Sailor Moon
Alternate Reality
*****************
Part 7: "Unwelcome Charity"
Written by Strike Fiss,
Ninja Crowbotics, 1997
Prologue
He was worried.
Everything seemed to be going His way. For thousands of years. However,
he always dreaded the final three Tumblers.
Sure enough, they had lasted the longest. The long, glowing crystal shaft
lowered it's intensity, as if it was busy thinking. He had been lucky with the
Humanity Tumbler...as well as Family. They were the other two he had been
worried would never crumble in time. Luckily, events of late gave enough focus
for his power to eat though them. But that was luck.
Time was of the essence.
If He couldn't break free before the new Millennium...If they woke before
he was free, he'd be locked inside the Tumbler forever. That was the last
problem on his mind, though. Back to the problem at hand...
The weakest of the remaining three...what was it...oh, yes. Compassion.
He was silent.
Now, he was even more worried. It was going to take something major to
upset the balance and finally destroy it.
His mind raced, thinking of what could do it. What could finally knock
this chain off his lock. Then, He laughed. Of course...
He stopped worrying. This one wouldn't last long. A year, maybe. The
final two were much weaker...and even then, he could probably break free before
they crumbled completely.
Yes...things were going His way. All he had to do was wait.
The blue crystal dimmed slightly, storing it's energy.
It was only a matter or time.
Eventually, they would all fall into place. Like tumblers in a lock.
Chapter 1
Two sets of eyes watched the situation with growing interest. One set was
hidden slightly by the shimmer of sunglasses. They watched as one of the men
pulled out a glass cutter. He was one of five who were huddled around the front
of a liquor store.
It was one a.m..
"Does this always happen?" Miharu asked, clutching her bokken.
Chris turned to her, careful not to fall out of the tree the two were
hiding in across the street. "You'd be surprised. Something about assholes and
robbing liquor stores...they go together like baloney and peanut-butter."
She smiled.
"Now," Chris nodded towards them. "Size up the situation."
Miharu nodded and peered out across the street. "Okay," she whispered.
"Two with guns. Semi-automatic. One with glass cutter and a three inch
throwing knife. Two look-outs...probably with some martial arts skills." she
sighed. "Mafia?"
"Sounds about right..." Chris nodded. "Though the Mafia thing was a nice
touch. I never thought of that." he gave her an approving smile. "I'm
impressed."
Miharu nodded. "Okay, now what?"
"I wasn't expecting guns, so I'd like you to stay up here, okay?" Chris
sighed. He knew she wanted to help. Hopefully, she'd understand.
"Okay." Miharu nodded. "Watch out."
He smiled and jumped down from the tree. He then hit the pavement and:
"Excuse me..."
The five men gasped and turned in surprise. The two with guns cocked them
and aimed. "Who's that?!?" the one with the glass-cutter asked in Japanese.
Chris looked over his sunglasses. "I'm sorry...was I interrupting
something?" he asked casually.
One of the men spoke back. "Who are you?" he laughed. "And I think the
ball is on the other side of town." he pointed to Chris's tuxedo vest. The
others began to laugh.
"Ha ha ha." Chris lowered his eyes. "I don't suppose you have a good
reason that you're making holes in the windows of that humble shop over there."
They all looked at each other. "Because we're going to rob the place." one
laughed. "How's that for a reason?" As if to emphasize the point, one made his
gun click.
Chris sighed deeply. "Oh, that's too bad. I guess I'll have to stop you
then." he walked up to them.
They all began to snicker. "You're kidding, right?" the leader said.
Chris smiled. "You're lucky I never kill petty criminals." A second
later, a loud "SNICK!" filled the air. The closest man with a gun held his hand
in pain as his gun was sliced in half down the barrel. A gleaming blade was at
Chris' side.
The four others gasped. "He's got a SWORD?!?"
"Famous last words." Fiss smiled.
The other man with the gun raised and pulled the trigger. Chris swung
around the blade, through the other three, and shot a bolt of force, causing the
weapon to fly off with only a misplaced shot at the pavement.
The three in the middle looked down to see the fronts of their shirts
sliced. They all backed up a few steps. Chris smiled and sheathed his sword
behind his back. He found that the 'scare the shit out of the bad-guy' thing
worked when it was hidden behind him. "Now, you just fired a shot. That means
the cops will be coming soon." Chris' smile widened as they all heard sirens.
"Well...What do you know...the system works."
They all nodded. "SPLIT UP!"
Chris went wide eyed. "Oh no you don't..." The five all ran. Chris
whipped out his sword, firing off another bolt. "FISS!"
The first two men tripped and fell painfully on their faces. Chris spun
around and shot out another bolt. However, they were too far away.
"Dammit!" he began to run afterwards.
Miharu suddenly dropped from a tree in front of the leader. The man tried
to slow down and avoid the girl, but she ran towards him, slamming her bokken
into his knees, and side-stepping out of the way as he fell over.
Chris relaxed and smiled at his partner. The cops were going to reach the
other two. "Okay, let's go."
Miharu nodded and they ran off down the street.
"I thought I told you to stay up there..." he said as they ran.
Miharu smiled. "You only told me to stay up because they had guns. You
got rid of them, so I helped."
Chris shrugged. "FISS!" he transformed back to normal as they rounded a
corner. Miharu quickly slid out of her pants and gee and hid them in her
backpack. He smiled. "If you keep this up, I'll have to get you your own
outfit."
Miharu smiled as they trekked back to the temple. "Can we do this every
weekend?"
"Well, not if Rei finds out." Chris mentioned. "Just keep practicing for
now."
Rei walked into the kitchen that morning. "What did you two do last
night?" she smiled innocently.
Miharu yawned. "Nothing."
Chris nodded, drinking some tea. "Sat around, talked n' stuff."
"Oh? What's this then?" Rei slammed a newspaper down on the table in front
of the two; her voice suddenly changing to 'demonic hellfire Rei-sama' mode.
Chris and Miharu flushed when they saw the headline. "Robbery foiled by
Sailor Scouts."
Rei leaned into Chris, pushing him back in his chair. "Now... you wouldn't
be teaching our Miharu to become a vigilante, are you?"
He desperately tried to keep his tea from spilling in his lap. "Who? Me?
We were just walking down the street. It wasn't our fault that they tried to
rob a liquor store in front of us!" he smiled sheepishly.
Rei turned to Miharu. The girl nodded quickly. Rei turned back to Chris.
"Fine...but you're completely responsible for her. Got it? I can't keep my eye
on you all the time, but I can make you swear that you'll keep your eye on her."
she pointed at the smiling little girl as she ate her breakfast.
Chris nodded quickly.
Rei leaned over him more. "Good." she plucked away his tea and pushed him
over in his chair.
He got up, rubbing his head painfully. "Don't worry, Miharu. We'll have
you taking out drug-rings and gangsters in no time."
If they weren't too wrapped up in the headline, maybe the three would have
noticed one of the other stories beneath it. Another robbery...at a grocery
store.
Chapter 2
Serena and Lita walked down the street, eyeing the various shops as they
passed them. "So? What were you out looking for again?" Lita asked. "You've
been wondering downtown all morning."
"I dunno..." she held onto her purse. "I wanted to get something for
Darien, but I can't really afford anything nice." she eyed Lita. "Say...can you
spare a few..."
Lita smiled and shook her head. "Oh no, you still owe me from our last
'spree'."
She tossed back her pig-tails. "Okay, but next time you need someone to
taste your cooking, I might not be so willing."
"Yeah...sure." Lita smiled. "Why? What did you want to get for him
anyway?"
Serena shrugged. "I dunno. Just some ideas."
"Well, if you want MY opinion," Lita walked ahead of her "you two should be
thinking about your wedding night!" she giggled.
Serena blushed. "Uh?"
"Never mind."
"Pardon me!!!!!"
SWAM! A shoulder slammed past Lita. Lita was caught off guard and almost
fell over. She recovered to see a man running by her, a long, tattered tan
rain-coat flowing behind him.
Lita growled. "HEY! Slow down buddy!" she growled. "Come back here and
apologize!"
The man kept going.
Serena shrugged. "Let him go, we'll just..."
"GRRRRR!" Lita dropped her shopping bag and ran after him. "I SAID
APOLOGIZE!!!" she yelled.
He gasped and looked back to see the brown-haired woman already gaining on
him. "What the...?"
Lita leapt at him. Reaching forward as she fell, she grabbed onto the back
of the man's coat, pulling him off his feet in the process. He cried out in
shock, dropping whatever he had been carrying in his arms as he tried
desperately to absorb the fall. Lita toppled onto him, and in one motion,
turned her fall into an arm-lock. They skidded briefly on the sidewalk, then
stopped. Pedestrians all around gasped in horror.
Serena finally caught up. "ARE YOU CRAZY!?!" she huffed and puffed,
holding her chest. "You almost killed him!"
Lita tightened her grip on the man's arm as she kneeled on his back. "I
want you to apologize for knocking into me!" she commanded like some kind of
deity from the heavens. "It's not very NICE..." she squeezed his arm, causing
him to yelp in pain "to run off like that!"
"Lady!" the man squeaked. "Please! I'm sorry! I...I just needed to..."
he stopped talking.
Lita and Serena gasped. The man was crying. The both looked ahead to what
he had been carrying. A bad full of groceries lay broken over the curb. Most
of the food was either crushed or dirty. Lita blushed as she realized what she
had done. She got off his back quickly. "Oh, I'm sorry..." she said slowly,
helping him to his feet. "I'll pay for the food, of course..."
As with any big city, Tokyo had it's share of homeless and pour. The man's
tattered raincoat and scruffy face certainly fit the role. Serena helped dust
the man off. "I'm terribly sorry, sir..."
Lita nodded quickly.
The man nodded, wiping away his tears. "That's okay, I'm sorry to have
been so rude, it's just that my family really needs some dinner..." he walked
over to the food. Most of the pedestrians had begun to move on their ways
again. The tall girl with the green hair-band handed him something. "What's
this?" he asked.
"Here, I said I was going to pay you back for the food I made you drop."
Lita nodded for him to take the money. "It's all I have, but it should me more
than enough."
Serena blinked. "I thought you said you didn't have any money to lend..."
she whispered.
"Not now!" Lita growled back. She put the money in the man's hand. "I
have to go, are you okay? Do you want me to call a doctor?" she smiled
sheepishly. "I did tackle you kind of hard..."
He shook his head. "No, thank you." he smiled and began to pick up the
groceries that were still in okay shape. "I'll be fine."
Lita and Serena walked off with their final good-byes.
The man stood there for a moment. What was he going to do now? He sighed
and looked at the crumpled rectangles of paper the tall-girl had given him.
What the hell was this? They were ugly, useless pieces of paper! How was he
supposed to get more food from them?
He shook his head. It didn't matter. He tossed the yen over his shoulder,
picked up the rest of the food that he could salvage, and walked off down the
street and into an alley.
"YOSH!" A cloud of dust shot out around Rei's foot as it connected with
the punching bag. She landed and a heart-beat later, delivered a punch, swung
around, and blocked the rebound with her arm.
She had been practicing for the last few hours now, and decided to take a
break. It would be time to make sure Grandpa got his medication soon, anyway.
She took a deep breath and bowed as she left the dojo.
She stopped moving. Something was coming...she could hear a tiny hum
getting closer and closer...until...
A small ball of white light penetrated the roof. Rei gasped and ducked,
thinking it was a Negabomb. Right away, though, she recognized it and slowly
got to her feet as it hovered closer and closer to the ground. Rei smiled. "No
way!"
The light fell to the ground, then shattered into a million points of light
that preceded to bounce back upwards, swirling around until the solidified
into...
"MINA!!!" Rei ran up and hugged her.
Mina was caught off guard and almost fell backwards. She returned the
embrace with equal enthusiasm, though. "REI!!"
Rei stepped back to take a look at her. "Wow! You look great! Where have
you been?" she asked.
Mina had a noticeable tan, and her hair seemed extra vibrant and bright.
She was wearing a white silk shirt and a skirt. She grinned wildly. "We spent
a week in Hawaii." she looked Rei over. "It's so great to see you again!" she
giggled and leapt at her for another hug.
Rei dodged her, accidentally letting the blond fall on her face with a
thud. Rei smiled. "I'm all sweaty." she picked her friend up. "Come on in!
I'll get you something to eat while I change."
"Uh, okay!" Mina shrugged off the fall and followed Rei into the temple's
corridor. "So, what's been happening?"
"Oh, the usual." Rei replied. "Only had one psycho to fight this month."
Mina blinked. "Oh, sorry, I should have been helping out instead of
lounging out in th..."
"Don't worry about it. We handled it." Rei smiled. "Though, I'll have to
tell you the rest later." she paused. "Sooooooo?"
Mina blinked. "So what?" she smiled evilly.
"How was your trip...otherwise?" Rei pried with a grin. "Don't tell me you
two have been sight-seeing across the world and didn't get a little action in on
the side."
Mina blushed. "What??"
Rei leaned forward and grinned, showing all her teeth.
Mina leaned closer. "If you tell Artemis, I'll make sure you..."
Rei nodded eagerly.
"Okay," Mina grinned. "Let's just say that when Dave says he knows
everything..." she leaned closer "he knows EVERYTHING..." she purred happily.
Rei shook her head. "Look at you. Find a guy who can teleport, and you're
a little slut." she joked. "Come on, I'll get you a tea and you can tell me all
about it." she giggled.
Mina smiled, then paused as a little, blue-haired girl ran down the hallway
and jumped into Rei's arms. "We're back!" she hugged her tightly.
Rei put her down. "How was the movie?"
Chris came down the hall afterwards. "It was cool! You should have came,
Rei! They had the ninjas flying everywhere, then a big..." he stopped, seeing
Mina's surprised face. "Hi, Mina!"
Mina raised her eyebrows, looking at Miharu. "Who's this??"
Miharu bowed politely. "I am Miharu of the House of Cherri Hill." She
extended her hand upwards to Mina. "Nice to meet you, miss Venus!"
Mina sighed. "Geeze, I go on a vacation and look what I miss!" she
returned Miharu's handshake. "I like your pants!" she smiled at the kid.
Chris cleared his throat. "Come on, honey, we better let mom and Venus
catch up." He grinned. "You wanna get your bokken? It's a perfect day
outside!"
Miharu nodded quickly and ran off. "I'll be out in a sec!" she called
back.
Chris walked up to Mina. "Nice to have you back!" they exchanged hugs.
"You two had a kid??" Mina blinked. "Please don't tell me she time-
traveled back from the future..."
"Naw," Chris smiled. "We just adopted her." he walked past them. "I
better get my bokken. See ya later."
The two ladies watched them run off. Mina turned to Rei. Rei just smiled.
"Come on. It's a long story."
Darien sat in his apartment, half asleep. It had been a long, hard day.
His hand rested against his forehead as he gently tried to massage his skull to
get rid of his headache. It wasn't working, though.
He always found the subdued, blue overtones of his bedroom to be quite
relaxing. Not relaxing enough today, though. He had been thinking of late.
About everything. The future, the past, and everything in between.
He needed to get out. Take a walk. Clear his head, or at least, not let
his brain continue to make his headache worse. He rolled out of his favourite
chair and put on his jacket. Maybe he'd go over to the store and pick up some
food. Why not. He hadn't eaten yet, and Serena was busy shopping today. He'd
have some time to himself.
Darien walked out the door, rattling the knob to check the door was locked,
and went down to street-level. The sun was annoyingly bright, though, and he
was beginning to wonder if his headache was going to get worse. Luckily, the
fresh air and movement was enough to help, so he decided to go ahead with his
dinner plans. "Haven't made spaghetti in a while," he mused. "Love them meat-
balls."
He walked down the street to the local grocery store.
Chapter 3
The two blades moved in sync to one another. It was rather beautiful. The
shiny surface of each dipped and bended the light at the same time, sometimes
reflecting off one another. Chris and Miharu stood on the highest point of
Cherri Hill, practicing some secret kata instinctive to those taught by the late
Henry Yamato.
Rei and Mina watched the two from inside the temple. Mina smiled.
"Amazing. They really are a pair, aren't they?"
Her darker-haired friend nodded. "She's been ours for over a month now."
She grinned. "She started calling me 'mom' about a week ago. It sort of
slipped out, accidentally, but she started using it more as she got used to the
idea."
Mina smiled, then took a sip of her tea. "You seem like a good mom."
Rei shrugged. "She came like that. We just happened to be a good
replacement for her original family."
Mina watched as the two both spun around as if to block a high attack. "I
wonder if Dave will ever ask me to marry him."
"Are you two that serious?" Rei asked, sipping some of her own tea.
Mina nodded with a smile. "The problem is that I don't know how it will
change." She sighed. "He went back to the Omega Web. That's why he didn't show
up here today. I hope that he'll remember me when he's off in some computer
room trying to predict future events and stuff."
"What makes you think he'll change?" Rei asked.
"Well, we were on vacation the last few weeks." she smiled. "He's really
just a normal guy when he's not worried about Web-stuff." her smile faded. "I
hope he'll stay a normal guy, and not think he'll have to be some kind of
superior mind again."
Rei's eyes narrowed. "Don't worry, Mina. I think we showed them they
aren't so superior when we nuked their central office." she grinned. "If
anything, they're going to respect us a bit more...just like Dave respects you.
He won't change. If he does, it won't be anything bad."
Mina nodded hopefully. "So, what else did I miss?"
"Well, there's been a few robberies lately around town...we can't get to
them in time because they're usually so quick and small nobody can do anything
about them." Rei said. "If you see anything suspicious around town, let us
know, okay?"
"I'm getting really tired of this..." Darien sighed, peering around the
display of Lucky Charms cereal boxes.
Three men were blocking the entrance, holding crudely made spears in their
hands. Two more were running back and fourth the grocery store with shopping
carts, dumping food into them from the shelves. All of the customers lay on
their stomachs, hands behind their backs as was instructed by the robbers. The
three tellers at the front dared not to move.
"Is there some kind of 'shit-attracter' on my back?" Darien asked himself.
"I go out for a walk, and I just happen to be in a robbery! I'm a freaking
asshole-magnet! I must have a 'please do illegal things around me!' sign on my
back! I don't feel like doing this right now!" he rubbed his head in pain. "Oh
well..." he reached deep into his coat pocket...
To the tune of elevator-music playing over the store's radio, Darien
transformed into Tuxedo Mask just as one of the robbers wheeled their shopping
carts next to the display of boxes he was behind.
"Come on, guys! We should be gone by now!" one of the men at the front
yelled.
"Just a second! It's worth the risk!" one of the men besides him said.
"The portal's only down the alley. We should get as much as we can now. We
might not have an opportunity like this again."
The first man nodded reluctantly and the two 'shoppers' continued their
looting, each now on their third shopping cart each.
One of the men was running down the isle, scooping up bread, then heard
something. A high-pitched whistle, followed by a red streak from behind his
ear. It was a rose. It stabbed into the ground ahead of the shopping cart.
The robber struggled to stop, but skidded the cart sideways into the magical
little flower. It held to the ground, causing the cart and robber to topple
over in a loud CRASH!
Everyone looked up to the source of the rose. Tuxedo Mask stood on top of
a frozen food freezer unit, tilting his mask toward them dramatically. "I
cannot allow you criminals to loot a place that provides good food to good..."
he paused. "Aw hell, I'm sick of this. I have a headache. Give up now or I'll
be extra pissy when I'm cracking your skulls!" he growled.
The five robbers all gasped. "RUN!" the leader yelled.
They each grabbed a shopping cart full of food and dashed out the door.
Darien held his head. "I really don't feel like doing this..." he jumped off
the freezer and gave chase with the cheers of the supermarket shoppers behind
him.
"I wonder if Superman ever had days like this..." he took out his cane.
Roses were preferable, but he didn't want to kill some group of poor idiots who
were probably just high and wanted some snacks. It extended to a good metre-
length, and he threw it like a Frisbee.
It curved around the closest man's legs, and at first, it looked like he
had missed, however, it struck the man ahead of him, causing him to fall on his
face, shopping cart flying safely into a nearby bush. The robber behind him
couldn't stop in time and tumbled over him as well. The remaining three were
already behind an alley.
Tuxedo Mask sighed. Two were good enough. No reason to scare the poor
Druggies more than he had to. He walked up to his two captives and retrieved
his staff as they cowered on the ground. Darien couldn't help but smile.
"Relax, I wasn't going to kill you for stealing some Twinkies." he said,
but then got serious. "However, I want to know exactly why you were robbing
that store!"
"W-we needed the food!" one said quickly, scrambling to his feet. "You
don't understand!"
Darien put his walking stick away inside the layers of his tuxedo. "I
understand that there are ways to get food without robbing a grocery store in
broad daylight."
The second man stood up and pointed a shivering finger at him. "It's all
YOUR fault! Why didn't you just DIE?? Do you have any idea how many people are
suffering because of you?!?" he yelled, voice equally shaky.
Darien took a step back. "Whoa, are you okay?" he asked. The man was
skinny. Almost all bones. He hadn't noticed it at first. "I'll call the
hospital if you want...we can get you some food..."
"We don't want your help!" the man spat at him. He quickly turned to the
second man. "Do you have it?"
His accomplice nodded. "But it's only got a few transports left..."
"Good enough. Do it!" the skinny man demanded. He turned back to Tuxedo
Mask. "I'd offer to see you in hell, but I doubt we'd go to the same one." he
turned to his friend, who had pulled a crystal out of his pants pocket. "Now!
Let's get the hell out of here!"
Before Darien could act, the crystal began to glow. A metre away, a black
vortex formed with a quiet "swish!" The two men jumped through, taking the
vortex with them. He blinked. "Impossible..." his eyes went wider.
Chapter 4
Darien pressed his hand against the brick, half knowing he wouldn't find
any hidden door. The alley was a dead-end. The three 'robbers' who got away
should have still been there. There was no way they could have scaled the walls
with three fully loaded shopping carts, so they must have escaped the same way
the first two did.
There HAD to be a way to follow. He needed to know what was going on. His
hand hit air suddenly. He blinked and stepped back. The wall was shimmering.
Darien quickly retrieved his staff from his tuxedo and extended it to a suitable
length for close combat.
Three figures stepped out as the wall gave way to a similar vortex he had
seen earlier. The people solidified...wearing a familiar uniform. Darien
clenched his teeth.
They were Negaverse Generals.
Sure enough, as the vortex closed behind them, they were all wearing
Zoicite-like outfits. They were slightly newer, though. The woman on the left
looked a lot like Lita. She had a black strip along her suit. There was a man
in the middle, this time with a green stripe. The last man had white stripe.
They all stood, examining Darien for a moment before even moving.
Finally, after a good twenty seconds worth of waiting, the white-striped
one spoke. "Tuxedo Mask. You must come with us." he said simply with a slight
bow.
Darien blinked. "Excuse me?" he asked, then added "Why should I?"
"Because," the woman replied "if you won't come with us willingly, we are
authorized to take you by force."
A high pitched squeak came from Darien's glove as he tightened his grip on
his staff. "Then I guess you're going to have to take me by force." he said in a
low voice, almost daring them.
The white-striped man, a bit older than the rest, and definitely the more
Battle experienced, judging by a few scars on his face, nodded. That seemed to
be the order to attack, as the other two leapt forward at Darien, probably in an
attempt to wrestle him to the ground.
Tuxedo Mask simply jumped over their heads as they ran past, skittering to
regain their balance. He spun around with a flourish of his cape, and as it
receded behind him, he produced two roses. "HAI!" he yelled throwing them.
The woman ducked under the rose. The man, however, was hit in the arm.
The flower's impact, though it seemed insignificant, threw him onto his butt,
and then pinned the sleeve of his tunic to the ground.
Darien took a moment to look behind him. Just in case the third general
was attacking. He stood calmly by the wall, though, waiting to see the outcome
of the fight. Fine, Darien thought, I'll deal with him next.
