Sailor Moon: AR
Alternate Reality
***************
Part 9: "The Beginning of the End"
Written by Strike Fiss,
Ninja Crowbotics, 1998
Prologue
It only took a moment for the tiny computer to boot up. Running
through literally thousands of checks and programs to make sure
operation was not only possible, but optimal. Two heartbeats later the
screen flickered to life. The only indication of it's power usage was
the colorful background graphic he had chosen. The little laptop made
no sound. No cooling fans. No buzzes or hard drive scratches. Icy
efficiency. A computer that was a hundred years ahead of it's time was
sitting on the lap of one of the oldest humans on earth.
Chris Stover rubbed the bridge of his nose gently, careful not to
aggravate the splitting headache he felt trampling through his cranium.
"Word processor, please." He ordered. His laptop complied quickly,
bringing up a new screen that resembled a blank page.
It asked him a question.
He smiled, wondering what to reply with. Typing would be so much
faster...and he felt kind of stupid talking to the inanimate block of
hardware. Then again, he needed to get some of this off his chest.
"Voice recognition, please."
READY. The cursor blinked happily, waiting for his first words.
It took Chris a while to think of a good start.
"This is a record," he said finally "of what happened in the
final two weeks of the millenium." He stopped for a moment. "If human
eyes read this again, it means we were lucky, and maybe this planet
will recover from our mistakes."
He took the chance to look around at the horizon. Already, he
could see the ice creeping up towards him. It was still only a thin,
glimmering line on the horizon, but it was getting closer nonetheless.
A few hours, and it would all be over.
"If it's any conciliation, we tried our best." Chris
said...ending the thought with a weak laugh. "But...we couldn't fight
something that fed off of Humanity's weaknesses." He sighed. "We
couldn't protect people from themselves. That's one thing that the
Sailor Scouts could never do.
"I'm not trying to put the blame on the people of this planet. I
only hope that if...some how...we make it through this without spending
an eternity frozen in ice, that we learn from this."
The answer seemed so simple. So god damn easy to say and do. It
was just two weeks too late. "Might as well get started." Chris
sighed. "I don't know how much time I have left."
The ground was cold on his backside as he tried to get
comfortable. His eye still hurt from the cuts, though, and the pain
was enough to make him forget about his ass for a moment. Once he was
settled, computer rested on his lap, he began his story.
"By the time we noticed they had arrived, they had already
started." He cringed. "It was already too late."
Chapter 1
2 Weeks Ago
Psshsk!
"...that was `Walk this way' from the kings of rock themselves,
Areosmith. Before that we had a little Peter Gabriel with
`Sledgehammer' topping off the half-hour.
"This is Jed Thomas on your Good Morning Hour show. Time is
seven-thirty-nine, so time to wake your butts outta bed, boil that
first cup of coffee, and run off before you're late for work.
"Here's `Magic Carpet Ride'. Have a good..."
PSSKKKT!
The radio silenced with the quick SNAP! of a hand hitting it's
power button. "BEAVIS!!" Chris growled into the pillow as loud as his
foggy mind could manage.
"What is it?" the tiny animal yawned, letting a black, glassy eye
crack open. He had only gotten to sleep about an hour ago. This
wasn't going to be pretty.
"It's Christmas Vacation...why didn't you turn the alarm OFF!?"
he mumbled through the blankets. "I don't have to get up today.
EVER!"
Beavis frowned. "Who do I look like? Rei? Set your own alarm."
Oooooh, you're gonna get it, Chris thought. "Of course
not...you're much more beautiful and feminine than Rei. I would never
mix you two up."
The small hedgehog at the foot of his bed decided to let that one
slip, and tried to get back to the soothing void of sleep. Chris
slowly picked himself up off the bed and shook off the covers like a
dog shaking water off of himself after a long swim. At least it was
sunny. Outside the sun lit the snow-blanketed city of Calgary, turning
everything into a warm shade of yellow. If nothing else, he had to
admit the view was nice from his apartment.
"So, what do you want for Christmas?" he asked Beavis.
"You are determined to keep me awake, aren't you?" he snapped,
eyes wishing to remain closed.
"Yes." He replied happily. "What would you like for Christmas?"
he knelt down and patted Beavis on the nose. An action that annoyed
the small animal to no end. "After all, Santa will be coming around
soon."
Beavis thought for a moment. "Some kind of gag for you would be
nice. Or maybe a nice little sound-proof area for me to sleep in."
Chris smiled and stood. "Fine. Sleep. I'm going to go out and
enjoy my vacation. Half the university is still studying for finals.
I'm all done, and I'm going to take advantage of that."
He knows I can't sleep after a conversation, Beavis sighed. He
baits me on purpose. Although Chris was hardly Einstein, he had a very
sharp mind and always gave the hedgehog intelligent conversation. This
was something he valued to no end. Slowly, he stretched, ruffled back
his quills, and followed Chris to the bathroom where he was brushing
his teeth. "I still don't know why you went back." He said, referring
to Chris' choice to go back to school. "Even with all I've told you,
you are determined to carry on life as Chris Stover."
"What you've told me," Chris smiled "is a maze of riddles and
metaphors. I've heard nothing to convince me that Strike Fiss is so
much more important than Mr. Stover that the later needs to shrivel and
die."
"But when the time comes...?"
Chris shrugged. "I can make the hard decisions, Beavis. If I
have to give up my personal life to save the universe," he waved his
arms around the room "then I will."
Pointing his toothbrush at the little guardian, he continued. "In
the mean time, since you are awake, you are going to help me pick out
something nice for Rei and Miharu." He smiled widely. "Santa waits for
no-one."
As Chris left the bathroom, Beavis skittered after him. "That
was a very nice speech...but I wasn't talking about that."
"Oh?"
Beavis grinned, showing some of his pointy little teeth. "Why
would you want to go back to some stale university and be taught by
middle-age-crisis-suffering professors when you have someone like me to
teach you?" he smiled at the look on Chris' face. "I'm serious. How
many people have a pet hedgehog with a Masters Degree in three sciences
and two languages?"
"What other language do you speak?" Chris raised his eyebrow. "I
knew you were an English buff, but I thought that was all you-"
"Well, I will tell you." Beavis said slowly. "But it will have
to be your question for this week. Are you sure you want to ask it?"
Chris looked back through the apartment's window. He had almost
forgotten about his weekly inquest. "Oh, sure, no problem." Silently,
he knew it would be worth it. Beavis never said anything that didn't
carry weight. In fact, Chris' questions were covering so much ground
that Beavis had to move the deal to once a week instead of once a day.
"Ever see the `Fifth Element?'" Beavis asked.
"Of course." Chris smiled. "Very cool. Bruce Willis kicks ass."
Beavis couldn't help but smile. Even with everything he had done
and seen, (stuff that would make Bruce Willis look like a pussy cat)
Chris was still the same. Kid at heart. Considering what they were up
against, it would come in handy if he wanted to remain sane for the
remainder of his life. "Well, you remember the priest saying the
language he used was older than time? The Divine Language, so to
speak?"
Chris nodded, eyebrows raised.
"Well, I know the real one." Beavis explained. "It doesn't
really have a name, not like English or French or anything like that.
It's not too exotic, in fact, but it is very old. Simple, easy to
learn, and used since the beginning of recorded time in this universe."
His student then asked something that pleased the little hedgehog
to no end. A sign that he was ready. Chris was finally beginning to
prepare. Even if he didn't know it. "Can you teach me?"
The reply was a simple nod. "Of course." He paused. "Later.
Right now, I'm going to help you Christmas shop. I may not wear many
clothes, but I do have impeccable fashion sense."
Chris smiled. "Of course. Dressed to kill. I'm still surprised
you don't have a miniature hedgehog tuxedo in your possession for when
you have to go undercover at the casinos to find the super-villains."
"It's at the cleaners." Beavis joked. "You have no idea how
badly a Martini can stain a tuxedo."
"Yesh...I'd like my tuxedo dry-cleaned, not stirred." Chris
added, doing a fairly passable impression of Sean Connery himself.
Beavis gave him a strange look. "Can I ask you something now?"
Chris nodded. "Sure."
The little hedgehog looked around, as if embarrassed. "Do I
REALLY sound like that?"
Chris almost laughed. "Yes. You're a dead-ringer" He managed
with a cough. "It's very creepy."
His tiny, black eyes seemed to admit defeat. "Fine...I admit it.
I sound like Sean Connery."
"It's not a dishonor." Chris sighed happily. "He's a
distinguished actor, and has a very rich voice."
"I know...I know." Beavis sighed. "It's just that," he paused.
"I saw him in `Highlander II', and I lost all respect for him."
"Why?" Chris asked. "The movie wasn't THAT bad."
"No...no..." Beavis continued. "But did you see his SUIT?"
"Uh? I guess I did."
"Dammit!" Beavis fumed. "That man has horrible fashion sense.
He should have gone with the darker green or brown."
His owner gave him a strange look, then scooped him up with his
left hand. "Come on. You've been in the house too long."
"Yes. We'll go out shopping, and I'll prove I know what I'm
talking about." Beavis nodded defiantly. "We're going to get you a
suit."
Chapter 2
Beavis held on to the fabric of Chris' collar as he drove. Nacho
had a nice heating system, which was good considering hedgehogs
hibernated after a certain time of year. "I've never seen winter
before." He mused.
Chris smiled. "Well, get used to it. Now that you have a
shoulder's eye view of the world."
"Aren't the roads dangerous like this?"
As if on cue, a small Honda hatchback began to fishtail in front
of them. Chris had been ready for it and switched lanes to avoid
crashing. "Yeah, but that's half the fun!" he smiled.
"I hate Senshi. Damn top-gun attitude." Beavis sighed.
"Watched that movie sixteen times!" he exclaimed proudly. "I'll
tell ya, never looked at ice-cubes the same way ever since!"
"Ugh." Beavis shook his head.
"You wanna see top-gun?" Chris smiled as he saw an opening in
traffic.
"Wha?"
"LOCK N LOAD!" Chris laughed, pumping Nacho into third gear and
flooring it. "Don't worry! If we have to, we can always crash into a
snow-bank! HAHA!"
Then...the unthinkable happened.
"VVVOOOOM!" Chris saw another car approaching. Fast. Faster
than Nacho was going. "Oh yeah?" he growled, letting the RPM, catch up
to the tires first, then re-accelerating in overdrive.
"That car's keeping up!" Beavis gasped as he turned. "Wait a
second...isn't that another...?"
Chris glanced in the side view mirror. "Another...Nacho?" A
silver-colored `Nacho' pulled along side the original. He smiled. "No
way." He laughed. "Let's race."
The two cars pulled off onto the freeway as fast as the snow-
slickened roads would allow. Chris had the sneaking suspicion if they
were caught, the ticket was going to be pretty damn nasty. "Kids,
remember..."
"Who are you talking to?" Beavis asked, hanging on for dear life.
Chris just smiled. "I'm a super hero. Gotta send positive
messages to today's youth."
"Oh."
"Kids..." Chris continued. "We're trained idiots. Racing down
the snow-covered streets of any major city at one hundred and fifty
kilometers per hour is BAD!" he nodded, recovering from a small skid.
"Never do this on your own. Only with trained Fan-Fiction Stunt-
Drivers."
He turned briefly to an imaginary camera. "Remember! Sailor
Fiss Says!" he began to giggle.
Beavis blinked. "WHAT was THAT?"
Chris shrugged. "I dunno. Shut up and let me drive before we go
over a guard rail."
Despite some of the craziest driving Beavis had ever seen, Chris
was still only keeping the lead by a car length. "Who IS that?
Michael Knight?" Beavis asked.
"No, it's an old friend of mine. I didn't know they moved up
here, though." Chris said, fishtailing slightly and picking up a bit of
snow from the curb.
"Can we SLOW DOWN now?" Beavis begged. "Now that you've proven
you're the fastest Nacho in the West?"
The silver Nacho had hit the same slippery spot Chris fishtailed
on, and had been forced to slow down, losing a lot of time. Chris
laughed like a mad scientist. "Oooh baby! Nacho! You is mah baby
bro! I loves you!" he pat the steering column happily.
Both cars slowed and exited on the next ramp. Beavis secretly
thanked whatever guardian angel that hovered over him at that moment.
They pulled into an abandoned lot next to the highway. "Come on."
Chris held Beavis against his shoulder so he wouldn't fall off as he
got out. "Let's go say hi."
That small statement told Beavis all he needed to know. Whoever
the driver was, Chris knew well. And if he was offering to let them
talk to Beavis, then they knew about the Scouts.
Both cars idled as Chris got out. His long, dark-gray trenchcoat
flowed out of the car as he stood. "Dana?"
The other car's driver door opened and out stepped a tall
brunette in a white trenchcoat of her own. She smiled. "Took your
advice. Decided I could handle the winters without the D.C. smog for a
while."
They ran over to each other and embraced in a warm hug. Beavis
couldn't help but notice it was a little too warm. "I can't believe
it!" Chris laughed. "I never thought I'd run into you again!"
Dana smiled, then gave him a weird look. "I hope this isn't a
disappointment, then."
He shook his head. "I'm only disappointed that you could drive
so much like me! I thought I was the only crazy person with a Vision
TSI."
"Well, I just got it." She motioned over to her car. "I would
have wasted your ass but the engine's not broken in yet." She laughed,
holding his arms warmly as they looked each other over. "You look
great, Chris." She smiled sweetly. "I missed you."
"Pardon." Beavis interrupted. "But who is this lovely young
lady?"
Dana almost jumped out of her skin as she realized Sean Connery
was talking from a small hedgehog on Chris' shoulder. "WhoAH!" she
laughed. "Who's this?"
Chris smiled. "Beavis. The talking hedgehog I was telling you
about." He took Beavis off his shoulder and handed him to her. "Dana,
this is Beavis. Beavis, this is Dana. A very good friend of mine who
helped me save Miharu once."
She blushed. "I just drove. You got rid of the dragon."
Beavis licked her palm. His equivalent of a kiss to the back of
her hand. "A pleasure to meet you, my dear Dana." He said politely.
"My my, now I know where you get all your charm, Chris." Dana
smiled.
"A box of crackerjacks?" Chris offered.
Beavis couldn't help but chuckle.
"We should get out of here." Dana sighed. "You want to go back
to my place? Say hi to Eric?" she smiled. "I make a pretty mean cup
of tea."
Beavis shivering in the wintry cold convinced them. "Sure."
Chris nodded. "We'll follow, uh...your car?"
She laughed. "No, it's not called Nacho." She raised her
eyebrows. "It's Coco."
"Coco?" he smiled. "I like it."
"Just follow. It's about a five minute drive from here." Dana
said, handing Beavis back to Chris.
They got back into their respective cars. Beavis finally asked.
"Dragon? Eric? Chris...you never told me anything about her."
"For the simple reason you never asked." Chris smiled. "I'd tell
you, but then I'll have to kill you."
"Oh, come on...!" Beavis sighed. "I'm going to be teaching you
the oldest language in the universe, and here you are, skimping on what
you tell me?"
"Fine." He nodded, following Dana as they drove out of the
abandoned lot. (This time at the speed-limit) "Do you remember the
papers going ape-shit about how the Hope Diamond was stolen two years
ago?"
"Of course. One of the greatest crimes of the century." Beavis
said. "It was quite impressive how they overrode the..."
He noticed Chris' smile.
"You?" Beavis blinked. "YOU stole the Hope Diamond?"
"Dana and I did. I needed a partner, and she happened to need
something to convince her to have a normal life." He grinned. "Scared
the shit out of her. Turned out the Hope was key to some kind of
dragon. We fought it." He stuck out his chest proudly. "We kicked
it's ass. It was actually kind of fun."
Beavis shook his head. "I never thought I'd ever hear of the
Stormkite again."
Chris blinked. "You KNEW about that?"
"Never mind." The animal sighed. "So you met in D.C.? Who's
Eric?"
"Her son. Really nice kid. From what I remember, he's a
Godzilla fan." Chris smiled. They pulled into a nice houses' driveway.
Beavis was visibly impressed.
"How come we don't live in a nice place like that? What does she
do?"
"She used to be a car thief." Chris frowned. Beavis blinked.
Chapter 3
Time to tell what was happening elsewhere, I suppose:
There were three. Only three. Compared to the population of
several billion, it was quite amazing. Then again, I was used to it.
Perhaps we were all designed to think like that, for some chance we
might take pity on ourselves and try to change.
After all, if three of Them could do this to a planet, it made
the average human being feel pretty microscopic. Like a virus. Just
one more lesson for us to learn, I guess. If we didn't want to be
extinguished like a plague, we would have to stop acting like one.
Maybe they thought they were spoiled. How many species on this
planet can say they have a dozen Senshi to guard them from Evil?
That's a pretty damn sweet deal, if you ask me. Don't get me wrong...I
have never thought we were ever God's Gift to Mankind. Some people
seemed to think so, though, and that got to us. After everything we
were able to overcome, we had no idea that the new enemy would take
everything we had to defeat.
If you can call it much of a defeat.
No. I'd say we lost.
We got our asses kicked when the world needed us. The one time
we failed...we're too overconfident...it was at a point where we
couldn't afford any mistakes. Everything we did during that week was a
mistake.
We weren't the only ones unprepared, though. It's too bad. If
the Senshi were the only idiots protecting the planet, I might not be
in such a hurry in typing out my final message. We might have been
more paranoid and careful without friends.
The first one was wise. He went after the Omega Web first. The
second never even needed to help.
Dave Reinquest walked along the hallway, reading a field report.
Well, if you called a transparent layer of light floating in front of
his hand a report, he was reading one. Something about the rainforest
conservation efforts in South America.
He really wasn't that interested. It was just an update.
Confirming one of their last Point Calculations before Ckay's reign of
terror had knocked out their ability to predict future scenarios. It
would still be another year before they got a new Calculator up and
running.
As he walked down the hall, he almost ran into someone else.
"Pardon me." Dave apologized, continuing to walk. At the back of his
mind...he noticed. That wasn't anyone he knew. How did a stranger get
into the Omega Web?
"Excuse me...?" Dave turned, letting the tiny report vaporize on
his hand.
Standing just behind him was an old man. Ancient looking. A
long, white beard hid most of his face and front. Ice blue eyes sat
deep in their sockets. Despite his appearance, his cheeks and skin
were smooth. White-yellow like pure sunlight. If Dave didn't know any
better, he would have thought he was seeing a ghost.
Old man Winter?
The old man gave him a kind smile. Dave smiled back. "Hello.
I'm Dave. Did you need help? Are you meeting anyone?" it was a long
shot, but he supposed that one of his colleges could have brought
someone into the Web if it was important to a project.
He shook his head slowly. A long, white robe hung around him,
slowly flowing in the calm, fresh air.
No, not Winter...A shiver ran through Dave as the thought
occurred to him. He looked like God. Exactly how he was always
pictured in cartoons and in the media. A kind (or vengeful) looking
old man. White hair, long robes and beard. "Who..." Dave asked
slowly. "are you?"
"Tracule." He said.
The voice was long. Slow. It drug out in a long, echoing
whisper. Every syllable shook through Dave in a tingling shiver. Dave
suddenly had a bad feeling about all this. "Tracule?" he knew that
word. Then...like a lightning bolt, his mind made the connection.
"You're an Elder?"
The man began walking towards Dave.
Dave began taking steps back to keep his distance. "No...you
can't be here already!" Dave said. "If you do this, it will only make
things worse."
In a strange, ancient language, the Elder spoke. "It is not too
late. I am sorry."
Dave shook his head. "I can't let you do this." He looked to the
ceiling. "All Omega Web members! Converge on my location! Intruder
alert! I need terminal backup immediately!" he then raised his hands.
"How many more?" he asked the man.
The Elder just smiled, raising his own hand. He reached over and
touched the wall. As he did, a trail of ice formed at his fingers. It
stuck to the wall...and began spreading. Dave's eyes widened. "I NEED
BACKUP NOW!" he pointed his hands at the Elder and fired off a beam of
light.
Seven balls of light came up from the floor as Dave tried to
blast the man. They formed into some of his friends. "Dave! What's
going on?"
