American Sidetrack
By The Starlight Knight
The half-hidden pavement of the Cherry Hill Temple walkway was quickly revealing itself as a young lady swept away the freshly cut grass. Her face was furrowed with the same attitude that she always had when it concerned her friend, Usagi. She wore her normal white kimono with loose red pants. Behind her, dressed casually, were a few of her friends. Makoto, stood beside the front steps, towering over the others, she looked around with concern on her face. Sitting on the step, trying harder to enjoy the afternoon than keeping her mind on the matter at hand Minako’s long blonde hair brushed her cheek in the light breeze. Clutching the broom with such fury that the wood began to creak, Rei’s face appeared to begin collapsing in upon itself.
In an attempt to cool her off, Makoto glanced at her watch. "Wow, this is normal for Usagi, but not for Ami or Luna." She said.
"Yeah," Rei agreed, her grip loosening. "I wonder what’s keeping them. They’re almost half an hour late."
"Maybe the pause in Negaverse activity is over and they’re in trouble." Minako added.
Perking up his head from his restful nap on Minako’s lap, a white cat with a peculiar mark on his brow added, "now hold on a minute, if they were in trouble they would have called in."
Rei’s scowl deepened. "Speaking of which, why didn’t someone think of calling them?" She said dropping her rake and taking out her communicator. Speedily tapping buttons on the device, she failed to notice the aforementioned trio walking up the stairs leading to the Temple.
Finally noticing them, Rei began to shout at Usagi. "And where were you? We were worried half to death!"
In answer, a thin girl with two long ponytails started talking at a hundred words per minute. "Well you see, first I had to do my homework, then I had to take a nap, then pick up Ami, then we . . . "
"You, doing homework! That’s a laugh!!" Rei mocked, interrupting Usagi’s babbling.
"Stop it, ok!" A girl with short blue hair shouted over the commotion. "This time it wasn’t her fault. She came over to pick me up at my house, and I was on the Internet. And if you weren’t yelling at everyone all the time, we could tell you the good news."
"What good news?" Makoto exclaimed, her head rising from where she had been resting it on the wall.
"Yeah, what is it Ami?" Minako said, finally interested.
"Ami entered a contest on the Internet and won first prize!" Usagi exclaimed jumping up and down.
"What did you win?" Minako asked walking toward Ami.
"An all expense paid trip for five to Idaho Falls, Idaho for a whole month." Ami exclaimed excitedly.
"Where’s that?" Makoto asked with a perplexed look on her face.
"Oh, it’s in the U.S. somewhere." Minako answered.
"When’s the trip?" Artemis asked, jumping to Minako’s shoulder.
"July 1st… through to August 3rd." Usagi said.
"Oh no," Minako sighed, "I have to go on a tour as Sailor V that month."
"That means you have an extra ticket, so who else are you going to take along?" Artemis asked curling up in Minako’s lap.
"Actually, when my mom found out about the trip, she made me promise to take her with us." Ami said leaning against a pole.
"Wait! That gives us only a week to get ready! Oh well, "Minako sighed, "now about this recent drop off . . .
The next day, Usagi sat in her homeroom class talking with her friends. “You’re going where!?" Molly asked in her usual Brooklyn accent.
"Idaho, and for an entire month!!" Usagi exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"You’d better get ready for some major culture shock then." Melvin said adjusting his ardently large glasses.
"Yea, you’d better brush up on your English too." Molly added putting her arm around Melvin’s shoulders.
"Oh no! I forgot about that!" Usagi wailed. Large tears slid down her cheeks.
"Don’t worry Usagi, I’ll help you with your English. Melvin will too." Molly said.
"I will?" Melvin asked. He quickly agreed as Molly wrenched his arm.
"You will?" Usagi asked; her cheeks still damp with tears.
"Sure we will, just meet us at the library today after school." Molly said hugging Usagi.
"Thank you Molly. But, the library?"
As Usagi walked home from school, she realized that there were some people that she still hadn’t told yet that had to know. Her parents! The panic that came over her could be clearly seen on her face. Thoughts racing, she slowly made her way home. "Mom, I’m home." Usagi shouted as she rushed through the door. A plan had formed just seconds before she reached the house.