The woman came around quicker than he expected, and the moment he took to
check on his other opponent was just enough of a distraction. She slammed into
him, shoulder first, directly in his stomach. He gasped, almost falling over
from the impact, but he managed to grab her by the shoulders and throw her to
one side.
She came charging again as she found her footing. Darien quickly pointed
his staff at the woman and extended it to it's maximum reach. The point hit her
in the chest, then pushed her off her feet.
The older man in the white striped tunic laughed in admiration as the
manoeuvre caused his Lieutenant to be tossed down the alley like a rag-doll.
Darien quickly turned to him, winded from the body-check. "Wh-what are y-
you laughing at!?!" he said, receding his staff.
The man shook his head. "Oh, nothing. It's just that Miss Tre'jjer over
there was a bit cocky when she heard we'd be going up against you. I'm glad to
see her get some smarts beat into her finally. The new batch of rookies are too
full of dreams."
Darien was puzzled at the man's attitude. To say the least.
"Sorry, allow me to introduce myself." the man said, noting Darien's
confused face. "I am General Gleen Dauthi." he bowed slightly, pointing over to
the other two. "And we're not here on a hostile mission, I can assure you that.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have let the opportunity to attack from behind go so
easily." he smiled.
Darien relaxed his grip a bit. "You still haven't explained what's going
on here..."
"Our leader requests a word with you." Dauthi said stoutly. "Again,
nothing hostile, rather a..." he searched for the right word "visit." he smiled.
"Yes, a visit with an old friend."
"I don't know anyone from the Negaverse that isn't already dead." Darien
said simply. "Present company excluded, of course." he added with just a hint of
sarcasm.
Dauthi sighed. "Listen, I'm not a diplomat. I have no idea how he knows
you. However, if you want to know why my people have been looting your city,
you can find the answer with him."
"So, it HAS been the Negaverse..." Darien sighed. "You mean all those
robberies?"
The General nodded. His two Lieutenants had finally gotten to their feet
and were advancing. He waved them off.
Darien looked around. "Do you mind if I call my friends? You can
understand that I'm not that comfortable going into an enemy universe."
"Actually, yes. He wanted to speak to you only." Dauthi said with a shrug.
"I'll tell you what. This portal will be open for another day or so. If you
want to come through, I'll have an escort posted on the other end to lead you to
the Great Hall. If you don't, then you don't."
Darien paused for a moment. "You say he knows me?"
The general nodded.
"And I can find out what's going on about the robberies?" Darien asked
himself. "Okay, I'll go...but no more 'by force' escorts, or I'll make sure
you'll regret it. Got it?"
Dauthi nodded, leading the way into the portal. "Shall we?"
Darien watched as the wall began shimmering...eventually turning into a
black and purple spiral as it swallowed up Gleen Dauthi, then the other two.
Tuxedo Mask took a deep breath, then walked through himself. Out of his teeth,
he whispered "I just know this won't help my headache..."
His foot hit something spongy. Darien looked down quickly to see dirt. He
breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the portal behind him was alive and well,
and that they had materialized in a large, open field...no chance of an ambush.
He blinked. Tuxedo Mask was in the Negaverse...
The sky above was a deep, hazy purple. Almost like a twilight...only more
vivid. The plain around him and the others was barren except for a few shrubs
that sported an off-white colour.
It looked like the landscape had been coloured by a three-year-old using
what ever crayons he could grasp in his hands first. The dark contrast
immediately began to strain Darien's eyes. "Well, I was right about the
headache..."
"Pardon?" Dauthi asked, he and his Lieutenants were a few metres ahead,
leading him along a slightly-worn dirt path.
"Oh, nothing..." Darien shrugged it off, catching up to them in a few
strides. "Tell me, is this how it is all the time?"
The man that hadn't yet been introduced to him answered. "It's summer
here...well, at least our equivalent season to your summer." he said.
"Normally, the sky is a more blue-ish colour."
"Mmm, that explains why I never saw you people wearing sunglasses." Darien
quipped.
Dauthi smiled. "It's a harsher place than you're used to, Prince Darien.
However, it makes most of what lives here strong. Our plants can live in just
one tenth of the sunlight you receive on your Earth. What they don't have in
energy-compounds, they make up for in...special properties."
Darien followed, quietly observing his surroundings. He expected something
off of "The Empire Strikes Back." Rows and rows of Negaverse warriors, all
glowering at him as he walked past, just because they had the chance to act
intimidating. This was much different, though. It was like the entire world
had been deserted. He hadn't seen another living creature besides the three
people in front of him.
"So, where are we going again?" he asked.
"To the Great Hall." Dauthi replied. "It's just down here." he pointed to
a small cluster of buildings. The centre one was a tall mangled pillar that
loomed out over the horizon, giving it the illusion of floating. Classic
Negaverse architecture, Darien thought. Who cares about practicality. Just
make it look intimidating and go from there.
A light breeze kicked up Darien's cape as the group neared the buildings.
The horizon slowly gave way to more buildings. A city.
"Does everyone live here?" Darien asked.
Tre'jjer answered this time. "Most of our planet lives here, yes."
"What's the city called?"
"Called?"
"Yeah, what's it called." Darien asked, curious.
Tre'jjer smiled as if to say it was absurd. "We don't name our cities.
That honour is reserved for only royal blocks."
"We're coming up on Trut." Dauthi said. "It's been home of the Ruling
Families for eons."
"While you humans were still living in caves." Tre'jjer added proudly.
Darien chose not to take the offence at her comment. The last thing he
needed to do was make an enemy now. He just walked on the loose, dusty soil,
focusing on getting over his headache, and getting out alive if it came to that.
Why am I here again? He asked himself.
Chapter 5
Beavis skittered along Miharu's hand as she walked up to Grandpa. "Good
afternoon, sir!" she bowed slightly.
Grandpa had been meditating. He would have been working outside in the
yard, but Rei, Chris and indeed, everyone, wanted to make sure he was taking it
easy. The man turned to her. "Hi, Miharu!" he said, smiling. "Hello to you
too, Beavis! I thought you hedgehogs were nocturnal?"
Beavis nodded. "I've adjusted. Mind you, that's no easy task when it
comes to Chris and Rei's erratic sleeping habits."
"Yes, ever since he came over the first time, she's been up late almost
every night." Grandpa sighed. "Kids."
"My sentiments exactly." Beavis ruffled.
"Speaking of kids," Grandpa stood up and patted Miharu on the head. She
was just about the same height as the old man now. It was rather comical to see
him stretch to reach her head. "I've told you many times that you don't have to
call me 'sir'."
Miharu bowed, keeping Beavis cupped in her hand. "But, sir, you are the
head of this temple. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't address you formally."
Beavis cleared his throat. "Miharu, it's okay. When you're as old as us,
you don't care too much about the extraneous pleasantries of pompous ceremony."
She blinked.
"It's no big deal." he rephrased.
"Oh, okay." Miharu smiled.
"So, you hungry?" Grandpa asked Miharu. "Did you want cookies or anything?
We have a few in the kitchen."
Miharu nodded eagerly. "Yes, please!"
"Ah, good. Even little samurai have to eat cookies now and then." Grandpa
smiled as they walked over to the kitchen. "I'm glad that Rei hasn't cramped
your style." he shook his head. "She was always so proper. Never liked treats.
How's a Grandpa supposed to spoil his daughter when she doesn't like cookies?"
Miharu laughed. "I don't know! Does she like cake?"
"Mmm, never thought of that." Grandpa smiled. "You know, Chris' birthday
is coming up soon...three or so days...you want to help me make a cake?"
She nodded happily.
"I'm NOT eating any cake!!" Rei called from the hallway. She popped her
head in the door with a smile. "Gotta watch my figure!"
"I'll have cake!" Mina giggled from behind her. "Try and stop me!"
Two giant metal doors creaked open in front of them. They were
old...probably kept around for more ceremonial purposes than defence. Either
way, the rusted gray metal was still impressive. Darien whistled his
admiration. "You people can sure build a castle!"
"We try." Dauthi smiled as they let Darien walk past them. "He's waiting
for you inside."
Darien looked back at them. "Aren't you coming?"
The General shook his head. "No, but it's been a pleasure meeting you.
I'm sure we'll have the chance to talk later." he smiled, extending his hand.
"Isn't that right, Tre'jjer?"
The woman smiled reluctantly.
Darien returned the handshake and continued into the darkened chamber.
THUMM! The doors behind him closed. He looked around for an exit, and for a
brief second, a flash of panic hit him. What if this WAS a trap? He just
waltzed right into it!
"CLICK!"
Darien looked ahead of him. A light had turned on the centre of the room.
In the centre stood a throne.
He took off his mask to get a better look. "Hello?" he called out, letting
his eyes adjust to the darkness.
"It's been a long time, Darien."
A shadowy figure said from the throne. His voice was raspy, but somehow...
familiar...
Darien began walking forward again. "Uh, hi. Your generals said you
wanted to talk to me. Do I know you?"
The man had on an old General uniform...with a red stripe. Darien's mind
raced. He always remembered them by their colour...red was...
Jadeite.
The figure stood slowly, then walked forward to meet him. As he cleared
into the centre spot-light, he smiled. It WAS Jadeite. Darien's jaw dropped.
"J-J-"
The General bowed slightly. "I'm glad we can finally meet without the
influence of Queen Beryl ruining our afternoon."
"I thought you were...well...dead!" Darien gasped. "What's going on here?"
Jadeite shuddered. "No, not dead. Come," he held out his arm. I'll show
you around as we talk." he sighed. "We have a lot to talk about."
"I'd imagine..." Darien followed him out a side-door into an open court.
Jadeite turned to him. "It's pretty warm, here...you may have noticed. If
you want to change, I can assure you that no one will care who you are. Most
know already."
Darien blinked. "Oh...okay..." he reached behind himself, grabbed the end
of his cape, and brought it in front of his body. A quick swish along his arm,
and it vaporized at his hand, revealing his casual clothes. Jadeite laughed.
"That's why you Sailor Scouts won. You have the coolest transformations."
Darien smiled, finally feeling his headache going away. "Thanks." he
looked around at the court. "It's a nice world...obviously, a lot different...
but it's..."
"It's dying."
Chapter 6
"Andrea?"
Andrea wiped away the sleep from her eyes. "Uh?" she held the phone closer
to her ear. "Darien?" she looked over to the clock. "Do you realize it's six
A.M. here??"
"Sorry, I know, summer holidays, sleep in...sorry." Darien apologized. "I
need your help."
"What for?" Andrea sighed.
"You and Maury." Darien said. "I'm calling from a pay-phone. You know the
bakery that sells those bagels you liked so much??" he paused. "You two need to
meet me there."
"Why can't the others help?" Andrea asked.
Darien sighed on the other end of the phone. "I don't know if they'd want
to. You and Maury are the only ones not busy that I think can help. You two
haven't had as much dealing with the Negaverse."
She sat up in her bed, looking outside. The sun was just starting to rise.
"Maury should be up. I'll be there in an hour or so."
"Okay, I got to get some more things sorted out here anyway, so make it two
hours." Darien explained. "See ya." he hung up. A series of clicks sounded as
the long-distance connections stopped.
Darien sighed and waked back into the portal beside the phone-booth.
Jadeite was waiting on the other end. "Thank you. I know it's asking a lot..."
he sighed.
Darien nodded and the two kept walking. "Tell me more."
"Starting where?"
"After Queen Beryl. I want to know everything."
Jadeite's eyes opened when he realized he couldn't breathe. It had been
forever. Or, at least, what seemed like forever. He had forgotten what it
meant to need to breathe. The sudden, urgent hunger, ripping through his chest
as he desperately tried to suck in a breath of anything...anything would do...
He tried to move...a struggling instinct. He HAD to move...NOW. His arms
and legs, though, were encased in a thick crystal. "DAMMIT!" he tried to
yell...but he couldn't even move his lips much more than a millimetre or two.
Just then, though, he realized it was enough.
He could move now...just enough...but he had to move fast or he'd
suffocate.
He paused...just for a moment...storing up his strength...then he punched.
He punched and kicked as hard as he could...whatever direction his limbs had
been lined up.
KRISSSSSHHHHHHHH!
The crystal block around him shattered into a million fragments. He fell
into the pile, causing it to spill away from him like water. A raspy gasp rang
out as he sucked in air...air...at last! He was free!
Jadeite got to his feet slowly, breathing in sporadic gulps. His lungs
burned...but right now, it was the best feeling in the world. "That...ugly...
foolish..." he growled. "How DARE she lock me away!" he spat out chunks of
crystal as he spoke. "Eternal Sleep..." he shuddered. "I'll make her regret
she ever uttered those words..."
He looked around. A few dozen other crystal coffins littered the darkened
room. If he remembered the protocol, he was in the basement. He walked toward
the only door, stumbling a bit as he regained feeling throughout his limbs.
None of the others were people he cared to let out. He noticed one or two more
wake up, struggling to get out...but they were all people he'd rather see die,
and all of them were people too weak to break out on their own.
Then, he paused...almost at the door. Something had disturbed Queen
Beryl's spell. That meant something had happened to her...
He smiled. Irony upon irony. The Sailor Scouts must have won...setting
him free. He would have to thank them later.
Darien listened intently. "Now you see why we didn't exactly give in.
Things like Eternal Sleep just aren't fun." he smiled.
"Yeah, that's what I thought as well." Jadeite smiled as they walked. They
were now in the main city. Jadeite had told him the name was something like
Rathund. The translation didn't go good into human-speech. "If Beryl had cared
more about the Negaverse, and not so much about your Earth, maybe we'd be okay.
A lot of the old ways changed as soon as I was put in power."
"That's something I wanted to ask you about." Darien said.
Jadeite nodded as they walked down the deserted street. "I woke up about a
week after you Scouts killed her. Everything was a mess. I don't know if it
was from your attack on the Northern base, or just because the population was
lost without her..."
Darien nodded. "I can see the problem."
"Children and entire families were starving on the streets, my friend.
'Problem' didn't describe it."
Darien was silent, unsure of what to say next.
Jadeite continued. "A few of my friends...including General Dauthi,
decided that they needed a leader." he shrugged. "They picked me. I had been
Queen Beryl's top general before she 'froze' me, so I knew more about the
workings of the political system than most people did." he growled. "It wasn't
enough, though...I wasn't good enough."
"I don't see any starving people..." Darien said, hoping to compliment the
man. "It looks like you've done quite a bit."
Jadeite shook his head. "We're starving to death. Nothing's changed...
all I did was slow it down. The suns above us are cooking the soil every day.
We no longer have the resources to stop the decline in food production." he
rubbed back his hair in frustration. "Half our people are farmers. It doesn't
matter, though. Entire farms can barely feed themselves...let alone the city.
Half the crops are waste...garbage."
"And that's why you've begun to attack us?" Darien asked.
"Attack?" Jadeite frowned. "Never. The head Generals and I vowed never to
interfere with the Universe again. We lost too much already. Trying to attack
you would only weaken us further."
"Then what's going on?" Darien rubbed his hair back as well. "I can see
why your people have been robbing our food-stores, but why would they disobey
you?"
"Like I said before...I am not the ruler that Queen Beryl used to be."
Jadeite explained. "When hunger grips the people, and they can no longer ignore
it, then they will not listen to me. They would not even listen to a God at
this point." he pounded his fist inside his palm. "A group of farmers raided
the armoury last week. They stole weapons...and a rather large collection of
Gateway Crystals. They've been using them to gain access to your dimension." he
smiled. "I hope you don't mind that I am hoping they do get food. No matter
who they hurt."
Darien nodded. "Why didn't you ask for help?"
"The same reason you didn't ask Sailor Moon for help..." he paused. "Who's
Andrea??"
"You'll see." Darien smiled.
"Oh, okay..." Jadeite continued. "But, one of the biggest reasons I didn't
try to make contact with you before was that..." he paused. "I wanted to go
down with the ship."
Darien went wide-eyed. "What??"
"The Negaverse is dying. Sinking into extinction as each family runs out
of food. Half our population is already dead." he took a long breath. "I want
our death to be dignified. Nothing more than that. Nothing less. I didn't
want us to die on our hands and knees, begging for scraps. And I didn't want to
die fighting...I've had enough fighting to last me another eon."
"Then why am I here?"
"The farmers are determined to drag out their snivelling existence."
Jadeite growled. "Having a new-born conscious does horrible things to people
like me. I wanted to find out if help was possible. At least...make sure they
don't suffer so badly."
Darien's jaw was open. "You should have come sooner...there has to be
something we can do!" he pointed around him. "The soil...our scientists could
easily help you with that...and...uh...we can always get some charity help until
you can support yourselves..."
Jadeite blinked. "Darien...I don't want to live. If we're going to
die..."
"You just said you wanted your people to live." Darien cut him off. "If
you want to die, then fine...but you asked for my help and you're going to get
it."
Jadeite paused for a long time. Then, his face slowly formed into a smile.
"Do you really think the soil can be...and that your people will...???"
"Maybe not...but you have me on your side." Darien extended his hand.
"I'll give it my best shot."
Jadeite ignored Darien's handshake and gave him a hug. "Thank you, my
friend..."
Chapter 7
Chris woke to the light smell of perfumed fabric as it brushed against his
nose. Rei snuggled into the back of his arm, sleeping soundly. He was about to
go back to sleep and enjoy the rest of the early night in dream-land, when he
saw a shadow by the door.
Some of the walls were paper, so shadows were a great way to see if someone
was eavesdropping.
This shadow, however, had a tuft of hair, signifying a pony-tail. And, it
was very short. "Miharu?" he whispered.
The shadow almost jumped.
Chris slid out of bed, putting on a pair of pants. He then walked over to
the door and opened it. "Are you okay, honey?"
She looked up at him. "I can't sleep." she sighed.
The little girl was still in her temple outfit, bokken on her back. Chris
smiled. "Yeah, something about sleeping and this family. I got Rei addicted to
late nights...now you."
"Do you want to go practice?" she asked eagerly, skipping the unnecessary
conversation.
Chris smiled and stepped out the bedroom door, closing it behind him.
"Okay, but you're going to go to bed afterwards, right? I don't want you
staying up all night until you're at least twelve!"
Miharu smiled and they went outside. Chris grabbing his jacket from the
rack as they went.
The rush of parenthood-fun died out as they got outside, though. Chris
could see that something was bugging her. "Okay, Miharu..." Chris picked up a
stick they had been practicing with earlier. "I want you to run."
She had a puzzled look on her face.
"We're going to run. One of the hardest things to remember to do is keep
your sword out of the way of your everyday movements." Chris said. "If you
trip, you lose. If you get caught in a tree, you'll either be disarmed, or
tripped."
Miharu's eyelids fell a bit. "Uh...I don't feel like running around..."
she said slowly. "I thought we could just practice for a bit."
Chris sat down on the grass in front of her. "You're the best sword for
your age in all of history that I know of. I don't think you need to practice."
he lowered his head, peering at her through his bangs. "You don't want to
practice...do you...?"
She shook her head. With a huff, she sat down across from him. "I can't
sleep." she said simply.
"Nightmares?" Chris asked cautiously. The poor girl had been having them
almost every night since her mother passed away. It was no surprise, but Chris
always treated each one like it was the worst. He hoped they'd end soon. Rei
even tried to think of any spells that could help her, but they both agreed that
it should run it's course.
Miharu shook her head. "No."
Chris kept peering at her. "What's wrong then?"
She just sat there. Chris sighed, then swivelled his butt to sit besides
her. "It's okay." He put his arm around her. She leaned into him with a hug.
"This is new for me too."
"I miss mommy." she said quietly. "I wish I was back home..."
He nodded. "I wish we could have been buddies...I miss your mom too."
Miharu looked up at him. "I...If you don't want to take care of me..."
Chris shook his head. "No...no...it's not that." he smiled. "I consider
it a great honour to look after you."
They were quiet for a long time. "Tell me a story...I want to know what
happened with your grandpa."
He thought for a moment. "Sure." he shrugged. Miharu propped herself up
against his side. "Well, it had been a pretty bad week for us." he started.
"The Scouts just came back from Edmonton, unsure of what happened. Then, the
new enemy attacked!"
"The clones??"
"Yes." Chris nodded. "They attacked the temple just as I was coming back.
Luckily, they only came for their leader, who had just duplicated from Sailor
Moon."
Miharu nodded with interest. Chris had hoped a story would eventually lull
her to sleep, but she had quite a curiosity about the Scouts. She said once
that they were very honourable fighters, and that she wanted to be like them.
He continued.
"Later on, Maury and I were walking down to the shop..."
Andrea and Maury materialized in the dark alleyway. "Mmm, nice place."
Maury commented.
"I wonder where Darien is?" Andrea asked. "This better not be some kind of
joke. We could be watching X-Files right now."
Maury punched the brick wall besides him. "Damn! That's right! Today was
supposed to have the mutated rats! I love mutated rats!" he peered over his
sunglasses. "Darien better have a REAL good excuse..."
The wall behind them rippled. Andrea and Maury both stood there, blinking.
A few seconds later, Darien emerged. The wall continued to fluctuate behind
him. "Hi. Glad you could make it. Come on, we have a lot to talk about." he
lead the way with his arm.
Maury smiled. "Cool! Does every alley in this city end with a vortex??"
"Only the ones on the South Side." Darien smiled.
The three walked into the portal. Right away, Maury and Andrea's jaws
dropped. "Wh...where the?" Andrea asked.
"Welcome to the Negaverse." Jadeite announced himself. They all turned to
see he was standing behind the closing portal. "I'm Jadeite."
Darien introduced them. "This is Sailor Hooze and Prince Destiny."
"A pleasure." Andrea nodded. "So, what's going on?"
"We have to rebuild this world." Darien said simply.
They were quiet for a bit. Maury cleared his throat. "Why not? What else
are we goinna do this weekend?"
Chapter 8
"OH NO! LOOK OUT!" Chris gasped.
"RUN!" Miharu cheered along, waving around her arms excitedly.
"No no no! Watch out behind you! The road-runner's goinna...!!" Chris
sighed lowering his head. "Stupid Wile-E! You don't just put the rocket-skates
on with...ARGH!"
Rei walked into the room with a very angry look on her face. "WHAT is
going on? It's seven in the morning!"
She blinked. Miharu and Chris were watching Saturday Morning Cartoons.
Chris had set his laptop up like a movie-projector against the far wall, and had
piped in some video feed from some channel that was currently showing "The Bugs
Bunny and Tweety Show".
The two were cheering against the Road-Runner as the Coyote tried to attack
with some ACME Killer-Bees. Naturally, the bees back-fired and began to chase
him off a cliff.
After the commercial started, they both turned to her. "Hi, Rei! Sit
down! I think 'Night Hood' is starting somewhere in Washington right about
now!" Chris smiled.
Miharu nodded eagerly. "Mommie!" she leapt at Rei, almost bowling her
over. "Come watch! This is soooo cool! We get fifty thousand channels!"
Rei could hardly hold back her smile. "Chris? Have you been feeding her
any sugary breakfast cereals??"
"She has to learn!" Chris excused.
Rei held Miharu up to her. "I'm sorry, honey. I don't watch much T.V.."
She let her down. "But you're welcome to watch a few more cartoons."
Chris shut his computer, terminating the video-feed. "Naw, that's okay.
We've been up all night watching them."
They both smiled guiltily.
Rei rubbed back her hair. "Fine...but if you two are falling asleep in the
middle of the day, don't come crying to me about being tired." She turned.
"I'm having a shower."
"Why doesn't mom like cartoons?" Miharu asked as Chris poured her some more
cereal.
Chris sat down with her at the table. "She's not the 'high-tech' type." he
explained, pouring them some tea. "She likes it when she sits down to watch,
but she prefers to work." He pretended to tip a hat. "Luckily her friends and I
have gotten her to relax a bit." he smiled. "She's been really official when
you're around because she wants to make a good impression on you, though."
Miharu shrugged. "Why?"
"She likes you." Chris smiled. "She wants to be a good mom."