Dave stopped for a moment. The Elder was still standing,
touching the wall like he had all the time in the world. The eight
Omega Web members all had to do a double take. Dave turned to them.
"NOW!"
They all nodded their understanding, and raised their arms. "Is
this going to work?" one asked.
"Do we have a choice?" Dave yelled. "NOW!"
Sixteen beams of destructive energy...enough mental power to
light North America's cities for a year...launched at the single
figure. His hand still touching the wall.
It's not working, Dave thought, not daring to let up for one
second. The ice was spreading. Fast. The hallway was beginning to
look like the inside of a freezer. The crystals spread out from the
man's hand, growing at a faster rate as more ice was implanted.
Three more Omega Webbers appeared from the other side, launching
their own attacks. The Elder just shrugged off the beams like they
were nothing. His calm, cool smile was still visible through his
beard. Icy blue eyes glowing.
Ten more of Dave's colleagues showed up, now spread out along the
hall, all adding to the terrific assault on the invader. No effect.
The small hallway was becoming crowded. "NO!" Dave said. "Don't touch
the ice!"
A young woman member took a step backwards, unaware that the ice
had covered the floor behind her. The instant her shoe hit...she
froze. Ice jumped onto her like iron onto a magnet. "FALL BACK!" Dave
ordered.
The Omega Webbers all stopped firing their beams and began to for
a new point of attack. The ice was fast, now. Crawling along at half
a meter every second. They were barely able to keep ahead of the ice,
and lost two more members before they reached an emergency bulkhead.
Dave closed the giant metal slab and began to type on a small keypad
adjacent to the door. "He's already got the ice anchored! We're in
shit!" one of them said.
"We have to lock down the Web." Dave said quietly.
"WHAT?"
He frowned. "We have access to the entire world within seconds.
If the Elders are here, they knew that. Our dimension is the perfect
staging ground for their attack."
"Oh my god..."
Dave sighed. "If we're lucky, he's the only one, and we can lock
him away for the rest of eternity. Sound good?"
"TOO LATE!" someone pointed. The bulkhead was now covered in
frost.
This was bad. The bulkhead was supposed to prevent stuff like
this. To physically lock away something that had attacked the Web. It
wasn't working. Nothing was working. Everything that they had on this
scenario was wrong. Useless information. They only knew it was
happening. "Status report." Dave asked the computer.
His hand lit up as the walls projected a list onto his skin. He
read through it quickly. "Oh for FUCK's sake!" Dave yelled. "The
central computer is already gone?"
"How?"
Dave's mind didn't like it's own answer. "There's more than one
of them! Two at least." He turned to his friends. "All of you, get
out of here. Try and help out on the flip-side if you can. We need a
new plan."
Nobody moved.
"NOW!"
They all disappeared in balls of light, moving through the walls.
Dave was the last one sitting there. "Oh god..." he pulled out a small
card from his coat pocket. "Please be there, Mina..."
Slowly, the card lit up into life. Mina's head was at the other
end. "Hi, honey!" she smiled happily.
"Shh!" Dave ordered. "No time. Listen, and listen carefully."
Mina's eyes were wide, but she was quiet as he spoke. Her
lover's breaths were ragged as he tried to remain calm. It wasn't
working.
"An alien race known as the Elders are attacking the Omega Web.
You must keep an eye out for any ice formations on Earth. Use whatever
you have to kill these bastards. They look like old men...kinda like
Santa Clause crossed with God."
"What's going on?" Mina gasped.
"The planet is abo..." he stopped.
Actually, the ice stopped him. She watched in horror just before
the card stopped transmitting. The ice leapt onto Dave, covering him
in less than a second. The last image she saw was of his eyes, frozen
open in a silent look of surprise. Beew! The card's small,
holographic display disappeared.
"Dave?" Mina asked quietly. "Are you there?" trying to remain
calm as she pressed the activation button.
Nothing happened.
Artemis walked into the kitchen, yawning. "Hey, Mina. Was that
Dave again?"
A tear was rolling down the side of her cheek. "Yes."
"What's wrong?" the small white cat ran up to her. "You guys
didn't have a fight, did you?"
She shook her head. "No...the Omega Web just got attacked."
His ears perked up. "WHAT?"
"We have to call a meeting. Now." She said, shaking.
Artemis nodded. "I'll get everyone..."
"NOW!" she cried.
The cat ran off, leaving Mina alone.
The entire Omega Web fell in less than an hour. A small city
composed of inter-dimensional hallways was taken in less time it took
to cook a Thanksgiving Day dinner. Two of the Elders met in the newly
frozen control room. It looked like a cave cut into some prehistoric
glacier. Icicles covered the roof, while a snowy frost made the floor
equally forbidding. The two walked over the snow like it was nothing.
They were used to it.
A quick nod indicated to each other that their respective jobs
had been completed. Now that the Omega Web was out of the way, they
could continue.
Chapter 4
Rei rubbed the elegant bridge of her nose, hair slightly
disheveled. "I don't suppose anyone has any clue what to do now?" she
sighed.
All the original Scouts sat around the fire. Venus through
Jupiter. One of the closest teams of friends ever assembled. They had
no idea what to do next. Mina was visibly shaken, and Artemis was on
her shoulder, offering support.
"What worries me is he didn't ask for help." Lita said softly,
trying not to upset Venus. "It's like he didn't want our help. Told
us to look out for ourselves."
"Or maybe it's just that we couldn't help." Serena sighed. "We
still don't know if we can get into the Omega Web without the help of
Pluto or Hooze."
Rei nodded. "Ice formations. What's that supposed to mean?
It's winter. How are we going to notice any abnormal snow?"
"Maybe he meant ice sculptures coming to life." Serena shrugged.
"Well, that wouldn't be a big surprise." Ami nodded.
Lita smiled. "So much for our happy holidays, eh?"
The last year had been heaven. Literally nothing had happened
requiring their attention. No horrible monsters, natural disasters or
aliens. Only the complaining of Rei and Lita drove the Scouts to
practice their skills.
"I knew we would be busy." Rei sighed. "Year two thousand.
Though, I was hoping the worst of it would be a riot or a slight
increase in looting." she admitted. "The Omega Web being attacked
really wasn't on my wish list."
They all turned to Mina. "Was there anything going on at the
Web, Mina?" Ami asked. "Did Dave say anything was happening? Maybe a
new experiment?"
Mina shook her head. "No. Everything was nice." She sniffed.
"They had just recruited two new members, but both were fine. Nothing
like Ckay was."
"Who are the Elders?" Serena asked.
"That's what we have to find out." Lita said. "Luna? Artemis?"
The cats both shook their heads. "I'm afraid Central has no idea
about the Omega Web in the first place, and the only mention of the
word `Elder' could be anything."
"Not exactly an original name." Ami observed. "Like you said, it
could be some tribe-leader, or maybe the senior on a company's board of
directors."
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, but then again I
haven't been around as long as the Omega Web."
"Do we know anyone who was?" Serena asked.
"Well," Luna sighed. "There IS Sailor Pluto."
Her white-furred counterpart shook his head. "No, she was
guarding the door of Time for millenium. She wouldn't know much
outside the Silver Millenium."
"Whoa!" Rei held up her hand. "How `old' are we talking here?
The Silver Millenium didn't exactly happen last Tuesday."
"No, Artemis is right." Ami frowned. "We need someone who has
been around to witness the Omega Web's formation and growth. The Web
obviously knew who or what the Elders were. It may just be a question
of finding someone as old."
"That could be thousands of years!" Lita gasped, emphasizing the
plural nature of the word `thousands'.
They all looked around, shrugging. Artemis sighed. "I know
someone, but he's not talkative." He shook his head. "We'd better find
another route."
Rei smiled. "What about Chris' laptop?"
They all blinked.
"Of COURSE!" Ami nodded. "He downloaded as much of their records
as he could before we left, didn't he!"
"It should be..." Rei glanced at her watch "about eight P.M. in
Calgary. I'll give him a call."
Chris sat in the over-stuffed chair, petting Beavis who had
nearly fallen asleep on his lap. "Whoever said Crime doesn't pay?" he
mused.
"I heard that." Dana sighed, coming into the living room with a
fresh cup of tea in each hand. "Remember, it wasn't me who stole that
first necklace. It was worth a lot."
He accepted the mug of tea with a wry grin. "Well, I'm glad
you're not continuing the trend. Even if it's because I did it for
you."
She sat down opposite from him, putting her feet up against the
coffee table. The living room was amazing. Very warm and cozy. Huge,
too. Light was provided by a gently roaring fire in a fireplace just a
few meters away from their seats. Everything was decorated in a nice,
modern earth-tone scheme. "Sorry Eric was sleeping. I really wanted
him to say hi to you." She apologized.
"No big deal." Chris smiled, taking a sip. "Good tea."
"So...what brings you to Calgary?" she asked.
He put down his cup. "I live here when I'm not in Tokyo,
actually. Family's here. I just moved out about a year and a half
ago." He resumed petting the sleeping form of Beavis. "Beavis is my
roomy."
"I saw you driving down the street there, and I couldn't believe
it." Dana said, taking a healthy gulp of tea for herself. "Because of
you I was able to get away from everything wrong in my life." She
smiled. "And make a new one. I wanted to thank you in person."
"It was my pleasure." Chris said, bowing his head slightly.
"This is all the thanks I could ever have hoped for." He smiled. "I
LOVE this chair. I'm going to get one of my own."
"Don't do that!" Dana said.
He blinked. "Why not?"
"Because," she smiled "then you won't have an excuse to come over
and visit."
He glanced over to his coat. "Shit...my laptop."
"I'll get it." She got up and walked over to his trenchcoat. A
moment later, she returned with his computer and handed it to him.
"Hello?" he opened it. It was the Temple phone-line.
A giggle. "What are you wearing?" Rei asked.
Chris laughed. "A clown wig and big, floppy shoes. What else?"
Dana raised her eyebrows.
"How's it going in your little arctic city?" Rei continued.
"Not too bad. How about you? Godzilla stop by lately?"
"No, just Mothra."
"Did you get an autograph? Mothra's my favorite."
Rei smiled at the other end. "Listen, Chris. I'm calling
because something's up. Are you free to talk about Scout Business?"
Dana was about to leave when Chris shook his head, signaling it
was okay for her to stay. She smiled.
"Sure. What's up?" Chris asked.
A long sigh cut the moment where she started on `serious mode.'
"The Omega Web was just attacked today. About three hours ago."
Chris almost jumped out of his seat. "WHAT?"
"We can't contact Dave. Not even Mina can. She saw him get
covered by some kind of ice-attack." Rei continued. "It's bad, Chris.
Luna and Artemis haven't heard of anything like it, and we need your
help to figure out who did it."
"Of course. What do you need?"
"Look up the word `Elders' on your fancy laptop, okay? It should
be somewhere in the database you downloaded."
Beavis' eyes snapped open. Oh no.
Chris just nodded. "Sure. I'll get back to you as soon as I
can." He paused. "What do you think happened?"
Rei shook her head. The motion was not lost to Chris. "For all
we know, the Omega Web is gone. We'd better be prepared." A pause.
"Any weird ice over there?"
"It's winter...Of course there's ice." Chris said.
"Just keep an eye out. I think that's how they attack. Ice."
Rei sighed. "Please be careful. If I hear anything from the Web, I'll
tell you."
He nodded. "You too. Say hi to Miharu for me, okay?"
Rei smiled. "I will."
"Goodbye, my little pyro." He smiled, hanging up.
It was a full ten seconds before anyone said anything. "Who was
that?" Dana asked. "Sailor Moon?"
"No. Mars." Chris said. "Dana, do you mind if Beavis and I stay
here for a while? I don't know how long it's going to take to search
through my computer."
She shook her head. "Of course not. Do you need anything?"
"No thanks." Chris replied, opening up a new program that let him
search the Web's information. "Just need a little time." He said.
Even with such an advanced computer, the search was going to take a
while. He had downloaded the combined Omega Web archives for three
millenium of human existence onto his files, and most of it was in
high-detail.
Beavis ruffled his quills and moved so Chris could lay his
computer down. "Listen, Chris."
He looked down at his friend.
"Do your search to make sure, but I think I know who the Elders
are."
"Tell me, then!" Chris said.
He shook his head. "I can't. Not in words you'd understand." A
long pause. "You can narrow your search if you use the word Tracule."
Chris frowned. "You and I are going to have a discussion later."
"Just do it." Beavis replied angrily. "It's the only help I can
give you. For now."
Dana looked down at Beavis. "Does he always talk like this?"
"Yup."
Chapter 5
I remembered how much I wanted to throw Beavis across the room at
that point. The two years of frustrating half-truths and the fact you
always KNEW he KNEW what was going on made me wonder if I was in an
episode of the X-Files. Upon retrospect, I suppose Dana did look a
little like Gillian Anderson, and I've always wished I had Mulder's
wardrobe. Anyway, I had more than enough of that bullshit with the
Omega Web's `help only at the last moment' attitude. I didn't need it
from my own personal guardian too.
Like a fool, though, my mind was elsewhere. Places I didn't even
want it to be. Maybe if I realized the weight of the situation going
down, I would have paid more attention to it. Maybe I would have cared
a little bit more about Beavis' inability to share information. Enough
to coax him into talking.
Yes. I'm quite confident I could have gotten him to talk if I
simply moved the screen away from Dana's fireplace and threatened to
throw him inside. A simple, effective threat. Sudden enough that it
might have jarred his silence. Mmm. Isn't amazing how you always
think of these cool tortures and threats AFTER the fact? Damn.
Three things returned from the search. It took two hours.
Cross-referencing and re-checking. The thousands of years of recorded
time was more than enough to give the tiny piece of circuitry a
challenge to chew through. Chris frowned.
A word of some unknown language. That was the first reference.
He would have to check with Beavis. For all he knew, maybe it was that
"as old as time language" he had been blabbing about earlier.
The next mention of the word was in a song. A nursery rhyme.
Probably nothing more than a make-believe word to compliment a poorly
chosen rhyming scheme.
Lastly, the word "Tracule" was mentioned in an essay written by
one of Dave's friends. The man the Scouts had seen entering the mental
duel when they had raided the HQ. Mr. Black. From what Chris
gathered, he was one of the senior members of the web, and a very
intelligent man. Perfect.
Chris decided to try for the essay. It was probably exactly what
he needed to look at. He tried to access the article.
***INSUFFICENT SECURITY CLEARENCE***
He blinked. "What?"
Trying again, he re-entered all his passwords first.
***INSUFFICENT SECURITY CLEARENCE***
"Computer? What level do I need to access this article?"
***Level 11111111*** the screen displayed.
"Whoa..." Chris blinked. He never saw that before. The actual
information had encrypted itself. Normally, Chris had access to
anything he downloaded. All the previous security had focused on an
outside computer trying to get inside the protected network of the Web.
This file didn't even want the Omega Web to see it. At least,
not any of the newer members. Next question. "Who has level 11111111
access?"
***The Director and Assistant Director of the Omega Web.***
Chris blinked. That meant Dave and whoever his new right-hand-
man was were the only ones who could look at the file. He sighed.
Hacking it was impossible. At least for a guy with a "standard" mind.
"Okay...I'll try the language reference." Chris sighed.
***INSUFFICENT SECURITY CLEARENCE***
"DAMMIT!" Chris growled. Okay, he thought. One more...the
nursery rhyme. If that's top-secret, then I'm going to be very
surprised.
***INSUFFICENT SECURITY CLEARENCE***
The laptop shut with a sharp CLAP! Chris tossed it onto the
table. "Fuck."
Dana had heard the commotion and returned from Eric's room where
she had been checking up on him. "Everything okay?"
"No." Chris sighed. "The only thing encrypted on that damn
computer, and I need to access it."
"Why not just ask someone with the password or code or
something?" Dana offered.
"Because the only two or three people who can are popcicles right
now." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "This isn't good."
Dana sighed to herself. No, she told herself. You heard her.
You know better. She walked up behind him and pushed the thought away.
Relax. It's harmless. "Here." She placed a hand on his shoulder.
When he didn't object, she began to rub his shoulders. "You need to
relax." She explained.
He let out a long, deep breath. "Thanks." He relaxed visibly.
She smiled. "No problem. It's been a while since I've done
this. Just yell if I break your neck or something."
Chris smiled. "It's funny. Normally, it's me who gives the
backrubs. Rei loves them." His eyebrows raised. "Says I have strong
hands. I always thought I was a weakling, myself."
"It's the sword." Dana said softly. "I can tell. Me, I just
have the nimble fingers. Too much car-jacking and diamond stealing."
She smiled.
It was the combination of everything at that moment. The warm
fire didn't help. The comfy chair REALLY didn't help. The fact that
Dana had a talent for shoulder massage, and the fact she was the only
human touch he had experienced in three months was the real kicker,
though. "DANGER!" his mind raced. "WhooHOOO!" his body responded.
Chris sat up, stood and was half-way to the door before he took a
second breath. "Oh geeze...Dana...I, I better go." He gasped, trying
to think up of some excuse while praying his black, loose jeans were
inconspicuous enough not to show any lumps.
Dana blinked. "Oh. Are you sure? Roads are going to be pretty
bad this time of night." She blinked. "Are you okay? You look flush."
He shook his head. "I'm fine." He was forced to give her a long
look as she stood in the firelight. Dana was wearing tight, white
jeans, and a loose sweater that looked very inviting. Her hair...oh
god. Even her hair was better than he remembered. A lot shorter, in
loose curls instead of straight. He realized he was NOT fine. "I need
to get home."
She lowered her eyelids slightly. "I-I'm sorry, I forgot." No
you didn't, her mind chastised. "I'll...go get Beavis. I think he was
sleeping in the corner." She walked over to the other end of the room
and found the little hedgehog.
Chris felt terrible. "Oh, shit." He walked over to Dana as she
picked up the startled Beavis. "Listen, I'm sorry...I wigged out back
there."
She smiled weakly. "It's okay."
"No...it's not." He sighed. "I want you to know that I value
this. Our friendship."
"I do too."
"That's why I can't stay." He sighed. "Not until I straighten
out some stuff in my head."
"You don't have to explain." Dana whispered. "Go. I'll talk to
you later."
Chris nodded silently, taking Beavis from her and walking to the
door. He turned to her once he had put on his shoes and coat. "I'll
come by tomorrow."
She smiled. "Okay."
"And Dana?" Chris said, opening the door "Please, watch out.
Something weird is happening. If you're in trouble, call." He fished
around in his coat pocket and produced a small card. "It has my laptop
number."
She walked over to the coffee table and retrieved his computer.
"I will. Drive safe."
Beavis had been silent until they got outside. "Why did we leave
in such a hurry?" he demanded. "I was sleeping!"
"Quiet, Beavis." Chris growled, almost throwing him into the
passenger seat.
"No! I will not!" he said angrily.
Chris just frowned, sat down, and took a deep breath. Before
Beavis could ask why he hadn't closed the door yet, Chris had reached
down to the fresh snow on the street, gathered up a nice handful of the
stuff, and shoved it down the front of his pants. It was only then
that he closed the door and started Nacho.
Beavis watched, jaw dropped.
"That's why I never told you, Beavis." Chris sighed, the snow
having the desired effect of taking his mind off other...concerns.
"The less I thought about her, the better."
"Oh." Beavis blinked. "You're attracted to her?"
He nodded weakly as they pulled out onto the midnight streets.
"It's strange. When I'm with Rei, nothing else matters." He sighed.
"But when I'm with Dana, it's the same damn thing. Rei's just an echo
in my mind."
"Mmm." Beavis sighed. "Destiny's a bitch, isn't it?"
Chris smiled weakly. "Don't get me wrong. I love Rei, and I
would never cheat on her. I just hope that I don't have to keep
running off every time Dana offers to rub my neck."
Beavis' eyes widened. "She WHAT?"
Chris shrugged. "What? It seemed harmless enough."
He smiled. "Chris, you've got a LOT to learn."
"You're telling me. The snow wasn't a good idea."
Nacho drove by. The tires easily navigating in the snow.
Snow. Beautiful snow. Perfect in simplicity and function. In
rhyme and reason. Each single flake an original work of art.