"We’re in here dear." Her mother called from the living room.
"Mom, I have something I need to talk to you about." Usagi said as the phone started ringing.
"I got it!" Sammy yelled grabbing the phone. "Ok, I’ll tell her. Hey Usagi, why do you have to meet Molly at the Library?" He asked hanging up the phone.
"The library? That doesn’t sound like you Bunny. What’s going on?" Her father asked from the couch.
"That’s kind of what I have to talk to you guys about. You know how you said we weren’t going on a vacation or anything this summer. Well, Ami asked me if I could go with her."
"Oh that’s ok, but that still doesn’t explain the library.” Her father lifted an eyebrow at Usagi, "Well?"
"I kind of have to go to the library so Molly can help me with my English." Usagi said beginning to shuffle her feet.
"Why do you need help with your English?" Her mother asked.
"Because Ami’s going state side." Usagi cringed at what she knew was coming.
"What!! Don’t even think you’re leaving the country!!"
"But Dad!!" Usagi wailed.
At that point her father started laughing. "Don’t worry Bunny, you can go. Ami’s mother already called and talked to us about it."
"You mean… I can go?!?" Usagi said almost in a whisper.
"Not if you don’t brush up on your English young lady, so I suggest that you get down to the library." Her mother said and laughed at Usagi falling over herself trying to get out the door.
A week later the four friends met at the airport. Each had taken a day and a half to pack what they considered to be the "perfect" wardrobe. They all started talking excitedly as they followed Ami’s Mother to the plane.
"Rei, how did you ever get your grandfather to let you come? Or did he get a call from Ami’s mom as well?" Usagi asked puffing from the long run down the terminal.
"Nah, I just threatened to take and burn all of his ‘special’ magazines."
"Now that was rude!" Makoto laughed.
"Okay girls, that was our boarding call. Everybody on board." Ami’s mother said putting her bag through the little door.
Meanwhile in a little burger joint in Idaho Falls…
A tall teen walked up to his friends, "hey guys, guess what?"
His two friends looked up from their burgers and fries. "What?" A tall girl with
long dark auburn hair asked dryly.
"You remember my pen-pall I told you about don’t you? Greg, from Japan." The tall one said sitting down next to her.
"Yeah, so?" Her deep green eyes turned on him with curiosity.
"I just got a message from him."
"W hat’s new about that Eron?" The dark haired teen across the table from them said.
"Well James, for your information we have a new mission starting in a couple of days." Eron said, taking a huge bite of his cheeseburger.
"Oh? But what about our current assignment?" James asked.
"I talked with The Counsel, they said it would be good for foreign relations. Besides, it could be fun."
"Details?" James said leaning closer, for he knew what that tone of voice meant.
"Well, day after tomorrow his girlfriend will be arriving. She’s the one that won the contest."
"Well that’s no fun, She’s already taken!" James said slouching in his seat.
"No, our assignment might be to make sure she goes back in one piece; because Greg also said he’d let me have it if I didn’t; but it’s also the fact that she’s bringing three of her friends with her. Two of which he tells me are cute, and single."
"It just got a lot more interesting! Tell me more!" James leaned in close again. A rather familiar look on his face.
"Just like men!" The girl exclaimed.
"Hey, Celeste you know me. Give me a little more credit. I was only trying to get him interested." Eron jerked his finger toward James’s outstretched face.
"Well, you have me interested. Now tell me more!!" At that the trio started laughing.
The next day at the Airport...
The deafening roar of jet engines was effectively muted by the walls of the Idaho Falls Airport. The crowded halls were filled with people from all around the world. Businessmen and tourists, families and friends, there was no end to the different people coursing through the gigantic rooms. But no one was really prepared to see a young blonde oriental girl with two pigtails that touched her ankles. The troop of girls left the gate marked 43, Tokyo, and began wandering about the Terminal. About fifty feet from the gate were a couple of people holding a sign with the name Mizuno printed on it. As Ami approached them, they tried to greet her in Japanese, but botched it on the pronunciation.
