taken over."
"He did? Oh..is he all right?"
"Well that's debatable..but we healed him..but there was some other things that happened?"
"Like what?"
"Uh..well..uh..let me try and explain it," Greg said.
"You sound really nervous," Amy said.
"You would be too if you knew what I was about to say."
"Oh.." Amy said.
"Well what is it? I've heard a lot and seen a lot of strange things.I think it won't be shocking."
"Oh yes it will," Greg said.
"Way to build it up Greg!" Patterson snapped witnessing the scene. "This stupid voice!" he said.
The door buzzed.
"Come on D.V...you still alive in there?" Ayeka asked with concern.
"Quite alive," D.V. muttered back.
"Come on let me talk to you."
"I don't think so.."
"Aw..come on..Amy's going to be here any minute, and Greg too, they'll want to talk, you going to shut them out?"
"Probably."
"D.V. you have to learn to deal with this."
"Deal with this? Do you understand how crazy this is! I don't need this!"
"Well I don't think anyone needs it..but look..you're just afraid of being embarrassed, but that's okay we'll get through it."
"You forget that my tolerance for this sort of thing is at an abysmally low level, I'm surprised I haven't cracked yet!"
"You haven't so that's a good sign," Ayeka said. "I'm not leaving until you let me in."
"I've withstood threats like that before."
"You have not!"
"So I haven't, but this is different."
"Stemming from the same problem, come on, you've got to trust me on this."
"I can't trust anyone, especially now."
"Haven't all we've been through been enough for you?"
"I don't know.."
"What? How can you say that?"
"It's how I've been raised, it's how my life has been."
"Come on, even if I was untrustworthy you could get your revenge couldn't you."
"Revenge is overrated. You can't take back what you're lost, only take something in return. It is not the same."
"D.V..come on I'm pleading with you here."
D.V. sighed.
"No..not now.." he said.
"Wait..a minute..you're sure about this?" Amy asked in shock.
"Sure about it? Yeah..of course I'm sure," Greg said.
"Oh...my...this is..so strange..he must be feeling awful."
"To say the least."
"We'd better hurry home then."
Greg nodded.
Minutes later.
"It's bad," Ayeka said. "He doesn't trust anyone, and I don't blame him. Still it isn't as bad as he thinks."
"Sure it is," Amy said. "In his mind it is, and that's all that matters."
"But we need to convince him otherwise," Greg said.
"That is not something that we can do easily," Ayeka said. "He won't even open the door."
"Let me try," Amy said. "D.V. you in there?" she said into the intercom.
"Where else would I go?" D.V. muttered. Amy stepped back a minute in surprise at the sound of his voice.
"Look we just want to talk," Amy said.
"So do so," D.V. said.
"You can't honestly believe that I would want to hurt you...do you?" Amy asked.
"Yes..well..."
"Or Greg..come on..we're family," Amy said.
"You know what..I'll go," Ayeka said. "I guess..maybe I'm in the way."
She headed out the door before someone could disagree.
The door slid open.
The two walked in. The room was darkened.
"D.V..you shouldn't hole up like this," Amy said.
"And why not?" D.V. replied. "My identity has been taken from me, I'm nothing."
"That's not true, you still have your mind and when you revert back everything will be fine again," Amy said.
"When..yes..well that could be any time now," Patterson said. "But what do I do until then, stuck as a girl? I'm not a girl."
"Well it's not a curse!" Amy said. "What do you think I have to deal with. Don't tell me your letting sexism get involved."
"No, but it's not exactly normal to change genders in mid stream you know!" Patterson said.
"So you feel like a..well.." Greg said.
"Don't say it," Patterson said. "And that's exactly it..how can I go out like this, with everyone knowing what I used to be?"
"But only the scouts know.." Amy said.
"And I trust the scouts? No..way...I have no need to get ridiculed."
"They won't ridicule you," Amy said.
"They will behind my back, maybe the girls won't, but how will they feel? I've entered your world, somewhere I'm not supposed to go..something I know..now what?"
"Well..they understand that you did it to save a life," Amy said. "I understand."
"I need more than understanding," Patterson said.
"Yes I guess you might," Amy said. "But I'll help you get through this."
"We both will," Greg said.
"And how am I supposed to get through of this. My life has just become a constant episode of Ranma!"
"I'm sure it won't have any pandas," Amy said. "But we'll get by...come on..it'll just take some creativity, and no one outside of us will know it's you."
"I'd prefer to just wait here if you don't mind," Patterson said.
"That won't solve anything," Greg said. "You need to fight this. You'll fight anything remember!"
"Anything I can stab with a sword," Patterson said.
"Well then we're not leaving into we can work this out," Amy said.
"Uh..right," Greg said.
The two sat down.
"Fine," Patterson said and sat in the dark.
Ayeka Mizuno had since found herself sitting alone in a park staring at a pond.
"And what is your problem?" Hotaru asked bluntly walking up.
"D.V. doesn't trust me.." Ayeka said.
"What did you expect?"
"I expected him to trust me..."
"Why should he?"
"Why should he? Hotaru you should know why. We fight together we get along, why should he be afraid of me?"
"He fears all humanity, he knows what they are capable of."
"But..I'm his friend."
"And thus are in a position to do the most damage, that is the situation."
"I know that, but I thought he's already opened up enough, why not go farther?"
"Because his entire identity is gone," Hotaru said. "He has been turned into someone else instanteously, he cannot walk down a street knowing where he stands with anyone. He is not D.V. Patterson right now. Never mind the ridicule he expects to receive from his adversaries, he doesn't know where anyone stands, and he has entered a universe he knows nothing about. A universe he has held the highest respect for, you know how chivalrous he is..."
"Yes..but.."
"And now he's there...how can he take this lightly, and he fears just what you would do if you knew how he felt, because if you were to reveal it, you would destroy him."
"That's not true."
"That's what he thinks is true. The truth is it's not. But he thinks so, and that is what faces you, because earning D.V.'s trust or properly phrased as close as it gets to trust takes more time, you have not passed enough tests."
"Have you Hotaru?"
"No," Hotaru said. "And that is why I'm not trying to help him now, even though I feel for him."
"So what do I do?"
"I don't know."
"I wonder," D.V. said.
"What?" Amy asked.
"Just how I'm going to pull this off?"
"Don't worry, we can help you."
"I know, but I can't hide can I? That would be irresponsible..I'm still a scout."
"Yes you are, we would understand if you didn't keep fighting."
"No...this is a dangerous time. I can't let you all go out there fighting while I hide in the back, that's not right. If something happened because of me hiding..well..history would not look well on it, and that's not how I am..somehow..I have to overcome this..somehow.."
"That's what we were waiting to hear," Amy said.
"Yeah, go for it," Greg said.
"But I have something I have to do," Patterson said quickly and raced out the door.
"That was quite a change of heart," Greg said.
"Baffling," Amy said.
Completely unrecognizable, he raced down the street and into the park, not particularly caring what anyone felt or if anyone noticed him. Hotaru and Ayeka were just staring at the park.
"How fortunate," he said.
The two fell out of their seats.
"What are you doing here?" Ayeka asked.
"No idea," he/she said.
359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368
369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378
379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388
389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398