Individually signed and numbered by a winter's wind. One of these
flakes, just a random sprinkle from the clouds above, landed on the
hand of an old man. He smiled through his long, white beard. He
watched the single ice crystal as it melted to his body heat, forming a
tear of moisture.
The Elder let a long sigh escape his lips. It was too bad these
crystals melted. If they had the same powers he had, the Elders would
never have had to come to this planet in the first place. The universe
would have been safe for a long time. Long enough to find a way to
permanently exile the threat.
Back to work. The man walked down the empty street, letting his
hand trail against the cement wall of a storm drain. As he walked, a
trail of ice formed on the man-made rock. It spread slowly, just a
millimeter or so each second.
No matter. Once it was started, nothing could stop it. Dave
Reinquest could vouch for that.
Chapter 6
Warmth. She could feel him against her skin. Through the light
fabric she wore to bed every night, her dream-intoxicated mind filled
in the blanks. The thick blanket around her turned into his hands,
gently holding her torso. As she breathed, he caressed her sides and
shoulders. She almost dared to roll onto her back to allow him access
to her front, but she knew it would break the spell. Dreams were so
fragile. Rei had learned that long ago.
She wanted to cherish this one. Three months without the man she
loved. She needed this. A little fantasy to tide her over until he
visited for Christmas.
"Rei?"
"Mmm, yes." She moaned softly into her pillows.
Lita blinked, unsure what to do.
Serena sighed annoyingly. "Rei?"
Rei just giggled quietly into her pillow again, rubbing her face
against the soft fabric.
"I envy that woman's ability to dream." Lita sighed to herself.
"Must come in handy."
"Well, I'm goinna wake her up." Serena growled. "We have work to
do." She walked over to Rei's bed, leaned over her, and took a deep
breath. "REI! WAKE UP!"
Rei's eyes snapped open. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" she yelled, almost
jumping to her feet. "Oh my GOD!" she gasped, looking around.
Serena looked at her with an expression of equal parts surprise
and anger. "Mmph. And people always say I sleep in!"
Even Lita wasn't prepared for the low, guttural growl Rei
emitted. "I swear, if you were any other person, I would kill you
where you stand." The fiery-eyed woman said in a low, dangerous voice.
"Ahem." Lita coughed. "Sorry, Rei. Scout Business."
Serena nodded, walking away quickly in case Rei decided to kill
her anyway. "We're all outside." She added, then was outside.
Rei sighed, then looked over to Lita. Lita was smiling. "What?"
"Good dream?" Lita asked with a sexy smile.
Her friend blushed considerably. "Oh yeah." She smiled finally.
"I love these P.J.'s." she sighed. "He bought them for me for my
birthday."
Lita sighed, looking at the beautiful silk robe. "I'll have to
get me one of them."
"So, what's going on?" Rei asked, stepping off her bed to get
changed.
"You remember how Dave said to look out for strange ice?"
Rei nodded, looking for a warm sweater.
"Tokyo Tower is now a block of ice." Lita explained.
"WHAT?" Rei gasped.
"I'll meet you outside." Lita said, leaving so Rei could get
changed. "If I were you, I would put on some warm underwear."
Lita had exaggerated. It wasn't exactly a `block' of ice, but
it was ice. The Tokyo Tower, one of the most famous landmarks on
earth, was covered with a thick layer of ice. Only glimpses of red and
the general shape were visible underneath the cover.
"My god..." Rei gasped.
"It happened overnight." Ami explained. "When people began
waking up this morning, they noticed. Nobody was trapped inside, but a
few police officers were frozen to the structure when they tried to
break into it."
"What do you mean frozen to it?" Serena asked, squinting. They
were about a block away. Police barricades had been erected to prevent
anyone from getting too close.
Mina fielded that question. "Just like Dave." She murmured
quietly.
Lita popped her knuckles. "That means an Elder was here." She
turned to Ami. "Can you scan for anyone out of the ordinary?"
Ami smiled, discreetly typing on her computer. "I just did.
There is an elderly gentleman about a block away who doesn't appear to
have any heartbeat." She paused for dramatic effect. "That doesn't
seem to be interfering with his December morning stroll, however."
Serena nodded. "Let's get him! Which way?"
Ami pointed to an alley. "We can cut him off at a park if we
take this alley."
The five girls ran into the alley. "Transform, Sailor Scouts!"
Serena ordered.
Mina nodded. "With pleasure."
What was this? Trees? What was the word? Ah, yes. He had just
entered a park. Even in the winter, the trees and open field were a
sight to behold in the middle of a screaming busy city.
It was a shame more of the planet wasn't like this. If only they
had kept it natural. Forests. Jungle. Deserts. Those were the
natural order of things. Not the concrete molasses that made up the
city.
The Elder strolled along the path that had been cleared by
playing children the day before. This was a perfect place to start.
Slowly, bending at the knees carefully as not to muss his long white
robe, he touched the ground.
A blue light flashed behind his eyes, and the snow around his
hand began to solidify into rock-hard ice chunks. It would just take a
few minutes, and he could move on. The more of these little
`footholds' he could create, the faster he and his kind could leave
this planet.
"HALT!"
He paused, looking up. This was interesting...
Sailor Moon stood across the field, arms crossed. Rei and Lita
both sighed. "Speech time." Lita murmured.
"Yup." Rei nodded.
"We cannot allow you to start freezing our city and the people in
it!" Serena said proudly. "Winter is for baking cookies and snowball
fights, not hiding indoors from the ice and cold. I am SAAAAILOR
MOOON!" she announced, bringing her arms around in a little pose. "And
in the name of the moon, I say cut that out!"
"Still got it, Serena." Rei smiled. "I already feel like
vomiting."
"Shut up." Serena mumbled back.
The Elder looked confused. "Una Senshi de kuno ingat?" His
voice was low and calm. It echoed through the air, crisp like icicles.
They all blinked.
"I don't think he speaks English." Ami shrugged. She tried it
in Japanese. "Can you understand me?" she asked.
Silently, the Elder shrugged and knelt down again to resume his
work.
Mina's eyes narrowed into evil slits as she watched the ice begin
to flow from the Elder's hand. "You killed Dave, didn't you?" she
growled.
Everyone blinked. The Elder heard the tone in her voice and
looked up in surprise. Hate was universal, despite the language. This
young lady's voice reeked with hatred. Towards him.
Ami placed a hand on Mina's shoulder. "Wait. We have to figure
out what this ice is."
Her head snapped around to face Mercury. "I'll tell you what we
do. We stop him from making any more of this crap. Do you know how we
do that?" she growled. "We vaporize this asshole off the face of the
earth."
"Lock n load." Lita smiled.
Serena nodded. "Okay. Let's get this over with."
"JUPITER THUNDER, CRASH!" Lita bounced forward, launching an all
out attack. The Elder just stood there. The lightning bolt fizzling
out before it even hit him.
All the Scouts took a step back. "Oh shit." Rei sighed. "One of
these assholes."
Ami nodded. "I hate aliens who ignore the laws of physics." She
put her computer away. "Let's see how he likes a taste of his own
medicine! Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"
The Elder was a little more curious with this new Senshi. The
attack tried to freeze him. Irony upon irony. Still, it had no
lasting effect. The icy water just dropped to the ground, sputtering
as it lost energy.
Mina had decided long ago that it would be her who killed the
Elder. Now, she had her chance. "Stand back." She said to the others.
They all obeyed, never seeing her so angry in their lives. The
Elder watched patiently with growing interest in these five young
humans.
"Venus!" Mina yelled, standing straight and letting a column of
light envelop her. "Love-Chain ENCIRCLE!" The brilliant beam of yellow
around her began to generate a long string of heart-like shapes that
flowed around her body, then along her arm towards the ancient old man.
At the last second, the Elder reached up with his hand...and
caught the end of the chain!
Everyone blinked. "Oh shit!" Mina gasped, trying to tug the
chain away from the alien.
With a slight smile, the Elder's eyes began to glow, and ice
leapt from his arm onto the glowing chain, freezing it in mid-air.
"SAILOR VENUS! LET GO!" Jupiter yelled.
It was too late. The ice had followed the chain all the way back
to Mina, who's scream was cut short when she was covered with five
centimeters of thick, hard ice. She never moved after that. Her
frozen figure still holding onto her chain as it hovered in mid-air.
Sailor Venus stood like a crystal statue, mouth open in an
expression of horror. Not so much from the ice, but that she couldn't
be the one that killed the kind-looking old man who was freezing the
city.
Rei grabbed Lita, who was still trying to struggle her way
through the Scouts to help. "NO! We have to regroup!"
"LET ME AT EM!" Lita screamed, nearly punching Rei to get her out
of the way.
Finally, Sailor Moon ran up to her. "Come on! We have to get
help! We can't do this! Not now, he's too powerful!"
The Elder sighed and disappeared in a flicker of light. With
their target gone, the discussion was finished.
Rei, Serena and Ami finally managed to calm Lita down enough that
they could retreat. "I...can't BELIVE IT!" Lita yelled, pounding her
fist into the brick alleyway.
Ami was also visibly shaken. "We never stood a chance...he just
grabbed her chain like it was nothing!"
"Now WAIT!" Rei yelled. "First of all, we don't know that Mina's
dead. We don't know if Dave and the others are dead or not either.
They could just be frozen." She said, looking each of them in the eyes.
"We HAVE to keep a cool head about this. The moment we start taking
personal vendettas out on the Elders, they're going to get us the
moment we slip up." Her eyes lowered. "Just like Mina."
Serena nodded weakly. "She's right. Chances are that Mina will
unfreeze once we get rid of the Elder."
"How many of them are there?" Ami asked suddenly.
Nobody wanted to know the answer.
"Come on." Rei sighed. "I'm going to call the NA group. Tell
them what's going on."
"And get Andrea to contact her sister. The Outer Scouts would be
a great help." Lita said, eyes closed.
"Let's hope it's enough." Ami sighed.
As the four Inner Scouts walked back to the Temple, Rei sighed.
"I knew I should have just stayed in bed today."
Chapter 7
Mina was the first. It's hard to comprehend how someone you love
like a sister, someone who has stood by you through good times and the
worst times, had been turned into a block of ice. My mind couldn't
handle it. It's not something you can imagine.
For a moment, picture your mother. Or maybe your dad, or anyone
who is close to you. Maybe your best friend, or a sibling. Now, think
of all the memories you've built with that person. It's a nice
feeling, isn't it? Now, suddenly, that person is gone. Frozen in
time. Not even dead so you can morn, but locked away for all of
eternity. Death is natural. Everything dies, and I have no doubt that
even us Senshi have a limited life span that the Silver Crystal cannot
protect us from. I can accept that. That is a part of life. Mina,
however, was taken out of life in every sense of the word. She was no
longer here.
I can only pray she wasn't still aware of her surroundings.
Maybe, if she was lucky, the ice did kill her. I'm still uncertain of
what I wish for her, as the ice must have been her own personal hell if
she was still conscious.
The slow, calm chime of the telephone finally drilled into Chris'
head enough to wake him. "What time is it?" he asked the dark room.
"Ugh, never mind. I don't want to know."
***BLING!*** the phone insisted.
"I'm coming, just a second..." he sighed, stumbling over Beavis'
bed in the dark. The hedgehog was probably awake, lurking around
somewhere anyway. "Hello?" Chris asked, finally finding the phone.
Rei was on the other end. Of course, who else would call at
three A.M.? "Chris? We're in trouble." She said quietly.
He blinked. "Rei? What's wrong?"
She was crying. Tried not to let it show in her voice, but Chris
knew her better than she would have admitted. "Mina's gone."
He blinked, unable to think of any other proper response. "H-
how?"
"Frozen. I don't think she's dead, but an Elder got her, Chris."
She explained. "Tokyo Tower was frozen today. The ice is beginning to
spread too. The police have half a block of downtown barricaded off.
We went to help, and saw this old man." She sobbed. "We gave him some
of our best attacks, and he just stood there."
"Shhh," Chris sighed, trying to calm her down. "Listen, do you
want us to come over and help?"
"Uh huh." Rei nodded into the phone. "Please. I don't know
what-"
"We'll be over on the next plane." Chris assured her. "Don't
worry about picking us up, I'll see you at the temple."
"Did...did you find out anything"
Chris cursed under his breath. "Everything about them is super-
passworded, Rei. I can't get into the information without Dave or
someone high-up at the Omega Web."
"I understand." She sighed. "I have to go. Do a fire reading.
It might help."
"I'll see you in a day." He said. "Be careful, okay?"
"I will." Rei promised. "Bye."
He gently dropped the phone onto it's cradle. "Shit. Not Mina."
"What about Mina?" Beavis asked suddenly. He was peering at
Chris from the doorway.
Chris gave him a look that Beavis had never quite seen before.
"You already know what's happening." He said in a low, dangerous tone.
"Why should I need to tell you?"
"Mina's frozen?"
Chris nodded.
Beavis let lose a long, deep breath. "Then whatever I tell you
now won't help." He turned to walk off. "I'm sorry."
"I bet you are." Chris replied. "You're just as bad as all these
creeps we fight."
The hedgehog stopped walking. Silently, under his breath, Beavis
muttered "You can only imagine, my friend."
"I got to get packed to go to Japan." Chris growled. "You're
staying here."
Beavis was already gone.
"God damn it." Chris sighed. "I can't deal with this right now."
Mina. Shit. Why did she have to get frozen? The way Rei said
it, she didn't sound so convinced of her theory that Mina was still
alive. Frozen? In ice? Right now, he didn't want to remember his
Chemistry and Biology classes.
Ice was nasty. As it froze tissue, ice-crystals formed, ripping
apart cells as it went. He shut his eyes tightly then reached for his
phone. A few numbers later, Maury was on the other line.
"What's up?"
"They need our help, Mo." Chris sighed. "I think this is the
biggie. End of the world type crap." A pause. "Mina's down. Maybe
dead."
"You call Hooze." Maury yawned weakly. "I'll be outside my house
in half an hour."
The line disconnected. With a flip of his thumb, he called
Andrea. She was probably still asleep, but Demeter was always awake.
Sure enough, he answered. "Hello?"
"Hi, Demeter." Chris replied. "You and Hooze need to get
packed."
"What?"
"We're going to Tokyo."
Chapter 8
The flight was packed. Even the early morning one that we had to
take. Christmas holidays were just around the corner, and families
were gathering in time-honored tradition to bake cookies, sing songs,
tip a few glasses of eggnog and snuggle up under large patch-quilts in
front of roaring fires. I remember life at that moment. A strange
transition between before and now. Japan was hit first, but I think
that deep down, the entire world felt the calm before the storm. It's
final days of peace. Television was a fifty-fifty mix of holiday-
orientated sitcoms, and news of Tokyo's slow plunge into a new ice-age.
Maury and Andrea sat across from Chris and Demeter in the
standard "conference" arrangement that the airline offered. Business
class.
Demeter, uncertain of the levity of the situation, decided to try
and make light conversation. "So, how long is the flight?" he asked
Chris.
He didn't move. Chris' gaze had been out the window the entire
time.
Andrea shook her head, motioning for Demeter to stop. Demeter
nodded and began to fiddle with a pack of honey roasted peanuts.
Maury, on his part, had been listening to the radio. His eyes
suddenly got wide. "Chris. Turn on your lap-top to CNN."
"Just a sec." Chris opened up his carry-on and booted his
computer. A few seconds later, a small television screen was opened.
Maury turned off his radio. "What's up?" Chris asked.
"Tokyo's on the news." Maury explained. "It doesn't look good."
The screen showed a helicopter view of Tokyo's downtown area. The
tower was now a large, inverted icicle. It looked like a giant
water-balloon had been dropped on the area then frozen.
"Looks like a winter in Northern Alberta." Andrea smiled to
herself.
"Except that Mina is down there without her earmuffs." Maury
frowned.
They all watched the newscast with a grim mood. The newscaster
continued after a few more zooms and pans of the ice field that had
developed.
"In total, seventeen city blocks have been covered by the strange
ice. Attempts to slow or stop the spread, from chemicals to fire, have
been unsuccessful. At least three dozen people have been trapped in
the ice, and several thousand have been evacuated from affected
buildings."
"Aw man...one guy did this?" Andrea asked quietly.
Maury shrugged. "I wonder how many snow-cones he eats in a day?"
"Not funny, Mo." Chris interrupted. "Not now."
"Mm." Maury replied under his breath. Probably wanting to say
something like "you should talk," but he elected to keep quiet.
Finally, after a tense silence, he nodded, reached over and placed his
hand on Chris' shoulder. "I'm worried about them, too."
Chris smiled weakly. "Sorry, I'm kinda funked in the head."
"Isn't that normal?" Andrea added.
"Yes." He smiled.
Maury leaned back into his seat. "Look on the bright side.
Japan's an island. I don't think ice can spread over an ocean so
easily."
"Good point." His friend agreed. "That buys us some time."
Andrea scratched her head. "Okay, so any plans? I don't want
Japan to become a Popsicle, even if it won't go any further."
"I'll see if my disk can repel it." Chris offered.
"Sun melts ice." Maury smiled proudly. "I doubt it can stand up
to a nice, high-powered flare."
"And Ground Zero might work." Andrea said. "What we need to do
is split our resources into a double fight. One team goes on the ice,
making sure it doesn't spread, and the other team nukes the Elders."
Demeter smiled. "I'll help with that! Just call me Swiss-Army-
Demeter."
The four of them looked a lot happier with the plan coming into
formation. It wouldn't be long now. Just finding out what worked,
what not to waste time on, and most importantly, killing the people
responsible.
One of the men responsible stood on the frozen river, watching
four new Senshi approach him. One of them he knew well. She was
keeper of a Key. Although no Key was insignificant, this one was
particularly interesting.
The Key of Time.
Sailor Pluto.
With her stood Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune. All of which had
somber faces. Pluto had called everyone up that morning.
"We fight tonight." She had said.
"Who?" Alex asked.
There had been a long pause on the phone. "The darkness."
"What do you mean," Hotaru said "by the `darkness?'"
Sharon sighed. "The Great Darkness."
That alone had answered all their questions.
"Meet me at the river where we discussed." Sharon continued. "We
fight now, or not at all."
"If you wish to fight, that is." She amended.
They had all showed, of course. If nothing else, they were four
of the finest warriors the universe had ever seen. A fight was not to
be turned down.
No matter the odds.
Sharon had calculated the odds carefully. So little was known
for certain about this final chapter, and she knew anything would be
possible so close to the expected date. Anything was possible. Even
victory against destiny.
She had no way of knowing that her presence would work against
them, though. If the Elder had not noticed Sailor Pluto, Guardian of
Time itself, he might not have been wise enough to call for help.
But he did. Two flashes of cold, blue light filled the air
around him, and he was joined by his colleagues. Three Elders. Three
against four Senshi. It would have to do.
"Yunni de-ran tye?" the first Elder asked politely.
Pluto nodded slowly, speaking in their language. "Yes, I speak
of the Old Voice."
Saturn and Uranus gave her a strange look, but re-focused on
their opponents. The three, old men standing on the river. The ice
beneath their feet was natural because of Winter, yet it seemed to be
part of their robes.
"Why are you here, Senshi?" one Elder asked in a calm, echoing
voice that sent shivers down Sharon's spine.
"To stop you." She replied simply.
The three Elders looked surprised and offended. "Why would you
want to do that?" another asked.
"You are freezing our home." Pluto replied. "We cannot allow
that."
The first Elder took a step forward. "It is for the greater
good. Your planet must be frozen if Time is to continue."
THWIP-WOOSH! Pluto's giant staff came down in a wide arch in
front of her. It pointed at the three Elders, who took some notice of
it. "I am the Guardian of Time, and I sense no such threat." A long,
fiery stare. "You are the only threat I know of, and I must stop you."
"What's she saying?" Neptune asked quietly.
"I have no idea." Uranus whispered back.
The other two Elders stepped forward to meet the first. "We are
sorry." One said. "But it has been decided."
"We are only doing our duty." Another offered.
Sharon turned to the other three Senshi. "Oh oh."
"What?" Saturn asked.