"Thank you, you speak my language well." Ami replied cheerfully. Makoto and Rei put their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing. After collecting their luggage, the girls were led outside where a large dark car waited. Makoto gave the car a once over. It was an old car, but she could see herself in the paint job.
The girls were from Tokyo, so were used to large cities. Though they weren’t even prepared for what they saw. Ami looked out the window in awe at the dark towers looming over them. So tall they seemed to menace the very skies themselves. They drove up a long ramp onto the freeway. The girls watched as they climbed almost a hundred feet onto the air. From this vantage they could see far across the city.
"What is it Ami?" Usagi asked, seeing the far away expression on her friend’s face.
"I read about it, but I never thought I would actually get to ride on the skylane."
"Skylane?" Makoto asked.
"Yes, this road we’re on is actually suspended one hundred feet in the air." Ami’s mother said.
The girls turned their attention back to the windows. All they could see were the dark shapes of the skyscrapers. Some so tall that they still dwarfed the skylane. As the girls gazed out across the dense forest of buildings, the sun started to set. The light reflected off of hundreds of polished buildings. The amber rays setting the windows to flame. The whole city seemed to light up like an erupting volcano. The reflected light imbued the clouds with other hues, the last rays of sunlight pierced through the skies like lances of colour.
As the sky darkened, lights flashed to being all over the city. The streets became awash with colour as neon signs lit up. Soon the skies had turned to the colours of midnight, but the ground was lit up like day, the illumination fading until the tops of the buildings were black stains against the dark blue sky.
"Ominous," Rei murmured.
Makoto looked back at the traffic around them; the passing vehicles left streaks of white and red across her vision.
It was late when the dark car pulled up in front of the hotel. Usagi gazed out the window as the rest of the girls unpacked. "It’s all so different. I mean, it’s all so huge… and strange." She said in a low voice.
Makoto paused in putting her clothes away and looked at her friend. "Yeah, but just wait until tomorrow. The bellboy told me about a mall just a couple of blocks from here. He didn’t tell me the name, but he said it had the infinity symbol inscribed over the doors."
"Oh, I read about that in the pamphlets. It’s supposed to be the second largest mall in the world. Six floors, and it covers close to eight city blocks." Ami said.
"Wow! I can’t wait for tomorrow, I hope I brought enough money." Usagi exclaimed, her eyes shining.
Eron made his way from store to store in the mall trying to find a suitable gift for the girls, ardently ignoring his friends’ suggestions. Little did he know that his friend Greg had forgot to take the time difference into account, and that the girls were only a couple of blocks away.
"Won’t your mom be angry about us going out on our own like this?" Usagi asked Ami as they started for the mall.
"Yeah, I read that this city has a really bad problem with gangs." Makoto said. Usagi quickly looked in all directions, a worried look on her face.
"Not really. This city also has a special organization to deal with the gangs called The Shadow." Ami said trying to calm down Usagi.
"Oh? I never heard of them before, it’s not in the pamphlets or the guidebook either." Makoto took out a small book and started flipping through it.
"Remember that I told you Greg had a pen pal here in Idaho?" Ami waited for her friends to nod before she went on. "Well, he’s in it. The Shadows are supposed to be better trained than the army; any army."
"Wait a second, you said his pen pal was our age." Rei said with an accusing look on her face.
"That’s what Greg told me. That reminds me, Greg said his pen pal would meet us at the airport."
"What was his name again?" Makoto asked.
"Eron, I think."
Just at that moment, a scream rang out from a near by alley. Without a second thought the girls dashed onto the dark side street. They ran for about twenty yards when they came to a dead end, and the source of the scream. Standing in front of a brick wall was a girl, around their age, wearing a slashed leather jacket. A picture of a headless eagle was embroidered onto the sleeve. She smiled malevolently as men stepped out of the shadows and off the fire escapes. Makoto and Rei assumed fighting stances as they were encircled.About three stories up on a nearby rooftop, a man in nondescript clothing took a small walkie-talkie from the back of his waistband and started talking into it. Back at the mall Eron and his friends heard a voice coming from the back of Eron’s jacket.