"Oh..." Miharu said, shovelling a spoonful of crunchy sugar-chunks into her
mouth. "She is a good mom, though."
Chris leaned back in his chair. "Yes, she is."
Two people were suddenly at the entrance to the kitchen. Miharu and Chris
both turned. "Hello? Can we help you??" she asked.
They both pulled out crude knives.
Miharu and Chris looked at each other. One of the men raised it as it to
throw. "Don't make any sudden moves..."
"Why?" Chris looked around. "Is there a bee on me??" he turned back to the
two men. "It's a good thing I'm not allergic to bees. I can't find it."
Miharu smiled.
Chris winked. "Maybe it's fire-ants! You know you shouldn't move when
there are fire-ants on you! Spooky!"
The two men blinked. The first regained composure. "We won't hurt you if
you stay there. Now, be quiet, and we'll be gone in a few minutes."
"That's nice to know." Chris stood up, sliding his palm over his spoon and
picking it up. "Now, why don't you two leave here now before you ruin a
perfectly keen morning??"
The second man walked over to the fridge and began to take out anything he
could find. Miharu stood up now. "HEY!"
"Quiet, little girl!" One replied.
Chris looked down to Miharu. "Shall we?"
She nodded, reached to the table, and picked up her bowl. In a flash, both
leapt at the two men. Miharu shot forward at the one in the fridge, slamming
the bowl against his nose. The man fell as it shattered.
Chris ducked under the second man's grasp and shoved his spoon under the
man's ribs. He fell over as well, holding his chest in pain. Chris and Miharu
stood over him. "Aw, relax. You'll live."
One thing they didn't count on was a third man. He had been hiding behind
the wall, and jumped at them, knocking Chris over, and sending Miharu stumbling
into the counter. He wrestled with Chris until he had his arm pinned against
Chris' throat. Chris struggled, but he was obviously no match for the scruffy
third robber's sheer weight.
"You little bastard!" The man growled, spitting into Chris' face as he
continued to struggle. "All we wanted was some food! Does everyone in your
universe have to oppose us?"
Chris blinked, confused.
The man pulled out a knife and held it to Chris's eye. Chris stayed still.
"We were going to just come in and leave without any problems..." the man
continued. "But now I'm pissed off! Maybe I should take out your eyes just for
your little stunts! Maybe I should make an example of you!"
He raised his makeshift knife higher. "Or maybe I'll just stab it through
your little brain and..."
CRACK!!! Rei stood behind them, the remains of a shattered chair in her
hands. The rest of it lay scattered about the man's back. He fell over,
unconscious, dropping the knife harmlessly. Rei recognized the man's clothes
instantly. "Oh man! This toad is from the Negaverse!"
She helped Chris to his feet and then went over to make sure Miharu was
okay. Chris brushed himself off. "That was a quick shower."
Rei tightened the towel around herself. "Yeah, well, I heard someone
rustling around." she pointed to the three men on the ground.
"At least we get to finally figure out who's been robbing all the grocery
stores." Chris said, rubbing his neck painfully. "I never saw these Negaverse
clothes before. Are you sure?"
Rei nodded. "They're civilian clothes. See the arm badges, though?" she
pointed to a small symbol on one of the man's arms. It looked like a black orb
being crushed by a rain-cloud. "That's the symbol for agriculture."
Chris blinked. "He's a farmer?" he shrugged. "Happy symbol. Really makes
me think of green veggies and ripe fruit! Yum yum yum!" he wound his leg back
and delivered a swift kick to the guy's ribs as he started to wake up.
"I really wish you'd stop kicking people in front of Miharu." Rei smiled.
"Oh well...just don't swear in front of her."
Miharu smiled back.
Sighing, Rei walked off "Well, I'm not about to go chasing after people in
the Negaverse with Miharu here." she reached to her wrist. "I'll call the
others. They can go check it out."
"Now now..." Chris leaned over the attacker. "What are we going to do with
these little nougats?"
"We could always call the police." Rei paused. "Then again, they might be
sick of bad things happening at the temple and get suspicious. Any ideas?"
"Well, we need a few good throw pillows in the den..." Chris smiled. "We
can always keep them here. Besides, the others might want to ask them a few
questions."
Rei nodded. "I'll be back."
"Getting some rope?" Chris asked.
"No, clothes." Rei shivered. "It's draffy in here."
Chris sighed and looked over to Miharu. She looked curious. "What's
nougat?"
"Oh, it's that spongy, light-brown stuff in candy bars." Chris explained.
"At least I think..."
Outside, another farmer stood by the window, shaking. He was supposed to
help out, but he didn't get there in time. However, he DID hear their
conversation. "They're...S...Sailor Scouts!" he gasped.
Quickly reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a Gateway Crystal. It
activated at his grasp and a portal formed a metre in front of him. He jumped
through.
He knew who to tell...THEY would get revenge for all of the Negaverse.
They had to. It was the only pleasure left to the dying Negaverse...to avenge
Queen Beryl. No matter how harsh a ruler she was, she always managed to put
food on the table.
Chapter 9
"This can't be the right place." Kinja lowered his head. "It's a dump!"
Emanj turned to the frail little man. "What did you expect?" he growled.
The two farm-hands walked up the dusty path to the tavern. It was in one
of the distant districts. Wahn-ith. It was known across the shrivelling planet
as a haven for outcasts. A place run by soldiers of fortune who were now
fortuneless. Anyone who had been of Beryl's court were now rotting here.
What was left of them.
"Hopefully, they weren't killed in the droughts last summer." Emanj said
quietly. "They're the only ones who can really help us." he pushed open the
saloon-like-doors.
Inside was hardly a saloon. It was a long stretch of marble floor, with a
mirror at the back wall that made the tavern seeming to stretch out into a
horizon of it's own. Along each wall sat people of every species and type
available to the Negaverse. Groups huddled together, talking and laughing and
drinking. In that respect, it had the atmosphere of a neighbourhood pub.
Drinks were dispensed from tiny vending-receptacles in the walls. It was
the preferred method around these parts. No bar-tender to hear what you were
talking about...no witnesses...no loose ends.
"Do you see them?" Kinja asked eagerly.
"Yeah, at the back." Emanj answered, walking towards them.
At the back of the elongated bar sat a group of five figures, all hunched
over their respective beverages, saying nothing to each other. They seemed to
expel a dark aura around them, making the shadows creep in towards the back.
Even the other patrons preferred to sit relatively far away from these five.
Emanj and Kinja walked up to the five figures at the back. Kinja couldn't
help notice that a few of the other patrons were betting against the two leaving
alive or not. "W-what are we doing here again?" he asked nervously.
"Recruiting."
"Oh."
Emanj now stood over the group of shadowy persons. One looked up, eyes
reflecting a glint of light as he peered at the newcomer. "This is a private
discussion." he stated in a calm, low voice.
"Forgive me, sirs." Emanj bowed respectively. The last thing he needed was
to piss these people off. He was a distinguished warrior himself, having once
lead a division in the Old Army...but he was no match for these men. Kinja was
right to be nervous. This was a delicate situation at best.
"You're forgiven. Now leave." Another said in a tired, impatient voice.
"I'll make this brief and to the point." Emanj coughed. "You five are the
Honour Guards, are you not?"
The first tilted his eyes slightly. It could have been a nod. "Why do you
seek us?" he asked in a semi-curious voice.
"We wish to enlist your services." Emanj said. "It is a matter of an old
enemy."
The five all laughed a low chuckle. Hardly the response he had hoped
for...still, they hadn't gotten angry. At least that was a good sign.
"We all have enemies." Another said in a jocular tone. "It is my
experience that you should deal with your own. Their deaths don't give you the
same satisfaction, otherwise."
"I suggest you take your shivering little friend away from here and don't
come back until you feel like buying us a round of drinks." another laughed.
Emanj smiled back at Kinja. "Fair enough." he reached into his pocket and
produced a handful of small crystal slivers. "Drinks all around. On me."
The five all turned and looked at Emanj with curious glowing eyes. "If you
know who we are, you should not be so willing to keep company with us." the
tired one said.
"Necessity." Emanj said simply as he fed the crystals into a small slot in
the wall. A panel opened up below and glass mugs of various liquid were
dispensed. The five Honour Guards took a glass.
"You wish to kill an enemy?" the first laughed. "Surely you know of
cheaper assassins...or are you new to the game of death?"
"Not AN enemy. A group." Emanj knelt down slowly, making sure they
wouldn't object.
"Ah, more than one? That's more expensive." one of them laughed.
Emanj shrugged. "What is money on a dying world? I will be glad to pay
whatever you require." he smiled. He had their attention...and he was about to
present the punch-line.
"And who is this enemy?" The first asked finally, eyes glowing with
curiosity.
Emanj smiled "Would you like me to recite their names?"
"Be my guest. You're buying."
The old warrior-turned-farmer cleared his raspy throat. "The leader is
Sailor Moon."
The tavern turned deathly quiet.
Emanj continued with a grin. "Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, Sailor..."
The five Honour Guards all stood, tossing their drinks aside. They loomed
over the crouched farmer, easily eight feet tall each. One of them picked Emanj
up by his shirt. "Little farmer, you better not be joking, for the sake of you
and your frightened little friend's health." He said, spraying stinking breath
into his face.
"During one of our travels to the Universe, my friend here was fortunate
enough to come across the home of Sailor Mars." Emanj said calmly. If they
wanted him dead, they would have killed him by now. This rough play was just
for sorting out details.
The first stepped out of the shadows, revealing a full set of armour. Eyes
blazed behind a silver helmet. "So, the Sailor Scouts are still alive." he
looked Kinja in the eyes. "When was this?"
"Y-Yesterday..." Kinja stammered. "Sh-sh-she's in a t-t-temple..."
"What else do you know?" the Honour Guard demanded.
Emanj was let down. "Apparently, they have gotten stronger, and they may
have more friends now. I was able to determine this from old news-print I
found. The reason we delayed telling you until now is that we wanted to present
you with all the facts." he gave them a small information crystal and bowed
again. "After all, we want you to succeed. As would all the Negaverse."
"Mmm," the man said behind his helmet. "Guards, I believe we have a new
mission."
Emanj smiled. "Now, as promised, another round of drinks, and we can
discus payment?"
"Drinks all around...for all our fellow citizens." the Guard motioned
around the tavern. His gesture was greeted by a resounding cheer. "As for the
payment...the mission itself is more than payment, my friend."
The other four smiled in agreement, grumbling only about the task at hand.
Emanj turned to Kinja. "See? Nothing too it."
Chapter 10
"I never thought I'd say this..." Andrea sighed. "But right now, Ami would
really come in handy."
Maury nodded weakly, half asleep on a pile of books that were just as tall
as he was. Darien, Jadeite, Maury and Andrea had been going through records and
plans all night. Everything from health-care and public parks to individual
persons and their accounts.
"We're going to need the others." Darien sighed finally. "I know Rei and
Chris might want to stay behind, so that's two less...I really recommend opening
negotiations with our side."
Jadeite paced back and forth in front of the library's window. "I'd like
to try things on our own for a few months. Unless we get major support from
your universe, we'll be fending for ourselves anyway."
Maury nodded. "We should try to stabilize this economy first. If we start
things too fast, there's going to be friction."
"Well, like I said, Ami's help would be appreciated. Any other Scout who
is available will probably volunteer anyway." Andrea sighed, stretching her
arms. "I just can't help but notice what a huge project this is going to be.
We can't simply straighten out a planet with a dozen or so people who have
little knowledge...if any...about politics and economics."
Jadeite rubbed his temples. Darien couldn't help but notice how much the
old General had changed. Maybe it was the Eternal Sleep process...maybe it
didn't stop his aging entirely, but either way he looked like he was in his late
forties. Whisks of white and silver hair dusted his head over in a tired haze.
His eyes were set back into his head, though that was probably from lack of
sleep or food. His gold-trimmed clothes seemed like the only new thing on the
man. "This is why I wanted to just die quietly. If we strike up hope in the
population, that's just going to hurt them later on."
Darien felt bad for him. Not regretful...but he did pity Jadeite. "Let's
take another look at the crop figures."
Day broke, to Chris' relief, on the right side of his sleeping schedule.
One can take only so many late-nights and Jolt-buzzes. Luckily, he hadn't yet
found his limit.
The police had stopped by last night, taking the burglars into custody.
Rei was planning to find out what was going on, but Chad accidentally stumbled
upon the scene and a story had to me manufactured.
They were back at square one, so to speak. They had no idea what was going
on, but Rei had alerted the others at least.
He quickly put on clothes and decided to check up on Rei. She had probably
carried him off to bed. Last thing he remembered was dozing off on the couch
with Miharu. He poked his head in to see Rei soundly sleeping. A glance a the
clock by her bed showed it was still only about five in the morning. Miharu was
sleeping next to her, half tangled up in Rei's hair.
Chris decided to let them sleep and closed the door quietly. "I wonder if
it rained last night." he sniffed the air. It was nice.
He opened the door to go outside, putting on his sneakers. "What the...?"
A figure stood across the lawn, arms crossed. No...not just a figure,
rather a mountain.
"Hello?" Chris asked.
The person didn't move.
Chris shrugged to himself and tightened his shoe-laces. "I hate these
warriors who don't like to say hello. That always mean they're tough." he
sighed. If the Negaverse had started attacking the temple, there was a pretty
good chance they knew about Rei.
He walked out of the temple, closing the door behind him. "Excuse me, but
are you looking for anyone in particular?" he asked.
The figure nodded. "Sailor Mars." it said in a low voice. It reminded
Chris of James Earl Jones or somebody like that.
Chris sighed. "She isn't here right now. Can I take a message?"
"You seem very calm." the man continued.
"So do you." Chris smiled back. "So?"
"I know that Sailor Mars lives here. Please ask her to come out and
fight." the man said simply. "Otherwise I may be tempted to kill you instead."
Chris brushed his hair back with his hand. "Honestly, evil warlords like
you never have manners. Do you know what TIME it is??"
The 'warlord' blinked in confusion.
"It's five in the morning!" Chris gasped, over-acting. "Only gardeners
like myself and people who have malfunctioning car-alarms get up this early!" he
walked closer. "Say, that's some nice looking armour. You here for the Anime
convention?"
"No."
"Oh, okay." Chris continued. "HEY!" he gasped, pointing to the man's feet.
The man looked at his feet, trying to see that Chris was pointing at.
"What???"
Chris collapsed on the ground to his knees. "TWELVE LONG YEARS!" he cried
"Twelve years of my life I spent making this grass grow! And YOU! You just
walk ALL OVER IT! How DARE YOU???" he gasped. "Just after a nice rain, too!
The grass is all happy, thinking: My my! What a lovely summer shower! Oh boy!
I feel soooo refreshed..." Chris said in a high-pitched 'grass-voice'.
The warrior blinked.
"And then suddenly...STOMP! The poor grass gets NUKED by some stupid,
inconsiderate BASTARD's muddy BOOT!" Chris growled, spitting at the warrior in
disgust. "You SICK perverted asshole! Do you get off on watching grass suffer,
JUST when they think it's going to be a lovely day???" he stood up for dramatic
emphasis. "Why didn't you just TORCH my lawn with a FLAME THROWER while you
were at it!?!? DOES IT MAKE YOU HAPPY!?! HUH???"
Wide-eyed, the warlord looked down at his feet. "I-I didn't mean too..."
"Yeah? Well that's all fine and dandy, but it's not going to bring back
those poor blades of grass, now, will it?? I think you owe them and the ENTIRE
lawn an apology!" Chris demanded, arms crossed.
The warrior quickly stepped off the grass and onto the paved walk-way.
"I'm very sorry...uh, mister grass...uh..." His heart-felt apology was
interrupted by a muffled snickering. The man looked over to Chris, who was now
doing everything in his power to prevent himself from bursting in laughter.
The warlord growled.
Chris finally contained most of his laugher and was now wearing a large
smile. "Oh, don't look so pissed off. Just because I got you talking to grass
doesn't mean you're any less of an idiot."
The warlord began walking towards Chris now. "Enjoy your laughter while
you can still breathe." he growled, teeth clenched.
The man was a good two feet taller than Chris, and about twice the width.
Chris smiled as he saw that there was a large broad-sword on the man's back.
"Squeee! I love this game." He took out his disk. "One and-a two and-a one two
three FOUR!" he tossed it up in the air. "FISS!"
The man stood back in surprise. "Y-you're one too?"
Strike Fiss now stood, withdrawing his sword with a smile. "I know, eh?
It's gettin' to the point where EVERYONE has super-powers now a days. Mmmm!" he
spun around and struck a 'peace-sign' pose. "I am Strike Fiss. Guardian of the
Solar System, and lord of the Grass-People."
To Chris's surprise, the man whipped out his sword and took a swing at his
head. It was too massive to block, so Chris dove to the ground and propelled
himself along the slippery wet grass with his disk.
The warrior smiled and turned, bringing his sword around with a low 'thwip'
noise. Chris was halfway across the lawn, brushing wet-grass off his front as
he stood. "So, you're Strike Fiss. I have orders to kill you too. Any Scout
that happens to be in my way, actually."
Chris adjusted his sunglasses to present a crisper view. "Do I LOOK like a
'Scout'?" He pointed to his skirt-less waist. "So, who are YOU?"
"Trakgep of the Royal Honour Guards." he bowed slightly.
"Oh, cool name." Chris nodded, bringing his own blade up along his arm,
standing casually. "Now, what do you say you go back to the Negaverse...that IS
where you're from, isn't it?"
Trakgep nodded.
"Yeah, thought so." Chris continued. "Well, why don't you go back and take
a nap. It would be a shame to spoil such a nice day with a fight."
"On the contrary. Killing a few Sailor Scouts would brighten my day
considerably." Trakgep smiled, showing a row of jagged, rotting teeth.
Chris bowed. "Then let's begin." he spun around his blade like a flash of
light.
"Nice move." Trakgep motioned to Chris' sword. "I'll be sure to put your
sword in an honoured place on my wall."
"Are you going to attack or are you going to stand there and..."
Trakgep laughed. "You're better than your little 'grass-people' skit leads
on. You want to study my attack."
Chris took a step back. "So?"
"Well well well..." Trakgep kept smiling. "I'm afraid that I'm not going
to fall for your little acting. However, you may still get me to fall by your
sword. After all, I'm no match for a Sailor Scout."
"You Negaverse people really get off on the idea of 'sarcasm', don't you?"
Chris sighed, taking an offensive stance as Trakgep walked closer.
"It's one of the more...poetic...things in your society." The Guard said,
watching Chris' sword.
"You seem to use it like a crutch." Chris darted forward, sword to his
side. In one swipe, it flew across Trakgep's belly.
He darted to the side in a roll and looked back at his opponent. The
Honour Guard was just standing there, smiling. Chris saw the cut it had made in
the man's armour, but it was...healing.
It was like some shitty morphing effect off of Terminator 2. The deep gash
was slowly congealing back together. Trakgep's smile increased as he saw the
look on Chris' face. "Now you see why I have no need for a faster sword. I can
easily fend off quick little rats as yourself...then find the proper time to
stomp on them."
Chris cocked his head sideways. "Mmm. Interesting." he raised his sword
up along his arm. "Then I'll just have to be quicker than your armour."
SWIP! SWIP! Chris sword made an 'L' shape cut into Trakgep's front. The
warrior cringed a bit, but it was probably just from the blow. The massive man
swung around his sword, hitting Chris across his side with the flat edge of the
blade.
Chris fell flat on his back, skidding across the lawn. "I could have taken
off your arm just then." Trakgep smiled as his armour fully sealed. "That was
your last warning. You better start running."
The armpit of Chris' shirt showed a cut where the sword had smacked him.
He got to his feet. "Where's the fun in running?"
"My thoughts exactly." Trakgep stomped forward, raising his sword.
Chris jumped forward to meet him, sword spearing into the man's chest.
"FISS!" Chris roared.
The blue shock threw the two apart. The Guard seemed stunned. There was
now a gaping hole in his armour. Not only that, but it wasn't sealing back up.
Blue energy crackled around the tattered gash, preventing it from repairing. A
trickle of green blood could be seen under another layer of cloth. "My my, it
appears I'll have to step up my own efforts..."
Chris readied himself. "Flattery will get you nowhere."
Trakgep jumped up into the air. Far higher than Chris expected his bulk
would allow. He then started glowing.
"Oh oh..." Chris frowned.
"NEEDLE STORM!" Trakgep yelled. His armour exploded with a quiet snapping
sound, splitting up into a cloud of tiny knives.
They seemed to float around him in a cloud for a moment. Chris felt a
particle of sweat roll down the side of his head. "I don't like this..." He
propped his sword up along his arm, pointing at the floating Honour Guard. The
outer layer of his shielding was gone, but the bugger still had another sheet
underneath. This was going to take a while.
Then, a gust of wind hit. Something about it told Chris it wasn't natural.
Each of the hundred or so metal toothpicks started to fly around in a sphere
around Trakgep. This cyclone then began to grow, coming toward Chris.
The sphere of knives was pinning him on the ground, Chris didn't have time
to run. He pointed his sword up at the storm and fired off another deflecting
pulse, hoping for the best. The blue beam punched a hole through the knives,
but the rest of them spun around to fill the hole. "Shh..."
Three half-inch-long needles struck Chris' arm as he tried to protect his
head. Luckily, he fell over and another dozen or so slammed into his armoured
vest. As the rest of the needles circled around, Chris rolled over. "Computer!
Shatter!"
The laptop on his back automatically flipped open, analyzing the storm of
needles and finding the correct frequencies. Suddenly, the screen lit up and
the computer emitted a high-pitched noise.
The sound passed over the needles, shattering most of them into dust, just
as they hit Chris. A few of the needles were still intact, flying into his leg
and more bounced off his back. The rest of the needles finished swirling
around, ending up in the ground.
Trakgep landed a second later, looking over the situation. "Very nice, Mr
Strike...You at least survived...that's better than the last person I used the
Needle Storm against."
Chris cringed in pain. His left leg and shoulders felt like they were
ripped up from the needles.
Trakgep leaned over Chris' bleeding body, curious. "You ARE still alive,
aren't you? It would be a shame if I couldn't kill you in a more dignified way.
"Oh hell, why not..." Chris growled, rolling over and shooting another
pulse at the man from his sword. He regretted the sudden movement later as his
scraped up leg fell on the needles in it.
Trakgep fell backwards, but was just as easily up on his feet a second
later. "Oh good. Don't you agree? This is a much better way for you to die.
At least trying." he laughed.
Chris was to relived to see his leg wasn't nearly as bad as it felt. The
little particles from the shattered needles just felt like salt in a wound.
Still, he was in no condition to even stand up yet. Unless he figured out
something quick, he was finished.
"Here, let me help you up..." Trakgep grabbed Chris by the arm so he
couldn't use his sword and picked him up by the collar. "Now, next time someone
like me asks where Sailor Mars is, you'll tell them, won't you?" he smiled.
"Remember that in case there's an afterlife."
"You're not a people person, are you?" Chris smiled back, still wincing.
Trakgep threw him down to the ground, then pulled out his sword. "I'll
make this quick. After all, I have to add your sword to my collection later.
I'm really looking forward to that."
Chris glanced over to his sword, then back at Trakgep. "No one touches my
sword." he growled. The blade started to glow, forcing Trakgep to take a few
steps back.
"What are you doing...?" he demanded.
Bits of grass and dirt began to float above the ground. All around Chris,
a faint blue spot of light was appearing. It seemed to be focused on his sword.
Trakgep looked up to see a shaft of light coming down from the clouds. "Mm,
this could be interesting. Too bad I can't stay for the finale." he raised his
sword.
The shaft of light congealed onto Chris' sword in a swirling mass. "Choke
on this!"
Trakgep ploughed his sword down, against Chris. "BOOM!" The force of a
freight train smashed into him, throwing him back. At first, Trakgep wasn't
even sure what happened.