"Negotiations have failed." Pluto said softly. "If we want them
to stop, we're going to have to do this the hard way."
Uranus cracked her knuckles. "Fine with me."
"One thing." Pluto sighed. "If they're about to freeze you,
don't move."
"Why's that?" Neptune asked.
"Because if you're moving too fast when it hits, you'll rip your
body in two."
They were all silent.
"And, in case we don't win..." she gave them all a small smile.
"I'm still pretty sure it won't last forever. I'll see you in a few
thousand years."
"I'd rather not risk it." Saturn gripped her glaive. "I say we
kill them now."
"Works for me."
Chapter 9
Miharu watched the steps with a steady gaze. Rei would have
joined her, but she was too busy pacing up and down the room to care.
"Where is he, mom?"
Rei's mind flashed through a thousand possibilities. Maybe the
plane landed and got frozen. Maybe it just crashed. "He'll be here in
a few minutes." She promised. "Are you all packed up?"
The girl nodded. "Do you think we might have to leave?"
Truth be told, Rei wasn't too sure. Tokyo was a huge city, and
the temple was still days away from being in danger from the ice. Even
so, Miharu would be safer in Calgary if the fight got desperate. Long
ago, both Chris and Rei decided that no matter what, they would protect
their respective homes above anything else. If North America had
started freezing, he and the others wouldn't be on their way here.
Hopefully, the Elders were only after Japan. "I hope not,
honey." Rei answered finally. "Best to be prepared, though."
Lita came in the door with a curious look on her face. "Pluto
just called."
"And?" Rei asked.
"She and the Outers are going to try and waste one of the Elders
by the river." Lita sighed. "Another person who knows more about
what's going on than we do."
The snowflakes outside continued to fall. Under any set of
circumstances, it was a beautiful sight. To Rei's mind, though, she
could only see Mina trapped in each tiny crystal. "We better go help
them, then. The sooner we start killing them, the sooner we can start
on this damn ice problem."
"I've already called the others." Lita nodded. "Serena agreed.
We're going to meet them there in about a half an hour."
A long, tense pause.
"Did the fire-reading pick up anything?"
The priestess shook her head. "Nothing." She didn't want to
mention that nothing was exactly what she saw. Normally, she could
focus the flames and let them clear her mind; find solutions within
herself even when the flames were uncooperative. This time, however,
the flames were as silent as the ice.
It was chilling her to the bone just thinking about it. Miharu
seemed to sense this and walked over to Rei, hugging her at the waist.
Rei smiled and hugged back. "Thanks."
"Do you want me to stay here and guard the temple?" the girl
asked.
It was a surprising request. Normally, she would have been
begging to help in the battle. Good against evil, blade against
monster, all that kind of fun stuff. This time, though, she realized
the levity of the situation. "Yes." Rei nodded. "And you'll do a
great job, as always."
"I'll be out front in case the NA group shows up." Jupiter
promised. "Call if you need anything." She left surrogate mother and
daughter alone.
"Miharu," Rei sighed quietly "this may be the last time I get to
talk to you."
"I know." She replied.
Rei smiled weakly. "I want you to take care of Grandpa and Chad
if I don't come back. Get them to go over to your dad's apartment.
You remember how to get there?"
Miharu nodded.
"Emergency money and stuff is under my bed." Rei continued.
"I know the drill, mom." The blue-hared girl smiled. "Don't
worry about me. We went over this a hundred times before."
Rei smiled.
"Every time you think you're going to go into battle for the last
time, you tell me this." Miharu sighed. "And you always return." She
smiled. "I expect you'll do the same today." She stated happily.
"Me too...but hey, I'm a mom. I have to do this."
They hugged again.
The plan had been to take a taxi directly to the Temple. Chris
never had the option to bring his car on such short notice and somewhat
limited cash supply. He had already assured Rei that a ride wasn't
going to be necessary.
Taxis seemed to be busy with the holidays, though, and they had
been forced to walk. Not a big deal. It was a relatively beautiful
winter day. Warm, yet still crispy and frosty in the air.
Maury and Chris led the little group as they walked down the
street. The two tall young men with menacing black trenchcoats earned
the crowd's respect and fear well in advance, making the hour's trek to
the Temple a lot easier through Christmas shopping traffic.
Andrea and Demeter brought up just behind the two boys, enjoying
the wake they left in the crowd. "The city looks nice." Andrea smiled.
"It's hard to believe it's being frozen."
Demeter watched in fascination at the snow as it fell. Although
it was nothing compared to Northern Canada, he always loved to watch it
fall. "It's nice." He agreed.
Maury and Chris, however, were all business. "Omega Web's
down...what else?" Chris asked.
"That means your files are locked up." Maury said. "One less
resource we have."
Chris crossed his arms. "Beavis is also unreliable. We should
count Luna and Artemis the same, but I doubt they know what's going on
anyway." He paused. "Anything on the `Destiny-O-Meter'?"
"No." Maury shook his head. "And that's really creeping me out."
"Why?"
"Because, normally I can get it to work a little." Maury sighed.
"I can't get anything. I don't even know if we're going to make it to
the end of this street, or slip on a patch of ice on the sidewalk." He
shook his head. "Nothing. Not even simple stuff."
"Dookie."
"Major dookie." Maury amended.
Chapter 10
Three things stand out in my head from the last two weeks.
Strange, isn't it? How the world can be ending around you and you can
still pick out only about three or four things from your busy schedule.
Dammit, I must sound like an idiot. Maybe I've gone into shock. Yeah,
that's it. My brain senses the impending doom and is shutting down.
Yeah, that's it. Definitely. I have the IQ of a bag of moldy
tangerines and mock chicken loaf.
Ahem, where was I? Oh, yes. The first of these weird, crystal-
clear things that I remember was of course, the first time we met up
with the Elders. It was strange. Larger than life. Each time my foot
hit the ground, I remember the crunch of the snow. My sunglasses
against my face, almost freezing to it at times. I don't want to
forget any detail of it. It was a pretty memorable battle.
Hopefully, I can remember enough. The last thing I want to do is
dishonor the Senshi who fell that day.
The last thing she saw was a blinding blue flash. Pluto felt
each snowflake grind into her arms as she tried to stop sliding down
the hill. That did NOT work how she planned it. Saturn, Neptune and
Uranus all gasped in horror.
Her staff skittered to a stop besides her, just within reach.
"Okay." She breathed. At least none of that damn ice touched her or
her key.
"My turn." Uranus growled. The three Elders blinked. The one on
the right had been attacked by Pluto last. He nursed a light scratch
on his arm. This time, they wouldn't be caught by surprise. "WORLD
SHAKING!"
The ball of yellow light slammed into the snow and tore up a line
of ice and dirt on it's way to attack the three elderly men. One of
them raised an arm and fired a small chunk of ice from his hand. It
shot out and hit the ground just in front of Uranus' attack. It took
root, and began to grow slowly.
The ball of energy just fizzled out as it touched the alien ice.
"No." Pluto gasped, slowly getting up. "You don't get it."
They all turned to her.
"It...works on energy." She coughed. "That ice is anti-energy.
The only way to get past it is with matter."
"But..." Saturn blinked.
Pluto stood and joined their ranks. "I know...I thought it would
have worked better too." She said, rubbing her arms. "We need
something better."
"And now," Saturn frowned "they're ready for us."
"And we're ready for them." A familiar voice interrupted. Sharon
realized it was her sister and smiled.
The Outer Scouts turned to see Prince Destiny, Strike Fiss,
Sailor Hooze, and Demeter standing on the river. Demeter had even
changed the color and shape of his outer clothes to form a white
trenchcoat to contrast with Maury.
The three Elders looked around nervously, uncertain of what was
going on. Eight of the strange young warriors were now at the scene.
"Hiya, sis!" Andrea smiled. "We were just walking by, thought you
could use some help!"
Pluto replied with a little bow. "Always appreciated from you
guys."
The Elders blinked. "Trakinnie ut manji?" one asked Pluto. It
translated to the effect of "what's going on?"
Pluto cleared her throat. "There are more of us coming soon."
She replied in their language. "Before we are forced to kill you, I
offer you another chance to leave our planet in peace."
"Yeah." Chris nodded. "What she said."
Maury frowned and punched him in the arm. "Shh!"
The Elder ignored Chris and Maury, focusing on Pluto. He
frowned, speaking in an agitated voice. "I'm glad more are coming
now." He grumbled. "If we freeze you all now, it will save time."
"Yes. You Senshi are quite annoying." Another added.
The last spoke up. "We are only doing our jobs."
Pluto turned to the NA Scouts. "They're not leaving. Energy
attacks are useless. Don't touch the ice, and watch out. When you do
hit them, they give one hell of a rebound."
They all nodded. Demeter morphed his arms into two, long,
broadswords. Chris took a step forward, kneeling down slightly, and
rested his hand on his sword's handle. Maury's hand began to glow
bright orange as he prepared to attack. Andrea's hand extended out,
and with a flash of green light, her staff was resting conformably in
it.
The Elder's eyes all began to glow as they prepared for the first
assault. The Outer Scouts all crouched slightly as well. Pluto and
Saturn holding their staffs along their sides. Air smelled of tension.
Crisp as the winter cold itself. Eleven figures standing perfectly
still, waiting for that brittle first action.
Chris was first. His well-designed, multi-terrain shoes had only
minimal problems propelling himself in the snow. He took off like a
sprinter, all the while keeping his right arm, waist and sword
perfectly level as he ran. SNINNGG! His sword was out a split second
before he reached the first Elder. "FISS!"
The blue pulse shot out along the blade, finding it's mark
against the skin of the alien.
Nothing happened. The repulsion-force drained away to nothing as
energy itself was nullified. He was unable to compensate for the
sudden drop in energy, and stumbled forward. The Elder swung around
his arm, firmly connecting with Chris' back with a force that should
not have been possible from the elderly body.
When he finally did land, Chris had the breath slammed out of him
by a frost-covered tree and was knocked half-unconscious.
Prince Destiny was very unhappy from this, and took the next
shot. "You BASTARDS!" Maury growled. "SOL STARS!!" his arm whipped
around, letting a dozen tiny metal throwing stars to fly toward their
targets.
Andrea leapt forward as well. "GROUND ZERO!"
One of the Elders quickly formed a block of ice in mid air to
absorb the Sol Stars. Meanwhile, the deadly sphere of green energy had
the same effect upon the Elders as Chris' energy spell. Nothing.
Pluto had gone over to Chris. "You're not freezing, come on, get
up." She lifted him by the shoulders.
"Sorry..." he gasped. "Forgot...no energy...got it."
"If you use your sword, do it fast. If they have a chance,
they'll freeze the blade and you with it." She said, loud enough for
them all to hear. "We have to fight SMART!"
Demeter and Saturn took the next round as the Elders re-arranged
themselves into a small circle to defend on all sides.
Chris nodded. "Let's see how this works." He spun, sword out.
Pluto dodged to let the blade pass, and it hit the tree. "TIMBER!"
To the amazement of the Scouts (most notably Chris), the tree
began falling toward the Elders. It was a giant sucker, too. Saturn
smiled. "LET'S ROCK!" she charged. The tree came down hard, forcing
the Elders to scatter. For old men, they could move pretty fast.
Saturn anticipated one of their movements, and intercepted him.
Unfortunately, the Elder anticipated her anticipation, stopping dead in
his tracks, and extending his hand. She slipped on the snow, and
skidded forward right into his grasp.
Hotaru was frozen a second later. The razor-sharp edge of her
glaive stood useless a few centimeters from the Elder's head. Nobody
moved for what seemed like forever. "No," Sharon gasped, taking a step
forward.
Chris caught her arm before she could act on rage. He shook his
head. "We fight smart, or they'll win."
"That was always your problem, Strike Fiss." Ami quipped as she
appeared on the hill. One by one, the Senshi appeared. A tall figure
with a cape signified that even Tuxedo Mask had decided to join them
this frosty winter day. Rei gave Chris a smile, and he returned it
gladly.
The Elders all turned to face the new group. "How many of these
Senshi are there?" one asked.
"Who cares." The first replied. "They are of no threat."
Pluto felt the tears in her eyes boil at that comment. Only
Chris' grasp was keeping her from running up to them and taking her
best, last shot.
"Speech time." Lita said, cracking her knuckles.
Sailor Moon had her arms crossed. "I'm sure they know who we
are."
Everyone nodded.
"Then lets kick them off our planet." She said with a voice that
was nothing less than inspirational.
"You heard the lady!" Maury yelled, reaching into the back of his
coat and pulling out a simple wooden staff. "No energy attacks, don't
let them touch you, and above all else..." he grinned "let's make them
sorry they came."
Chapter 11
I just looked up for the first time in about an hour. The ice is
still far enough away...I should be able to finish my message. But the
sky? Oh god.
It's so lifeless. Gray and cold steel blue. I actually remember
seeing something like it back on Enceladus. The only clouds seem to be
frozen in time, hanging in the air like they were frozen down to the
ground. Tethered like balloons to a frozen earth.
Even balloons run out of air after a while.
Nothing is safe. Including me. I better get cracking. Dammit,
my butt is frozen. I should have been wearing something warmer than
this damn tuxedo vest. The blood doesn't help. I can't even tell
which is mine any more. It's just like getting wet. Wet and cold make
for some very uncomfortable clothes. Now, add the smell and stickiness
of blood, and you've got a pretty nasty dry-cleaning bill.
I've seen so much blood. Caused it to spill more times than I
can count. If nothing else, the Elders were not bloody. They didn't
have to be. The Elders sucked away our ability to fight so
quickly...took our energy and our powers and turned us to use guerilla
tactics just to try to scratch their arms and knees. It was the
hardest fight we've ever faced.
Now, where was I? Ah, yes. The battle.
"NOOOO!" Maury yelled, diving for her hand.
Lita continued to slide down the snow bank, right toward a frozen
park-bench. One covered with the Elder's ice. "MAURY!" she gasped,
arm barely missing his.
Andrea slid to a stop overlooking the scene. "Come on...one more
time..." she took a deep breath, raising her hand. "Jan, Ken,
Pon...PAPER!"
SNAP! A pink, rectangular shield came up behind Lita's feet,
just as she was about to collide with the bench. She hit it, shattered
through it, and hit the ice.
The last thing Maury saw was the horrified look on her face as
the ice engulfed her. Andrea turned away quickly, mouth open, unable
to say anything.
"No...not Lita too..." Rei gasped, turning back to Chris.
Chris closed his eyes briefly. "This isn't working." He huffed,
running out of breath. They had to keep moving. Running. Every time
they stopped, the Elders threw them a chunk of ice to catch. Him and
Rei were now behind a cluster of trees, trying to think up something
new. The field around them had turned into a mine-field of that damn
ice. Just running took considerable concentration not to fall on it.
"Please tell me you have an idea." Rei asked. "Before anyone
else gets frozen?"
A moment passed. "This is the park...isn't it?"
She looked around. "Yeah...it is." A smile grew on her face.
"Where we finally waxed Zoicite."
Chris nodded. "You remember our little hurricane impression?"
Rei blinked, understanding the plan. "Perfect!" she turned to
Andrea. "Can you set up a perimeter around them?" she yelled.
Andrea nodded.
"GET READY TO STAB THE BASTARDS!" Chris yelled, readying his
sword.
Demeter nodded from the other side of the park.
The Elders all frowned. "They're planning something." One said
to the others.
"They're nothing if not persistent. We've already frozen four of
them." The first Elder smiled through his beard.
"Remember...we're on a schedule." The third grumbled.
"Relax." The first assured him. "We have more than enough time,
and it will go smoother without the Senshi interfering."
"Jan, Ken, Pon...PAPER!"
"Ahh. See what I mean?" he grumbled.
Pink energy shields began to spring up in a half-circle around
them as the one known as Sailor Hooze repeated her spell over and over
again.
"Strange...they should know that we can walk through those like
the air around them." The second Elder frowned.
Chris and Rei were ready.
"FISS!"
"Mars FIRESTORM!"
The two attacks combined into a flurry of fire and snow as they
directed their energies to the ground. The column shot past the
Elders...then banked off of Andrea's first shield. Again, the
deflected wind of snow and fire, now mixing to produce a nasty cold
rain, began to rebound off of the array of `paper-shields'. By the
time the half-circle was completed, a vortex had begun to form.
Maury joined in a second later, pushing a Sol Flare into the mix,
and boosting the speed of the wind. In a few seconds, the Elders were
in the middle of a small whirlwind.
Rei, unable to keep up a constant stream of fire, let Maury take
her place and ran over to Demeter. "Can you get through?" she yelled
over the howling wind.
He nodded. "If I don't make it out, tell Andrea I love her." He
smiled. "What a cheesy line. Oh well!" he ran off.
Darien frowned. "I'm going to go help him!"
Rei was about to object when she realized this might be her only
chance. "Go get em!" With Chris busy keeping the wind up as a
distraction, Demeter and Darien were the only ones able to get through
in time.
Alex had a sword too, but she had fallen into a bit of the ice.
Pluto and Neptune were the only Outers left, and had been hiding behind
a tree last she saw.
Demeter had formed both his arms into long, thin blades. He also
had enough glass stored inside of his body to regenerate them if they
broke off. Darien walked besides him, letting Demeter take the wind
head-on. "You ready?" Demeter asked.
Darien nodded, staff extended, and a rose in hand. "Let's rock!"
The Elders were visible. They hadn't moved, figuring that the
Scouts would either run out of power trying to kill them, or blow
around enough of their ice to actually help. After all, what could
they do?
"This one's for Hooze!" Demeter lunged, arms extended.
The Elder gasped in shock, raising his hands to protect himself,
eyes glowing. Demeter's left `arm' hit the Elder's hand, and in a
fraction of a second, began to freeze. Darien gasped as he saw.
"NOOO!" his roses were uselessly spent as they hit the invisible wall
of anti-energy and froze a millimeter away from the alien's skin.
In one of the quickest, perfectly timed moves, Darien brought
down his staff, shattering Demeter's arm off before it could freeze the
rest of him. The staff, however, caught the ice, and Darien froze a
second later.
The Elder looked up over his hand to see his handiwork.
That was when Demeter used his right arm to puncture the Elder's
chest. The glass began to mushroom out in a deadly network of spines,
ensuring it could not be pulled out later on. The entire action took a
thousandth of a second. Then...time stood still.
One by one, the pink shields collapsed, causing the vortex of
wind to dissipate. Andrea was almost afraid to look.
Everyone was silent. Nobody moved. One Elder was impaled on the
arm of Demeter, hunched over, writhing in pain. Darien, however, had
been frozen.
The other Elders looked down at their fallen comrade in horror.
"WIOP!!" one yelled, panicking. A second later, they both shimmered
out of existence, transported away from the park.
Andrea ran down to Demeter, who was visibly struggling to pull
himself free of the Elder as it clutched it's chest, not quite dead
yet. "Demeter! Are you okay!?!"
"I...Can't get free! The ice is..." he yanked hard, making his
arm crack. "I can't morph! I'm already being frozen!"
"Chris! Cut it!" Andrea yelled.
He ran over, raising his sword. "Hold still!"
Pluto's staff hit the sword away from his hands just before he
could help. "NO! You bakka! If you do that, you'll be frozen in a
few seconds!"
They all gasped at her logic. "Oh shit..." Demeter blinked.
"Now what?"
"One last thing." Andrea closed her eyes. "Hold still." She
raised her hands. "Jan, Ken, Pon...SISSORS!" A blinding red flash
shot out from her fingers, then attempted to sever Demeter's arm. The
attack just fizzled, though. "NO!" Andrea gasped. "Demeter! Pull
free! You have to!"
"We can't just leave you here!" Chris said, retrieving his sword.
"Run!" Demeter yelled. "I'm about to be a block of ice! You'll
be infected if you're too close!"
"It's too late, Andrea!" Sharon yelled, grabbing her sister's
collar and hauling her away. "We have to..."
Demeter's eyes clouded over suddenly, and a layer of ice appeared
over him.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Andrea cried.
The Scouts all took a few steps back. Serena was looking at
Darien. "Now what do we do?" she asked weakly.