“This is 24-10, I have a problem over on the corner of 10th and 78th. Four girls against about thirty Fallen Angels. Requesting backup!”
Eron pulled a similar device from its pocket and started to run, his friends close behind. “This is the Silver Shadow, I’m about a block away. Mat and Styx are with me.”
At the end of the transmission the man on the rooftop looked down at the fight starting to commence. Carefully counting the number of thugs visible, he chuckled softly. “Twenty-three, no match for that trio. Damn, they’ll never know what hit them!”
Eron was on the top floor, so he took to the roof, there was a causeway between the buildings that he knew about. It took him sometime to run the distance, but not as much as it would have taken if he was on ground level.
As he reached the building over the alley, he quickly took stock of the situation. The girls were pinned into the back corner against the wall. A girl with short blue hair was huddled as far into the corner as she could get, in her arms was a blond with two incredibly long pigtails. She seemed unconscious. Two other girls were attempting to keep their attackers at bay with martial arts. The gang members were circled round, toying with the girls, certain of an easy victory.
Eron looked at his friends. Mat was a giant of a man, standing over 6’6" and well over three hundred pounds. Yet even with the run he hadn’t lost his breath. On his other side was Styx, 5’8" thin as a pole yet weighed one hundred and fifty pounds, hard as rock. At the nods from his companions Eron striped off his jacket and leapt over the edge.
Eron landed just behind the tall girl with the chestnut ponytail. As Eron’s feet touched the ground she whipped around and punched. He dodged to the side, spying a gang member attacking her from behind. Stepping around her, he caught the arm of the gang member and sent him flying.
Makoto understood that this new man was on her side and took a moment to reorient herself. As she looked around Makoto saw two other guys fighting on their side. One looked like an ogre, he just picked up his enemies and threw them over his shoulder. The other she only caught glimpses of, as his opponents went down. She turned hearing a yell, and ducked under a not to well aimed punch. She looked in the direction of the yell and saw the man that had dropped behind her catch a punch, and sent the guy spinning. She was impressed.
Eron was used to this style of fighting, (ten to one), and moved with lightning speed. The battle was chaos, as most street fights are. Bodies running and falling, shouting, blood pouring onto the pavement. He went from opponent to opponent, mowing down the gang. Two men took his arms as a third prepared to take him out from the front. He leaned forward, and with all his strength reversed his momentum bringing his arms, and his captors together. Seeing something out of the corner of his eye, he ducked as a body flew over head and crashed into the people in front of him. As he spun away, he had another to thank Mat for.
The battle continued, the girls were getting tired. At each glimpse of the men helping them, they saw sweat shining off their faces. Somehow Rei had been separated from Makoto. Her attackers circled around her, staying just out of her range. At that moment she saw one of the guys on their side appear and shout for her to duck. She saw the black leather band covering Eron’s right forearm, and ducked.
As the girl ducked, Eron flexed his arm in the proper way to open one of the pockets in the leather band. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the disk flying. A flash of steel marked the path of the shurican, as it buried itself into the arm of a gang member.
Seeing a new threat, the men left Rei, and went after their new opponent. Rei stared in horror at the mans bloody arm, and the knife on the ground beside him. A shout brought her back to what was going on.
Eron fended them off easily, then turned back to the girls. There weren’t many gang members left, and most of those who didn’t run were on the ground. As Eron ran back to where the tall one was still surrounded, he caught a flash of light just before a throwing knife bit deep into his left arm. Enraged, he spun around and swung out his right arm. Four points of light shot from his fingers. The man cried out in pain as the stars were embedded into his chest, he slumped against the wall and collapsed. Grabbing his arm, Eron heard sirens in the distance. The remainder of the gang heard it too, for they fled.
The fight had lasted less than ten minutes, yet had taken a great toll. Bodies lay battered and broken on the ground, blood splattered the walls, as well as those left standing. Some were their opponent’s; some were their own. The three boys and the girls were still standing.
As Makoto walked toward their rescuers, she saw the knife sticking out of his shoulder, as well as the police cars and the ambulance drive up. Soon she and her friends were sitting on folding chairs as the paramedics looked them over.