Chris coughed, recovering from the energy blast. A loose cloud of smoke
was hovering around the lawn. He quickly adjusted his sunglasses. A green beam
swept the image of the lawn and highlighted Trakgep. He was still moving...
slowly. "Oh no..." he coughed.
Why didn't he poor more power into the attack? If he could just learn how
to channel the Ring's power during the fight...shit...He stood up slowly. At
least the beam had vaporized the shards out of his leg. He heard laughing. Not
a good sign.
The dust finally cleared. Trakgep lay a few metres away. He was beginning
to sit up. His arm and sword were covered by a strange glassy ash. "Wh-what is
this? Some kind of glue?? I can't move my arm..." Trakgep smiled. "A funny
trick, but it's not going to save you..." he smiled, trying to stand up. When
he leaned on his 'glued' arm, though...
It crumbled like sand.
Chris breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing his shoulder. "I bet you wish you
were nicer to the Grass...he he!"
Trakgep's mouth began quivering. He was in shock. Blood trickled out of
the gaping hole. "M...my armour!"
"Oh relax. Not everyone can survive an ultimate destruct-o attack like on
Dragon Ball Z." Chris took out his second sword. "It's nothing personal...you
just tried to kill me, that's all."
"You don't think I wasn't prepared for this, do you?" Trakgep said finally.
"A missing arm?" Chris shrugged. "You must REALLY plan ahead." the
sentence ended with a clang as he brought his swords together.
"Don't bother..." Trakgep coughed as Chris prepared to attack. "I'll give
you this match..." he smiled. "You can keep your sword...In fact, I'll burry it
with you."
Chris powered down his swords as Trakgep took out a gateway crystal and
activated it. He rolled backwards just as the opening appeared, and was
enveloped. It closed as Chris sheathed his swords. He looked down at his leg.
"Mmm, that's going to need some medical att..." he coughed and fell down.
"Ugh..."
Chapter 11
"Chris??" Rei asked, hovering over him.
His eyes snapped open. "You missed one helluva breakfast show." he grinned.
"I see." she sighed. "You're in the hospital. You better watch out.
They're getting to know you by name."
"Mm, I didn't expect being attacked by a cloud of knives." Chris winced,
sitting up in the bed. "I hope I didn't wake anyone up."
"You're lucky I found you. You were still in your suit." Rei smiled,
sitting down next to him. "You okay?"
"Sure, sure...It looks like it's the Negaverse alright." Chris sat up
higher. Rei helped him swivel his legs over the edge of the bed. "Have the
others said anything about it?"
"We're going to try and get access to a portal crystal. Ami thinks she can
scan for portals now. They leave behind traces of the Negaverse-atmosphere.
It's just different enough to be used as a beacon." Rei whispered. "Do you
think you can look after Miharu for a few days? I don't want to risk you coming
along."
Chris went wide eyed. "I'm coming. That asshole wanted to take my sword
as some kind of trophy. I know what to expect now."
Rei smiled and pressed her finger into Chris' bandages. He clenched his
teeth and fell backwards on the bed in pain. "You're not going anywhere with
these cuts."
"Fine," Chris gasped as Rei let his leg go. "I'll stay."
"Good." she grinned. "You see, you're not the only one that can gloat over
leg-wounds."
"Yeah, but at least I didn't trip downstairs." he smiled.
Rei frowned, removed the pillow from under his head, and whapped him across
the face with it. "Come on...I'll get your bags. The doctors said you're fine.
I'm going over to Darien's. We're going to see if he can come along for the
trip."
"A successful lure, if a costly one." Trakgep's comrades stood over him.
The leader continued behind his helmet. "So, the new ones are just as powerful
as the old. This will require precautions in the future. Right, Trakgep?"
The man winced as he put on another layer of medical sealant. His entire
forearm had been vaporized. "Any chance on getting a replacement?" he asked
weakly.
"Perhaps." nodded the leader. "I can always call in a few favours and see
if any Limb Licids are still being bred."
"Pah!" Trakgep growled. "I'm not letting any foul parasite licid attach
itself to my arm!"
"It's the best we can do." concluded the helmeted one. "If you wish to
fight, then you will abide by my decision."
"Fine." Trakgep frowned. "Just make sure it's the right kind."
"Very well. So, you injured this Strike Fiss?"
"Yes. He'll still be able to fight, though. If he comes, I want to be the
one to kill him." Trakgep smiled, showing his rotting maw. "It would be an
honour to finish him off."
"What about Sailor Mars?" another asked.
"She was not even there. If so, probably sleeping." Trakgep said. "It is
no matter. They work as a team. Soon, they will all know. Like a hive of Rag
Hornets."
"He's right. All we have to do is wait. They'll find a way in. If not,
we can always provide assistance."
"Knock knock!" Serena giggled happily. "Hon-eeeyyy! I'm home!"
She pounded on Darien's apartment door some more. "Maybe he isn't home??"
Lita shrugged.
"Did he leave a message on his answering machine?" Ami asked.
The Scouts were all gathered outside of his apartment, hoping to get a
little extra help for their new mission. Lita had taken out a Negaverse lackey
who had been robbing her favourite grocery store. Before he could get away,
Lita swiped his Gateway Crystal.
They now had a way into the Negaverse.
"It will be nice to say 'hi' again. I missed flying roses." Mina grinned.
Serena sighed. "He must be napping." she reached into her pocket and
pulled out her key. They opened the door and looked around. "That's strange...
he only keeps the answering machine off when he's stepping out for a quick
snack...he couldn't have gone far." Serena worried.
"Not in here..." Rei said, looking around the kitchen and bedroom. "Did he
leave a note?"
Serena walked over to the kitchen. Sure enough, she found a letter. "Mmm,
what's this..." She read it. "Ugh?? It says he just went out for a walk!
This was two days ago!!"
"Oh oh..." Lita growled. "And with all this Negaverse activity..."
Serena clenched her fists. "We go now, Sailor Scouts! If my Darien's been
kidnapped, then we're not going to leave until whoever responsible is MOON-
DUST!"
Rei clenched her fists and smiled. "THAT'S what I like to hear, meatball
head!"
Lita nodded and gave the Gateway Crystal to Ami. "Do you think you can use
your computer to activate it?"
Ami smiled and squeezed it. A dark rift opened up behind her.
Lita blinked. "Oh...okay." she grinned. "That's Ami for you. Resident
genius."
"I try." Ami said simply as they jumped through.
Rei and Mina followed. Serena clenched her fists. "Time to show those
Negatrash the new and improved Moon!" she giggled and leapt in as well. The
portal closed.
Twilight poked the windows of the temple, producing a red glow around
everything. A beautiful golden haze.
Miharu peered into Chris' room. He had been fuming over his laptop ever
since he got home. "What are you doing?" she asked, creaking open the door.
Chris turned to her. "Just trying to figure out something." he sighed.
"What?" she asked eagerly, jumping up onto his knee and looking at the
screen.
Chris smiled, ignoring the pain in his leg. "You know my sword, right?
I'm just trying to find out more about it. I downloaded the Omega Web's
archives just before we left their dimension. Dave seemed to know a lot about
it, so I'm seeing if he recorded anything in their computers."
"Why do you need to know more??" she blinked.
"Because I was able to use my Ring-attack when Saturn was on the other side
of Earth." Chris sighed. "I have no idea how that's possible."
"What's that attack?"
Chris smiled "Give me a mountain and I'll show you."
"I wish I could fight the bad-guys..." Miharu sighed.
Chris closed his laptop. "You can." He smiled. "Just don't tell your mom
I said that."
"I know, I know...but I don't even have a sword." Miharu jumped back down
to the ground. "Good night." she walked off. "I'll feed Beavis on the way."
Chris blinked. "Good night..." he turned back to his laptop. Instead of
opening it, though, he reached into his duffle bag. "I'm going in the wrong
direction..." he pulled out a small object from the bag. It was wrapped in
cloth. Slowly, he unwrapped it.
It was a small chunk of blade.
"Time to get back to basics." He held the chunk of metal in his hand.
"Miharu?" he called out.
"Yeah?" he heard down the hall.
"Pack a bag. We're going to do some camping."
"What??" Miharu poked her head through the door. "I'm tired...can't I go
to slee.."
"A samurai does not give into simple sleep when there is more important
things to do." Chris said, taking out his sunglasses. "Now, are you going to
take a snooze, or are you a samurai?" he demanded in his best serious tone.
Miharu's eyes snapped open. She bowed quickly with a smile and ran off to
her room to pack.
Chris looked over to his laptop. The Omega Web. Galaxia. Beryl. The
Lords. It was all adding up.
Something was happening.
Something big.
It was time to train for the inevitable.
Chapter 12
"WAKE UP!"
Miharu opened her eyes to see Chris standing over her he had his sword
raised. "AHHH!"
SNICK! It imbedded into the dirt next to her head. Miharu laid in her
sleeping bag, motionless. Chris smiled. "You're dead. You have a hole the
size of a walnut through your brain. Good morning, dear daughter."
Miharu coughed out of lack of anything else to say. "W-was that
necessary??"
Chris retrieved his sword and sheathed it. "You offered your help to the
Sailor Scouts. I'm going to make good on that offer...but only after I am
certain that you will live through your assistance. Is that clear?"
Miharu nodded weakly. "O-okay..."
Chris nodded. "Good. Now, get up and eat some breakfast. I'll let you
wake up and everything. Just find me in the woods in an hour."
Miharu watched him bound off. She finally let out a sigh. That had scared
the shit out of her. Luckily, she hadn't eaten much last night for dinner, or
the shit would quite literally be scared out of her.
The little blue-haired girl quickly got dressed and found Chris had
cooked up some breakfast. "I wonder what time it is..." she asked herself,
looking over to the horizon. It was morning...the sun had just poked over the
forest, illuminating everything in a warm glow.
"A fine day for practicing." she said in a gruff Samurai voice. Actually,
she had been dreading this day. "What am I going to do?" she sighed over a
mouthful of toast.
Every time they fought, she had to push herself just to kick in his normal
reflexes. She had the sneaking suspicion that he always gave her an inch when
fighting. Not only that, but ever since she knew his identity as Strike Fiss,
it was like fighting a god.
She almost laughed when she thought that. Okay, "god" wasn't the
word...but rather her hero. It was humbling enough for her to have him as a
dad...but a super-hero dad? How was she going to live up to that??
Miharu finished the rest of her breakfast. Maybe he was right. Chris kept
saying that if all else failed, he'd teach Miharu to the best of his abilities.
She nodded to herself with a newfound sense of resolution. Maybe it was
the happiness a good breakfast brings you, but whatever it was, she felt ready.
Ready to kick some ass.
ThNK! She grabbed her bokken and slid it into the holder at her side.
Yup. Today was going to be a good day...she could feel it in her bones.
"What the hell is this??" Lita growled.
Rei knelt down to the ground, letting her soft, white leather glove sift
through the dirt. It felt dry as it fell from her fingers. "This isn't
anything like I expected..."
The Scouts all stood on a deserted hill overlooking a deserted section of
city. It felt very...uh...well, deserted.
Ami had been scanning the new surroundings for over ten minutes now. The
original plan was to protect her from any attacks so they would be able to find
Darien easier. Right now, though, Serena was yawning. "It's hot. Can we find
something to drink??"
"Well, Ami? What's up?" Lita asked, still keeping a vigil on the city.
No one was even visible. She just wanted to make sure some kind of ambush
wasn't about to attack. "I'd like to get the princess back home as soon as we
can."
"Awww, Lita..." Serena smiled. "That's nice of you." a tear came to her
eye. "Nobody calls me a princess except you."
Lita shrugged. "It's my job." she added a smile to the end of the comment.
Ami finally closed her computer. "I got a scan of this city...it's huge!
It's twice the size of Japan, and it seems to have three to ten levels of..."
"How about Darien?" Lita asked.
Ami blinked. "I don't know. I guess we could try the palace...but it's
about eighty kilometres away."
The rest of them all gasped. "H-how are we going to find him??" Serena
asked.
Mina smiled. "We'll rely on the one tool that's never let us down." she
cleared her throat dramatically. "One of the basic things that we have always
relied upon. The one thing that's always given us hope, and helped us save the
world numerous times!" Mina raised her hand. "The one thing that is better than
being GOOD!"
"What's that?" Rei asked.
"Being incredibly lucky." Mina grinned.
"Oh." Rei nodded. "Sounds about right." she smiled.
"I have another plan." Lita said after a pause.
They all looked over to her.
"We can always start some shit with the natives." she grinned.
"Yeah, and then we can go kiss some rattle snakes." Mina replied.
Ami scratched her head. "You know...that just might work."
"What are you talking about? We can't just start picking a fight with a
billion people." Mina coughed. "PLEASE say we're not going to try and pick a
fight with a billion people..."
"No no no..." Ami continued. "Think for a moment. If Darien was suddenly
drug into the Negaverse, he'd probably put up a fight. Right?"
They all nodded.
"Whoever took him obviously knows what they're doing. Now, if WE start
making ourselves known, then whoever they were will probably come find us.
Then, all we have to do is lose!"
"Exactly." Lita nodded. "We let them take us to Darien, then bust him out
when we bust ourselves out."
"That could work." Mina said simply.
"The only uncertain variable is how do we know they wont kill us?" Ami
sighed.
Rei growled. "If they killed Darien, we'll fight back and make them pay.
However, if they don't kill us, then they probably didn't kill him." Rei
paused. "Then again. If they only wanted Darien, they still might kill us..."
Mina raised her eyebrows. "Ooh, fun plan. When do we start?"
Miharu walked carefully through the narrow path. Her bokken was ahead of
her as she moved. "Where is he..." she whispered to herself.
SNEWP! Crrrrreeeeaaaaak! An odd sound filled the air....like something
falling...she noticed the shadow of a tree...falling towards HER!
She had jumped out of the way in time to miss the tree falling on her, and
managed to spin around in a heartbeat. Chris stood behind a stump, sword out.
"Good morning. Ready to die again??"
Miharu smiled. The tree he cut down on her wasn't big enough to really do
any damage...just knock her silly. Always giving her that protective inch she
needed until she got on her feet. "No fair! You got a swo..."
Chris threw her his wakizashi. She caught it by it's handle without
effort, but she was wide-eyed. Chris nodded. "This one's for real. Are you
ready?"
Miharu quickly stowed her bokken on her back. "Okay, but don't start
complaining that I'm too good for you!" she smiled.
"I've created a monster." Chris sighed. "Or at least a spooky little
girl." he pointed his sword at her. "FISS!"
The blast threw the girl back against a tree. Instead of being stunned,
though, she had been expecting it. Even before she dropped to the ground, she
had twisted around and cut the tree behind her. It fell forward as she rolled
out of the way.
Chris smiled as the tree fell towards him. He sliced upwards, cutting away
the section that would have hit him on the head. The rest of the tree fell
around him. "That's pretty good!"
Miharu was already up in the air, though. Chris blocked and deflected her
off to the side. The two swords made a streak of sparks ever time they hit.
They both seemed to pause for a moment. Chris adjusted his sunglasses,
allowing Miharu time to regain her footing on the mossy forest floor. She ran
at him, sword at her side instead of in front of her. Chris smiled. "That's
the stuff!" he bounded over her swipe, landing as she jumped and rebounded off a
tree.
He jabbed upwards as she flew over his head. Miharu dodged out of the way,
but lost her aim, flying into a bush. Chris blinked, sheathing his sword. "You
okay??" he took a few steps toward the bush.
"HAIII!" Miharu jumped out, sword extended. The bush exploded behind her
as she jumped.
Chris grabbed his sword and blocked the attack as he took it out again.
"Veeery good." He nodded.
Miharu regained her bearings, spitting out some leaves. "Don't think I'm
giving up THAT easy!" she coughed.
He smiled. "I never think that. You want to go for lunch?"
Miharu jumped up. Chris was caught off guard, but was ready. "A warrior
doesn't care about LUNCH!" she laughed, coming down, sword extended.
"CLING!" Chris deflected her again. "Mmm, I better learn another way to
get away from you...You're not going to be a little girl for ever."
"Now's you're chance to practice!" She growled, swinging around her sword
in a 'figure-eight' type swoop.
Chris ducked under the first sweep and then swung upwards. "TINK!"
Miharu lost her balance as she realized there was no longer a sword in her
hands. "AHH!" she fell flat on her face with a soft thud in the moss.
Chris stood from his duck and looked around for her sword. It was stuck in
a tree-trunk about seven metres from the ground. "Now THAT was cool..."
He helped Miharu to her feet. She didn't look happy. "Yeah, great." she
dusted herself off angrily.
He sighed. "Here, I'll get your sword." The tree was too high for him or
her to climb safely, so..."Party Time..." he sighed half-heartedly. He walked
over to the tree and sliced it down.
It fell over, sword-first. It hit the ground, slicing in half like an axe
hitting a log. The tiny sword poked free on the other side. Chris looked over
to Miharu. "There ya go..."
Her face was blank.
Chris frowned. "What?"
She pointed to behind the tree he had just cut down. He sighed and turned
around. "Tink!" his sword dropped almost as fast as his jaw. Through the
forest, all behind the cut he had made, trees and plants were sliced. It was
like he had done his main attack. "Wh...what?"
"You didn't use your attack...you would have needed the other sword...??"
Miharu blinked.
Chris picked up his katana. "I dunno...I'm still learning about this
thing."
Miharu jumped over the log to get her sword. "Maybe we SHOULD break for
lunch."
"Sounds good..."
Chapter 13
A hush came over the market as half-a-dozen young women walked down the
street. Rei and Lita headed up the team, walking calmly. "I don't like the
looks on their faces..." Jupiter mumbled.
Mina and Ami headed up the back. The were escorting Sailor Moon in the
centre. Their plan had one major flaw...it depended on letting the enemy know
where you were. Every indication was that the entire Negaverse hated their
guts, so the problem arose trying to piss off the RIGHT enemies, while surviving
everything else. Ami kept scanning as they walked.
"Can't you turn that thing down?" Mina nudged Ami's side as they walked.
"That noise is attracting too much attention."
Ami noticed the scanning was producing a low hum. It always had, but
usually, it wasn't a problem. "It's already on low." she smiled. "Relax.
Nobody's going to care unless we act hostile."
Mina couldn't help but hear Jupiter snicker from the front. "Yeah, sure."
"What happened here, Ami?" Serena whispered. "It looks like a desert."
The same sun-scorched dirt lay everywhere. Winds had blown it on top of
every building and street. Almost like a snow. Ami briefly considered maybe it
had been snow. "My best guess would be poor agricultural procedures." she
whispered back. "The field we arrived on used to be farmland, but as you saw,
it was barren."
Serena nodded. "Do you think we could help? Maybe we could use the Silver
Crystal to repair the soil...or maybe..."
The crowd began to move around them. "I really don't like the looks on
their faces." Jupiter repeated.
"They look like we just strangled their baby hamsters or something." Mina
commented. Everyone but Rei exchanged weird looks with her.
"I'm used to it with Chris." Rei smiled when Mina shot her a smile. She
turned serious again as three large men stepped from the side of the street and
into the group's path. "And I wish I was with him right now. This isn't how I
wanted to spend my summer."
"Isn't that the title of a movie?" Jupiter asked.
"Nope." Rei continued. "But Street-Fighter is."
"My recollection is that it was a rather bad movie." Ami piped up from the
middle of the group.
Lita smiled and clenched her fists, making her gloves squeak menacingly.
"Can we help you, sirs?" she asked the three men.
"Youze the Scouts, right?" One of them growled. "Youze were stoopid to
show yer ugly asses 'round here!" he mumbled, probably drunk.
"Oh, please." Rei sighed.
Serena tapped on Lita's shoulder-fin. "Uh, Jupiter? Maybe we shouldn't
start fighting when we've only been here half an hour..."
Rei nodded. "She's right. If we start wasting our time on civilians,
we're just going to be exhausted by the time we catch up to Darien." she paused.
"Not to mention these poor people look like hell anyway. They don't need us to
make their day worse."
The entire block seemed to get even quieter. No one dared to move. The
Scouts were now stopped, waiting for the blockade of men to move. Or, waiting
for Lita and Rei to move them. Lita clenched her teeth. "Okay, we'll go
around."
A murmur filled the street as the Scouts politely sidestepped the drunken
trio and continued unhindered.
"Heeeey!" one of them belched. "Youze girls goainna fight??"
"I really hope this doesn't keep up." Rei sighed.
"Aww, they'z not the Scouts!" the drunken man continued. "'Wise they'd not
be scareded of me! HAHAA!" be began cackling on the ground like he had just
said the funniest joke in the universe.
Rei heard Lita growling. So did Serena.
Instead of just letting the Scouts pass, the drunken man followed behind
closely. The crowds about them began to chuckle and murmur. A few cheered the
man on. "Yeah! Kick their asses!" one guy shouted.
"Allrighhht!" the man slurred. "I'm goinna shove my boot right where..."
Jupiter leapt. It was a cat-like spring, actually. She jammed her foot
into the ground, turned on her heel, and launched herself backwards toward the
man.
Rei, out of some kind of anticipation, grabbed her fuku. Lita jolted to a
stop, almost falling over. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?" Lita demanded, pouring her
anger out on Rei.
Rei grabbed her by the shoulders. She was probably the only Scout with
physical strength even close to Lita's, and even then, she was scared Lita would
break free. "RESUME YOUR POST, GUARDIEN!" Rei demanded in a firm, unwavering
voice.
Lita snapped out of her fit of rage. "Wh-bu..." she stammered.
Rei kept her dark, shining eyes on her, unblinking. "You are guarding the
princess. Fighting drunken old men is not your job. Is that clear?" A tiny
smile reassured Lita it was the right thing to do.
Jupiter nodded quickly and professionally. Serena smiled as they
continued...in formation...down the street.
Rei whispered as they walked. "Sorry. But we don't want to look like bar-
Room brawlers in front of the enemy...do we?"
"Thanks..." Lita smiled, her eye twitching just a bit. "Just don't do that
again or I'll kill you. You almost ripped my skirt off."
"Don't mention it." Rei grinned.
Miharu watched patiently as she ate her sandwich. Chris had already
finished his lunch and was perched upon a small rock, watching the horizon. In
his hand, he had a small chunk of metal.
Curiosity finally got to her. "What is that?" she asked.
Chris looked down at the chunk. "Oh...this?"
Miharu nodded, biting down on her sandwich. Chris tossed it over to her.
"It was all that I could find left of his sword."
Miharu picked up the metal, looking at it carefully. It had a shiny
surface, and if the ends weren't charred and twisted, she would have recognized
it already. It had been the end of a katana. It felt nice in her hand. Just
knowing what it was. She finished the rest of her sandwich while examining the
metal. "Who's sword?" she asked finally.
"Yamato's." Chris replied, rubbing his leg and shoulder.
Miharu blinked. "Wh...what did this? Bermuda??"
"Yup." He answered quickly. "Shitty, huh?"
They were quiet for the rest of the lunch break. Chris suddenly snapped.
"DAMMIT!" he yelled, jumping up from his crouch, sword somehow already drawn.
From his side, it sliced the air in a bright blue spark. THINK! He landed back
on his rock, sword extended out along his side. A blue light flew outwards
along the horizon, cutting the tops off of trees at it went. Chris ignored it.
"Ddddaaamn! All of this crap!" he growled. "People are dying for no reason.
That's why I haven't just gone fucking WACKY and nuked everything." he sheathed
his sword with a satisfying klang. "That's why I'm willing to let you help
out." he looked over to Miharu. "I need all the help I can get just staying
sane in this situation."
Miharu frowned. "You're right. Innocent people ARE dying. But that's not
the problem. I am here for my own reasons."
"Well, I'm not." Chris sat down, sighing. "I'm here because I want
everyone to be here tomorrow." he pointed out to the forest. "All the assholes
seem to be converging on in the nice people. More and more bad shit happens...
not just the normal scum of society, but NOW, as if we couldn't cause enough
shit for ourselves, it's like we need HELP in destroying the human race and
everything we've ever stood for!" A fit of frustration griped him and his sword
flashed out again, this time embedding into the rock he had been sitting on.