"Oh shit." Rei sighed. "I'm sorry, Serena...I should have..."
Serena closed her eyes, tears coming down her cheeks. "No...I
understand."
Maury walked up to the Elder, who was still not quite dead. "At
least we got you, you FUCKING ASSHOLE!" he screamed. "How does it
feel? HUH? Knowing you're about to die?"
Pluto shook her head sadly. "He can't understand you."
"I don't care." Maury sneered, then spit on the Elder. It turned
to ice the moment it hit. "It's the thought that counts."
The Elder began to laugh. It was weak, and sounded labored, yet
he was laughing nonetheless. He looked up at Sailor Pluto. "Why don't
you tell them?"
Pluto frowned. "What to you mean?"
"That they are fighting on the wrong side?" the Elder coughed.
"That fate has already been written, and is for the greater good?"
Sailor Pluto shrugged. "We are here to stop you. If fate can be
averted, then we will try."
"And if it cannot?"
She smiled. "Then at least we tried."
The Elder pondered this for a moment. "Then I wish you luck.
Maybe we were wrong after all." He paused. "But he will awaken sooner
than you think."
Pluto's eyes widened.
"If you barely can defeat us, then you have no chance against
him." The Elder sighed. "Goodbye, Guardian of Time."
He died. Sailor Pluto closed her eyes.
"What did he say?" Chris asked.
"He said he was sorry Demeter was frozen...and he wishes us
luck."
"At least he's not a sore loser." Maury said with clenched teeth.
Chris was about to pat him on the back when Maury shot him a warning
look. "Feel sorry for Lita after we kill the other two." He growled.
His friend nodded. "Good idea. Come on." He looked around at
the ice spreading along the ground. "This entire park is going to be a
glacier in a few minutes."
The Sailor Scouts each said a silent good-bye to their fallen,
and moved to higher ground.
Sailor Moon looked at her fallen prince once last time, "I'm
sorry..." she spoke softly, "I tried not to lose you again..."
Chapter 12
We killed one of them. Hooray for us. God, I wish I knew that
damn language back then. I would have seen the connections between
Pluto, the Elders, and Beavis. Everyone who knew more than they were
telling.
Pluto could have warned us about what was after the Elders...but
she didn't.
Fuck it. Just fuck it all. It's too late to curse her. Beavis
too. Wherever they are, hopefully not frozen yet, I hope they are
happy and healthy. Enjoying their last day on Earth.
We were down half our team. Andrea, Maury, Serena and Michelle
had each lost their counterparts. I was so fortunate. I still had
Rei.
I still had Rei. Oh god, fortunate was an understatement. I
don't think I know what I would do without her by my side. She always
has been when I needed her. I can't begin to imagine how Maury felt.
Andrea too. And Serena had lost her King. How was that supposed to
happen? It wasn't. You don't lose people that close to you.
Love is supposed to be stronger than anything. Even all this
ice. It was supposed to protect us from our darkest hour. It was
supposed to be the strongest thing in the universe!
It's not.
Sleep did not come easy for the Sailor Scouts that night.
Everyone agreed to sleep, though. They needed it. It was probably the
last chance they would get for a long time.
The Elders were in disarray. Downtown was completely frozen and
silent. For now, the Police had been doing a good job keeping
everything under control. They could sleep.
Rei knew she should.
She had to. To keep her strength up. Her body was exhausted,
but her mind screamed. How many friends had she lost this week?
Mina.
Lita.
Hotaru.
Demeter.
Darien.
Alex.
Too many. Six friends too many. Six to bring down only one.
Any fighter-pilot will tell you that those are unacceptable losses. A
ratio like that just isn't supposed to exist.
How does it feel to be on the receiving end for a change? Her
mind scolded. All those you helped destroy. Thinking...hoping...you
were right. Never sure, were you? Each death another chink in your
morality.
"Chris?" she called out into her pillow.
He wasn't there.
Panic struck through her. Where was he? "Chris?" she stood,
wrapping her pajamas tighter around her. Music was coming from his
room.
As she poked her head inside, she smiled. He was leaned over his
computer, hitting keys with an extended index finger, trying to bypass
the security program. The blue light from the screen reflected off his
face and lit the entire room. "I couldn't sleep." He explained,
knowing her presence even without looking up.
"What song is that?" Rei asked, leaning against the door frame.
"I always wanted to be a writer." Chris sighed, ignoring the
question. "Did you know that?"
She shook her head. "No. No I didn't."
He grinned. "That's why I got into computers, you know. I made
so many mistakes that the only way I could write was to use a word
processor." He chuckled. "It didn't help what I wrote, though."
"What did you write?" Rei asked.
"Poems."
She blinked. "You? A poet?"
"You want to hear my best one?" he smiled.
She nodded. "Please."
He cleared his throat. "Okay...
"I am a little puppy. Take me home and feed me.
If you scare me, I will go pee pee.
All over your shirt. Please don't drop me."
Rei laughed. "You can't be serious."
He smiled. "I got into computers at a very young age." He shook
his head. "Anyway, as you can guess, my career as a writer didn't take
off."
"No doubt." She grinned. "Pee pee???"
Chris laughed. "Anyway, I gave up trying to write when I started
understanding DOS commands better than Hamlet and Haiku." He sighed,
slowing shutting the computer. "But none of that matters now. Even if
I do find out what's hidden in these files, the information obviously
didn't help the Omega Web."
"And it won't bring back Lita and the others." Rei amended.
He looked up for the first time, capturing her in his eyes. "And
it won't bring you back if you're frozen."
She shook her head slowly. "Please don't worry about me."
Chris set his computer aside and stood slowly. "You can't tell
me to do that Rei." He said, walking over to her. "You're the one,
purely wonderful thing I've known on this ball of dirt."
His hand came up and cupped her cheek. "Chris..."
"You are the reason I fight so hard, Rei." He whispered. "Do you
know why?"
She shook her head, too choked to speak.
They slowly eased into a hug, arms wrapped around each other's
waists. "Do you know why?" he smiled weakly. "Why I would go to the
ends of the universe and back for you?"
"Because you love me?" she smiled, a tear rolling down the side
of her face. His hand coming up again to brush it away.
"No." he replied.
Rei blinked. "What???"
Chris smiled at her reaction. "Because I think I'm falling in
love with you." He took a deep breath. "All over again."
She felt her entire body heat up. He was looking right into her
eyes. Locked in. A part of her. What little light there was
reflected in his eyes, lighting them up with a spark she had rarely
seen before.
No...this was a new spark. A new one. Just for her. His eyes
had captivated her so completely that she almost didn't notice their
lips touching. "Oh my..."
The first kiss was magic. Single-handedly, she had to say that
this...right now...was the best kiss she had ever had. It wasn't
aggressive like most of their kisses. This one was different. Their
lips fit perfectly. The perfect amount of pressure.
Liquid heat. Gentle and caring. It rolled across her tongue
like sweet wine. The kiss flowed through her, down into her center,
and then came back up through her. For a long, sweet moment, she was
sure she was going to drown in the warmth.
Slowly, they parted. Chris could feel her hot breath against his
mouth and wished only for it to continue.
Rei felt her mind melting into a pleasant, warm goo. Right now,
this was exactly what she needed. Not to forget about her friends, not
to take her mind away from the horrors of the last five years; rather
to feel alive. To love like a human being, not a Sailor Scout.
"Chris?" she breathed, barely over a whisper.
"Mmm?"
"I-I know it's late..." she said slowly. "But if we walk away
from each other tonight..."
She felt his hand tilt her chin up and she let it lead to the
next kiss. "We don't have to." He replied. After a long kiss he added
"I'd like you to stay tonight."
"Good." She cooed as his hands gently started to unbutton the
front of her p.j.'s. She waited for the fabric to drape open before
burying herself into his embrace again. "I want us to remember this
night." she whispered. "Just in case we don't have..."
"Call me mister photographic memory." Chris interrupted, swinging
her on her side and picking her up.
"Well?"
"Well what?" he asked, gently laying her down on the bed.
"What song is that?" she asked. "It's very romantic." She said
in a low, sexy voice.
"Mayonnaise." He said, kissing her neck gently. "My favorite
song."
"Mmm." She sighed happily. "So, I guess this is our song now?"
"That's why it's my favorite." He whispered as he kissed her
stomach.
The low, shifting tone of an electric guitar filled the hallways
as Mayonnaise repeated for it's audience of two.
Maury sat on the roof, staring off across the snow-covered
landscape. His eyes were glassy. Uncertain. Andrea sat next to him,
arm around his back.
"Mo?" she asked quietly.
He nodded a response.
"You going to be okay?"
His eyes closed over a tear. Andrea did the same.
"We'll get them back, Hooze." He said after a long pause. "We
have to." He promised. "The good guys never lose."
Chapter 13
The phone rang. Actually, the one built into Chris' computer
did. "Let it ring..." Rei whispered, head buried in his arm.
"Mm mm..." he replied, half asleep.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ten rings later, Chris and Rei were becoming worried it wouldn't
stop. "Not NOW!" Rei moaned, still not moving.
The weak, winter-sun was peaking into the window, illuminating
the room. It must have been close to ten in the morning. Chris began
to move. Rei voiced her protest. "I better get it..." he said
sleepily.
She rolled off to the side, letting him crawl over her to get the
phone. "It better be important." She whispered, reaching over and
snagging the rim of his boxers with her hand. She giggled when he
tripped and fell onto the floor.
"Not funny." He smiled, opening the laptop. "Hello, and this
better be damn important."
"Chris?" Dana asked on the other end.
Rei sighed loudly.
"Oh, hi, Dana." He cleared away the sleepy fog in his head with a
quick neck-stretch. "What's up?"
"Well...you know how you told me to contact you if something
weird was happening?"
He sighed. "Oh shit...I'm sorry, I was called away. Tokyo
needed help."
"I suspected as much, but that's not why I called." Dana smiled,
an action invisible over the voice line. "You know the ice that's
taking over Tokyo?"
He nodded. "Unfortunately, yes."
Dana took a deep breath. "It's here, too."
Both Rei and Chris' eyes jumped open.
"H-have you checked the news lately?" Dana continued.
"No..." Chris admitted.
"People are seeing the connection to Tokyo. There's a media
feeding frenzy about it." She said quietly. "Chris...people are
rioting in some of the larger cities."
"WHAT?!"
Rei closed her eyes. "This is why the governments never tell the
people about deadly viruses and nukes, Chris. People get really weird
around the apocalypse."
"Which cities?" Chris asked.
On the other end of the connection, they could hear Dana opening
a few newspapers. "Calgary's getting really nervous, but nothing bad
is happening yet. It's the only city with ice in it, and the police
have evacuated what they claim is a five day radius around the downtown
area. Moscow is chaos. New York, Los Angeles and D.C. are all a big
street war. Beijing is in a media blackout, but word is out via the
internet, and a few panicking riots are breaking out." She took a deep
breath. "Edmonton has a few incidents, Ottawa and Toronto are both
degenerating pretty fast." She sighed. "That's about all."
"Son of a BITCH!" Chris yelled to himself. "Okay. I'll be back
in a day. I'll meet with you and you can fill me in on what I can't
get on the plane." He paused. "Has Beavis talked to you?"
"Uh...no..."
"Damn." He grumbled. "Okay, I'll see you in a day."
"Okay, bye." Dana sighed. "Be careful," and hung-up.
Chris slowly shut the computer and looked over to Rei. "I'm so
sorry..."
She smiled weakly. "No. Don't be sorry...we both knew this
would happen." She said slowly. "You have an entire continent to
protect over there."
He nodded, then rubbed his temples with his left hand.
Rei got out of bed, covering herself with his blanket. "We know
how to beat them, now. If they stay around our city, I can promise you
we'll take out another one at least." She walked over to him and
enveloped him in the quilt with her, kneeling down to meet him. "You
remember the nuke?"
He smiled. "Of course."
Rei smiled back. "Good. Now, you remember how I couldn't tell
you about the outcome, or it wouldn't happen?"
"Mm mm." He nodded.
"This is another one of those times." She said quietly.
"Everything will work out if we just try our best. Fight for love and
justice." She smiled, kissing him on the nose. "Especially love."
He gave her his usual boyish grin. "You're lying. This is
nothing like the nuke."
She shrugged. "If I tell you, that would defeat the purpose."
She said softly. "We can make it through this. I promise you. The
earth can make it through this. Time does not lie." There was a
twinkle in her eye. "And I'll be damned if I don't get the chance to
fall in love with you every day. Nothing will ever stop that." She
said, gently pressing her hand against his chest to feel his heart
beating. "Not some stupid ice crystal. Not even death."
"Ahem."
They both glanced up to see Maury at the door. They both blushed
considerably. Rei was obviously naked, pajamas discarded on the bed,
and they were kneeling down on the floor in a ball with just a quilt
over them. "Hi, Mo." Chris coughed, standing up and letting Rei pull
the blanket around her tighter.
"We have to get back to Canada." He said simply. "They're done
with Tokyo for a while. We're next."
"I heard." Chris nodded.
"There's something else." Maury said slowly.
Apparently, the night had not been as kind to the rest of the
Scouts as it had been to Rei and Chris. Gathered around the fire were
long, tired faces and eyes with dark circles under them.
"Maury made an interesting suggestion today." Chris said, nursing
his cup of Earl Gray tea. "He said we should forget about trying to
hide anymore."
Serena blinked. "What do you mean?"
Andrea, who had been talking with Maury most of the night, knew
exactly what he meant. "If we want to win, against this..." she paused
"and anything else in the future, we're going to have to change our
tactics."
Luna and Artemis both took a deep breath, knowing what they were
getting at.
"We have to become Scouts full time." Rei finished.
Pluto blinked. "But we are."
"No no no." Maury shook his head. "You don't understand. We
hide behind our lives like Superman and Clark Kent." He clutched his
fists. "What we need to do is kill Clark, and concentrate on
Superman."
The implications slowly sunk in. Luna was the first to object.
"You CAN'T be serious! Your lives would each be destroyed! If people
knew that you were Sailor Scouts..."
"Then we'd have that worry out of the way." Maury interrupted.
There was a long, tense pause. Luna desperately tried to come up
with some kind of rebuttal, but it was obvious that she couldn't.
Artemis finally put a paw on her shoulder and sighed. "It's the end of
the world, Luna. The rules aren't the same any more." He turned to the
Scouts. "Each of you has to do this voluntarily. If half the team
wants to continue to live their human lives, that's fine."
"We don't have to give up our lives." Chris said. "I have no
intention of sacrificing my happiness for this planet when I don't have
to." He paused. "But we do have to switch to Senshi mode. We always
were the Sailor Scouts, but now, we have to stop making believe that we
can hide behind a secret identity."
Artemis nodded. "Exactly."
Maury nodded as well.
Rei looked over to Chris. "As for us and Miharu?"
He smiled.
"She always was one of us." Rei sighed. "No matter how much we
want to protect her, she'll have to grow up with this. She should be
here."
Andrea stood. "I'll go get everyone else."
Everyone was quiet as they waited. Serena sighed. "Okay." A
weak smile. "I guess it was only a matter of time anyway. Eventually,
me and..." she skipped a heartbeat "Darien...were going to be,"
Rei offered a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder. "We'll
get him back." She looked over to Maury. "All of them."
Sharon smiled. "Don't worry. As far as I can tell, the future
will still happen. You'll save the world, Sailor Moon."
"One thing at a time, please." Rei chided. "First, we have to
get these three back over to their homes."
Everyone nodded. Reluctantly. The team would be a lot weaker,
but at least the entire earth would have protection. Less reaction
time against the Elders.
Andrea returned with Miharu, Grandpa and Chad, who looked around
nervously at the assembled group. "Who are these people?" he asked,
pointing to Sharon and Michelle.
"No time like the present, I suppose." Luna sighed.
Chad blinked. "T-that cat just TALKED!"
Artemis grinned evilly. "Either that or it's a LSD flashback, my
friend!"
"AAAAHHH!" he jumped a good meter into the air and back against
the wall. "CATS!"
Sharon tried desperately to stifle a laugh but failed.
"Those CATS TALKED!" he yelled again, then looked down to Grandpa
and Miharu, who for the most part, seemed unimpressed. "Didn't you
hear them?"
Grandpa shrugged. "Sure. That's Luna and Artemis. They're
talking cats."
Miharu nodded. "We're telling him, I suppose?"
Rei and Chris both nodded. "Why don't you introduce everyone,
honey." Rei said.
"Okay!" Miharu smiled. "Everyone, this is Chad. He helps out at
the temple."
Sharon and Michelle both waved their greetings. Luna did a
feline equivalent of a curtsy, and Artemis gave a little `thumbs up' to
the terrified Chad.
Miharu grabbed his hand and began to lead him around the fire.
"Okay. This is Sailor Pluto and Sailor Neptune."
Chad's jaw dropped as he shook hands with them.
"Luna and Artemis, you just met..." Miharu continued. "Luna is
the black one. Anyway, this is Prince Destiny." She continued over to
Maury. "This is Sailor Hooze, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury." Andrea,
Serena and Ami each smiled and bowed.
"S-sailor MOON?" Chad gasped weakly, noticing the meat-ball
resemblance. "Oh god...not..."
Chris stood with a big, shit-eating grin on his face. "Strike
Fiss. Please to meet you."
"My dad, Strike Fiss," Miharu smiled happily, "and of course, you
already know Sailor Mars." She pointed to Rei.
Rei stood, walked over to Chad and shrugged. "Sorry I couldn't
tell you earlier." She gave the stunned man a brief hug.
"W...sh...uh???" he gasped.
Maury sighed. "We better get going. If the Elders have already
started on our side, we might not have much time."
"Wait!" Chad yelled. "YOU'RE Sailor Mars?"
Rei raised an eyebrow. "Yup."
"REALLY?"
She nodded. "It's no big deal."
"No bid DEAL?" he gasped.
Rei frowned, turning to Grandpa. "See? THIS is why I never told
him."
Chapter 14
And so, we returned to our stomping grounds after a final
farewell and good-luck.
I must admit, I felt different, just knowing that we had to
buckle down and act like Senshi once and for all. Oddly enough,
though, it was a good feeling. Not the regret I expected to feel, but
rather a sense of accomplishment. We had finally reached our full
level as warriors. We were ready. Motivated. Sleek and mean. Years
of training came down to these final few days.
God...what day was it? The 19th, I think. Yes. Six days away
from Christmas, and neither I, nor the world, were thinking much about
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
The news was buttering the story twenty-four hours a day.
Overkill to the extreme, but it was to be expected. Scandals and wars
were nothing compared to the possibility of two continents freezing
into blocks of ice.
Our continent. The one Andrea, Maury and I were supposed to be
protecting. We all decided together with unsaid words, that we would
do just that.
Even if it killed us.
Five fingers wrapped themselves around Beavis before he had a
chance to react and put up his quills. Now, if there's one thing that
scares a hedgehog, Beavis will tell you that it's being grabbed while
you're sleeping, hoisted into the air a meter and a half, and ending up
face to face with a very pissed off looking human.
"Chris!?" he squeaked. "You're back?"
His owner nodded, keeping a tight grip on Beavis. "Hi. Did I
wake you up?" he said in a deadly tone of voice. "Sorry." Finally, he
dropped Beavis onto the bed, causing him to bounce quite high.
"WHAT THE HELL are you DOING?" the hedgehog grumbled, regaining a
little composure.
Chris crossed the room and pulled out a seat from under some
laundry he had yet to finish. Maury and Andrea were standing in the
bedroom doorway, arms crossed. "We lost Demeter." Andrea said quietly.
"Lita, Darien, Hotaru and Alex too."
Beavis' eyes widened. "Oh my god..." if his furry face could
have paled, he would have been ghost white.
Chris sat down after dragging the chair closer to Beavis. "God's
not here, Beavis. He's probably got the right idea and took the first
train off this planet when the Elders came." His eyebrows lowered. "We
don't have the same option, so I'd advise you to quit reading from an
X-Files script and talk to us before I throw you against the wall."
The tiny animal shivered slightly. "I'm sorry...I had no idea."
A long pause. "How many are there?"