Looking around, Rei saw one of her rescuers talking to the police; he must have been someone important, for when he showed the officer his ID, the officer immediately started treating him with the utmost respect. In their conversation, the officer motioned towards them. As their rescuer turned and looked at her, she could have sworn his jaw dropped a little. He said something to the policeman, and then followed him over.
“You are from Japan?” he asked. Rei almost jumped as he spoke in Japanese.
“Yes, my friend won a contest over the Internet.” Rei replied pointing to Ami.
“The Infinity Enterprises contest?” He asked with a worried expression on his face.
“Why, yes. How did you know?” Ami asked.
Eron looked at the four girls, and horror started to sink in as he studied the one with short blue hair and matched her up to the description Greg had given him. “Your name isn’t Ami, by any chance is it?”
“How did you know?!” Ami asked bewildered.
With lightning fast motion, Eron grabbed the policeman gun and handed it to the wide-eyed Ami. “Just shoot me now, and save Greg the trouble.”
“NANI?!!” Ami asked looking around in terror. Her friends and the officer were also starting to freak out. Then it dawned on her. “Wait a minute, you’re Eron aren’t you?”
“Unfortunately, I am.” Eron said handing the gun back to the officer who hurried away.
“You’re Eron?” Makoto asked looking him over.
“Weren’t you supposed to meet us at the airport?” Rei said.
“Greg said you wouldn’t arrive until tonight.”
“He must have gotten the time difference wrong.” Ami said shaking her head.
“Are you girls alright?” Styx asked.
Eron looked over at Rei and the shivering Usagi in her arms. “I think we should get the girls back to their hotel.” He said to the ranking police officer.
Rei looked down at Usagi, “Yea, I think that would be best.” Rei looked up, and into Eron’s eyes. Something was familiar about him, what she couldn’t say, but something.
Eron arranged for their transport back to the hotel. When they arrived, Ami’s mother was almost in a panic. The girls took a while to explain what happened, and when everything had finally settled down there was a knock on the door. Ami’s mother answered it, and there stood a tall man matching the description the girls had given her for one of their rescuers.
“Miss Mizuno?” Eron asked.
“Yes, may I ask who you are?”
“My apologies, my name is Eron. I’m with the city, sort of.”
“You’re the one that helped the girls aren’t you? Please, come in.”
Ami was sitting on the couch as he walked into the room. “Oh, hello there. I talked to Greg and he admits it was his fault.” Ami said looking up from her laptop.
“You know Greg?” Her mother asked.
“Eron is the one that was supposed to meet us at the airport, but Greg told him the wrong day.”
“You’re Greg’s pen pal?” Her mother said looking Eron over.
“Yes madam.” Eron said doing a formal Japanese bow.
“I’ve heard a lot about you.” With an all knowing smile she left the room.
“What brings you here?” Ami asked.
“Its about this morning. I talked to the president of Infinity Enterprises, and he’s extremely sorry for what happened. My shadow detail was supposed to make sure that something like this didn’t happen. But with the mix up-”
Ami held up a hand, “Forgiven. That wasn’t your fault.”
“How are the others?” Eron asked looking around.
“We weren’t hurt, but Usagi has taken it badly. She refuses to come out of her room... Wait, did you say the President of Infinity Enterprises?”
“Yeah, with my job I talk to him often. But, as I was saying, he is very sorry, and would like to offer you a better hotel for your stay.”
“Hmm, I guess that what happened does have international incident written all over it.”
“Ami, Usagi’s really not taking this well. Doesn’t Darien live around here somewhere...” Rei said stepping into the room, she cut off as she spotted Eron on the couch next to Ami.
“Rei, you remember Eron don’t you?” Ami asked as Rei sat in a chair across the room.
“You’re Greg’s pen pal, right?” Rei asked.
“Yes, I was just telling Ami that the President of Infinity Enterprises has extended an invitation to stay at a better hotel, still all expenses paid.”
“I don’t know, Usagi is fairly shook up. I think she might want to go home.” Rei said.