"Aliens and whacked out Omega Web people...not to mention a god damn alternate
dimension!!"
Miharu watched patiently as Chris fumed.
He turned to Miharu. "And I am so sorry. You know that...I hope." He
rubbed his eyes. "This is so stupid." He slowly put his hand on his sword.
"This SUCKS!" He yelled.
A beam of blue light shot down from the sky and slammed into the blade.
The rock literally exploded around the metal. A cloud of dust was all that was
left. Miharu was wide-eyed. Chris appeared from the cloud with a smile on his
face. "That's it..."
"W-what's it?"
Raising his sword, he pointed out over to the horizon. "This does suck.
Reality sucks. I'm sick of having my friends die because some alien asshole has
a stick up their butt, or maybe some idiot wants to destroy the earth because
they don't like someone's attitude." He began laughing. "Reality sucks...and
I'm pretty much sick of living it."
Miharu blinked again. She had been holding her breath throughout the
entire thing. Somehow, though, her mind was catching up. "Time to say...fuck
reality." she grinned.
Chris snapped his head down to look at her. "Exactly." Then, he looked
down at the rock. "Mmm, this is interesting." he sighed. "I think Reality's
not going to like me blowing up rocks."
"Good." Miharu nodded happily.
Chris paused. "How did I just destroy that rock? I didn't..." he blinked.
"You have my wakizashi...how..."
Miharu looked at her side where the smaller sword sat. "I have no idea..."
Chris just smiled. "And that's what I like about this job. There's a
surprise in every box of Sailor Scoutey-O's." he sighed. "I really need to
figure this sword out."
Chapter 14
"I've always liked the little hot-dogs." Rei sighed. "They usually come
with that sauce. It's kind of spicy, but I don't think it's just normal hot-
sauce."
Lita nodded. "I think I have the recipe somewhere."
Mina growled from the back. Actually, it was probably her stomach
growling. "Thanks, guys. I'll make sure I find a way to torture you later."
Serena sighed. "Maybe we should stop for a bite to eat." She looked at
Ami. "Any ideas?"
They had wandered into an older "level" of town. It was probably twenty
stories above the ground. This strange city kept dividing into sections and
floors...all the while, making it difficult to find paths to where they wanted
to go. The "palace" was still about a day's walk away, according to Ami's
computer.
"Fighting would be a LOT easier." Lita sighed, stretching her arms up over
her head.
Ami had been absorbed into her computer for most of the journey. "This
city is amazing...almost organic. I have a few friends on the Usenet who study
Chaos-Theory. They would absolutely LOVE this place!"
"So," Serena asked, "does this chaos theory have anything to do with a
cheeseburger?"
Mina snickered. "Haven't you watched Jurassic Park?"
Serena shivered. "No way! Dinosaurs spook me out!" she continued, looking
at Ami again. "Well??"
Ami scratched her head. "Uh...I think there's a market complex a few
blocks away...but it could be something else."
Mina grinned. "A possibility of food? I think we can chance it."
Rei frowned. "I don't like it."
"What?" Serena and Mina asked simultaneously.
Rei came to a stop, looking around. "For one thing...we have no money. So
unless you want to shoplift, we can't buy anything." She pointed to her glove.
"Not only that, but I don't think the Negaverse is on a 'harvest frenzy' right
now." Some of the dirt she had been sifting through was still on her hand. "I
think that's why they've started to raid our universe. They're out of food."
Serena gasped at the concept.
Ami shut her computer. "You could be right. Imagine what could have
happened when we killed Beryl. All hell could have broken loose. From what we
know, most of the Negaverse citizens weren't so civilized, right? I mean,
people that like to fight and prey off the weak. Without a ruler to help curb
those desires, this place would have been an unpleasant place to live in."
They all looked at Ami. Lita nodded. "Okay, so how does this get us
anywhere?"
Ami blushed. "Well, it explains why they've been attacking. Maybe they
want to hold Darien ransom for foodstuffs."
Mina shrugged. "Why not kidnap someone more important? Like a president
Or prime minister?"
Ami turned off her visor with a touch of her finger to her ear. "Well,
maybe they simply don't know that much about our universe. Maybe all they know
is the Sailor Scouts and sucking energy. It's not as if they could sit down at
a library and read up on our political system."
Serena sighed. "I really could go for a cheeseburger."
"I'm afraid that you'll never live to see your next meal, Sailor Moon."
They all turned around at the sound of a bellowing laugh. Lita almost had
a grin on her face. "Well, better than walking."
Serena lowered her brow and looked around. The voice and laugh seemed to
come from all sides. "Where is he?" She asked.
Ami had already snapped into action, scanning the area. Her blue visor
showed sparks and grids as she looked around. "Ahead, twenty metres..."
They all stood ready as a group of dark figures walked down the street
towards them. One of them raised their arm. "What the hell...?" Rei said.
"THPT!" An echoing sound filled the air. A small projectile was launched
from the man's arm, then flew in a wide arch towards the Scouts. "HIT THE
DECK!" Mina gasped.
A small, glowing bullet fell and exploded right next to the Scouts. They
all flew away from it, sideways and into the wall of a nearby building. All
five fell in a heap of tangled limbs.
The same laugh filled the street once again. "Mmm, that was a bit too
easy. Are you sure these are the Scouts, Trakgep?"
"Mmm, yes." The old, heavy man smiled, showing his rows of rotting teeth.
"Maybe I got lucky and fought with a good one."
Rei stood up first, followed by Lita. They both had VERY pissed off looks
on their faces. Sailor Mars growled. "Shooting bombs at people isn't very
NICE!" she swung around her arm, and launched a jet of flame at the group.
The fire just reflected away like it was hitting a wall a metre or so in
front of them. Rei took a step back, a little distressed that her attack was
reduced to a marshmallow roast.
"Anyone else wanna try? Or shall you just die now?" the 'leader' asked
politely behind a heavy helmet.
Lita stepped forward. "Where's Tuxedo Mask!?!" she demanded. "Give him to
us, and we'll be on our way."
The honour guards all looked at each other briefly. They then turned their
attention back to the Scouts. "Well, I must confess...we have no idea where
Tuxedo Mask is...but that's okay, since we don't WANT you to be on your way."
Lita's heart sunk. "Uh oh...now what?"
Rei shrugged. "Now we kick some ass."
Serena finally was on her feet again. "I am Sailor Moon! Champion of
Justice!"
Rei and Lita both glared at her. "A bit late." Rei sighed.
Serena paused. "Oh...yeah..." she rubbed her head. "You know, I'm getting
kind of bored with that too." she suddenly whipped out her wand.
"SPIRAL MOON HEART ATTACK!"
The five Honour Guards all gasped in surprise as Sailor Moon launched a
spiral of energy at them. The ribbons coming from her wand smashed into the
energy shield around them, cracking it bit by bit. "Th...that's not possible!"
Trakgep gasped.
The grand finale of the attack hit. A giant crystal heart appeared and
collided into the barrier. Both shattered into a million pieces, forming a
spectacular cloud of energy and crystal bits. Sailor Moon grinned and put away
her wand, proud that she could still do her older attacks. "Hey, they don't
call me Sailor Moon for nothing."
The Guards stood dumbfounded and protection-less. "Mmm, it appears we'll
have some fun after all." the leader smiled. "Mare, Cockcrott, if you
please..."
Two of the other Honour Guards stepped forward and matched their positions
with Rei and Lita. "Mmm, a fair fight?" Lita smiled. "This is new."
"It's never fair." Rei replied simply, taking out an ofuda. "How much you
wanna bet they multiply or something?"
"We're waiting, Scouts." Cockcrott yelled. "Or do you need an excuse to
fight like gooood little heroines?"
Lita must have been waiting for that. "Jupiter!" she held out her hand,
gathering energy. "OAK EVOLUTION!!!" she yelled, then began spinning around.
Green light began shooting off from her body and towards the two guards.
"Dammit! When did they learn all these new tricks??" Mare growled,
kneeling down and raising his arms to protect his face. Green notes of energy
hit and splattered against his armour, leaving smoking pot marks along his arms.
Cockcrott jumped over his partner as the attack subsided and pointed his
wrists at each of the two Scouts. "Fire in da hole!" he yelled.
Two more glowing projectiles were fired off. Rei took out a scroll in
each hand, lit them with a fireball, and tossed them up after the bombs in mid-
air. The magical strips of paper hit their targets just as the bombs were
getting closer over their heads. BOOOOM! They both exploded instantly, too far
over the Scouts to do much more than cause a dusty smoke cloud to fill the
streets.
"This is getting boring." Trakgep sighed. "You may want to quit toying
with them. We don't want them to get lucky."
"We are not on a mission." his leader said, watching as the four warriors
regrouped and got ready to clash again. "Revenge is a fine wine. The more
exact it's application, and the more patience one has with it...the sweeter the
end result."
Trakgep frowned, and looked at his arm. His new arm, anyway. "You can't
enjoy a fine wine unless you are alive to drink it."
Two eyes stared back at Trakgep from the helmeted figure. "Very true...but
this may be our last meal...I suggest you try to enjoy it."
"Alright..." Trakgep nodded, ending the little dispatch of cliched wisdom.
He then took out a small sphere from his armour. "Time for desert."
His leader's eyes squinted in an obvious smile. "I've always wanted to see
that thing work...by all means..." he nodded his approval.
"Cockcrott! Catch!" Trakgep threw his fellow honour guard the small
sphere.
Rei and Lita took a step back, thinking it was another bomb. "Can't anyone
use knives and lightning anymore?" Rei sighed. "I'm getting sick of
explosions."
Cockcrott smiled as he examined the ball. He carefully positioned the
correct side away from himself and the other Guards. It was smooth, black,
glass on one half...then rougher metal on the other. "Don't worry, Scouts...
this isn't a bomb." he laughed, squeezing his finger down on a small panel on
the rough half.
That was the only warning the group got. The sphere hummed to life, jumped
forward a few metres out of Cockcrott's hand, and then began to glow. Bright.
Just as Lita and Rei were wondering if this was some kind of blinding-device,
the light stopped,
and a...black hole formed where the ball used to be.
At first, they didn't know what it was...but then the suction hit them.
Around the outline of the ball, light began to warp into it's centre, and
disappear into a fine black point. "Oh shit..." Lita said simply. It was only
sucking in matter from one side as well...the Honour Guards were safe.
Then, the gravity increased. The sudden jolt knocked both Scouts off their
feet. There was enough debris on the ground that they managed to stop being
pulled into the hole...but the gravity was still increasing. "Oh shit!" Rei
echoed, only to find most of her voice was being sucked into the tiny gravity
well.
Ami stood behind one of the abandoned buildings with the others, but she
was frantically scanning and re-scanning...trying to find a way to shut down the
weapon. "I-I can't get an accurate scan on the event hor..."
A large chunk of concrete narrowly missed her head, forcing her to duck.
The wind around the black hole was reaching hurricane levels. "We have to do
something! Rei and Lita will get sucked in!" Serena yelled. "I'll use my
tiara to nuke the ball!"
"NO!" Ami yelled back. "You'll lose it in the hole! I have a better
idea...Just a second!"
Mina and Serena held onto the corner of the building, waiting for orders.
Ami finally shut her computer. "Mercury Ice-Bubbles...." she turned around,
facing the opposite way of the hole. "FREEZE!"
The ice-cloud shot out for a few feet, then doubled back from the wind,
hitting the side of the building they were huddled against. "Oh no! You
missed!" Serena wailed.
"No! Now, Venus! Use your beam to cut off a chunk of the building!
Hurry!" Ami said quickly.
Rei and Lita's knuckles and feet strained to keep hold of whatever jagged
chunk of road the could grab on...but it was getting harder every second
to..."AAA!" Rei lost her grip, flying towards the hole.
Lita cursed, then let go as well. She fell back, caught up to Rei, and
then almost wrenched both her arms loose as she grabbed onto Mars' foot, and
another hand-hold on the pavement. "We better do something QUICK!" she yelled,
fingers almost letting go again.
"I'm open to suggestions!!!!" Rei yelled back over her shoulder, hair
almost touching the outer sphere of the black hole. "This HURTS!"
Mina pointed her fingers at the wall. "Venus Crescent Beam SMASH!" The
beam cut along the wall like a knife, easily breaking it free thanks to
Mercury's freezing job.
A large, jagged wedge of ice and brick hurtled over Sailor Mars'
head...just missing by a few inches, and into the black hole.
The mass was too big for the tiny weapon to ingest so quickly, and with a
Quiet "Pop!"...the vortex was gone. Rei and Lita fell back to the ground,
scrambling away from the sphere as it's glassy half shattered in mid-air.
Cockcrott frowned, arms crossed. "Mmm, I guess the designers never thought
about a large chunk of building hitting the Los-Sphere." he sighed.
Lita caught her breath and was up on her feet. "Yeah, well you just better
start expecting that!" she coughed, half-dizzy from the wind.
"Maybe it's time we showed these little boys who they're playing with."
Mina growled, stepping out from behind the building. "Random Crescent Beam...
SHOTS!!!" she yelled with a crazed look in her eyes.
The guards all blinked as Venus pointed her hand at them, and shot out a
thick, bright beam of light. Suddenly...the beam shattered into hundreds of
light-bolts. "Mmm, very effective..." the leader of the Guards said, pointing
his fist out at the incoming light.
All the other guards were forced to duck and cover as the beams smashed
into their armour and the ground around them. The leader seemed to be
generating another shield around himself, though, and the beams were warped
around him. As the barrage stopped, he had a slight frown visible through his
eye-slits. "Very effective..." he repeated slowly.
The armour of the Honour Guards was beginning to look like the surface of
Swiss cheese. "No offence to our last meal..." Trakgep growled, "but I'm sick
of waiting."
"Very well." the leader sighed. "Our situation has weakened...Let's
regroup. Honour Guards!" he yelled. "Fall back!"
The Sailor Scouts watched with a hint of relief as the five warriors
gathered in a circle, and disappeared into a black rift. "Mmm, that was fun."
Rei coughed, desperately trying to pat down her hair.
"Great job, Ami." Lita smiled. "Never figured you for the demolition type
of girl."
Ami grinned and put away her computer. "Thanks. Maybe I should go into
business for myself."
Mina grinned, blowing on her finger like a gun. "Hey! Who's the fasted
shot in the West?"
"I don't think there IS a West here." Ami offered
"Oh..." Mina paused. "Well, whatever."
Chapter 15
Chris and Miharu stood silently, watching the valley beneath them awake in
sunrise.
Something about the morning air made the view especially breathtaking. "I love
this." Chris
smiled to himself.
"It's very pretty." Miharu agreed.
"I've been thinking." Chris said slowly. "We should probably head back
later on today."
Miharu looked at him for a moment. "I.." she stopped herself.
Chris looked her over. "What is it?"
The little, purple-haired girl sighed. "I don't know. It's just that..."
she paused, trying to put her thought into words. "I don't know why I'm here."
"To practice, and enjoy life." Chris said, motioning to the horizon.
"But..." she frowned. "I'm not ready to leave yet."
He sat down next to her. "Why's that?"
"This was supposed to be a chance to grow and learn. I was expecting to
feel something change from all this." she said, grabbing her bokken in her hand.
"But I'm still the same. Nothing's changed."
Chris nodded. "If you're expecting some magical light to hit you in the
forehead and tell you 'If you build it, They will come...', then you came here
for the wrong reasons."
Miharu sighed, slumping to her butt, sitting down with him.
"However," Chris continued. "You are not the same. You've changed a great
deal. Maybe you don't notice that as much as I do." he smiled. "You're a
samurai now."
She gave him a strange look. "No I'm not." she grabbed her bokken, and in
a final bit of furry, threw it into the air over the cliff.
Chris stood, and in one fluid motion, took a swipe at the spinning wooden
stick. A crisp, blue line shot out from his katana and vaporized the wooden
sword in mid-air. "Now, you are a samurai."
"I still have no sword." she pouted.
Chris took out his wakizashi and handed it to her.
Miharu looked at him for a moment, uncertain of what he was doing. "Y-
you're giving me your sword??"
He smiled. "YOUR sword."
"But...you need it to fight!" she stood, protesting. "I'm sorry! I didn't
mean to complain...I was just..."
Chris shook his head. "Listen...I never needed it with me. It's a storage
battery. That's all. My katana has the real power. And, if push comes to
shove, it also can store some power." he said, motioning for her to take the
smaller sword. "And if you have this one, then it is in safer hands than if I
take it into battle with me all the time."
Miharu took the sword in her hand...speechless. Finally, she placed it
carefully against her side, and bowed deeply. "Thank you!"
Chris smiled. "Who knows...you might even be able to use some of the
powers one day." he sheathed his katana. "Welcome to the Sailor Senshi,
Miharu."
She looked up at him with a bright smile. "I won't let you down!" she
nodded quickly.
"Now, do you think you've changed?" Chris demanded.
She nodded. Indeed, she felt different. Stronger. There was also a
weight lifted off her chest. Perhaps she would realize it only much later...but
her bokken had tied her back to her past. It was gone...replaced with a new
sword. A new life.
Instead of a dull, aching reminder of death...her new life emerged. Tied
to the past with fond memories instead.
"I do think I've changed." she nodded after a moment.
Chris nodded. "Then, we can go home now." he smiled. "Come on."
Rei smiled to herself as a little girl ran up to her, looked up, grinned,
and then scurried off. "It's nice to see this place isn't a ghost town."
They were entering a more populated area of the old city now. A street
musician was on the corner, playing a strange looking flute...but the sound
coming from it was amazing. It filled the entire square with a hauntingly
beautiful wind-chime and flute sound. The old man smiled as the girls walked
past, noticing their awed reaction to his music.
"Do we have anything we can use for money?" Mina asked. "I'm hungry..."
Ami shrugged. "All we have is the gateway crystal." she paused. "But we
don't necessarily need it to get home...Once we rescue Darien, whoever did it
will almost certainly have more."
"What do you mean 'almost certainly'?" Rei asked suspiciously.
Serena grabbed the black crystal from Ami and shook her head. "I'm
Starving too...besides, if we don't eat, we don't find Darien! We'll collapse
on the street!"
"Oy..." Rei sighed.
Lita shrugged to her friend. "She's right...we can always get another if
push comes to shove..."
"Well," Rei sighed. "we're not going to get much service dressed as the
people who killed their queen."
They all agreed, and ducked into an alleyway to revert back to their normal
clothes. They emerged, slightly out of place among the drab, dirty clothes
everyone else was wearing, but still not as obvious as brightly coloured Sailor
outfits.
"Now...a place to eat..." Mina said happily.
Rei turned to Ami. "Can your computer translate the native Negaverse
language?"
Ami nodded. "Yup."
"Okay, search for any signs that mention bartering or gateway crystals. If
we can trade it for some normal currency, then we'll at least know we're not
getting ripped off by trading it for a meal." Rei said, taking the tiny crystal
from Serena.
Ami sighed. "There's a tavern up ahead...about a hundred metres. They
mention they take crystals as payment." she looked up from her computer. "But
it's somewhat...seedy...by Earth standards."
Lita shrugged. "Okay. Mina, Rei and I will go in. We have training in
martial arts just in case things get hairy."
"And with our luck, that's pretty much all the time." Mina smiled.
Chris and Miharu drove back into town. A little sound kept popping into
Chris' mind. Finally, he realized that Miharu was humming.
"What's the song?" Chris asked, curious.
Miharu blinked. "Oh," she said, looking up to him. "It's not a song...an
old bedtime poem that my mom used to tell me. It helped me dream."
He nodded. "I love listening to music before I fall asleep. What's the
poem?"
Miharu blushed. "I can only remember a bit of it...this was when my mom
was still training under your grandpa. In fact, she told me he used to sing it
to her."
"Ah! Then it is a song." Chris smiled. "Funny, I don't remember anything
about it.
Maybe he never sang it to me."
Miharu smiled.
"So, what's it called?" Chris asked as they pulled up to the temple.
She thought for a moment. "I think the nearest English translation is
Shadow of Tumbler."
Chris shrugged, getting out of the car, opening the trunk. "Sounds
interesting. You'll have to tell it to me sometimes." he hoisted their swords
over his shoulder.
She got out as well. "When's Rei coming back from the Negaverse?" she
asked eagerly. "I want to show her my new sword!!" she giggled.
Chris frowned. "I hope soon...I don't like not being there...but if Rei
saw me fighting while injured, she'd probably kill me." he smiled. "I feel
fine...but she doesn't care."
"I'll have to make sure never to get hurt around her, then." Miharu
promised. "I don't ever want to be sick and have to be taken care of."
"You and me both." Chris smiled, ruffling her hair with his hand.
Beavis sat on the window sill, watching as Miharu and Chris returned. She
Was humming again. "Oh my god..." the little hedgehog whispered to himself.
"She knows the song??"
It couldn't be...that song was supposed to be lost through the ravages of
time...only a dozen or so beings in the universe were supposed to know the tune.
Even less knew the words.
Beavis knew...all too well.
He shivered. "It can't be time...not yet...not when this planet is finally
learning." He whispered to himself. It was a hollow statement. He knew that...
but he wanted to reassure himself that the future was still the future.
The people of this planet were not learning fast enough. Nothing was going
to change that...
Beavis bounced down off the bed, then curled up into a ball...black, shiny
eyes still wide.
How did Miharu know about Tumbler??
Chapter 16
The entire male population burst out in a wave of hoots and whistles as
Mina, Lita, and Rei, stepped through the doors. "I'm glad to see SOME things
are the same in this universe too." Mina giggled.
They strode up to the bar as a few of the guys kept a steady, lustful eye
on the girls. The bar tender walked up to them. "Can I help you lovely young
ladies?" he asked in a sweet tone.
He looked like Chris Farley crossed with Robert DeNiro...very dirty and
scruffy, but with a kind of soft humour about him. Lita smiled. "Actually,
yes...we came into possession of a little item, and we were wondering if you'd
be willing to barter it for some more...standard currency."
The tender raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What little item would that be? And
unless it's a Gateway Crystal, I can't give you anything for..."
Rei held it up between two of her fingers. "Well? How much 'anything' are
we talking, here anyway?"
The man immediately smiled. "Mmm," he reached into his pants and pulled
out another crystal. It was light, metallic gray. He held it next to the black
one in Rei's grasp. Slowly, the gray turned a bright orange. "Almost completely
full!" he gasped. "Where did you find this?? Or do you have a recharging
station??" he shoved the gray indicator crystal back into his pocket and leaned
forward to examine the black more closely.
Rei closed her fingers around it. "It was outside of the city. Just lying
on the ground. We've been walking all day to find someone who would trade it."
she winked. "A few people recommended you."
"I'm surprised you survived after letting 'a few people' know you had it."
he smiled, reaching into his pants for a key. "You girls must be of the old
warrior class."
They watched as he opened a drawer. Lita noticed one or two more Gateway
Crystals inside. None with as much lustre as the one they had. It must have
been new. The bar keep pulled out a small sack that tinkled as he lifted it.
"I can give you three thousand Jiahs for it. That's the full price I'd
sell it for usually." He smiled. "But with things getting desperate in the
Western blocks, I'll be able to find a buyer and add a little for profit."
"That's very honest of you." Lita frowned.
"I don't like lying to members of your class." the man bowed slightly.
"Nothing but trouble if you do...your friends certainly proved that to a number
of people. And I don't blame you."
He handed the sack of 'Jaihs' to Rei. Rei smiled, like she did this all
the time, and gave him the Gateway Crystal in return. Lita reached over and
opened the little sack. A hundred or so small crystal chips and slivers were
inside. She shrugged. A few of the tavern's patrons were using them to bet
with in a card game, so she decided they must be the Negaverse equivalent of
coins.
"Do you know of a nice place to eat around here?" Rei asked.
The man nodded, then pointed out the door and too the right. "About three
streets down is a small food court. You can get a full meal on just fifty or so
Jaihs...the people who operate it make sure the prices stay reasonable..."