"Two." Maury said. "Three before we managed to kill one."
"Oh my..." the hedgehog looked worried. "I was only expecting
one...two at the most...I thought you could handle them." He looked up
with black eyes to Chris. "I'm so sorry, Chris...I never knew they'd
send so many."
Chris said nothing, but felt the apology was genuine. Beavis
didn't have as much information as they originally thought.
"Who are they?" Maury asked finally.
"The Elders..." Beavis sighed "are the oldest surviving species
in the Universe. Nobody knows for sure, but they're rumored to be at
least three trillion years old."
"Why are they doing this?" Andrea asked finally.
"They're Senshi." Beavis said finally. "Not like you guys...a
higher order, you could say. They're in charge with protecting the
Universe."
"Isn't that what we do?" Maury shrugged.
Beavis shook his head. "You don't understand. We protect the
planet...the Solar System...even this galaxy. The Elders take care of
the fabric of space-time. Not just physical homes."
"W-w-wait a minute." Chris interrupted. "They're Senshi? That
means they're protectors."
Beavis nodded.
"Then WHY are they destroying Earth?"
"Because it will save the rest of the Universe."
All three Senshi gawked at the tiny animal. "You can't be
serious." Maury blinked.
"HOW will WE destroy space-time?" Andrea gasped. "That's not
possible!"
"I know that." Beavis sighed. "It's complicated. Even I don't
know all the details. What I do know is in the form of a song."
"A nursery rhyme." Chris corrected, putting two and two together.
Beavis nodded. "Miharu knows it."
"Are you saying my daughter's involved in all this?" Chris
frowned.
"I doubt it." Beavis admitted. "But she knows the same song.
Only the Elders are supposed to know it. I suspect maybe the Omega Web
knows of it as well."
"Wait...backtrack for a moment here." Chris let out a long sigh.
"Why are there three? You were only expecting one or two...does that
mean they knew we would try to stop them?"
"No." Beavis shook his head. "It means they are running out of
time."
Everyone blinked.
"So what?" Andrea asked. "We just let them freeze the planet?"
"No." Chris answered for Beavis. "We get rid of the Elders, then
we find out how Earth is going to nuke the universe and stop that."
Everyone turned to Beavis. He shook his head a little too
quickly. "Chris...you're gambling with the entire universe here. If
you lose, time will be destroyed, and none of us will have ever
existed."
"We can't just give up, though." Andrea interjected. "Six
billion people depend on us to go on living." She shook her head. "We
have to take that chance, Beavis."
With all their eyes upon him, Beavis felt very uncomfortable. It
made sense. This plan was put into action a billion and a half years
ago. Even then, it had been hasty. The Elders had no way of factoring
earth into the equation. Earth had been a ball of lava back then.
A more stressing point was that it may already be too late. If
earth was frozen, then they would have no chance to try and fix the
problem.
With a long, drawn out breath, the little hedgehog nodded.
"You're right." He smiled. "Fight. Do your best." He paused. "And
I'll try and help anyway I can."
Chris nodded. "Can you teach us their language?"
"I was going to." Beavis nodded.
"I guessed as much." He smiled. "Now, tell me how to say `get
the fuck off our planet' in Elder-speak?"
Maury shook his head. "I'm sure killing one of them will get the
message across."
Chapter 15
A hand pressed up against the form's forehead affectionately. As
the body shut down, the natural immunity he had to the imprisoning ice
had deteriorated as well. They would pay for this.
The Elder took a deep breath of the still air. All around him,
the park held in it's new coat of ice crystals. It was the park where
the Senshi had killed his friend.
A man who was now also encased in ice. Ironic to the extreme.
Very well, if they wanted irony, they would have it. All then needed
to do was continue resisting.
Senshi...Protectors. In a way, he couldn't blame them. But
Sailor Pluto? She should have known better. She was the keeper of one
of the Keys. Many of them had happened upon their Keys by chance...but
she had earned hers. She had been chosen, and had proven her worth.
The Elders were Senshi too. Even their fellow kind would not
stop them from freezing this planet. After all...it had already begun.
Nothing could stop it. Not even the bearer of a Key.
He walked away from his fallen friend slowly. Unaffected by the
ice around him.
Sailor Pluto sat in her apartment, sipping tea silently. In the
back of her mind, she noticed the stereo had begun to play Mozart. The
only other Outer Scout, Neptune, sat besides her, nursing a glass of
hot chocolate. "We should evacuate." She said, barely over a whisper.
Sharon stayed seated. Gently, her cup raised up to her lips and
bridged the gap with a light touch, allowing the warm brown liquid to
flow into her mouth. After resting the mug with just as much
precision, she took a deep breath, and stayed seated.
"There's nothing we can do." She said after a violin score. The
music wound down to a light, haunting tone.
Michelle sighed. "You're not moving, are you? You've given up?"
Pluto's head snapped around to face Neptune. "No." she said with
eyes that almost demanded an apology for even implying such a thing.
"We never give up. I am not giving up. We cannot."
Neptune closed her eyes and took a sip from her mug. "I'm
sorry."
"The Great Darkness is something that has been destined since
Reeny and the Dark Moon began visiting us." Sharon sighed. "This is
just part of the cosmic schedule."
Her friend's eyes looked up to meet hers. "It isn't like you
thought, is it?"
Sharon nodded slowly. "Something's wrong. The flow of time is
echoing." Her eyes closed. "The past is coming back to haunt us, and
I'm not sure why or what will happen. All I know is that it's not
supposed to."
"I can see the ice, Sharon. We should leave." Neptune sighed.
She looked out the window briefly. "It will only get faster as
it consumes more of Earth. Now, it's just a block or two a day. When
it gets to the point when it chases down Lamborghini, you'll know why
there's no use running."
"So you're just going to stay here and freeze?"
Sailor Pluto nodded, then took a sip of tea. "If you're going to
leave, you should do so now."
Neptune sighed, then gazed into her hot-chocolate. "I'm not
going to leave you here for a millenium by yourself." She smiled.
"I'll stay."
Sharon looked up with grateful eyes. "Thank you." She said after
a long pause.
They both took a long sip of their respectful drinks. "You're
not sure we'll wake up...that's it, isn't it?"
Pluto nodded.
"Mmm."
"Yup."
"So..." Michelle sighed. "If we don't, then there's no use
worrying about it."
"Mm mm." Sharon nodded.
"Any advice before we get frozen?"
Pluto thought about it for a moment. "Stay as still as possible.
Try to keep your lungs half full when it hits, and..." she smiled
"think of someone you love. Even if it doesn't help melt the ice, it
will be a nice thought to leave this century with."
The CD player suddenly stopped as ice enveloped the wall. They
both glanced over to see the ice creeping towards their feet. "I'll
see you on the other side." Neptune sighed, downing the rest of her hot
chocolate in one gulp. Nothing like hot chocolate to keep the cold
out, she mused.
Sharon smiled and nodded, doing the same to her tea. With a
silent creaking noise, the ice hit their feet, enveloping them
instantly.
Time would go on without these two. At least Sharon hoped.
Hope. The last thought she had before turning into a lifeless block of
ice.
It had started at the river. A single crystal of ice about the
size of a man's fist had been planted hastily by the two remaining
Elders over four days ago. That four days had been good to that small
chunk, though. With no buildings or trees or people in the way of it's
growth out on the frozen water, it was able to have a quick birth and a
quicker adolescence.
Now, it was spreading fast. Covering both banks of the river and
stretching almost to the horizon both ways, taking blocks of the city
with it. Even from the altitude that Maury, Chris and Andrea watched
it from, the spread was visible.
They all stood on their favorite hill a few kilometers away from
the city. It offered a spectacular view most of the time. Today, it
served for damage assessment.
"I don't believe this." Andrea said simply. "We can't stop this
much ice."
"There's no indication we would be able to stop an ice-cube of
this stuff." Chris reminded her.
"The Elders are probably in Russia or France doing the same thing
and we won't know about it until the ice is the size of a football
field." Maury said, the frustration in his voice all but too evident.
Chris nodded. "That means we have to kill them before they plant
any more." He sighed. "And hope to hell this shit can't cross an
ocean."
They both nodded.
"We still have to find them, though." Maury sighed. "How big is
this planet again?"
"Too big." Andrea smiled. "We'd each have to stake out a half a
continent each."
Maury smiled. "I could do it. All I need is some kick ass
running shoes."
"If Beavis was here, I'm sure he would make some crack about you
not being Sonic the Hedgehog, Maury." Chris grinned.
"Okay, so I'm not blue..." his friend sighed. "But I can still
race your ass into the ground!"
"It's only because I get distracted by your feminine buttocks."
Chris laughed.
Maury placed his hands on his hips and struck a little pose.
"Fresh!" he giggled like a little school girl.
Andrea coughed. "Okay, ANYWAY guys...what are we going to do?"
"You two go down to city hall and tell them what's going on."
Chris said, looking away from the river to the other side of the city.
"I'm going to go check something out."
Andrea raised her eyebrows. "Check something out?"
"Yeah." He sighed, walking back to the car. "Come on, I'll drop
you off."
Chapter 16
"Hi Chris!" Joey waved as he saw his friend walking down the
hallways. "Don't tell me you're back already?"
Joey was a stocky blond kid...one of those geniuses who skipped a
few grades and was in the second year of university at the age of
eighteen.
He was also a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan. Chris had a pretty
nice collection of CD's and bootlegs, yet was nothing compared to
Joey's staggering "wall of pumpkins" as he called it. They got along
fine.
"Hey kiddo." Chris smiled. "You're not ripping up my `I am one'
seven-inch vinyl, are you?"
"That would be sacrilegious." The kid smiled, giving him five.
"Why isn't the university closed yet?" Chris asked after a long
sigh.
Joey's face mellowed. "The ice? You know about it, eh? I
thought you were visiting your honey in Japan."
"Tokyo is half frozen...remember?" Chris nodded. "I know all
about it. Is the city evacuating yet?"
"Of course not!" Joey almost laughed. "Only around the river."
He paused. "They're going to try and put a trench around the area, and
use a new kind of heater system they've been working on."
Chris leaned back against the hallway brick. The bell rang and
the halls began to flood with students scurrying off to their next
class. "Got classes?"
"No." Joey smiled.
"Come on, then." Chris sighed. "We're going to talk to the
faculty."
Joey followed him down the hall. "You can't be serious! They're
not going to evacuate the university because of some ice that's fifteen
kilometers away."
Chris turned, letting his trenchcoat flow behind him like a cape.
"They're going to evacuate, or I'll have to kill a few of them to make
them listen."
Joey blinked. "Uh?"
Chris just smiled. "Nothing. Just keep thinking `XYU' thoughts.
Grrr. Ka-BOOM!."
Joey followed. "Let me guess...you're in a bad mood."
"You could say that." Chris shrugged. "Half a dozen of my
friends got frozen last week."
"Ooh." His friend blinked. "Okay..."
"Now you understand why I'm a little edgy with all this ice
business. It's not going to stop because of a trench or heat."
"How do we stop it?" Joey asked.
"Magic."
Outside of the University of Calgary, an old man walked down the
street. Cars swerved angrily, honking their horns to no avail. He did
not budge from the center of the road.
This time, he would have to chose wisely. Something big...just
incase the Scouts found a way to uproot the smaller crystals of ice
that they had planted amongst the city.
A building. Perfect. An old, abandoned warehouse, just within
range. Slowly, he walked to the side of the road, ignoring the cars as
they swerved around him. Perfect.
The Elder raised his hand slowly. "I'm sorry, Senshi." He
muttered under his breath. A beam of icy-blue light escaped from his
fingers and hit the side of the building. Ice began to form a second
later.
Chris and Joey walked by a window and saw the spectacle outside.
"What the hell?" the younger of the two blinked. "There's a guy
outside..."
"Freezing our city..." Chris growled.
Joey's eyes widened. "Oh shit..."
"Tell everyone to evacuate now. I'm going to go outside." Chris
ordered in a tone of voice Joey had never heard before.
"Outside?" he asked nervously.
Chris nodded. "Hurry. The ice hits the building, and people are
going to start to freeze. Meet me outside when you're done."
Joey ran off without another word. Chris watched him round the
corner, then walked casually to the main entrance. "I'm never eating
snow-cones for as long as I live."
Ten minutes later, the school was emptied. Everyone had heard of
what was going on in Tokyo, and once Joey had spread the word, people
were scared enough to listen. Luckily, the evacuation had been nice
and orderly.
Anyone who had their own car was already gone. That still left a
few hundred people gasping as they watched an elderly old man...looking
like a cross between Santa Clause and a Gary Larson rendition of
God...freeze a nearby building with light coming from his hand.
Joey was one of the last people out of the building. "Where's
Chris???"
Nobody answered. "Who?" one guy asked.
"Stover...you know...weird tall guy in a trenchcoat." Joey
explained. "Drives Nacho."
"OOOOH! THAT Chris!" a fellow student replied. He's down
there...getting his car. I think he's taking off."
Joey squinted his eyes and saw Nacho was still in the parking
lot. Chris was walking calmly towards his car, coat floating behind
him.
The door unlocked for him and he opened it. "God damn Elders.
Just before the new year, too." He sighed, shutting the door as he got
in.
Key embedded in the steering column, and turned. Engine hummed
to life a second later, bathing Chris in the nice, warm blue glow of
the interior lights. He took a long, deep breath. "I can't win this
one." He closed his eyes. "Not alone."
Chris' hand reached over to the stereo and turned it on.
"Nope...wrong song." He fast-forwarded. Once, twice. Ah...he found
the song he needed.
Billy Corgan's voice came over the speakers clearly as "X.Y.U."
began to play. "Now..." Chris sighed. "We fight."
I am made of shamrocks
I am made of stern stuff
I am never enough
I am the forgotten child
The song screamed at him, fueling his anger. Each raspy,
growling word, separated by a ragged breath, focused his mind until it
had only one thought.
The Elder must die.
The crowd watched as Nacho tore out of the snowy parking lot,
kicking up the white powder high into the air. "What's he doing?" a
professor asked. "Joey??"
"I don't know...???" Joey confessed.
Nacho's wedge-like front turned away from them as the car sped
off down the street. "Looks like he's leaving." Someone said.
"GRRROOOM!" the car's engine gunned and the wheels turned,
pulling a one-eighty turn on the now deserted road. Then, Nacho was
still. Lined up back down the street.
Facing the Elder.
"Oh shit!!" Joey blinked. He could hear the song winding up from
the bass of Nacho's stereo. "He's going to run into the guy!"
"That alien's going to freeze him!" someone said. "We have to
warn him!"
And then I said I wanna fill you up
I wanna break you. I want to give you up
"There's no time..." Joey shook his head. "He's going to do it."
"How do you know?"
"Because he's going in a few seconds." Joey sighed. "He's
waiting for the right lyric."
Everyone around him blinked. "Lyric?"
The song slowed down to a rolling rumble, then a high pitched
guitar riff that faded out to nothing. Now. Chris' eyes closed as he
let his hand fall onto the gear shift. Perfect. The engine was warm,
ready, and revving quietly.
This one is for Mina, Lita, Hotaru...ah fuck it...the entire god
damn planet.
AND TO THE EYES OF THE JACKLE...I SAY...
KA
BOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!
Chris' foot hit the pedal. Nacho leapt forward. The tires
ripped up snow, causing plumes of white to fly up around the car. The
ice finally gave way, and the treads reached pavement. Third gear
kicked in, and RPM peeked out.
THUNK! Chris popped it into Over-Drive just as the tires caught
up to the engine. Within five seconds, the evergreen-teal car was
traveling at ninety clicks.
The Elder never even turned around. The ice was the only thing
important now.
Nacho's front plowed through the snow like a wedge. He began
singing along to the music, trying to stay focused. "Now we begin
descent, to where we've never been." His hands gripped the wheel
tighter as the Elder approached fast. Just a few seconds now. A
glance at the speedometer showed somewhere around one-seventy-k-m-p-h.
"There is no going back, this wasn't meant to be!" he laughed.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! VIVA LA NACHO! VAROOOM
VAROOOOOOM!"
Everyone gasped in horror as the screaming fast car shot towards
the elderly alien.
Ka-Boom.
It would be the oddest car crash in humanity's long love-affair
with automobiles. Nacho hit. Then, stopped. Not frozen, however.
The noise was like thunder multiplied by nine, crossed with the howl of
wolves under the full moon.
The sonic wave knocked everyone over. Physically levelling the
entire crowd.
Slowly, everyone got to their feet. Nacho was up against the
curb, the entire front, right hand corner of the hood was shattered
like glass. Snow from the side of the street covered the rest of the
car. For a moment, Joey thought Chris had been frozen. "Oh no..."
Everyone was quiet for nearly a minute. A white fog of snow that
had been kicked up be the impact slowly fluttered to the
ground...covering Nacho and the Elder.
The Elder that was laying on the ground, ten meters away.
Someone laughed. "He GOT EM!"
The cheer was cut short when the Elder flopped around, trying to
get up. He was still alive.
And that's when Nacho's driver-door opened, and out stepped
Chris. He was shaken, that much was obvious, but he managed to walk.
Just visible through the windshield, the spent air-bags lay across the
steering wheel and dash.
"Chris?" Joey blinked.
Chris ignored the crowd, throwing off his coat angrily. "FUCK
YEAH!" he laughed. Everyone watched as he walked up to the Elder and
growled. "You scratched my paint-job, ass-pirate!"
The Elder looked up at Chris with an odd expression. He was
hurt. Pain. That was pain. Chris just looked down at him, enjoying
it. "Now, we're even." He whispered, pulling his disk out from his
pants pocket. "Pain for pain seems like a nice little chunk of
justice, don't you think?"
The Elder's eyes widened as he realised what it was. "Senshi??"
"STRIKE FISS!" Chris threw the disk up in the air, catching the
fully transformed sword as it fell. Just the way he caught it was
practiced and efficient. Deadly cool and collected. This was all-
business-Fiss. The Elder didn't need a translator to see that.
The alien began to scramble away as fast as his crippled body
would let him. "No!" he yelled back in his language.
Everyone watched in complete, utter shock as Chris...now dressed
in his full Senshi outfit, withdrew his sword, chucking the scabbard
away into the snow next to his coat. The scabbard was useless. All he
cared about was the blade. His blade.
The Elder collapsed onto his arms as he tried to pull himself up
off the earth. Huffing and puffing on the ground, he lay there now.
Chris' shaky legs were still strong enough to catch up. It was over.
Slowly, the alien turned over on his back and took a long, deep breath.
"You can't do this." He gasped.
Beavis had taught him the meanings of some of the words earlier.
He shook his head, still advancing. The beam of silver light that was
his sword followed obediently at Chris' side. He didn't need a
translator either. The words were just as easily guessed.
"You can't." the Elder shook his head. "I was only...I was only
doing my job."
Chris closed his eyes and nodded. "So am I."
THWIP!
He stood over the decapitated body, sword raised from it's
upwards stroke. Slowly, he brought it down, turned, and walked back to
his coat.
The crowd walked up to Chris and the Elder's body. "My god..."
Joey whispered. "You're Strike Fiss?"
Chris smiled, sheathing his sword and putting on his coat over
his tuxedo vest. Nacho idled on the curb, shaking slightly. The
Senshi headed back for it.
"What do we do now?" someone asked.
Strike Fiss turned and looked at the crowd. "Go home." He said
quietly. "Be with your families. This might be your last chance."
They watched him as he got into the car and closed the door.
Nacho's slightly crumpled front-end edged away from the snow-bank with
a shudder, then pointed away from the Elder's lifeless form.
Slowly, the crowd parted to let Nacho, wounded in the line of
duty, but far from deceased, drive off; little pieces of fiberglass and
headlight still falling off of the car's front as it went.
When the car had finally rolled off into the sunset, the crowd
began to part. "I think I better get home to my mom." Someone said.
"Me too."
"I'm going to go visit my girlfriend." Another added.
Joey sighed. "I'm going some place warm."
Chapter 17
My god that was the best feeling. Driving my car into the spleen
of that fucking Elder at mach twenty-nine really made my day. Yup.