“You were saying something about Darien, isn’t that Usagi’s boyfriend?”
“Yes. He is going to Harvard. He might be able to calm Usagi down.” Ami said setting down her computer.
“Actually, I think we should call him any way. He would be mad if we didn’t.” Makoto said poking her head around the corner.
“Just a second,” Eron held up a hand as he reached into the back of his coat. He soon brought out a small device, “Susie, you bored yet?” He said speaking into it.
“I was till now, what ya got for me?” A female voice responded.
“Do me a favour and pull up the number for a Darien... “ He looked at Ami for help.
“Shields.”
“Shields at Harvard?”
“Sure thing.” A few moments later the number was conveyed and Rei went to the telephone in the other room.
Ami’s mother walked back into the room. “What’s going on?”
“Rei is getting in contact with Darien about Usagi.”
“That would be a good idea, but the long distance call…”
“Is taken care of.” Eron finished for her.
“Oh, and Infinity Enterprises is offering us to stay at a better hotel.”
“They did?” Ami’s mother asked.
“The other hotel is just on the other side of the mall. No one could have predicted that the Fallen Angels would have tried to take that much ground.” Eron explained.
“What about the other hotel? Could they try for that area as well?” Makoto asked poking her head around the corner again.
“Its ten blocks from any boundary line. Also now that we know you’re here, the Shadows will keep tighter control of that area.”
“Oh.” Makoto’s head disappeared again.
Rei hung up the phone, Darien was on his way. When she checked the other room Eron had left, Ami and her mother were discussing whether or not to take the other hotel, or to go home. Rei’s feelings were still in chaos. She felt almost like curling up and crying like Usagi, but she refused to let herself fall that far. She just had to get out and clear her head. Grabbing a jacket she headed for a park she spotted from the window. Only after she was out of the building did she notice it was Makoto’s jacket.
The night was cool, not quite bordering on cold. Rei synched up the jacket as she slowly walked towards the park. The streets were light enough to see by, but still just barely. She was thinking that the streetlights were spaced to far apart when she arrived at the park. The transition between those two steps was phenomenal. The sidewalk ended, and there started a dense wall of trees. It reminded her of home, with the tall oaks and the white elms.
The longer she walked through the forested park, the more at peace she felt. Soon her tension and fear from the attack were gone, only to be replaced with anger. Suddenly light flooded around her as she stepped out of the trees. She found herself in a large clearing, the size of a city block at least. All was covered in a lush grass, grey cobble stone paths wound their way through the small hills and valleys. Every so often there was a comfortable looking bench with a lamp over it. Rei walked slowly towards the nearest bench, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. She sat down and let out a long sigh, trying to put everything into perspective, and then jumped to her feet as a scream rang through the air.
"They’re up to that again huh?? Not this time!!" Rei started running towards the screams with one thought in her mind. REVENGE. She ran up the hill expecting to see gang members taunting another victim, but stopped short when she reached the top. Her eyes went wide as she stared down, and she breathed a single word. "Youma."
There, only fifty feet away was one of the largest monsters she had ever seen. It towered at least eight feet over it’s scattering victims. Its metallic skin gleamed red as it pointed its arm at a fleeing man. A glowing web shot out of its hand pinning the man to a nearby tree, where he writhed in terror. The monster gave off a throaty chuckle as it raised its hand again, this time with the fingers pointing outwards. The man gave off one final scream as a large claw flashed from the monsters hand and embedded into the man’s back. A second later an explosion rocked the ground. When Rei’s vision cleared from the flash, a burnt stump was all that remained of the man.
Instinct taking over Rei transformed into Sailor Mars. She ran down the steep hillside shouting the words to a spell. Hearing her, the Yoma turned and extended a hand. Rei’s fire dissipated the webbing as soon as it was launched. Jumping into the air, Rei landed a kick on the Yoma’s face. It didn’t even phase it. As she dropped, it grabbed her. She tried to struggle, but its grip was too tight. Finally she was thrown half crushed into the earth ten yards away, knocking the wind out of her. It took all of her strength to lift herself up with her arms. In a kneeling position she watched the Yoma slowly raise its hand. Her blood ran cold as the fingers extended. She shielded her face with her hands as she saw the claw fired. Just as the claw fired, she also saw a streak of silver light out of the corner of her eye. The second ended. The earth shook as the blast went off, she heard the sound of death on the flames, she could smell the smoke and the char. "This is it," she thought, "I’m dead. And there’s nothing I can do about it."
