All characters presented herein are not of my creation. Dragonball Z and Sailor Moon are owned by their respective creators and producers. ********************************* To Protect a Princess By Tunguska_Boy Chapter 7 "What is going on down there?" Said Piccolo to himself. He had been watching the Senshi from the rooftop above them and thought that the battle was nearly over. "That creature's power is increasing dramatically! How could it be doing that? It's nearly dead, where could it get it's power?" He asked himself. "Hmm...I'll let them fight a little longer to see if they can handle it. If they can't I'll have to step in." ******** Locilus gritted his teeth as the Cenabide coursed through his veins. A low growl escaped his throat and he pushed himself up. His eyes began glowing red and his entire body began to tingle with the power that was now his. "Umm...guys," said Minako as Locilus got to his feet, "he's getting up." The others looked back at Locilus who was now standing and staring at Makoto. "I think he's pissed at you Jupiter." Said Rei. "Sailor Moon, would you mind?" Said a visibly startled Makoto. "Got it Jupiter." Said Usagi as she stepped forward. She removed her tiara and began her attack. "Moon Tiara Action!" She screamed and released her glowing tiara toward Locilus. It illuminated the night with bright yellow light before it reached Locilus. Just as it was about to strike him he raised a hand and let the tiara slam into it. There was a small explosion and the tiara clattered to the ground but was soon back on Usagis' head. "It didn't even faze him." Said a stunned Ami. "We're in deep trouble." Said Usagi. Locilus moved his gaze to Usagi for a moment before turning back to Makoto. He crouched low while keeping his stare on Makoto. Before anyone could react Locilus bolted forward. Makoto barely had time to take a step back before Locilus was right in her face. He brought his arm up and grabbed a hold of Makoto's face. Makoto's feet fell out from under her but she was held aloft in Locilus' iron grip. She clawed at his arm but was powerless to do anything. With her face firmly in his grip, he began to squeeze. "Jupiter!" Screamed Rei. She ran to Locilus' right and began gathering her power. "Fire Soul!" The flames erupted from her fingertips and slammed into Locilus. Locilus rocked slightly from the force of the blow but held his grip on Makoto's face. "Venus, Sailor Moon!" Screamed Rei upon seeing her attack to be ineffective. "Hit that monster now! We've got to get him to let go of Jupiter!" "Got it Mars, lets go!" Yelled Minako. The two blondes stood side by side and prepared to attack. "Crescent Beam!" "Moon Tiara Action!" Their two attacks spun around eachother as they streaked toward their target. Locilus glanced up at the two attacks briefly and let them slam into him. Again he was rocked slightly but unharmed. "What are we going to do?" Asked a paniced Ami. Almost as response to that Rei ran to Makoto and began trying to break Locilus' grip on Makoto. Minako was soon at Rei's side, trying to help her free Makoto. Locilus tolerated them for a moment before swatting them away like flys. Minako was thrown against a nearby dumpster and Rei flew across the hood of a parked car and crashed roughly to the pavement. "Enough!" Came a harsh voice from the rooftops. A moment later a thin beam of yellow light tore through the air and struck Locilus on the top of the head. The beam continued through his body and exited through his upper thigh. Locilus stood for a moment and released his grip on Makoto. Makoto fell back and held her face. Locilus dropped to his knees and collapsed forward onto the pavement. ******** Back in med-sci the monitor that had been keeping an eye on Locilus beeped wildly for a moment before falling silent. All three lines were lying flat. Jhessail looked up, "Oh my god," She fumbled for the communications key on her desk. She hastily entered Bukichi's personal communication code and waited impatiently for a response. "Bukichi here, what is it?" Came Bukichi's voice through the speaker. "Private Locilus is dead sir." Said Jhessail. There was silence for a moment before Bukichi spoke. "I know, I was watching the fight. I'll activate his post-mortem disintigrator and bring his remains in for study." "Sir?" "Yes Jhessail?" "Are you okay sir?" "Yeah, I'm just a little...nothing. Nevermind." "Yes sir." ******** Ami crouched over Locilus' body and gingerly reached into his pockets. "What are you doing Mercury?" Asked Usagi. "I'm looking for anything that might tell us who this guy is." Explained Ami. She reached around in his pocket for awhile before switching to his other side. "Ah, found something!" She announced upon finding the Cenabide case. She flipped it open and removed one of the vials. "What is that Mercury?" Asked Luna. "I don't know," she undid the cap and sniffed at the contents, "colorless, odorless, might be tasteless." She replaced the cap and put the vial back in the case. "I'll take these home and have a look at them." Ami tucked the case into the waistband of her skirt. A groan of pain reminded the two standing Senshi of their injured colleagues. "I'll go check on Mars, you help Venus okay?" Said Ami. Usagi nodded and walked over to Minako. She had a large welt on her forehead and was cradling her shoulder. "Are you okay?" Asked Usagi. "Yeah, I'll be okay. I'm just a little banged up is all." Said Minako. A large bruise was forming on her shoulder, but