"Thank you." Rei smiled.
"Oh, may I ask where you got those clothes??" the man asked. "On a raid?"
"Raid?" Mina asked.
"Yeah, from the Universe? They don't look like they're from around here."
he laughed. "Very flattering neck-line, though." he winked at Mina, who had a
low-cut tank-top on.
She blushed slightly and smiled.
"Oh, yeah." Rei nodded. "That's why that one isn't completely full, we
used it once for a quick raid."
Mina and Lita shrugged and nodded, following Rei's lead. Then, they all
walked off. "Oh, if you are returning to the Palace..." the bartender said
quickly.
"Yes...we are..." Rei lied, curious.
"Please, send Jadeite our regards." the man said humbly. "I know he's not
very popular right now, but tell him the people still have faith." he sighed.
"What else do we have?"
"Quit being so sappy, you old fool!" one of the patrons laughed.
He shook his head. "Just tell him to keep trying." he waved.
The three scouts walked out with a puzzled look on their faces. "Jadeite?"
Lita asked finally. "That bastard's ALIVE??"
"If Zoicite was any indication, he should have been killed after failing to
destroy us." Mina shrugged.
Rei swallowed hard. "A-alive?? I don't believe this..."
They both looked at her. "What?"
Rei shook it off. "Never mind...I was just hoping that this wasn't going
to be like when Zoicite came back."
"Do you remember the old days?" Jadeite asked as he lit another candle to
ward off the twilight.
Darien paused. "Us fighting to find the Silver Crystal?"
The general smiled. "No...before all that. Back...WAY back on the Moon
kingdom...and Earth."
"Not much, not anymore." Darien sighed, closing a book.
"I remember." Jadeite smile widened. "We grew up together, you know. I
was part of your Court."
Darien's eyes widened. "I didn't think anyone remembered my Court." he
sighed. "Earth was going to host the New Millennium...that was until Serenity
gained power, and made the Moon such a place." Darien smiled. "All the other
planets agreed that Earth was too primitive...still in the old ways."
"That was fifteen hundred years ago..." Jadeite smiled. "Most of Earth was
either engaged in war, or wouldn't be able to handle life on other planets."
"I never said I disagreed." the Prince of Earth smiled.
"We were all part of your Court." Jadeite nodded. "Zoicite..." he grinned.
"I do believe she had a thing for you."
Darien frowned. "Yeah, I noticed...made me want to kill her more.
Especially considering Serena."
Jadeite nodded, crossing his arms. "She did turn rather heartless, didn't
she? Perhaps the worse out of all of us." he shrugged. "Though, that was
Beryl's fault. And our own...we should have been stronger."
"No," Darien sighed, "you were probably as strong as possible...I know all
too well what powers of suggestion that bitch had. A lot happened after you
were locked away."
"I noticed." Jadeite motioned to Maury and Andrea, who were brainstorming
over some ideas. "Are they good friends?"
"Andrea is very close." Darien said quietly. "I know that if Serena wasn't
in my life, my heart would belong to her." he paused. "Part of it still does."
A sigh ended the thought. "Maury is great. A good person...and every
indication points to him being the strongest Senshi ever."
"Ah, yes...the fabled Son of Sol." Jadeite smiled. "He was going to be our
next target if we managed to capture the Silver Crystal."
Darien smiled. "I've noticed you like to remember the old times. I hope
that we'll be able to give you a future as well."
"Darien...can I ask you something?" Jadeite said quietly.
"Yes...of course."
Jadeite stood, straightening out his dusty uniform. "I know so little of
what's been going on...I just wanted to make sure." he paused, as if afraid to
ask. "Is Rei still alive and well?"
Darien blinked. "Rei? Oh, she's fine."
A grateful smile crossed the old general's lips. "Good...good."
"Why do you ask?" Darien said slowly.
Jadeite sighed happily. Darien almost...no wait...he did recognize the
sigh. "I just always hoped the best for her."
Darien finally put his finger on the expression. "You..." he raised his
eyebrows. "You loved her, didn't you...?"
Jadeite stood, motionless for a moment...as if afraid moving might have
allowed Darien a glimpse into his mind. "H...how did you know?"
Darien smiled. "Just a hunch...You don't start asking about a woman you
haven't seen in five years just because you're curious if she's doing okay."
"Back on Earth..." Jadeite said. "Before Beryl, I was a really nice guy."
he smiled. "At least the ladies thought so. I always had my eye on her,
though...she was the one who took me at face value. I was never part of your
Court...just plain old Jadeite." he shrugged. "It was probably because she was
caught up in the pomp as well...but I loved her for it. She was never scared to
tell me what was on her mind...or to kick my ass." he laughed.
Darien nodded. "She hasn't changed." he added a quick smile. "Wait...
actually, she has...she's a lot more passionate and dedicated now." he sighed.
"A part of my heart also belongs to her." he grinned. "Though, it was just a
quick week of dating...it was fun."
"Lucky bastard." Jadeite laughed. "I wish I could see her again. You get
to go back to your Universe once this is all over...say hello."
"Why don't you come back too? Just for a vacation..." Darien suggested.
"Maybe say hello to her in person?"
"I wouldn't know what to say." Jadeite sighed.
"Hey!" Maury said, standing up. "Are you two lobster-jiggers ready to hear
some of our ideas, or do you want to keep talking about the good ol' days until
morning?" he laughed.
Andrea grinned. "When I was YOUR age, I walked to school up-hill, both
ways..." she said in an old-geezer voice.
The two men smiled and sat back down. "By all means." Jadeite said
politely.
"Okay." Maury sighed. "Good news. Everything's going in a ten year cycle.
The soil and crop rotations are actually natural...it's just that normally, your
universe would be in war, trying to attack neighbouring planets or dimensions
right about now to fill the gap in food. The Negaverse will be out of this rut
in about two months when Fall starts."
"The bad news is..." Andrea continued. "Is that by that time, another two
million people will probably die from starvation."
Jadeite sighed. "Okay...so we need a short-term solution..."
"Possibility number one..." Maury announced. "The Silver Crystal could be
used to re-fertilize the crops." he paused. "That's bad, though...it will throw
off the cycle, and you may be screwing yourselves over for the future."
"A last resort." Darien offered.
They all nodded.
Andrea held out a list. "Two...put half the city in a temporary Eternal
Sleep."
Jadeite stood suddenly. "No. Out of the question." he growled. "You have
no idea what kind of torture that is. Death is a preferable option."
Andrea shrugged. "Okay...no number two."
Maury continued. "Three..."
"I hope this is a long list." Darien smiled.
Chapter 17
Lita paid for the bag of fruit and bread, then let the others...most
notably Serena...dig in to find food. "Oh boy! Weird green things!" Serena ate
three grape-sized spheres without thinking twice. "And they taste like gravy!"
Rei sighed. "She can eat anything." she grabbed a chunk of bread and began
eating. It wasn't that bad...though it had a muddy after-taste.
The group had found a small patch of earth to picnic on. A dozen or so
other families were doing the same, so the figured why not go with the flow.
Ami ate a quick, slopped-together sandwich as she typed on her computer. "I've
been doing some scanning..." she said over her meal. "And some thinking. If
Jadeite is alive, then he's probably the only one with a grudge against Tuxedo
Mask."
Rei nodded quickly. "They were fighting just before he died and was
replaced by Nephrite. He must still be an asshole."
Mina looked around. "The more I see of this place, the less I'm certain
that we're the good guys." she sighed. "Did we really cause this place to...
well...shrivel like this?"
Rei shot her a dirty look. "We were defending our planet...if they were
stupid enough to attack us in the first place, then it's their fault."
Mina frowned. "Something tells me that these people didn't have much say
in the matter." she pointed to a few families that were trying to enjoy a much
smaller meal than the Scouts were sharing.
"Debating isn't going to change this." Lita interrupted. "We're here for
Darien...then we're out. Non-interference. The Negaverse will be fine on it's
own. Okay??"
Ami nodded. "As much as I'd like to help, I think Lita's right."
Serena was too busy stuffing her face to offer much more than an assertive
mumble to the conversation.
"I'd like to know what's got up your butt, Rei." Lita asked finally. "Ever
since the tavern, you've been an asshole towards this entire dimension. A few
hours ago, you were mentioning how horrible it was to see it deserted."
Rei shot Lita a similar look. "Well, almost getting sucked into a black
hole gives you a new distain for the enemy."
Ami coughed. "It's obvious you don't want to talk about it...so I suggest
we all just focus on what we're going to do next."
"Thank you, Ami." Rei smiled.
Lita shrugged. "Sure."
"I say we head for the palace." Ami said. "If Jadeite is alive, our best
chance in tracking him down is there."
"That bar-tender seemed to think he was in the palace." Mina said. "Ami's
right."
Rei sighed. "Then can we at least teleport? I don't want to walk
another..."
"Seven miles." Ami mentioned.
"Yeah, that's too long when you're not even sure what street will end and
when you have to change another level or something." Rei continued.
"I don't see why not." Ami said. "No need to try and get picked up by his
captors anymore." she paused. "But the more of this city I can scan, the more
we'll know about the Negaverse."
Serena sighed, stomach finally done churning. "I'm with Rei. I want my
Darien, and then we can get the hell out of here."
Ami sighed. "Okay."
"Don't worry, Ami." Mina smiled. "We'll pick up some extra Gateway
Crystals later on...you can come back on vacation to study the plants."
Ami's face brightened. "Sounds good." she grinned. "This place would be
An AWESOME topic for a doctorate thesis in...well...pretty much any subject!"
Mina patted her friend on the back. "That's our Ami..." They all took out
their crystals. "Venus Crystal POWER!"
"Mars Crystal POWER!"
"Jupiter Crystal POWER!"
"Mercury Crystal POWER!"
"Moon Eternal POWER!"
The square all looked in fear at the assembled Sailor Scouts. Mina's eyes
softened. "Hand me the money..."
Lita gave her the pouch.
Mina emptied out over three quarters of the contents, then walked over to
the grocery shop they had just eaten from. She handed the terrified woman the
pile of crystals. "Make sure everyone here gets some extra food...okay?"
The woman blinked, then nodded. She looked at the pile of chips in her
hand, did a rough estimate, then bowed happily...the amount would probably be
enough to support her and whoever she cared about for a good month. Even in a
crisis, there was always a way to survive...if you had enough money.
The families around the square all stood in appreciation as Mina walked
back and joined the others. "There...now...we can go."
Serena smiled. "Come on, Scouts..." they all joined hands. "Sailor
TELEPORT!"
As they all phased out, Rei couldn't help but let a tear fall...hoping it
was hidden by the crackle of energy.
Moments later, a sphere of light streaked over the city, holding the Scouts
in a circle as they traveled. Mina smiled. "Ahh, I forgot how much fun this
was."
Lita grinned. "I know what you mean...the last time we did this was over
that flower-bed meteorite."
"We should do this more often...you know." Mina sighed. "Get out over the
Atlantic for a few hours of cruising around. I'm sure NORAD won't mind."
Ami frowned, checking her computer. "Well, it's not NORAD...but I think
someone's just locked onto us."
"What?" Lita blinked.
"There are four missiles coming up behind us." Ami said simply.
Serena looked past her feet to see four glowing dots streaking towards
them. "OH NO! WE'RE GETTING SHOT AT!!!" she yelled. "What do we do? I never
saw Top Gun!"
Ami ignored Serena, trying to come up with a useful plan. "I have no
idea...we can't exactly turn this bubble on a dime..."
"And if we use any of our powers, the bubble will break any ways." Mina
said, thinking.
"Then let's get low." Rei said quickly. "If we do get hit, at least we
won't fall fifty feet to our deaths."
They all nodded, and concentrated briefly to cause their bubble to descend
rapidly. The missiles behind them were gaining, though. "I have an idea." Mina
said, just seconds before the missiles hit. "SAILOR PLANET POWER!"
The sphere erupted in a flash of light, spraying off a tail of colour like
a comet. The missiles finally caught up, but as they exploded, the sphere also
burst in it's own explosion. As a safety feature built into the transport, the
Scouts were all hurtled upwards slightly, allowing them to land on their feet.
That is, except Sailor Moon, who cratered on her face, as usual.
"Correct me if I'm wrong...but those missiles belonged to one of those
bung-holes that attacked us earlier." Lita growled with her antenna already
poking out of her tiara, ready to attack.
Ami nodded, scanning behind them. "They're coming up fast. Any ideas?"
The city was the equivalent of downtown Tokyo now...very crowded. Screams
could be heard as people struggled to get away from the Scouts. Others were
lined up, ready to watch the fight. "How about we freeze the bastards and
continue on our way?" Lita growled. "Ami, can you just set up a nice freezing
fog for them?"
"Their shields will probably make it ineffective." Ami replied. "We're
going to have to do this the old fashioned way."
Lita smiled despite herself. "I was hoping you'd say that."
Ami sighed and put away her computer and visor. "I was hoping I wouldn't
have to."
Down the long, twisting street, a booming voice could be heard.
"THIS IS THE END OF THE LINE, SAILOR SCOUTS! YOU DIE HERE!"
The city erupted in cheers around them. Serena shivered. "Mina? How much
money do we have left?" she asked, hoping another gift of charity would help
their situation again.
"Not enough." The five Honour Guards stood across from the Scouts, now only
half a block away. Behind them, a mob of angry Negaverse citizens waved swords
and other pointy objects. Mina swallowed hard. "Definitely not enough."
"SIR! SIR JADEITE!" Dauthi came running into the Royal Library, yelling
at the top of his lungs.
Jadeite and Darien both looked up from their conversation. "What is it,
General?" Jadeite asked.
The man paused to catch his breath. "Sir!" he huffed. "There's some kind
of mob outside of the Royal Gates!"
"A...A rebellion?" Jadeite asked.
"At first, I thought so too..." Dauthi said, still breathing heavily. "But
they're stopped about two kilometres out of the gate...there's some kind of a
fight going on between the old Honour Guards and a whole shit-load of citizens!"
Jadeite swore in some forgotten Negaverse tongue. Darien blinked. "What's
going on?"
"The old Honour Guards are all that's left of Beryl's old government." he
paused. "Did you Scouts meet up with the Doom and Gloom sisters?"
Darien nodded.
"These guys TAUGHT them." Jadeite sighed. "If they're fighting farmers and
merchants, then we won't have to wait for two million people to die...it will
happen in the next hour or so."
"No shit..." Darien blinked. "Why would they be fighting farmers?"
The two men both turned to Dauthi. The general shrugged. "I have NO idea,
sirs...but I think they were fighting a group of girls..."
Darien's heart dropped. "Oh no...it can't be..."
Jadeite walked up to Dauthi. "Go to the fight...if the Scouts are
involved, protect them. They're on our side."
"But, sir??? The Honour Guards?" Dauthi blinked.
Jadeite frowned. "Take the entire army if you have to...I don't care. The
Scouts are allies of our government now and the Honour Guards are not. Is that
clear, General?"
Dauthi took a deep breath, then bowed. "Yes sir!" he ran off out the door.
Maury and Andrea woke to the sudden commotion. "What's going on?" Maury
asked, trenchcoat ruffled from the night's sleep.
"The Scouts may be here, in trouble...and they have NO idea what's going
on." Darien sighed. "Can you help them out?"
Maury and Andrea instantly nodded. "We're there." Andrea grabbed Maury's
hand. "You stay here...we'll try and bring them back."
She focused briefly and the two disappeared in a purple flash of light.
Jadeite blinked. "Wow...not bad."
Darien sighed. "I should go too..."
Jadeite smiled. "I understand...please...go."
Darien paused to pat Jadeite on the shoulder, then took out his rose.
Chapter 18
"VENUS! CRESCENT BEAM! SMASH!"
"MARS FLAME SNIPER!"
The two attacks bolted forward, shattering what was left of the defence
shield around the Honour Guards.
Trakgep stepped forward. "Time to take the offensive." he jumped into the
air. "NEEDLE STORM!"
The Scouts all stepped back. Rei shook her head. "Oh no...guys, we have
to take cover...QUICK."
Trakgep's armour exploded into thousands of deadly fragments, then began to
spin around him like a wheel. The crowd began to take cover, knowing what the
Needle Storm was capable of doing to unprotected flesh. The Scouts ran for the
buildings on either side of the street, only to be greeted by hundreds of angry
citizens holding knives and sticks, forcing them back out onto the street.
Serena sighed. "Well, it's been nice knowing you all..."
A flash of green light appeared behind the Scouts just as the cloud of
slivers began to advance on the Scouts. Before any of them had time to see what
it was...
"PLUTO! GROUND ZERO!" Andrea yelled, causing her body to emit a green
shield over the Scouts.
The armour bits hit the field and vaporized in a violent pitter-patter
sound.
"Mmm, that's a new one..." Trakgep said, floating back to the ground as
his armour began to re-grow.
"Yes...I don't like surprises." their leader sighed. "Let's finish this
before they can show off any other new tricks."
The Scouts all regrouped around Maury and Andrea. Lita paused to kiss
Maury. "Nice to see you made it."
Maury laughed. "It wouldn't be a fight without you, my dear."
"Is Chris here?" Rei asked Andrea.
"No..." Hooze shrugged. "We came here a few days ago, helping out Darien.
I haven't seen Chris."
"Darien?" Serena smiled. "He's okay?"
"Yeah, of course!" Andrea frowned "Don't you know...?"
Their conversation was cut short by a dozen missiles headed towards them.
Maury stepped forward. "SOL FLARE!"
His chest erupted in a flash of light, then lashed out with a super-charged
plasma ribbon that not only smashed into all twelve missiles, but kept going
until it slammed into Cockcrott. The poor Honour Guard never had a chance
against the Prince of the Sun. He was cut in two by the ribbon, then the two
halves of him crystallized into dust even before he hit the ground.
The entire square went silent as Maury stopped glowing and stumbled back a
few steps with a smile. "Oops."
Lita broke the silence with a laugh. "That's my baby..."
It looked like the remaining four Honour Guards might actually be
considering retreat...but then...the mob.
It started slowly. Probably by one or two idealistic teenagers. Then, it
spread. Gaining momentum throughout the crowd of thousands. "Beryl..." the
word kept repeating...building up to a chant. Then, a raging cheer. "BERYL!
BERYL! BERYL! BERYL! BERYL!!!!"
Maury's grin disappeared. "What's going on?"
Rei growled. "You just made one of those assholes a war hero..."
"Oh shit..."
The cheers continued. "Do you hear that, Sailor Scouts?" the head Honour
Guard yelled with an almost deafening voice. "You are hated by an entire
PLANET!" he laughed. "How does THAT feel? Love and Justice...BAH!"
Serena frowned.
"You will get one of those two, today..." the Honour Guard continued. "I,
Briault, of the Royal Honour Guards, will give you justice..." he growled as the
crowd cheered. "Something you never gave to us."
He stepped forward and took off his helmet, throwing it into the crowd.
The Scouts all gasped in horror. The man's head was entirely charred black and
dead. The sight only made the crowd's cheers louder. His eyes were bright and
wicked, though.
"BERYL!! BERYL!!!" The noise was reaching an insane level. The pure
energy that the city was pumping into this fight was incredible. The cheers got
louder as Briault took another step and raised his hand, ready to attack.
A sharp, THWIP filled the air. Some of the crowd hushed as they looked
around from the source. A rose stuck in the ground, just in front of Briault's
foot. Many of the Negaverse people had never seen a rose before. A murmur
began to sweep the block.
"People of the Negaverse!" A voice filled the air. "The Sailor Scouts
were never against you! They were never YOUR enemies! They were only defending
their home from your vicious Queen's lust for power!"
The murmur continued as people tried to find the source of the voice.
"You suffered because she was a bad ruler. But now...if you give us the
chance...we can help you. The Sailor Scouts can help you."
"Tuxedo Mask!" Serena laughed ecstatically as Darien jumped down from the
recesses of a tall building.
They exchanged smiles, then Darien steed forward, continuing to speak.
"These warriors are all that remains of a destroyed past...it is your
opportunity, today, to forget the past." he said, walking forward. "And, if we
can, we are ready to help you make a new future."
The block was quiet now.
No more chanting.
No more cheers.
Briault looked around, desperately. "WHAT IS THIS?!?" he demanded. "You
are going to let these BITCHES live after what they did?" he growled, turning to
Darien. "Nobody starved to death under Beryl's rule. The only future YOU offer
is suffering and a snivelling death."
Darien frowned as the chanting began again. "I don't get it...this always
works for Captain Picard on Star Trek." he sighed.
"I don't think they watch much Star Trek in the Negaverse." Mina sighed as
the chanting reverted to it's unbearably loud level.
Briault smiled at the Scouts, as if he had just won the battle...and
indeed, he could have. "NOBODY STARVED UNDER BERYL!" he repeated in a booming
howl of a yell. He crushed the rose under his boot. The four honour guards
began to advance.
Maury sighed. "Fine...they wanna play rough??"
Serena shook her head. "Maury! You can't! We can't kill this entire
city!"
Andrea nodded reluctantly. "We have to retreat."
"NOT YET, SAILOR SCOUTS!" Dauthi yelled as a group of men and women
pierced through the crowd. The General stood in front of Sailor Moon, hand
raised in an official salute. "The New Negaverse Army is at your service,
ladies!" he bowed proudly as a total of fifty soldiers filed around the Scouts,
protecting them.
"DAUTHI!!! YOU TRAITOR! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Briault demanded in an
almost hysterical scream. His calm leadership tones were shattered by the
thrill of the crowd and impending revenge.
Dauthi smiled and turned to his former commander. "I am simply defending
allies to our planet. And I am about to destroy the true traitors. You, sir,
are the later."
"What are you doing?!?" Mina asked. "This is going to be a blood-bath!"
Dauthi shook his head. "It's just a rebellion that has been waiting to
happen. The new must finally destroy the old. It's the way things have been
done since the beginning."
Darien turned to Rei. "Listen, you go back with Serena. Protect the
Princess. Andrea can transport you. Okay?"
Rei nodded. "Come on, Serena! This is getting ugly, and we don't need you
to be a war hero for our side."
Serena kissed Darien, then went over to Rei and Andrea. "Good luck, my
prince." She smiled.
In a flash of purple light, they were gone. Dauthi turned with Darien.
"Well, I said I'd talk to you later." the general smiled. "Sorry it has to be
about a fight."
Darien smiled. "It's been a pleasure...now...shall we?"
"DAUTHI! I DEMAND YOU SURRENDER!" Briault yelled.
"I don't recognize your authority." Dauthi growled back. "NEGAVERSE ARMY!
DESTROY THOSE TRAITORS!"
And with that, all hell broke loose.
Rei stood, overlooking the city from the castle's highest balcony. The
Scouts and Army looked so tiny and distant as they fought below. A distinct
crackle of energy hinted that Lita had just used her attack. It didn't look
like it did much, though.
She turned away reluctantly. "I don't want to be here." she sighed,
talking to herself. Andrea had probably transported back into the fight, and
Serena was inside the main chamber, fretting that she couldn't be out fighting
as well.
It was just too unpredictable to risk Serena, though. A lucky knife-toss
from the crowd could have killed the keeper of the Silver Crystal. The others
would do much better knowing she was safe.
It wasn't easing her mind, though. So, unable to concentrate, she looked
out over the city again.
"Strange, isn't it?"
She shivered as his voice cut the crowd milling below. It was Jadeite.
She never even turned.
"We never used to care about all this..." he sighed, walking up behind her.
"We thought it was such a big joke. Especially you..." he laughed. "You always
said you hoped to gain the office so you wouldn't have to wait in any more lines
at the mall. Get members of your court to get you in faster."
"Yeah...things changed after Beryl." Rei said quietly.
Jadeite's eyes lowered. "I'm glad that they didn't change too much. You
And I...now...we're still here, aren't we?"
She shivered as he placed a hand on her shoulder. It wasn't cold like she
hoped...rather a human warmth ebbed through it. So different than when she had
seen him under Beryl's command. "Things have changed." she persisted.