Rei slowly unclenched her eyes and looked down. She was still whole, the explosion hadn’t touched her. She then realized she was surrounded by a silver bubble. The surface was swirling like flame, but she could see through it. The Yoma was standing there, with a not too satisfied look on it’s face. Turning her head towards movement, she saw a tall man in silver armor walking down the side of the hill. The creature saw him to. It raised a hand and fired. Another explosion shook the ground. When the smoke cleared, he was on the other side of the monster.
Yelling, he swung his hands in an arc towards the creature. As his hands moved through the air, silver flames erupted out and took on the shape of a sword. The creature jumped up and out of the way, as it came down it fired two more claws. The explosions were defining. The smoke cleared, and the two resumed battle. Rei finally remembered and took out her communicator. Speaking into it, she hurriedly told her friends of the Yoma, and where she was. She hardly waited for their response before she tucked it away and returned to watching the battle.
The silver knight was fast, nothing the Yoma threw could hit him. Finally the two broke close combat, jumping to another side of the small valley. The Yoma raised both hands, and fired claws out of both. For that split second before they hit, the knight blurred and became a streak of light. She heard the Monster give off a shriek louder than the explosion. When the smoke cleared, the knight stood over the Yoma, which was in several pieces.
She heard a roar and looked over her shoulder, another Yoma was running at the knight.
"Not another one! Two in one night??" she heard him say. As the monster was about to reach him, he blurred. The monster’s right arm fell, severed at the shoulder. The knight stood again on the other side of her. He raised his sword to the heavens and said something she couldn’t quite hear. Thousands upon thousands of silver streaks rained from the sky and were absorbed into the knight.
Just at that moment her friends in sailor guise crested the hill. What they saw was a blasted and charred landscape. One monster lay in pieces on the ground, another stood watching as a streak of light emitted from each star in the sky and was absorbed into the body on a man in silver armor.
Ami turned on her visor as Makoto pointed at the dome containing Rei. As suddenly as they had started, the streaks stopped falling from the sky. The man in armor jumped into high into the sky and hovered for a second. Then with a blood curdling scream pointed his sword at the monster. The blade became a blinding light, even Ami, behind her protective visor, had to shield her eyes. The light lasted only for a second, then the blade seemed to elongate into an energy beam. As it hit the Yoma, its mouth opened in a scream, but no sound came out. Cracks of silver light expanded out from the beam and split apart. The man dropped to the ground, his attack finished. The Yoma was now all over the landscape. He turned to Rei, his sword still glowing dully.
"Hey!!" Makoto screamed. He looked up and for the first time saw the girls. With a wave of his hand he dispersed the shield around Mars, then blurred and was gone. The girls ran up to Rei and helped her up.
Back at the hotel the girls sat around the living room
"Who was that guy??" Makoto asked.
"I don’t know, all I know is he’s on our side." Rei said massaging her sore ribs.
"How do you know that for sure? How do you know he wasn’t saving you for last and didn’t just take off because of us?" Makoto nearly yelled.
"Would you please keep it down?! My mother is asleep." Ami scolded. "Now, I don’t know if he is our friend or foe, after all, he did save Rei’s life. All I know is that he’s extremely powerful. My computer is still trying to sort out all the readings."
"If someone like that would join forces with us, the Negaverse wouldn’t stand a chance." Makoto said
"My mother said it was up to us if we stayed, so what do you say?"
"I’m in, if there’s a chance we could get him on our side, I say we take it."
"But remember Rei, we still don’t know exactly whose side he’s on." Makoto added.
"So we’re agreed?" Ami asked.
"Agreed!"
"Agreed. Besides, you wouldn’t happen to know if Eron’s taken would you?" Makoto asked.***END EPISODE ONE***