she wouldn't know that until she got home. Across the street Ami was kneeling over Rei. Rei had a burn on her elbows from sliding over the roof of that car and her cheek was scraped from the collision with the cement. "Where's Piccolo?" Asked Rei. "I don't know, can you feel him near?" Ami said while helping the fire Senshi to her feet. "Yes, he's very near. He saved us again." "Maybe you were wrong about him." "Maybe, but I still have to be sure." "What are you going to do?" "You'll see, he's coming closer." Upon hearing Rei's words Ami looked around for any sign of Piccolo. The Senshi had all gathered around Minako. Minako was still not up to standing and was trying to shake off the fog that had descended on her brain after the impact with the dumpster. "We should take you to the hospital Venus," said Ami in a motherly tone, "you might have a concussion." The other Senshi agreed and they all changed back to normal young girls. Rei and Makoto helped Minako to her feet and were helping her walk when Piccolo landed in front of them. "You started out good, but your enemy was too strong for you. Do any of you doubt that you need my help? Or are you going to go on like this until you are destroyed?" He said, laying his thoughts before them and waiting for them to respond. "I admit that you are very strong, and may be able to help us. But first I want to give you something." Said Rei as she reached into her pocket. She pulled out of small piece of paper with several symbols written on it. "Rei, is that necessary?" Asked Makoto. Rei glanced over at her but said nothing. She walked up to Piccolo and held the paper in front of her face. Piccolo stared down at her with a curious expression. Rei closed her eyes and soon her voice was flowing through the night like warm honey. "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen," she paused and her eyes snapped open, "akuryou taisan!" Her arm shot out and she threw the small scroll toward Piccolo. The scroll struck him in the forehead and stuck. Piccolo crossed his eyes to look at it for a moment before looking back to Rei. "What is this?" He asked as he plucked it from his brow. "Nothing, nevermind." Said Rei. "Well, back to the matter at hand. Will you come and train with me?" Piccolo asked plainly. "Can you wait for a moment?" Asked Rei. "Sure, speak to your teammates and decide." Piccolo turned and took a few steps away from them. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Rei walked back to the other Senshi and organized them into a huddle. "So what do you think?" Asked Minako. "I say we do it," said Makoto, "I don't know about you guys but I would love to have the kind of power he has. Besides, we will be better able to help those who needs us if we are stronger." "I think Makoto's right," said Minako, "it may be inconvinient but if the enemys we face keep getting stronger we'll need the training." "But what about our families? What will happen when we just dissapear for who knows how long?" Asked Usagi. "We'll have to make up some kind of excuse." Said Ami. "Look, I agree that we should go and everything but there are too many things that would be messed up if we left." Said Usagi. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about school." Said Ami. "Why not?" Asked Minako. "Well," began Ami, "I've been fiddling around with my new computer system." "And?" Asked Minako. "I've found that it would be absurdly easy to make it so the schools wouldn't notice at all." Said Ami. "How?" Asked Usagi. "If I told you, would you honestly be able to understand it?" Asked Ami with a raised eyebrow. Usagi let her head droop and her lower lip stuck out, making her head look remarkably like a fishing lure. "Sorry Usagi." "Have you reached a conclusion?" Called Piccolo over his shoulder. The Senshi looked around at each other for a moment before Rei walked over to where Piccolo was standing. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that we would like to go with you. But on one condition." Said Rei. "And you're condition is?" Prompted Piccolo. "We must be allowed to return to the city in the event of a monster attack." Said Rei flatly. "That's not much of a condition, I had planned on doing so as a part of your training." Said Piccolo. "It's settled then. We will go and train with you." "Good, I'll give you an additional 24 hours to prepare. We will meet at your temple." "Fine, we'll be there." ******** "Hello, Maneko?" Said Jhessail as she greeted her over the communication system. "Hello, who is this?" Asked Maneko. "This is Jhessail in med-sci. I wanted to talk to you about Lieutenant Bukichi." "What about him?" "He seems odd, I think having two of his men killed in one night is really bothering him." "I understand, I'll talk to him as soon as he gets home." ******** The Senshi had moved on from the battle field and Bukichi moved to where Locilus' body lay. He knelt near his fallen soldier and closed his eyes gently. Bukichi pulled a small knife from his belt and sliced the lower part of Locilus' right earlobe off. Now that it was detached, the small button that was contained with in it glowed to life. Locilus stood and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry Locilus." He pressed the button and in a moment Locilus' body was nothing but a pile of ash. Locilus gathered up the ash in the remains pouch Jhessail had given him when he left the base. He put the pouch into his pocket, turned, and began the long walk back to base.