That was the second event I remember in crystal clarity. The
adrenaline rush of all that speed concentrating into one point was
indescribable.
At the very least, it was fun. And it was a step in the right
direction. We had to kill them. We just didn't have much time. I
still have plans to fix up Nacho at the end of all this ice shit. Oh
yeah. No way I'm letting my baby brother be another casualty of this
damn situation.
I'm sorry. I'm rambling on about my car. He he! Oh well.
Anyway, back to the story.
Two down...one to go.
It was that last one that would be our downfall.
"NOOO!" Rei yelled, hoping it wasn't too late. "Don't turn on
the..."
FFSSST! The fire-department turned on the gigantic hose, turning
it onto the ice. The moment a drop of water hit, though, it was
frozen. The ice leapt up through the stream of liquid and into the
crowd of city officials. From the hose, the ice quickly spread
throughout the group.
Rei and Ami grabbed whoever they could around them and ran, ice
almost hitting their heels. They were on top of a small apartment, and
were now trapped. "Son of a BITCH!" Rei gasped, holding onto a small
ten-year-old who was screaming for her mother.
Ami was already thinking ahead. "Mercury ICE BUBBLES!" she
yelled as loud as her labored breath would allow.
As they reached the edge of the roof, the icy spray produced a
connecting bridge with another apartment complex. Both Senshi and
their cargo of four young passengers leapt onto the weak bridge of ice.
As they ran, footprint-shaped cracks appeared. They doubled as Rei hit
each one herself. "If we live thorough this..." Rei yelled "I'm never
moving my ass away from a nice warm fire!!!"
The bridge ended into the side of the next building, so they were
forced to jump through the window to escape. They landed on a kitchen
table that had been abandoned due to police order. Rei stood up and
turned back to the window.
"What are you doing??" Ami gasped.
Rei launched a jet of fire at the bridge they had escaped from.
It melted just as the Elder's ice began to cross. "Because that damn
ice is going to follow yours! Come on!"
They each helped the four people they had rescued back up to
their feet and ran out of the apartment. "I hope Sailor Moon is having
better luck than us..." Ami sighed as they ran down the stairs to
street level.
"When is Sailor Moon ever lucky?" Rei coughed.
Ami sighed. "We're fucked, aren't we?"
Sailor Moon was defiantly not having a spell of good luck today.
Luna gasped. "SAAAILOR MOOON! Get UP!"
She was dangling off a bridge overlooking Tokyo Bay. "NAHG!" she
growled, pulling herself up. The bridge was beginning to crumble under
the weight of the hundreds of people scrambling on top of it. "HURRY!
GET OFF THE BRIDGE!" she yelled.
"She's not goinna make it!" Miharu gasped, pulling out her sword.
Artemis was on her shoulder. "What do we do?"
The Elder's ice was almost reaching the bridge now, and soon
afterwards, it would encase Sailor Moon and the rest of the people on
it. A barge floated on the water, just out of reach due to shallow
water. The ice was now cutting them off from any escape, and there was
every indication that the little natural ice on the bay would be hard
as concrete if anyone jumped.
Miharu closed her eyes. "Well, no time like the present." She
began running for the bridge.
Artemis and Luna followed, uncertain of the plan. She would
never have admitted it, but Miharu wasn't quite sure either. As she
ran, she positioned her sword at her side, ready for a strike. "LOCK N
LOAD!" she yelled, jumping at one of the support pylons of the bridge.
The tiny, indestructible blade connected with precision mastered
only by a dozen or so people in the history of the universe. CRRACKKK!
Groaning and twisting metal sung out over the cry of the three hundred
or so people.
Slowly, the bridge began to move. The other pylon broke free,
and the long metal structure started to move out over the bay. Both
cats and Miharu jumped up onto the shredded metal and hung on for dear
life as the ice began to infect the ground they had just been standing
on.
Sailor Moon, Miharu, the two cats, and three hundred passengers
were transported out over the bay, away from the ice and towards open
water and the rescue barge.
"Where did you learn that?" Artemis asked Miharu as they waited
for the barge to meet them there.
"Learn nothing! You don't need to know anything to fluke out."
She smiled. "Chris taught me that."
Luna raised her eyebrow. "Dear god...history repeats itself."
A sudden jolt signaled that the other side of the bridge had
started to freeze. Serena pointed at the barge. "We can jump!
Hurry!"
That was all the encouragement the people needed to run from the
ice. Straight off of a scene from the Titanic, dozens of people jumped
off the tilting wreck onto the barge. More followed. "If Leonardo
DiCaprio is hanging around here, I swear I'll be-head the geek." Miharu
growled.
Serena ignored the comment and chose not to mention the half a
dozen DiCaprio posters on her bedroom walls. "Just JUMP!"
The four all dove for the deck of the boat below, just as the
Elder's ice crystals were creeping up to them.
Everyone but Serena landed on their feet.
"That's going to leave a mark." She gasped, rubbing her bruised
tail-bone as she stood.
Miharu smiled. "At least we're safe."
Luna squinted, looking back to shore. "Are you sure the ice
can't cross water?"
Artemis shrugged. "It only seems to work on solid matter. Even
then, the shifting flow of the bay should impede the ice to a
standstill. More than enough time to figure out how to get rid of it."
Rei and Ami exited back down on street level. "Wait a minute,
Mercury."
Ami stopped dead in her tracks. "What is it?"
"The ice..." she blinked. "It climbed up the fire hose's spray."
It took only half a heartbeat to sink in. "Oh my..." she said
simply. "The oceans...it's going to cross!"
"FUCK!" Rei yelled. "And Japan is the perfect infected block of
ice to start it all!"
"What are we going to do?"
"I don't know..." Rei sighed, looking behind them to the part of
the city that had fallen dormant under ice. "But pretty soon we're
going to be running out of places to run to."
Chris burst into the door, scaring the hell out of Maury and
Andrea. He was limping, but looked okay. "What happened?" Andrea ran
up to him, helping Chris to the couch.
"Why are you transformed?" Maury asked a second later.
"I got one." Chris said. "I got one of the Elders."
Maury's eyes widened. "How?" he laughed. "Holy shit! One
left?"
Andrea smiled. "Yes, one left. You can count, Maury. I'm
impressed!"
He shot her a look and turned back to Chris. "How? What
happened?"
"I'm goinna be broke with Nacho's repair bill." He sighed. "But
it was worth it." An evil grin appeared on his face. "I ran the
bastard over."
"HOW?" Andrea gasped.
"I remembered how Demeter did it." Chris explained. "If there's
enough mass and energy behind the weapon, it can push the frozen chunk
right into the Elder's damn body." He smiled. "A large chunk of metal
and plastic traveling at one hundred and forty kilometers per hour just
happened to be enough."
They all breathed a sigh of relief. "One more." Andrea sighed.
"One more, and we can start piecing this shit-hole back together."
"Where's Beavis?" Fiss interrupted, standing up. "Where is he?"
Maury blinked. "We thought he was with you or something?"
"Great." He sighed, rubbing his temples.
Maury frowned. "We should get you to a hospital."
Chris shook his head. "I'll be fine. Just cramped up my leg."
He rubbed his knee. "We have to get ready to leave town. It looks
like Calgary is the next icicle."
"Sonofabitch!" Maury growled.
Andrea nodded. "Well...we're ready. But we should find Beavis."
"It's negative twenty outside." Chris replied. "He couldn't have
gone too far."
Chapter 18
The barge was not going fast enough. Not only was Tokyo Bay
being infected by the Elder's ice, but it seemed that water was one of
the best conductors it could travel across.
Miharu was up at the bridge, telling the captain to step on it,
but it was pretty clear that most speedboats wouldn't be able to outrun
the ice.
"What are we going to do, Sailor Moon?" Luna asked from the
vantage point on her shoulder.
Artemis frowned. "Think for a moment, Luna." He looked up away
from the approaching sheet of crystal. "I think it's about time we
played our trump card, don't you?"
Serena blinked. "What..." she took a deep breath. "What if it
doesn't work?" she said carefully, looking down at the broach on her
chest.
"I don't really think of much else we can do." Luna said quietly.
"Sharp as a whip, like always." Artemis quipped.
"Shut up, lazybones." Luna sighed. "End of the world...no jokes
allowed."
Serena nodded. "You're right. This is the end of the world."
She sighed. "I suppose it's up to me now?"
The small black cat on her shoulder nodded. "I know you never
wanted to be Sailor Moon at first, Serena...but this is the moment of
truth."
Serena smiled.
Luna grinned. "Remember the first day there? You had just
gotten over the shock of a talking kitten when that monster tried to
rip you apart."
"That wasn't nearly as scary as when I threw my tiara at the
bitch and she vaporized." Sailor Moon replied. "Gave me nightmares."
"And now?" Artemis asked. "The princess of the moon and wielder
of the Silver Crystal? How do you feel now?"
Her eyes closed as she thought about it. "I feel that a lot of
people are counting on me." She sighed. "And I'm not about to let them
down." She turned around and looked at the crowd of people that shared
their fate on the barge. "I can't let them down."
"Ami! Don't you let go on me!" Rei yelled, reaching down with
her other hand to grab her friend.
"It's climbing up the wall!" Ami gasped. Just below her feet she
could see the ice. Infecting the wall she was laying against. "Pull
me up!"
"I can't!" Rei cried. Every muscle in her body was exhausted
beyond their limits.
Rei would never forget the look Ami gave her. "Drop me." She
said simply. "You can still get away."
"Oh god..." Rei gasped. "I can't do that, Ami!"
"NOW, SAILOR MARS!" Ami demanded.
Rei shook her head. "I'd rather get frozen with you."
"Rei...I'm sorry." She sighed.
She smiled. "All is forgiven. I've probably screwed up more
than you anyway."
"What do you mean `probably'?" Ami laughed weakly, holding tight.
"All is forgiven as well."
"I'll never forget the time..." Rei's words were cut short by the
ice.
Two crystal figures lay on the edge of the building, protecting
it like gargoyles. Behind them, a crowd of over five hundred people
stood safely away from the ice.
"Everyone's gone now." Serena sighed. "Ami and Rei...I can't
feel them anymore."
Both cats sighed.
Miharu joined them. "We're already at maximum speed." She closed
her eyes. "I'd give us a minute until it catches up."
"Please, take the cats." Sailor Moon said, handing Luna to
Miharu. "I'll need some space."
Miharu shook her head. "You can't! If you use the Crystal..."
"No other choice...remember?" Serena smiled. "It has to be this
way."
Miharu sighed. "Come on, Artemis." She said, picking him up.
Slowly, she drew her sword. "OKAY PEOPLE! BACK UP!"
The crowd did as it was told, making room for Sailor Moon. Once
the little twelve-year-old was satisfied people would keep their
distance, she smiled, sheathed her sword, and nodded. "Good luck,
Sailor Moon."
Sailor Moon nodded, taking a step towards the edge of the deck,
facing the approaching ice.
"This crystal has been the source of life and energy for
millenium." She said, bringing her hands up to her broach. It
dissolved with a quiet sparkle, revealing the Silver Crystal. "And
even against the darkest evil, and deadliest cold, it has protected
this planet."
It began to glow.
"Today is our darkest, coldest hour." Sailor Moon continued.
"But it will not fail us now." She smiled. "Love is stronger than any
force against us. Light can illuminate any dark corner of our
existence." She took a calm, deep breath. "And the warmth of this
planet's people is enough to melt any ice trying to destroy us."
The crowd all nodded their encouragement. Miharu smiled. Even
she could feel the good vibes. "Okay everyone!" she yelled. "Join
hands, concentrate on Sailor Moon, and let's melt this ice!"
A resounding mix of "YEAH!" and "HAI!" filled the air as everyone
began to join hands with their fellow man.
Sailor Moon smiled. "Let's do this."
The Silver Crystal jumped out from her chest to arm's length,
charged by the good emotions being emitted by the crowd. Warm, bright
light began to flood over them as it blossomed into a kind of crystal
flower.
"GO SAILOR MOON!" Artemis cheered on.
"You can do it, Sailor Moon!" Luna cried.
Miharu got down on one knee and grasped the handle of her sword.
"We're with you, Serena!"
Oh god...what a feeling! Serena felt such encouragement and
support wash through her, she could have lit up the galaxy at that
moment. A nicely charged Silver Crystal, the entire world rooting for
her, and the knowledge that this attempt HAD to work were all pumping
her up.
"MOOOOOON CRYSTAL..." she yelled, moving her arms away from the
tiny flower, letting the light grow. "POOOOOOOOWWWWWWERRRRRRRR!!!!!!!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Light was not supposed to be so loud, but everyone on earth felt
that blast. The bright, white wave washed out from Sailor Moon like a
flood, splashing into everyone it touched.
As it hit the Elder's ice, the light shattered through it,
melting it into nothingness. Vaporizing in a cleansing pulse that
flowed along the horizon.
If there was anyone fortunate to be in orbit at that time, they
would have seen one of the most spectacular sights ever imaginable. A
white flash was emitted from Japan, then continued along the entire
globe.
Although it weakened as it went, even the Elder's ice on the
opposite pole of the planet was vaporized into air.
A small, gray and brown hedgehog walked along the snowy ground.
As the pulse passed over him, he frowned. "No..." he whispered.
"No...no...no!"
Lita woke, back up against the park bench. She coughed briefly,
disorientated. "My god!"
Demeter and Darien ran over to her. "Are you okay?" Tuxedo Mask
asked.
"Is everyone okay?" Hotaru yelled from just over the hill.
Alex found her. "What happened??"
Lita smiled. "Sailor Moon! She used the crystal!"
Hotaru blinked. "It worked?!?!"
"IT WORKED!" Alex laughed. "Holy SHIT!"
Mina fell to her face, nearly breaking her arm in the process.
"Where am I?" she gasped, looking around frantically. "Oh my..." she
coughed, remembering.
Rei nearly dropped Ami as the wave hit them, but quickly regained
her bearings in time to keep a good grasp. "Sailor Moon! She did it!"
"Good." Ami laughed. "NOW, you can help me up."
Chris, Maury and Andrea all breathed a sigh of relief as the
white pulse washed over them. "It's about time." Andrea sighed.
"Let's hope it worked." Maury frowned.
Sailor Moon collapsed back into Miharu's arms, exhausted, but
alive. "It...worked!" she said weakly.
The young, blue-hared girl smiled, looking out over Tokyo Bay.
All she could see was water and the natural snow of the city. A red-
painted Tokyo Tower stood proud watch from the city's center. "It
worked!" she nodded. "You did it!"
The boat cheered as one soul.
"Come on, we should get back to the Temple." Sailor Moon
whispered. "We have to do damage assessment."
Luna was smiling as wide as a cat's skull would allow. "I am SO
proud of you, Serena!"
Artemis smiled. "I don't believe I've seen Luna cry so much in
her life. You did great, Sailor Moon."
Beavis's brow furrowed. "God damn it." He growled. "No...that's
too weak of a curse." He said to himself as he left little foot-prints
in the snow. "I would have to say `Duck fucking ass pirates' would be
touching only half a percent of the full frustration I am feeling right
now."
"There is no curse in any language I know of that adequately
describes what I feel right now." He assured himself.
"Fuck. Why did they have to use the crystal now?"
Chapter 19
The crystal had worked. It seemed amazing. With our luck the
last week, I was almost certain that even the mighty Silver Crystal
would have no effect on that god damn ice.
But it did! I think we could all feel the world breath a
collective sigh of relief. It had been the closest call this planet
had faced since the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Little did we realize that we were only setting the stage for the
future. One that made getting frozen in ice for a thousand years or so
look like a picnic.
Between the ants, bugs and annoying kids running around at most
parks, I hate picnics. But, then again, I hate the end of the world
even more.
Back to the story. Andrea, Maury and I jumped the soonest 747
over to Japan. Maury had lost Lita, and Andrea, Demeter. They were
eager to be re-united. I was defiantly happy to be seeing my family
again as well.
What was left of my family.
Rei and Ami had been the first to wind their way back to "base".
Cherri Hill had always been their meeting point after any horrible
disaster or monster had caused them to be split up.
"I hope the others are okay." Rei sighed. "It's a good thing I
didn't drop you." She smiled. "Ice or not, I don't think that fall
would have done wonders for your health."
"Very true." Ami smiled. "Thanks again."
"My pleasure." Rei nodded. "It would have been boring walking
all the way back here with nobody to talk to anyway."
Ami laughed. "I don't know about you, but I could really use
some time to be bored."
"I wonder how Chris is doing." Rei sighed as they walked up the
steps to Cherri hill. "Maybe we're lucky, and they nuked the last
two."
"Nice thought." Ami sighed. "This could be all over as we
speak."
"Knowing Chris and Maury, they probably threw rubber chickens at
the Elders until they died or something."
"Who knows. Maybe rubber chickens are the secret flaw of their
powers!" Ami shrugged. "We'll have to ask the Omega Web once we have a
chance to regroup."
The two young women walked up to the temple, glad to see it
intact. Rei had a bad twinge in her mind, however, when she saw the
front door open.
Ami saw Rei's worried look and called out. "Chad? Grandpa?"
"Deimos! Phobos!" Rei looked around frantically, worried her
pets hadn't met her at the gate. "Come here, girls!"
A light fluttering signaled one of the birds as they entered the
main hallway. Phobos flew up to Rei and landed on her shoulder, cawing
weakly.
"What's wrong?" Rei asked.
Ami had her computer out in a second, and had scanned the bird.
"She's fine...I don't know why she's acting so strange!"
Phobos cawed, then flew off down the hallway to the fire-reading
room. Rei's eyes shot wide open. "Oh no..." she said weakly. "Something's
wrong."
Sailor Mars and Mercury skidded to a halt in the doorway. Chad
looked back to them with tear-filled eyes. "Rei...I'm sorry..."
He was kneeling over Grandpa.
Grandpa was not breathing.
Rei's heart stopped for nearly ten seconds. "No..."
Ami's computer hummed briefly as she scanned. "Rei..." she
whispered, putting her hand on her shoulder. "He's gone."
Rei's dark, fiery eyes shot to Chad, demanding an explanation.
Even over the welling tears, they burned bright. "What happened?!?"
she collapsed to the ground, ignoring her own question and crawling
over to the old man's body. "Oh god...Grandpa...don't leave me!" she
cried, words eventually drowned out by sobs.
Chad could only speak in ragged gasps. "He...never woke up from
the ice."
Ami's eyes lowered. "I'm afraid he suffered a slower freezing
than we did. He tried to struggle free of it."
Rei smiled weakly. "See, Grandpa? I always knew your stubborn
attitude would catch up to you." She said softly, trying to dry her
eyes. "A fighter to the last." She broke down into another fit of
sobs.
Ami and Chad both put there arms around Rei as she cried.
Despite herself, Ami started a moment later. "He was the nicest old
man I'd ever met." She cried.
Rei nodded slowly. She carefully slid her arms under her
grandfather and lifted him up. "Where are you taking him?" Chad
whimpered.
"To his room." Rei explained over a long sniffle. "He always
liked his big fuzzy quilt." She whispered. "He deserves one last night
in it."
Ami and Chad watched as Sailor Mars carried her grandfather out
of the room.
"HELLO?" Darien called from outside.
A moment later, he, Demeter, Lita, Alex, Hotaru and Mina came
rushing into the room. "You're okay!" Mina laughed happily, running up
to Ami and hugging her.
"Not all of us." Ami sighed, drying her cheek with the back of
her glove.
Lita's eyes widened. "Where's Rei?"
"In Grandpa's room." Ami said. "He didn't survive."
"Oh god..." Darien blinked. "Grandpa??"
Rei gently tucked the thick, warm cover around Grandpa's neck.
In the tiny room, she found a small stool and pulled it up along side
the bed.
For the longest time, she said nothing. Opting to let the tears
flow down the sides of her face as she quietly wept. "I'm sorry..."
she said finally.
She wasn't even sure what she had been sorry for. The more she
thought about it, though, the more sorry she was.
"I'm sorry for not telling you right away." She continued.
"About Sailor Mars...about Chris and the others." A smile crossed her
lips. "Sorry for destroying the temple on a few occasions, but I know
you never minded the extra work rebuilding it."