Jadeite nodded, taking his hand off her shoulder, and onto the balcony's
railing. They stood next to each other for a while. "Rei...what's wrong?"
A tear escaped down the side of her cheek. "Y..." she paused, looking for
the right words. "You were turned evil, attacked the moon, destroyed all peace
in the Solar System, and then died trying to again." she paused. "And you ask
what's wrong?"
He clenched his teeth. "You know that it wasn't me doing all that." he
held his head with his hand. "God, Rei...I still have nightmares...you have no
idea how I've tried to leave that behind."
Rei turned to him. "I'm sorry..." she swallowed back another tear. "I
know how horrible you must have felt...I knew what kind of a man you were before
Beryl."
He shook his head. "That's okay...I more than deserve it."
She smiled, looking at his head. "You've gotten a bit gray." she said,
raising her hand to run her finger through his hair.
He smiled. "It's in my family. Don't worry...I'm still only about one
thousand, forty three." a long sigh escaped his lips. "You're even more
beautiful than I remember..."
Rei turned away, looking out over the battle again.
"I'm glad you kept your hair long..." he continued. "Though, tying it back
like that is new..."
Rei swallowed hard. "Yeah, I started after it got annoying to sleep on.
About two years ago."
They were quiet for a good minute. The crowd below seemed to be helping out
the Honour Guards by crowding in the Army and Scouts.
"When I was in that damn block of crystal..." Jadeite sighed. "There was
only one good thing that came from it. I was able to remember past my
brainwashing." he said slowly. "I remembered Darien...the others before they
were captured as well...and, most of all, that I loved you. More than
anything."
Rei turned to him. "That was long ago, Jadeite..."
He nodded. "The past seems to repeat itself." he leaned forward. "Please,
for once...give into a little bit of cliche'?"
Their lips touched. Rei stopped herself for a moment, but then pressed
back into him. They stood, arms wrapped around each other in a passionate
embrace. "God...I missed you so much..." Rei cried out in a heavy sob as they
finally parted.
Jadeite hung his head over her shoulder, eyelids squeezed together, trying
to hold back from crying as well. "I'm so sorry, my dear."
The two gently rocked each other in their arms, embraced in a kind of slow
waltz as the battle raged below them.
Serena watched with wide-eyes from inside, unsure of what to do.
"R...ei??"
Chapter 19
Chris walked through the near-deserted Cherri Hill Temple. Grandpa was
sleeping. Chad was in the Dojo. Miharu was asleep as well. He smiled. Poor
little girl deserved it. It's not easy going through a spiritual quest in a
single afternoon.
"Hello?"
Chris turned at the sound of Artemis' voice. "In here, Arty." he called
out.
The white cat came in through the door as Chris wandered around the fire-
reading room. "Hi, Chris. What's up?"
"Nothing." he sighed. "I'm bored. And I'm going wacky just sitting around
here, waiting for Rei to come back."
Artemis nodded. "Same here, buddy. I always get nervous when the Scouts
are away on assignment."
Chris sat down, letting his white-furred friend join him. "Any news?"
"Luna and I found another Gateway Crystal." Artemis said. "I was wondering
if you could do me a favour."
Chris smiled. "Go in and check up on the Scouts?"
Artemis smiled. "You read my mind, buddy." he jumped down, ran out into
the hall, and then brought back a black crystal in his mouth, dropping it before
Chris's feet.
"Can you and Beavis look after Miharu? Tell her where I am?" Chris asked.
"Already done." the cat nodded. "Just go in, make sure there aren't any
Negaverse newspapers saying that the Scouts have been killed, then get back
home."
"I understand." Chris nodded. "I won't have much more than a dozen shots
of reserve power anyway. I won't get into any major fights...okay?"
Artemis nodded.
Chris took out his disk. "FISS!" As the light subsided, he was in dress
uniform. "I'll be back in a day...max. Okay? Even if I don't know what's
going on, I'll come back to report." He squeezed the crystal, and it generated a
vortex. "Oh, and Artemis?"
The cat nodded.
"Thanks. I really hate being on the side-lines." he smiled, then stepped
through.
Strike Fiss appeared a few blocks away from a towering structure on the
edge of the city. "Nice place..." he sighed, looking over his sunglasses. He
looked at the towering palace, and decided it would be a good place to start.
A sliver of metal pierced through the body of one of the warriors defending
the Scouts. The shard then electrified, effectively cooking the soldier. Ami
gasped as she realized it had been meant for her. One of the Honour Guards
stood like he had just fired it, smiling at her.
He was the un-named one. And, right now, she wasn't about to care what the
bastard's name was. "SHINING AQUA...ILLUSION!" she growled in a rather
formidable tone...the best she could muster.
In a spin, she launched of a spray of freezing water at the Guard. He
growled and erected a small shield around himself.
"JAN KEN PON...SCISSORS!" Sailor Hooze yelled quickly as she saw the
opportunity, extending her hand in a "scissors" pose.
A pair of invisible blades cut through the barrier the Guard had put up,
allowing the ice to hit his entire side. "AAAAAAHHH!" he yelled as half his
body was frozen into a useless block.
Andrea grinned and spun around her wrist. "Jan, Ken, Pon...STONE!" she
held her hand in a fist and brought it down into the palm of her other hand. A
glowing force appeared over the frightened Guard and dropped on him like a tonne
of bricks, shattering his side, and crushing him while he was unable to move.
Mercury exchanged a grateful glance with Hooze, then focused on the others.
Seven of the Army had already died in the fight. Lita had a broken arm,
but was still fighting with force, and Maury was having problems keeping the
crowd back after they stopped caring about getting minor burns from his weak-
power Sol Stars. "We better start thinking of a new plan!" he yelled. "If I
die...I won't be able to see the re-run of the cool X-Files with the mutant
rats!"
Mina laughed. "Oh! I saw that one! It was cool!" she drop-kicked a
civilian who was trying to stab Maury with a hunting-knife. "Some of the rats
could spit poison and fly and shit! Mulder had to shoot one off of Scully's
head, and it splattered everywhere!"
Maury growled. "Dammit! Now I REALLY wanna see it!" he took off his
trenchcoat, wrapped it around the head of another angry mob-member, and then
punched the shit out of the man.
"Don't worry!" Mina laughed. "Dave knows Chris Carter! I'll get you in
to see it at the studio!"
While Maury, Mina, and half of the remaining army defended the Scouts from
the mob, the others were beginning to tire. Fighting with their high-energy
attacks was no longer worth it. Darien took out his staff and extended it to
sword-length in preparation for hand-to-hand combat with the remaining three
Honour Guards.
Dauthi was still alive and kicking, and took out a long rapier. "You any
good?"
"I could hold my own against Zoicite." Darien replied.
"Mmm, not too bad." Dauthi smiled. "Though, these guys aren't as cute and
fuzzy."
"I'll give it my all." Darien nodded, taking off his top hat and wiping the
sweat from his brow with his sleeve.
"Try a little more than that." Dauthi sighed as Trakgep walked closer,
pushing away two soldiers with one fist...the one that seemed to be an entity of
it's own. "Hey! How did you lose the hand?" Dauthi asked his old comrade.
"One of you Scouts got a lucky shot on me." Trakgep smiled, showing his
rows of rotting teeth. "Unless you guys are better, you don't have much of a
chance."
Darien looked at the man's arm. It was like a leach. Long and shrivel-
skinned. Instead of a hand, he held his sword in a series of jagged pincers.
He could have sworn that the arm was looking at him. "Uhg..."
It moved just like a real arm, though. Before Darien could comment further
on the repulsive licid, Trakgep's heavy sword struck him against his staff,
almost snapping the stick in two.
Darien was forced to roll out of the way. Dauthi took the opportunity and
thrust his sword up at the Guard's face. Trakgep moved back just enough,
though, and it only slit a bit of his cheek. While recovering from the swipe,
the Guard managed to throw Dauthi to the ground with another heavy-handed shove.
"Like I said," he smiled, ignoring the tiny cut on his face. "You don't have
much of a chance..."
Darien breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath, then stood. "When has
that stopped the Sailor Scouts before?" he reached into his cape, spun around,
and embedded three roses deep into Trakgep's chest-plates.
The shock of magic threw the heavy man back a few metres, but it was
obvious the roses didn't penetrate deep enough to hurt him. Trakgep smiled,
pulling one of the roses out of his armour. His smile faded when he saw that
the magical rose had some lasting effect, and the wound wasn't regenerating like
normal. "No matter..." he growled. "You'll make me look like a star-field with
holes, and I'll still have more than enough time to kill you all."
Darien felt a hint of hope returning to him. "Yeah, we'll see about that."
Rei accepted the cup of water, gratefully from the palace servant. "Thank
you."
The little man bowed and ran off with a smile. Jadeite smiled, sitting
next to her. "One thing about you getting the seat for Mars...the servants
always liked you."
Rei smiled sweetly and took a sip.
Jadeite sighed and stood up, looking over the city. "Rei...I was willing
to die with all this...just a week ago. Then, I found out you were still alive.
No earlier than this evening." He sighed. "You've given me a new love for
life."
Rei stirred the water in it's crystal clear glass with her finger. She
concentrated for a moment, and the water began to heat. "Jadeite...A lot's
happened...I don't think we should be so quick to just...pick up where we left
off." she said, absentmindedly as the water began to bubble.
He turned away from the view. "I know...I know...You have a life...I have
an entire planet to try..." he laughed. "Desperately to keep alive."
She nodded, the bubbles getting more frequent. "There's something else."
she paused. "No, actually, two things."
Jadeite blinked, then sat down next to her. "Oh?"
"I have an adopted daughter." she said, looking up at him. "Her name is
Miharu."
Jadeite smiled. "A beautiful name." he took her hand. "Just like her new
mother's." he kissed it gently.
Rei's glass suddenly exploded in her other hand, heated up beyond
tolerances. "Oh...I'm sorry..." she gasped, standing, making sure none got on
him.
"No, that's okay." he laughed. "I forgot about that." his face softened.
"Rei, you know that Miharu is not a problem."
Rei sighed.
"I'd be more than happy to make room in my life for a little girl." he
shrugged. "I was kind of hoping to do it the old fashioned way." he winked.
"But that's still an option."
Rei blushed terribly red. "Uh, like I said, I don't think we can just pick
up where we left off."
He nodded. "Okay. So what's this other thing?" he paused. "It isn't
Darien, is it?? Are you still..."
Rei laughed. "Oh, no no no! That was a LONG time ago." she grinned.
"I'm glad to hear it." Jadeite smiled. "He was telling me a bit about you
before. Said you were alive and well...you have no idea how I longed for that
news." he kissed her hand again.
"There is still one thing..." Rei sighed.
Jadeite shrugged. "Okay...what?"
Suddenly, she saw shoes in front of her own. She slowly looked up. Black
pants, a white dress shirt, a wildly coloured tie... "Hello, my little pyro!"
"Chris!" she yelled excitedly and hugged him, "You finally came!" She
blushed slightly at her own reaction. "Uh, nice to see you!." she said, toned
down.
Chris was taken off guard by her enthusiasm, but smiled anyway. "Wow!
With a greeting like that, I should wait another three years before coming
back!"
"Rei, if one of us gets nuked..." Chris sighed "you must look after Andrea
if I go."
Rei and Chris embraced in a squeeze. "I will..." she sniffed.
The two gazed into each others eyes for at least a minute, then embraced in
a soft kiss.
Rei opened the box and gasped at the ring inside, "Its beautiful! And it
has my birthstone; crystal!"
"I wanted to get you something."
"Why?" she asked happily, placing the ring on her right index finger.
Chris shrugged, "For putting up with me."
"It's officially medical. Just call me Doctor Fiss." Chris smiled.
"Seriously."
Rei blushed slightly. "Fine." she unzipped her jeans and began to ease
them off without touching her knee. "Make any jokes about tongue depressors,
and I'll kick your ass."
The sunset was visible through the window now. Warm, orange light
reflected off the water as Chris poured more water onto Rei's leg. She sighed
and decided it was a good time.
"Chris...I will marry you."
Rei looked into Jadeite's eyes. "Chris."
He paused, uncertain of what she said. "Excuse me?"
She smiled a bit guiltily. "I'm in love with Chris." she shook her head.
"Prince of Saturn."
Jadeite blinked. "Uh...oh..." he sighed finally.
"I'm sorry." she sighed, taking his hand in hers once again. "The reason
why we can't just pick things up where we left off...is because I've moved too
far past that point."
Jadeite stood. "Somehow...I guess I knew." he sighed. "An eon is a long
time to wait."
"It's not that..." Rei said, standing up with him. "I would have
waited...but I thought you were dead." she sighed. "The Jadeite I loved died a
long time ago when Beryl took control of him."
"I will never forgive her." Jadeite sighed.
Rei traced her hand along his chin. "Please, forgive her. Let the past be
the past. You're you again. I'm not the same Rei, though." she sighed. "I
never wanted to fall in love again...but..." she shrugged, dropping a tear onto
his shoulder.
He nodded, and they rested foreheads upon each other. "Is he a nice guy?"
Rei smiled. "The best."
Jadeite smiled. "He good in bed?"
Rei stood back and laughed. "Yes...and that's all I'm telling you."
"Damn..." Jadeite smiled. "I was hoping I at least got you there."
Rei grinned. "Well, you're close...but there's something to be said for a
guy who stays up all night on a regular basis."
"Can I meet him?" Jadeite asked. "Is he down there?"
"No...he's at home, looking after our daughter." she smiled, walking to the
ledge with him.
"Who's that?" Jadeite pointed to a lone figure walking towards the battle.
Rei growled. "The guy who's not going to be able to stay up all night
after I kick his ass."
Chris walked up to the outer edge of the crowd, and tapped one of the mob-
members on the shoulder. "Excuse me, what's going on here?"
The woman turned to him. "The old Honour Guards are fighting the Sailor
Scouts!" she cheered on.
Chris frowned. "Oh? Who are you cheering for?"
"The Guards! Of course!" The woman said angrily, returning her attention
to the fight.
The tuxedo-vested prince took out his sword, and knocked her out over the
head with the blunt edge. He then re-sheathed it with a smile. "I always root
for the visitors." he began pushing his way through the crowd. "EXCUSE ME
PEOPLE! ONE WAY! COMING THROUGH!! I GOT A PACKAGE HERE, PEOPLE!!" he yelled.
"DON'T MAKE ME MOO AT THEE! ARGH! THE BEES ARE EVERYWHERE! RUN! ZOOM!"
Darien braced his staff with his knees as Trakgep pounded into it with his
sword. Every time he did, General Dauthi tried to make a stab, but the tiny
fencing rapier was no match for the armour. "You're going to have to do
better." the Guard smiled, subconsciously deploying a thin shield to deflect a
thrown knife from one of the army.
Dauthi tried another quick swipe for his face. This time, Trakgep raised
his arm, caught the thin, metal rod, and held it tight as he brought around his
sword and snapped it in two like a dried spaghetti noodle.
The General never had time to doge, as the sword kept going, and slammed
into his jaw. Luckily, it was the flat side instead of the blade...but it
almost broke his neck, and caused the man to be tossed aside like a rag doll.
Blood poured from a nasty gash along the General's jaw-bone, and he was now
unconscious, lying on the ground unarmed.
Darien gasped as he tried to think of a plan. Trakgep smiled and kicked a
chunk of dust into the caped hero's face. "I'll be back in a second...I just
have to make sure your little friend won't be coming back for more."
"CHIWAWA!!" Chris yelled, leaping off the back of a cussing old grandma
with a bread-knife, and flying toward Trakgep, sword extended to his side.
The heavy man tried to move out of the way, but never even had time to
block. Chris swung around his sword high, the swished it downwards as he hit
the man's newly-regenerated arm.
The arm-licid fell to the ground, still holding Trakgep's sword. It
sputtered around for a bit...spurting blood and liquid of various colours...then
promptly died, having no host to sustain it. The Honour Guard was wide-eyed as
he realized it was Strike Fiss. "Y-YOU?!?!"
"Yes...and I AM a large potato." Chris smiled, swung his sword along side
his arm, then drug the razor-sharp blade through the Guard's armour and mid-
section.
Darien steadied his staff against a rock near his knees, aimed the other
end of the rod...and then extended it as fast as he could will it to do so. The
black stick slammed into Trakgep's chest with such force, that, thanks to Chris'
torso cut, it ripped him in two, sending his head and chest into the crowd
behind them, and promptly scattering that section of the mob.
Strike Fiss smiled, sheathed his sword, and helped Tuxedo Mask to his feet.
"No matter how weird the aliens get, a trusty sword and stick will do it every
time."
Darien breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness for that." he laughed.
Only Mare and Briault remained, and they were finding it hard to
concentrate on attacking when three Scouts were attacking at all times. "This
isn't going well!" Mare growled.
"I am aware of that...I'm simply working on a spell I know." Briault hissed
through his teeth as Sailor Jupiter launched another Sparkling Wide Pressure at
them. "Just hold them off for a few more moments..."
Andrea sighed. "I'm getting sick of this! Jan Ken Pon...PAPER!" With a
quick swipe of her hand, a light pink shield materialized against the wall of
oncoming mob, protecting ten of the soldiers.
Darien and Chris came running back, carrying Dauthi in their arms. "We
have to get him back to the palace!" Darien yelled. "Trakgep's dead! Can you
handle these two?"
"No prob!" Andrea nodded, taking command as Chris smiled and helped Darien
take the injured General back to the palace. "OKAY SCOUTS!" she yelled,
stepping forward. "TIME TO ROCK N ROLL!"
Jadeite blinked as he heard something approaching. "Wh...what is that?"
Rei laughed. "Does it sound like a cow?"
He nodded and shrugged.
"Moo! Moo! Moo!" Chris yelled, finally reaching the top floor of the
stairs. "DAMN! How many freaking..." he laughed, spotting Rei and purposely
tripping down, onto his butt, and sliding out onto the balcony with a flourish
of his hands.
Jadeite and Rei looked down at him as he extended his hand. "Hello!" he
grinned, re-adjusting his sunglasses. "If you're wondering...NO...I am not
completely sane..." he paused. "Or so the voices tell me."
Rei looked extremely embarrassed. "Where's Miharu?"
"The cats are taking care of her...she's fine. I've only been gone two
hours." Chris smiled. "Figured you lovely ladies could use a little
assistance."
Rei sighed, smiling, flush red at Jadeite, and picked Chris up by his arm.
"This is Chris."
"Oh dear god..." Jadeite laughed. "Ugh, nice to meet you...Prince Saturn."
Chris stood to his full height and shook his hand happily. "A pleasure..."
he bowed quickly, then glanced over to Rei. "Is everything okay? You were
crying..." he said, more softly.
Rei grinned sheepishly, a little flattered that he noticed. "I'm
fine...How's the fight going?"
"Two of the guards are left..." Chris smiled. "That Trakgep asshole wishes
he never stepped on my grass now!" he spun around his head to Jadeite again.
"Sorry, I drank way too much Jolt on the way here. That first dimensional jump
is a doozie! WHEE!"
"I don't mean to imply that you're slacking off," Rei crossed her amrs,
"but why are you here instead of out there?"
"Darien and I carried back one of your generals." Chris said to Jadeite.
"Dauthi, I believe. He doesn't look that good." he sighed.
"Oh no..." Jadeite cupped his forehead with his hand. "Where is he?"
"One of the lower levels...we didn't want to move him upstairs. Darien
found a medical kit and is trying to find out how to use it." Chris shrugged.
"You better get down there..."
He nodded quickly, then took Rei's hand. "I'll be back...you look after
Serena." he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and then was off downstairs.
Rei blushed as she turned her eyes to Chris. Chris just smiled, not really
worried about it, to her surprise. "Old friend?"
The comment took her by surprise. "Y...I was afraid you'd be jealous."
Chris shrugged. "Of course not. Beavis was telling me about you and
Jadeite anyway. I'm not too worried about what happened back then...and I'm
glad you got to have a reunion with someone you care for." He stuck out his
tongue. "And besides, you owe me thirty-five bucks, so you can't get rid of me
till you pay that off."
She shook her head with a smile. "And why aren't you in bed? You got cut
up, remember?"
"A wise man once said that the only times you should be in bed are when
sleeping...or making love to a beautiful woman." he smiled, kissing her hand.
"I can't sleep with this much caffeine in my system, and you were over in the
Negaverse."
"Apparently, that wise-man didn't get into many fights with aliens."
"All the time, actually." Fiss winked.
"Where's that spell, Briault!?!" Mare demanded, noticing his leader had
been basically standing around for a good two minutes now.
The Guard opened his eyes. "Now."
He raised his armoured arms in a gesture to the crowd around them. The
Scouts all paused. "What's he doing?" Mina asked.
Andrea sighed, holding her fist ready for another Paper spell. "I don't
know...but if he's the stereotypical evil mad-villain, some big shit's going
down."
Chapter 20
They never even noticed the change until it had already begun. Maury
struck a nearby man...only to find that he shrugged the punch off like it was a
mild gust of wind. "What the..." he gasped, holding his hand in pain.
The man laughed a horrible, unearthly chuckle, then began to
change...Slowly...it looked like hair was growing all over the man's skin. It
was too dark to be hair, though. Maury took a step back as he realized that his
skin wasn't growing fur...but rather being eaten away.
"Oh shit!" he yelled, taking a few steps back.
What emerged was a shifting, swirling mass of smoke...no...it wasn't smoke.
It was like a shadow. Only in humanoid form!
What was worse...others in the crowd began to change as well. "W...We got
a problem here..." he yelled to the others.
They had noticed too. Nearly the entire mob was changing into these
strengthened shadow-people. Andrea swallowed hard as a single one of these
creatures smashed through her existing Paper-Shield that was previously holding
out a few dozen. "Something tells me that we're in shit."
The shadows were far from that...and were already engaging the army. One,
that used to be an old, kind-looking woman, had just thrown one of the Negaverse
Army soldiers across the battle field with a howl, and destroyed another one of
Andrea's shields, letting more come through.
Another laugh filled the air, but this time, it was from Briault. "What's
the matter, Scouts? The tides turning? And so soon in the battle!?!"
Jupiter growled. "If we kill him, chances are that these people will
revert back to normal!"
Ami blinked. "Are you sure?"
The green-suited Scout growled. "I have no idea...but unless you have a
better idea, were going to get creamed!" she raised her antenna. "Venus!
Double-Team!"
Mina nodded. "VENUS! LOVE AND BEAUTY..."
"JUPITER THUNDER..."
"SHOCK!"
"CRASH!"
A super-charged, electric heart-shape was formed when the two attacks
combined, and streaked forward. Ami gasped as it went THROUGH a number of the
shadow-creatures. Luckily, it was still on it's target, and slammed into
Briault's shield, making a series of white cracks in the air as it broke.
Maury was ready. "SOLAR FLARE!" he yelled as loud as he could. His entire
body ripped open in a barrage of light. The resulting energy ribbon was much
too great for even the shadows to ignore, and it vaporized at least ten into a
black powder. The rolling ribbon of light then trampled onwards, breaking
through what was left of the Honour Guards shield, and slamming into the
remaining two warriors.
Everyone paused, shielding their eyes from the massive attack. Finally,
the flare ended. Maury collapsed on the ground, his trenchcoat smoking. Lita
rushed over to him while everyone was stunned. "Are you okay?" she asked,
helping him to his feet.
"Yeah...did I get em?" he said weakly.
The charred air finally cleared to show both Honour Guards still intact.
"Oh fuck..." Andrea said blatantly.
Both were intact, but far from okay. Mare's side was burnt to a crisp, his
entire suit of armour was beyond regeneration. He shivered as if a cold had
gripped him.
Briault was in a bit better condition, though his face had already been
burnt, and there was no way of comparing. His lips were peeled back in a
permanent, hideous smile. "V...Very impressive..." he coughed. "I would have
to admit defeat if this were any other battle." What was left of his eyebrows
were forced into a frown. "But, this is my last fight. My one chance for
revenge...and I will NEVER surrender!" he yelled in a raspy, ash-laden breath.
"Hey! It's Spawn!" Andrea chuckled to herself.
"I miss Wanda..." Maury chimed in.
The shadows seemed to be stunned, waiting for instructions. Lita smiled.
"One more second, and your revenge is history."
The Honour Guard laughed. "Let me get this straight...you think that if
you kill me...?"
Lita nodded angrily.
"These people still want to kill you...all I did was give them a bit of
help." his smile widened past it's normal range, probably tearing away at his
face as he did so. It didn't matter. This was his finest hour. The hour where
the Sailor Scouts died. "If I am destroyed, these people will be unaffected.
My revenge will still be carried out."
The hundreds of shadows all chuckled in agreement, producing a ghostly
chorus of voices. The remaining dozen or so army lieutenants all took a step
back.
Lita growled. "Jupiter..." she held out her hand as the energy gathered
around her. "OAK EVOLUTION!" Dozens of her tiny, leaf-shaped darts, flew out
and struck the two Honour Guards.
Briault died with a smile on his face. As soon as his corpse hit the
ground, the shadows began to advance on the Scouts again, crowding them in.
"Honey," Lita said. "If you can manage a few more Flares...it would REALLY be a
good time to try."
Maury shook his head, coughing. "I might be able to do a small one...but
it's not going to help much."
"Okay! Our attacks go through them...and that means we'd better kick some
ass." Andrea said hopefully.
A glance around told her otherwise. Mina shook her head. "We can't stop
this many people, Andrea. Even if they were normal."
Andrea took off her mask, wiping her brow. "Any other ideas?"
Ami nodded. "May I suggest a retreat back to the castle?"
"RUN!" Lita paraphrased, knocking over a shadow in her way.
The Scouts and Army all broke into a sprint through the relatively un-
obstructed street that lead to the palace. Not even their running could be
heard over the moaning chuckles of the dark mass giving chase...now just a
heartbeat behind their heels.
Rei and Chris stood at the gate, waiting for their friends to reach the
walls. Chris held his sword in his right hand, twirling it's blade around
loosely. "Either I've been drinking too much carbonated beverages, or that's a
wall of shadows after the Scouts." Chris quipped.
She shrugged. "For once, I'll agree with the latter."
Chris turned back inside the two, giant metal doors. "How's it going?" he
asked as Darien and Jadeite examined Dauthi's head.
Darien turned to him. "Jadeite's using a kind of regeneration spell on
him. It doesn't look good, though. Can you keep the mob out for a while?" he
sighed. "We don't need a battle going on in here."
Serena came rushing down the stairs. "Princess be damned...I'm helping."
Rei shot her a look, then sighed. "Get to the gate controls. Once they're
in, those weird black things are going to start pouring in as well.
Chris lined up his sight along the edge of his blade. "I don't know how
much power this thing's got stored in it. Without Saturn in the sky, I'm not
going to be able to do anything fancy."
Rei smiled. "That's okay...just improvise."
Serena sat by a small grouping of crystals. "Okay, ready..." she said,
seeing a lever. "Just say when."
Jadeite turned away from Dauthi for a moment. "Princess!! You have to
activate the gate early! It's rusted! Start closing it when they reach the
palace court-yard-tiles!"
Rei nodded. "I'll tell you when, Serena! Get ready!"
Lita was in front of the retreat, motioning for Rei to get the hell out of
the way. Rei smiled. She then waited for the last few army lieutenants to hit
the dull gray tile, signalling the courtyard. "NOW!"
Serena gasped, fumbling at the controls...but quickly recovered and pulled
the switch.
Chris and Rei were almost cut in half as a sharp metal mesh fell down from
the top of the gate. "SERENA! NOO! That's not the doors!" Rei gasped,
realizing they were now trapped outside as well.
Wasting no time, Chris jumped at the mesh, slicing it through about a metre
above the ground, regaining access to the castle. "TRY ANOTHER BUTTON!!
HURRY!"
The Scouts and shadows were nearly there. Lita was yelling for them to get
ready.
Serena finally pressed the right button, and the giant metal slabs began to
inch towards each other and close. "It's working!" she said proudly.
Chris and Rei just smiled, and got ready. Lita jumped past them, over the
mesh. The rest all followed a few footsteps behind. The door was only half
closed...over two metres of space in the middle. The shadows were only a second
or two behind the last bit of the army. The two ducked back into the palace and
got ready.
Almost closed, the last lieutenant jumped through...followed by three
shadow creatures. Chris braced himself and yelled "FISS!"
The pulse went right through the shadow, though, having no effect.
Luckily, the creature was jumping at the time, and impaled himself right on the
blade. Chris fell backwards, off balance as the person reverted back to normal
and died. "Shit! Rei! They're the civilians!" he gasped, quickly removing his
sword, knowing it was much too late as the man bled to death over his shirt.
Rei nodded. "Okay, change of plans! Akuryo TAISAN!" she yelled, pulling
out two scrolls and launching them at the foreheads of the remaining two
shadows.
The paper attached, and burned, paralysing them. Then, they dropped to the
ground, reverting back to normal people in a flash of light.
Lita smiled, breathing heavily. "Hey! I gotta learn how to do that!"
"What happened out there?" Rei asked as the doors clanged shut, severing a
number of shadow-limbs.
"The asshole used some kind of spell to transform the entire crowd!" Andrea
said, leaning against a wall to catch her breath. "Magic and energy goes
through them like air...and there were too many to try and beat up!"
General Dauthi had stopped bleeding, and was looking a little bit better,
Twitching occasionally as he tried to regain consciousness. Jadeite stood
finally. "Those people aren't going to stop until you're all ripped to shreds."
he sighed. "That was a particularly nasty spell."
"We noticed." Mina sighed. "Now what? We can't just kill or 'scroll' over
a thousand people."
"I think that there is probably more like twenty thousand out there." Ami
sighed, scanning. "More joined the fight when they were transformed. The
effect was probably over a number of blocks."
"Are the guards dead?" Jadeite asked hopefully.
Maury smiled. "Yup."
"Okay, so at least we don't have to worry about the people exploding."
Jadeite sighed.
"WHAT?" Mina gasped.
"Well, if Briault was still able to cast magic, he could turn his little
shadow-minions into walking grenades." Jadeite smiled. "That's why this spell's
so nasty...it's able to branch off into nastier things very quickly."
A few dents were beginning to appear in the metal doors. Andrea frowned.
"Jan Ken Pon..." she raised her hand in a flat sheet. "PAPER!"
The metal was suddenly reinforced with a pink shield. While by itself, the
magic had no effect on the shadows, used to strengthen the metal was proving to
be effective. The dents and pounding were lessened to almost non-existent.
"Okay, that bought us half an hour or so..." Jadeite sighed. "Until they
realize they can use each other to climb the walls."
Rei walked up to Jadeite. "Then the only way this is going to be resolved
is if we go." she sighed. "Do you have some Gateway Crystals?"
He nodded. "Of course. I'll take you to the armoury."
"We can't go!" Darien said, standing. "Not until this is straightened
out."
"My friend..." Jadeite smiled. "You have done more for me and this world
than you could possibly imagine." he bowed, humbly. "You've given it's ruler a
sense of hope, and killed the last bit of destruction."
Darien smiled.
"That, and if you stay, the population will never stop wanting to kill
you." Jadeite smiled. "You'll be more trouble if you stay. I promise to call
on you again when I can explain to the planet you are our friends."
"We won't hold out breath." Lita laughed as another dent began to form
despite Andrea's shield.
Serena stepped forward. "Wait...Jadeite..."
"Yes, princess?" he replied.
"You said they weren't going to stop until we were ripped apart." she
paused. "What happens if we just leave?"
The old general paused for a long time...probably retracing and rethinking
the specifics of the spell. "Oh dear..." he said finally. "They'll all go...
what's the term...homicidal. Probably killing each other."
"We can't stay here...or we'll die..." Lita reminded everyone. "And this
palace will be torn to bite-sized chunks."
"And if we go," Mina sighed. "Twenty thousand or more innocent civilians
will die anyway."
"Plus the twenty million from starvation." Maury added quietly. "This
doesn't look like much of a plan."
Chris sighed as another dent was forming. "Then we improvise."
Darien nodded. "Okay. A mob of people out there hate us. If we go,
they'll die. If we stay, at least WE'LL only die."
"What if we can convince them we're on their side?" Chris asked.
"We just vaporized five of their war-heroes." Maury said. "I don't think
they'll be an easy crowd to win over."
Rei paused. "No...wait...Chris has something there." she turned to Serena.
"Can you use the crystal to purify them? At least enough to get rid of the
spell?"
Serena blinked. "I don't know...twenty thousand??"
Chris grabbed her by the hand, leading her back up the stairs. "We're
going to do some purifying! You guys get some of those damn Gateway things! I
have one, so Sailor Moon and I will be fine! Just get the hell out of here!"
Rei shook her head. "I'm not going until I know everything's going to be
alright."
Lita sighed. "Fine! I'll go and get some crystals. We'll meet back here,
and then decide if we're going to die now or later." she stormed off. "Come on,
Jedy." she motioned for Jadeite to follow.
They trotted off to the armoury. Ami looked down at her computer. "Oh
oh..."
"What do you mean...oh oh?" Maury asked.
BOOOOOOM!
An explosion rocked the doors, causing a number of cracks to appear. "I
thought he said they COULDN'T explode!" Andrea gasped, seeing her shield begin
to fail.
"Since when has anything been that easy for us?" Rei growled, getting a
dozen or so scrolls ready.
"What was Maury saying about the twenty million that were going to starve?"
Serena asked as they ran up the stairs.
Chris sighed. "The two suns are cooking the planet. It happens every ten
years. This time, though, because of the government upset, they weren't
prepared for it." they finally reached the top. "There's noting we can do.
It's just too hot to grow anything."
Serena reached to her chest and touched her locket. The cover slowly
melted away, revealing the crystal. "We can't let that many people die!"
Chris nodded. "I know...but there's nothing we can do." he pointed down,
off the balcony. "What we CAN do is give these people a chance. I know you're
theoretically my boss...but you don't have much of a choice, Sailor Moon. We
protect who we can." he took a long breath. "But we are not gods."
Serena nodded. "Y...you're right. I'll do my best. Hopefully these
people won't have to die too."
A tear rolled down her cheek, falling on the glowing, diamond-like rock.
It sparkled to life. Chris was taken back by the sudden power it was emitting,
just as it got warmed up. "Whoa!"
Sailor Moon held the crystal high as it floated free of her locket. "MOON!
HEALING! ACTIVATION!"
Chapter 21
The door crashed down as two more explosions shattered the pink shield.
Mina stood before rows and rows of grinning shadow-creatures. Everyone
seemed to be paused. The calm before the storm. Then...slowly, she raised her
hand. "Sailor Scouts! ATTACK!"
A row of scrolls flew over her head, and hit their targets, reverting the
first two waves of civilians back to normal. They were ignored as the next wave
floated over them, advancing through the gate and spilling out into the throne
room.
The Scouts were swamped almost instantly. Andrea was knocked off her feet
Even before she could erect another shield. Maury fired off another Flare, but
it was too weak, and only managed to stun three of the creatures. He two was
knocked out with a swift wave of shadowy limbs.
Rei managed to knock one down, only to have one right behind it punch her
in the stomach as yet more piled onto her back and knocked her off her feet.
Mina had been carried off like a boat stuck on some turbulent wave, and was
thrown against the hard marble wall.
What was left of the Army only suffered worse. One shadow actually grabbed
a lieutenant, and then, while gripping him, self-destructed with a hideous
laugh, vaporizing the man with a small fireball.
Then, Mina saw it. A small, black crystal...about the size of a pickle...
just within her reach. One of the reverted civilians must have had it with
them, then dropped it. She kicked off one of the shadows, and dove for it. Her
eyes widened happily. A Gateway Crystal. "SCOUTS! RETREAT!" she ordered,
activating it and causing a portal to open just above the swarm of battling
shadows who were chattering wildly about who should get to rip apart who.
Andrea managed to free herself...having been relatively unharmed. She
delivered a series of quick kicks to the three shadows who were wrestling with
Maury, and pulled him up by the collar. Ami managed to kick her way though as
well, and followed. The others would have to fend for themselves...there were
simply too many shadows.
"HURRY!" Hooze yelled as she and Destiny jumped up and through the portal.
Darien had extended his staff and was beginning to clear a path for
everyone. "Come on Scouts! We're not going to die here!" he yelled out over
the chatter.
Luckily, roses still worked, being half-matter, and Darien managed to clear
off the Shadows that had piled onto Rei to prevent her use of ofuda scrolls.
She stood, fired off a few more, and then ran over to Mina who was trapped under
another pile of the annoying, transformed mob-members.
Picking her up, Rei literally threw Mina into her own portal. "See you on
the other side!" Mina could only nod weakly as she disappeared into the black
vortex. Rei then turned to Darien. "Get out of here!"
"Not without Serena!" he yelled, firing off another rose, and knocking away
a group of the shadows as they attempted to charge.
Rei growled, grabbed Darien's staff, and hurtled him into the vortex. He
let go, leaving the weapon for her. "When I say go...GO!" she laughed, then
twirled the black staff around, clearing a circle around her.
A bright light was appearing outside. Rei squinted. It was the Crystal!
Serena was purifying the mob! Unfortunately, there was still the hundred or so
inside that were not being touched by the light. They were like vampires...
only, in this case, the light was there to save them. Not destroy them. They
avoided the light too. Maybe they had such an intense hatred for the Scouts
that they didn't WANT to feel better. Hate was the only thing giving their
lives meaning. Just the pure emotion was more than visible to Rei. It was
frightening to realize how badly some of these creatures wanted to spit on her
trampled remains.
That's what had driven them to self-destructing. They no longer cared
about life. Hate was so much stronger now.
Dauthi lay in the corner, untouched, but he was in no condition to get up
and help her. Now, only she remained in the throne room. The army must have
been lost long ago. She stood, exhausted, desperately holding Darien's staff in
an effort to protect herself. "Don't you people have better things to do?" she
gasped, out of breath as they began to circle around her, giggling in their
alien voices.
She watched them hover around her. They were teasing. Trying to scare
her. It was working. They almost looked like the old Shadow Warriors that were
released from each Rainbow Crystal carrier. God...she hadn't thought that far
back in a long time. All this business with Jadeite brought the memories back,
though. And now...she was about to get ripped into a million pieces with
neither Chris or Jadeite there. The only two people she had ever really loved
with all her heart.
"Fine..." she sniffed back a tear. "I'm not going without a fight." she
raised her hands, ready to attack. "I bet you guys aren't immune to a little
FIRE! Mars...FIRESTORM...."
"WAIT!" Chris yelled from the stairs.
All the shadows glanced up at their new foe. He wasn't alone, though.
Serena was just behind him. She stopped, overlooking the entire room, and then
took out her crystal one last time. "MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!"
The crystal exploded in a rain of light. Each shadow was thrown back as
the light hit, but fell back down as a Negaverse citizen. Rei covered her eyes
as the warm, tingling sensation passed through her, putting a smile on her face
despite the fact she was exhausted.
In just one minute, the entire floor was littered with recovering,
exhausted people. People, nonetheless. Serena collapsed, but Chris was there
to catch her. "Let's get the hell out of here before they become the angry mob
again."
Rei nodded weakly, turning back to the portal.
It was gone. "Oh no..." One of the farmers had crushed the Gateway
Crystal when he fell on it.
The farmer stood to his feet, weakly. "I hired those Honour Guards...
thinking only the best would do." he laughed. "Figures I would waste my money
buying them their drinks, only for them to die as well."
Rei frowned at him, too weak to care.
"Allow me to introduce myself." the man smiled. "Friends call me Emanj. I
guess you can too since you won't live long enough to know my full name."
Rei realized she could barely stand, let alone fight.
Chris began running down the steps.
Emanj frowned, then pulled out a dagger and pointed it towards Rei. "Stay
were you are. I could kill her before you had the chance."
Chris skidded to a halt, glaring over the top of his sunglasses. "If you
do..."
"You'll what?" Emanj laughed. "Kill me? Oooh! I'm scared!"
Strike Fiss sighed. "Rei...can you move?"
Rei shook her head with a kind of a pathetic squeak. "No...." she gasped,
muscles drained from the fight.
Chris took a deep breath. "Good."
He made a quick slash at the air, producing a glowing blue spark that shot
out and hit Emanj's chest. Rei was silent as the farmer dropped his knife, then
fell over, dead...and in two pieces. Chris quickly sheathed his sword and ran
over to Rei, embracing her in a tight hug. She was too drained to do much more
than smile and cry on his shoulder. "H...how many did we have to kill?" she
asked quietly.
"Too many." Chris replied, not even bothering to count. The numbers and
the realization would come later, he knew. "It's over...and we can finally
leave this planet to itself."
Lita and Jadeite returned. She carried a small holder full of six Gateway
Crystals. "What the hell happened here?"
"They decided that exploding was preferable to living." Rei said quietly.
Jadeite sighed as he saw Rei and Chris locked in their hug. "Strike Fiss?"
Chris turned away from Rei briefly. "Yes?"
"Please...take good care of her."
Chris' tired expression gave way to a smile. "I will, sir. You have my
word on that." He let Rei drop down, then he turned around and lifted her up,
piggy-back-style, onto his back. She clung around his neck. "Thank you." Chris
added.
Jadeite smiled weakly and bowed. "It's been an honour."
Jupiter picked out one of the crystals and squeezed it. A portal opened up
a second later. "I guess this is goodbye." she shook Jadeite's hand. "I hope
Dauthi will be okay."
He nodded. "I hope so too. He's my friend...probably the only one I can
really count on."
Chris and Rei walked off to the portal, then disappeared with a final smile
from each of them.
Lita stepped over the farmers and shop-keepers, and did the same.
Serena finally made it down the stairs. "Jadeite...I'm sorry we couldn't
help more..."
The former general smiled. "Go home. Lita has lots of crystals now...come
back in a few years, and I'll prove to you that we're fine. Your damn 'human
spirit' is catching."
Serena smiled. "I'm glad." Tears came to her eyes. "WAA! I LOVE YOU
ALL!" she broke out and gave him a giant hug.
"Ahhh, Sailor Moon...the toughest cry-baby in both universes." Jadeite
smiled, hugging her back.
She frowned, wiping away her tears. "I'm not a cry baby!" she argued, then
smiled. "Bye bye!"
Jadeite waved as Sailor Moon stepped through and disappeared. Soon
afterwards, the vortex followed.
He sighed as the people around him began to stand up. "People of the
Negaverse...we're on our own." He frowned at them. Several turned their heads
away in shame. "But dammit...we're going to live."
Epilogue
Rei slid open the door slowly. Her eyes half closed from exhaustion.
Chris followed, also looking a bit tired. "Are you hungry?" he asked, knowing
the response already.
"Sleep." she said weakly, walking like a zombie towards her room.
Chris followed. As they opened the door, Miharu came running in from the
other room. "MOM!" she said cheerfully. "Guess what!?! Chris gave me his
sword!!"
Rei looked at her...then up at Chris. "Hi, Miharu...Mommie's too tired
right now. Sorry. I'm going to sleep." Chris was about to follow her into her
room when she slammed the door shut on his nose. "We'll talk about the sword
later." she growled from inside. "Sleep on the couch."
Chris looked down at the little girl, then smiled. "If you want to tell
her anything, you better do it now...while she can't beat us up."
Miharu laughed. "Okay." she turned to the door. "Mom? I fed Phobos some
cereal, and she barfed in the hallway."
A low moan could be heard form inside. Chris laughed. "Goodnight, Rei."
he picked up Miharu. "Now...did you clean up the mess?"
"No..."
"Well, then go do that." he yawned. "I'm going to sleep. What kind of
cereal?"
"The one with lots of sugar." Miharu bounced.
Chris frowned. "Hey! That's MY cereal!" he put her down. "You clean that
up...and please, ask first before wasting my snack-foods." he smiled. "That
poor crow's going to be hyper for the next week."
Miharu ran off to go clean up the crow-vomit. She was nothing if not
dedicated to her duties. Chris sighed. He wondered briefly how many people's
lives would be saved if he sent over just one box of Corn-Pops...Maybe just one
or two packs of sandwiches...a bottle of fresh water...maybe even just a package
of hardy seeds.
It wasn't going to help, though. Earth had problems of it's own to contend
to. The Negaverse was better without the Scouts.
At least, it was easier to believe that.
The dusty remains of Compassion hit the floor in a lacklustre symphony of
falling stones.
Tumbler laughed. The blue, blinding light now almost free. Only two more
shackles remained. Just two more tumblers to go. It was almost a pity. To
something as timeless as He, simply waiting for this to happen was never much of
a challenge. Every day, the stones got weaker. It was just a matter of time.
Scrawled out along the last two tumblers were the words: Destiny and Love.
The ancient language cracking under the strain that was already gripping the
heavy stone.
He was still worried. Both were weak...but not quite ready to crumble into
oblivion.
And then...Tumbler thought of something.
Something absolutely delicious in simplicity and design.
Perhaps...
Just perhaps...
These Sailor Scouts would aid him further.
The End
================================================================================
Good morning! That is, unless of course you've finished reading this later
on in the day. Then good evening, or maybe afternoon. That should cover it.
Anyway, hello again. It's time for Mr. Author to say "Yo!" and a bunch of other
weird stuff.
SAILOR MOON AR 7 has been brought to you by the letters "Z" and "F". As
well as a quick cameo by the number "78292". I hope you all enjoyed it. If you
didn't, then that's your own fault for being too smart to like my writing. He
he! Though, I've been told that these stories grow on people after a while.
They're like mushrooms! Yum! What am I saying? I really don't like mushrooms
much. Oh well. Just to be safe, keep the AR series in a nice, dark, damp place
and make sure the soil is rich. Mushrooms love dark, damp places! You'll soon
be liking them more and more.
Disclaimer : Stoopid people! Don't put your nice new computers in a
damp corner of your house! Unless of course you have a Macintosh...and
ESPECIALLY if you have an iMac. Thank you!
Well, that about wraps up the old AR 7. ^_^ I hope you all enjoyed the
reformat. I noticed that when I was running it through Word (one of the only MS
products I can stand...and even then, I only installed 1/10th of all it's
options to make sure it would RUN...), that the original file had LOTS of
spelling errors. Much more than usual. Thinking back to 1997, I realized this
is probably because I was in the middle of word-processor changes and fixes.
Hopefully the next 3 stories won't be so bad.
Finally, I would like to point out that the Jadeite and Rei relationship
was actually a plot point in the old Manga of Sailor Moon. Besides, I had to
make up for the Dana incident in 6.7. ^_^ Gotta have a little fun after
all...and besides, Fiss and Mars are together, and always much stronger because
of these things. You'll see. :P
As always, I invite you all to come to Crystal Canada and check out the
mighty spooky keenness there. Now with a fresh site! That's right! Geocities
may be free...but it's a slow-bitch-ass. I managed to get a muchoes nicer
private server with TWU. Thank you, guys! And I promise to keep my graphics
files down in size! ^_^ (fails to mention that the largest files...BY FAR...in
Crystal Canada are text.)
e-mail: strikef@bigfoot.com
homepage1: www.studioshinnyo.com
homepage2: www.oocities.com/Tokyo/9110
And with that, I wish you all goodnight, and ask you to stay tuned for the
updated, muchos spooky, Sailor Moon AR Series! The ONLY fanfic series that
needs this disclaimer at the end:
****WARNING!!!*** Treat your shadows with kindness. Always feed and water
them. If you don't, they may get mad at you and explode.
^_^ Ja!
Strike Fiss, Studio Shinnyo 2000. Khattam-Shud, EOF.
(
geocities.com/Tokyo/9110) (
geocities.com/Tokyo)