Rei leaned over and gently took her grandfather's hand. "You
were always such a good carpenter. Handyman to the extreme." She
cried. "Why did you have to be so nice? This would have been easier."
A thousand images of her childhood flashed through her mind.
Each of them had a fond mention of this man. At times, he had been a
taller, middle-aged man. A kind of rustic form. Strong and
dependable.
Even as the memories progressed, this man's presence had meant
comfort and security. Dependability.
"I'll always be there for you, Rei." A smiling face once told
her. "My little cherry blossom."
Her face pressed up against his small, cold hand. At that
moment, she would have given the world for it to press back.
"You lied." She said softly. "You can't always be here for me."
She closed her eyes. "But you were when it counted."
He was here for her...even now. His frail, tiny body...tucked
motionless under the covers didn't lessen who he was.
Who he had been.
The sunrises and sunsets he had shared with her.
The lessons and chores that made her the woman she was today.
Most of all, the unconditional love he had given her...even when
her attitude was one of annoyance and arrogance.
She held his hand long into the night, falling asleep at his bed-
side.
"I love you, Grandpa." She whispered just before she was wrapped
up in the comforting darkness of sleep. "Have a safe journey."
A pair of arms lifted Rei to her own bed later on that night.
With Rei safely tucked into her sheets, Chris came back to
Grandpa's room. "I wanted to pay my respects." He whispered to
Grandpa's body.
The room was silent for a long time as Chris tried to find the
words.
There was, in the end, only one thing he could say.
"I'll take care of her, sir." He whispered. "I promise." He
stood and turned to leave. "I'll miss you, Grandpa."
Chapter 20
Rei woke to the sound of swords clanging against each other.
"Ugh..."
Outside, she found Miharu and Chris practicing as always. "Hi."
She said, wrapping a coat around her kimono. "Thanks for coming."
Both of them stopped and sheathed their weapons. "I'm sorry he
didn't make it." Chris said slowly. "I wish this was wrapped up before
it got out of hand."
Rei embraced him in a warm hug. "It's okay. It happened. It's
over."
Miharu smiled. "Serena and Darien are inside. The team is
okay."
Rei smiled back. "Good. I don't think I could take any more bad
news."
"I got one." Chris said. "There's only one Elder left."
Rei's eyes lit up. "Thank god."
Miharu nodded. "We know how to kill them, and how to stop the
ice. Once we find him, this will all be over."
Serena came out of the temple. "And you'll both be very proud of
your daughter." She proclaimed. "She saved all our asses."
Chris smiled.
"I try." Miharu bowed. "Just gave Sailor Moon a chance to do her
thing."
Rei hugged Miharu. "Good work." She smiled, kissing her on the
forehead. "I guess this means we'll have to make you a super-hero
outfit."
"Nothing too racy or sexy." Chris grumbled. "Not until you're
twenty one. The last thing you need is perverts drawing pictures of
you being molested by tentacles and posting the scans on the internet."
Rei blushed and nodded. "Yeah. You should SEE some of the weird
shit someone posted about me and a five-speed-"
"Ah-HEM." Chris interrupted. "Anyway, so like I said, pick out
something nice."
Miharu laughed. "I will. I promise." She raised an eyebrow.
"Can I wear a mask?"
"Only if you don't do the Zorro impression." Chris pointed out.
"Rats." Miharu laughed. "Okay. Deal."
They all walked back into the Temple to see Ami drying her hair
from a bath. "I've been checking around. There's no new ice
formations in any of the major cities, and no major ecological
disruptions have been reported."
Serena nodded. "So we won?"
"Yup!" Ami nodded.
"Good." Serena sighed. "I don't think I have many more jolts
like that left in me."
The last and final Elder was furious.
Sitting on top of a large glacier, he pondered what to do next.
Freezing Sailor Moon was out of the question. To confront the
Sailor Scouts directly was too risky now that they had devised a
slightly more effective way to kill his kind.
Everything they had been working for the last six days had been
erased. Gone. Nothing. Two dead Elders and not one ice crystal to
show for all their hard work.
Slowly, a thought came to him. The problem had been striking
such a large populated area. Cities were ideal starting points, but
they offered too much of a warning system to the rest of the world.
Which was why the final Elder was seated upon the Southernmost
point on Earth.
Antarctica.
What was a little ice to Antarctica? It would have to do. There
wasn't much of a choice now. Time was running out, and a decision had
to be made.
As the Elder stood, he heard a small squeak. "Juni? Kiop?" he
looked around, glancing across the barren landscape.
A tiny ball of gray and brown quills approached him. The Elder's
eyes widened in surprise.
Beavis looked up at the Elder. "Do you know who I am?" he asked
in the old language.
The Elder's eyes narrowed. "No, I do not. How do you know the
Old Tongue?"
Beavis seemed offended. "What?!? You do not recognize me?
Surely you haven't aged so badly that you do not remember your old
colleague!"
"It can't be!" the Elder blinked, then laughed. "It IS! Yiodn!
My friend! I had no idea you were on this planet!" he paused, still
smiling. "Though I must say you look a lot different than last I saw
you!"
"It was unavoidable." Beavis nodded. There was a long pause
between the two. "Why are you freezing Earth?"
The Elder blinked. "You mean you don't know?"
"Don't insult me." Beavis frowned. "Of course I know. But what
I don't understand is why you are here so soon."
Slowly, the Elder sat down, picking up Beavis so he could talk to
him `eye to eye.' "I'm afraid you overestimate the Humans, Yiodn. Our
lock has been fairing poorly against their planet."
Beavis frowned. "How many Tumblers are left?"
The old man took a long, deep breath. "Last I knew? Only
three."
"Oh my..."
"All three were close to crumbling." The Elder added.
Beavis nodded weakly, as if his whole world had just been thrown
upside down. "My god...that's why three were sent?"
The Elder nodded. "To speed up the freezing. Unfortunately,
Sailor Moon was able to use her crystal against it."
Beavis nodded. "I did not have the opportunity to prevent it."
The Elder sighed, then raised an eyebrow. "If you were to..." he
paused. "The freezing might be completed on time if you were to help."
"NO!" Beavis growled. "That is impossible."
The Elder frowned.
"The Silver Crystal will be able to stop him." Beavis frowned.
"Even if it is too late. Don't you see? If you freeze us now, and if
it too late already, you condemn us all to oblivion without us even
having a chance to fight back!"
"And if there is still a chance we can stop the crumbling?" The
Elder continued.
Beavis frowned. "Then another Earth will grow, and become just
as much of a problem. You cannot stop this confrontation forever."
"WE can, and WE will!" the Elder yelled, tossing Beavis to the
ground. The tiny hedgehog landed softly, protected by some unseen
force.
"You are a blind man." Beavis sighed. "You have been on this
planet for many days, yet you do not see the beauty it is capable of."
He glared at the man with glassy black eyes. "And you would sacrifice
all of it needlessly, just to ignore a mistake you made forty eons
ago!"
"Perhaps you are too used to this life." The Elder frowned. "It
should be relatively easy to destroy you. You have become weak in this
form. You have forgotten your true duty." He smiled. "With this in
mind, give me an excuse not to kill you where you stand."
Beavis' eyes began to glow blue. "Because it may prove more of a
challenge than you think."
Before the old alien could retaliate, Beavis jumped forward at
the man at lightning speeds. The impact caused the Elder to fly
backwards over three kilometers. As the man tried to get to his feet,
Beavis screamed over the horizon like a bullet and slammed into him
once more, this time with greater results.
KRACK! The Elder landed, dazed, against the sandy shores of the
Southernmost Falkland Island a few seconds later. The resulting crater
was amazing.
As the tiny hedgehog rocketed into view, though, the Elder was
ready for the next strike. He wound up with his arms and produced a
ball of pure energy that Beavis collided with. He flew back like a
baseball, skipping out over the ocean.
Beavis regained is bearings and took to the air once more with a
blue streak of energy. He was determined that an Elder was going to
die during this fight.
Even if it was him.
Chapter 21
No Elder had ever killed another of his own kind. This fact was
not lost to either Beavis, or his opponent as they exchanged blows of
energy, continually colliding into each other.
What was he trying to accomplish? Kill the poor man? The part
of him that had been attached to Chris and the NA Scouts for the last
few years replied with "If I need to, I will."
The older, ancient part of him, however, was thinking more along
the lines of "This is futile. Fighting is not only pointless, but
degrading."
Even in this tiny body, Beavis was able to hold his own against
the Elder. However, he had lost any advantage he might have had when
he accepted the transformation. As an Elder, he had been exceptional.
Now? He was just able to put up a challenge.
KRAKBOOOM! Beavis plowed himself into the Elder's stomach,
launching him back and into a city. Which city, he didn't have time to
ascertain. It didn't really mater other than the fact he knew people
were going to get killed unless he moved the fight to a more open
space.
"Yiodn!" the Elder pleaded, reflecting the hedgehog's next
attack. "We must stop this!"
Beavis paused his attack for only a second. "I am a guardian,
like them. I must protect my home from whoever threatens it." He
zoomed forward once more. "Even you, my friend!"
"Then your occupation blinds your priorities!" The Elder growled.
"You must tell me! Have you forgotten about Tumbler?"
Beavis hovered in front of the alien, frowning the best his
little Hedgehog face could manage. "I told you already that I have
not." He yelled. "HOW could I ever forget?"
"Then why do you fight this, when it was you who contributed to
this chain of events?" the Elder asked, eyes glowing blue.
The city around them hummed. People who saw the two screamed and
ran. Traffic slowed all around them as they both hovered in mid air, a
few meters off the highway.
Beavis looked around. "Because of this."
"There are others." The Elder replied coldly. "And there will be
more...UNLESS Tumbler awakens."
The hedgehog nodded slowly. "Tumbler will awaken anyway." He
said. "If not soon, then perhaps a millenium from now. It does not
matter when he awakens. It only matters that we can stop him."
"We cannot stop him." The Elder yelled. "We CAN keep him in the
stones, however! That has been proven!"
"And now your stones are broken!" Beavis snapped. "Forever is an
extremely long time." He said. "No cage lasts forever."
The Elder frowned. His tidy white beard curled up slightly
around his lips. Beavis was right, no matter how desperately this
alien did not want to admit it. "The stones can be rebuilt." He said
after a long pause.
"Not in time." Beavis countered. "We have only one course of
action now."
"Which is?"
Beavis floated closer. "We stand our ground and fight." He said
like he had rehearsed this speech a thousand times in his mind. "We do
what's right and just. We defend our existence from Tumbler, and we do
not give up until he is destroyed." His wonderfully rich voice echoing
over the city. "We stop hiding from him and we FIGHT!"
Slowly, the blue glow around the Elder lessened and he dropped to
the ground in a graceful swoop. "Who's going to fight him?" the old
man smiled. "You?"
Beavis joined him on the ground. "If I can help, I will."
"What of the Senshi?"
"They are ready for anything." Beavis nodded. "Even Tumbler. I
have seen their ability to overcome any situation." He nodded. "And if
they fail, then it won't matter much anyway."
His friend just nodded. "That much is true. If we fail, nothing
will be left of this, or any world."
"You have no choice." Beavis said finally. "Fighting Tumbler is
the only thing we can do now." He sighed. "Perhaps if you came
earlier, I would have agreed with you." He frowned. "But with only
three stones left? For all we know he could be free at this very
moment."
"It is possible. He does not travel at great speeds..."
The tiny animal nodded. "Then I submit to you that your presence
is no longer required here."
A deep, long sigh. The Elder nodded. "I will leave."
Beavis smiled to himself. Thank god...much more flying around,
and he was going to start looking like Sonic The Hedgehog.
"It's been nice talking to you again." The Elder smiled "You're
still quite a powerful ally. The Senshi should be proud to call you
friend.
"I offer you this thought, however." He said, floating off the
ground once more. Beavis watched as he rose. "If our entire race
could not stop Tumbler, yet only three of us were able to capture your
Sailor Scouts," he shook his head slowly "do you honestly think they
have a better chance against him?"
With a blue flash, the Elder was gone.
Beavis thought about that for a long time. The more he thought
about it, the worse the odds seemed.
"Dammit...I need to find the Scouts."
Chapter 22
Sailor Pluto paced up and down the room, making everyone nervous.
It was hard to describe exactly how. Perhaps for the simple fact that
she was NEVER this edgy. The Guardian Of Time wasn't ALLOWED to be
nervous. She wasn't supposed to be confused.
Even Andrea was getting worried. Sharon was always calm and
even-headed. "What's up, sis?"
She frowned. "That wasn't the Great Darkness."
Sailor Moon smiled proudly, wrapping her arms happily around
Darien, who had no objections. "You bet it was! This time around, we
knew about it before it happened, though."
Rei shrugged. "You were warning us about it long in advance,
Sharon. Maybe you altered time."
Pluto blinked and paled at the thought. "No! If I did, then I
would know about it." She said, looking each of them in the eyes.
"This isn't supposed to be happening. Time isn't written like this."
"Good." Chris interrupted. "I think it's about time we rattled
around the continuum." He said sternly. "I'm tired of doing what's
destined and planned."
Maury shrugged. "That's all fine and dandy to a guy not based
upon Destiny." He smiled.
"No offence, of course." Chris apologized.
"Still," Sharon sighed "we are supposed to have one thousand
years of silence. The future is shot to hell unless that happens!"
Darien frowned. "So?"
They all turned to him.
"From what we learned," he continued "Crystal Tokyo gets
destroyed, people die by the millions, and the Dark Moon is constantly
attacking us." He said. "If we can refine that future, it would
probably be a good thing."
Pluto sighed. "So we wing it?"
Ami smiled. "Yes. And we enjoy the new year."
"Speaking of that..." Rei sighed. "Christmas is two days away."
Chad placed his hand on her shoulder. "Grandpa always loved
Christmas. The funeral service says we can hold the ceremony any time
over the holidays."
Rei nodded solemnly. Even Pluto stopped her nervous pacing.
"We'll come, of course." She motioned to the Outers. They all nodded.
"Thanks, guys." Rei smiled. "But first, we have to make sure the
earth is okay. After Christmas should be fine."
Chris sighed. "I can't help but think of a `Boxing Day' joke
that ties in here somewhere."
They all gave him a weird look.
"Sorry." He shrugged. "Bad humor."
"That's okay." Rei smiled. "If anything, he'd want us all to
remember him with fond memories. Not by moping around."
Andrea nodded. "Same here. When I'm gone, you all must have a
kick ass party, okay?"
Mina nodded. "Not tooooo kick ass...or I might come back to
haunt the food." She laughed.
Lita cleared her throat. "Okay. We'll make sure there's no more
ice, then we'll have a nice, peaceful Christmas and pay our respects to
Grandpa."
They all smiled. "That sounds nice." Demeter smiled.
"Oh...what's this thing about missile-toe?"
Andrea's eyes began twinkling. "You mean you don't know?"
He shook his head.
"Good." She grinned evilly. "I'll show you later."
The rest of the Scouts all rolled back their eyes.
"Merry Christmas."
They all turned to the sound of Beavis walking into the room.
Chris almost jumped to his feet. "How the HELL did you get to
Japan??????"
Beavis smiled. "Frequent flier miles." He coughed. "Anyway, I
came with a present."
"A present?" Chris raised his eyebrow.
"No more Elders." He said simply. "I asked the last one to
leave."
Simultaneously, their jaws dropped.
"Merry Christmas." Beavis said again. "Now, down to business."
"Business?" Darien echoed.
Beavis sighed. "Yes, my friend. We're not out of the woods
yet." He turned to Chris. "The password on your files did not come
from the Omega Web. Although the first chapter of the Web knew about
the Elders, these individuals eventually died. They knew it would be
best if the information was forgotten until the correct time." He said.
"Now, it is time to remember."
Chris nodded and reached into his coat, pulling out his computer.
"The password is Tumbler."
Miharu's eyes widened. "Oh no..."
Beavis smiled weakly. "Sailor Scouts..." he took a deep breath.
"Play time is over. Now, we start to fight."
Blue light, so bright that it would have cut through steel,
flooded the ancient temple as the last stone crumbled.
Destiny had crumbled.
It had worked. The Sailor Scouts had provided Him with the last
jolt He needed to break free.
They had interrupted Destiny.
Earth should have been frozen by now. Long frozen. If it had
been, the flow of time and life would have continued uninterrupted.
But now?
Now, Tumbler was free.
Play time was over. Rehearsal was finished. Tonight was the
opening night of the final play. The final act. He let lose a mighty
laugh and exploded free from the confines of the temple, slicing
through the rock like it was water.
There was to be no encore.
The beast took to the air, what was left of it. A mer second
later, he was in outer space, screaming towards Earth. Perhaps he
would have some fun first. All work and no play...another cliche that
he was all too happy to indulge.
Tumbler would have to thank the Scouts for their wonderful
performances. Each and every one of them.
Bravo, Sailor Scouts.
Bravo.
A few hours left.
God. I look out over the horizon now. Not nearly as much time
as I thought I had. That annoyingly bright line of ice is coming up
fast.
Isn't that always the case? When you're doing something fun or
important, time passes too quickly. I suppose this is fun. Sitting on
a snow-covered rock while your head pounds and your eye is continually
covered by a fresh coat of blood may not be too much fun, but it's
still a bit more exciting. Hibernating in a block of ice for a
millenium doesn't sound like a great deal of fun.
And I suppose when I'm trapped in that damn ice it's going to
take forever. From what Rei told me, she could only remember bits and
pieces of her experience in the ice. Bits and pieces add up over the
years.
I'm not looking forward to that.
Oh god. I'm scared.
I'm terrified.
And what's worse, is that I haven't even told you the worse part
yet. That's coming up as soon as I can force my brain to try and
remember.
Ugh.
I thought hell would be easier to remember. After all, hell is
the third thing I can recall with crystal clarity.
To be Concluded...
****************************************************************************
I'm scared. Oh yes. I'm very disturbed. AR 9 took less than 2
months to complete... and I've been on vacation for 3 of those weeks.
I think I may actually be getting off my ass and writing for once!
HORRAY!
And good news, everyone! It is now 5:10 AM! HORRAY! I hate
finishing a story at a NORMAL time of day. Throws my brain off of
schedule.
Anyway, author's notes time! WHEE!
SAILOR MOON AR 9 has been brought to you by the letters P, Z, and
of course, ASCII character 234. Sorry to leave this one in a cliff-
hanger state, but it was necessary. All will be revealed in AR 10.
The final AR to take place in the year 1999. Weather or not the next
one will take place in the year 2000 or 3000 depends on how badly
Strike Fiss, Sailor Hooze and Prince Destiny screw up! He he he! Or,
maybe they will DIE! And become ghosts and kick the shit out of
Casper! Whee! I sense a crossover coming on!
Nacho is okay, peoples. Although crashing into anything BUT an
Elder at that speed would generally rip the hell out of your car, Chris
was lucky and most of the impact-energy was nullified by Mr. Elder's
spooky powers.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Only run into kind-looking old men.
"X.Y.U." is of course going to be on the AR Soundtrack. Very
powerful song, and for anyone who knows it, they will be pleased at how
well it fits the scene.
Check AR-0 for other notes about the series, and the track list
for if Sailor Moon AR ever was endorsed by big companies and could sell
a CD of kick ass songs.
Oh! SAILOR MOON AR 9 has been dedicated to:
THE BARENAKED LADIES!!!!
For their Sailor Moon mention on their new "One Week" song.
You can contact ME, Strike Fiss, at:
strikef@bigfoot.com
And of course, you HAVE to check out the Crystal Canada web-site. It
has all the AR stories, artwork, and how to contact me, Hooze and
Maury.
http://www.oocities.com/Tokyo/9110
Mmm, let's see. What else?? Mmm...that's about it. Okay, cool!
STAY TUNED to AR 10 for the exciting (I hope) conclusion of
SAILOR MOON ALTERNATE REALITY! If you don't, I'll hunt you down and
piss on your lawn! HAHAHAA!!
-Strike Fiss, da guy from da snow-ball-moon
(
geocities.com/Tokyo/9110) (
geocities.com/Tokyo)