Notes at the bottom, as usual.
The majority of characters in this story are owned and/or copyrighted by
Naoko Takeuchi, DiC, Disney, Bandai, Toei Animation, Seagull Entertainment,
Graz Entertainment, Sunrise, Mixxzine, Saban, Playmates, and probably a half
dozen other corporations which I've neglected to mention. I should add for
the benefit of their respective legal departments that I make no claim to
the characters which the previously listed or referred to companies have
copyrighted, and I am not making any money from the distribution of these
stories (if I were, do you think I'd still be working at McDonald's?)
The characters which do not appear in either the Sailor Moon or Ronin
Warriors shows are mine. Touch them and die.
Now that that's out of the way...
Crystal Scouts #10
"Pearl Jammed"
Nob Hill is one of the oldest and most beautiful districts in San
Francisco. Its name is a corruption of the word "nabob", because Nob Hill
is where the rich and famous chose to make their homes when San Francisco
was first settled. The majority of its century-old Victorian-style houses
are still standing, making Nob Hill a popular tourist attraction today.
In the living room of one such Victorian home, twelve girls suddenly
appeared, dressed in uniforms of which the Victorians would definitely have
disapproved.
Five of the twelve--the Sailor Scouts--wore expressions perhaps best
described as triumphant. The other seven--the Crystal Scouts--had looks of
amazement on their faces (although one of the seven had it plastered there.)
"Wow," the Green Sailor said. "You've _got_ to teach us that trick."
"It's not that hard," Sailor Jupiter shrugged.
The Red and Blue Sailors gently took hold of the Purple Sailor. "We
have some--injuries--to tend to. We'll rejoin you in fifteen--" the Red
Sailor looked into the Purple Sailor's eyes, who vacantly gazed back--
"thirty minutes. See you then."
The seven Crystal Scouts slowly filtered from the room, leaving the
five Sailor Scouts alone.
The Crystal Scouts had converted the upstairs bathroom into a
makeshift operating room. Six of them had returned to their normal state,
while the patient--the Purple Sailor--remained transformed.
Chloe was washing the Purple Sailor's injured joints and cheek,
while Merry was pulling out pieces of gravel with a pair of tweezers and
Tori was putting medication and bandages on the cleaned abrasions.
"Does she have any broken bones?" Tori asked.
"No, I didn't find any," Merry said as she waved her hand in front
of the Purple Sailor's eyes, who gave no response. "I'm less worried about
broken bones than I am about a concussion."
"We've got bigger worries than that," Chloe said. "I'm not sure
those are the real Sailor Scouts."
"Aw, c'mon," Gail scoffed. "Who else could they be?"
"What makes you think that, Chloe?" Merry asked as she plucked a
particularly large chunk of rock from the Purple Sailor's elbow.
"I don't know," Chloe replied hesitantly. "Just a bunch of little
things."
"Like what?" Roxanne prodded.
"Like hair color."
"How so?"
"Like Sailor Venus, for example. Her hair is supposed to be long,
but this Sailor Venus has short hair."
"Maybe she had it cut," Tori suggested.
"But her hair is _blue_!"
"So?" from both Merry and Gail, the latter more angrily.
"It's supposed to be blond," Chloe said.
"Why do you keep using the word 'supposed'?" Roxanne asked.
"Because none of the sources are reliable," said Chloe, becoming
exasperated. "Every one of them conflicts another on some detail."
"I thought you were _supposed_ to be the _expert_," Gail grumbled.
Chloe turned on Gail. "It's hard enough trying to get information
on them to begin with, without the Japanese government declaring they don't
exist and putting a lid on all investigations."
Roxanne quickly defused the coming argument. "So, what should we do
about them?"
"They're one of two things," said Merry. "They're either the real
Sailor Scouts or they're enemies after our crystals."
"I'll agree with that," Roxanne said.
"So the worst thing they could do is try to get our crystals," Tori
mused.
"They did save our lives," Roxanne pointed out.
Tori bandaged up the Purple Sailor's cheek. "Is that the last one?"
Merry nodded. "We're done."
As if Merry had just recited the final word of an incantation, the
Purple Sailor blinked twice. "All set?"
"Yeah, we're all set," Tori said. "Are you sure you're going to be
all right?"
"Of course I'll be all right," the Purple Sailor said, wincing
slightly as she tested her joints. "What made you think I wasn't?"
"Your total lack of response to stimuli?" Merry returned.
"That's a trick I learned from an Asian friend a long time ago,"
answered the Purple Sailor. "You sort of--distance--your mind from your
body and it reduces the pain from your injury."
"Transform back," Tori suggested. "I want to see if the bandages
will stay."
The Purple Sailor vanished, replaced by Aurelia, who was wearing the
same clothes she wore yesterday: cut-off jean shorts, a flannel shirt tied
in the front rather than buttoned up, and hiking boots, in addition to the
bandages.
"I kind of cheated," Aurelia admitted. "I concentrated on keeping
the bandages."
"Well, boss?" Gail interrupted. "What's your decision?"
"I think we can trust them," Tori replied.
In the living room, a similar conversation was transpiring.
"How much are we going to tell them?" asked Sailor Jupiter.
"They know a lot about us already," Sailor Mars said. "They
identified me based on my skirt and hair color."
"So we don't have to tell them anything," mused Sailor Moon. "We
just ask them for the Rainbow Crystals, they give them to us, and we go on
our merry way back to Crystal Tokyo to help Mom."
"Which one is their leader?" Sailor Jupiter asked.
"I'd say the red one," answered Sailor Mars. "She did take advice
from the green one, though."
"So she's more of a 'what do you think?' leader than a 'let's do
this' one," Sailor Moon said.
"What's wrong with that?" said Sailor Mars. "That's our style,
too."
"More or less," Sailor Venus muttered.
"With all due respect," Sailor Mercury interjected, "I think you
guys are missing the point."
"How's that?" asked Sailor Mars.
"I did tell you it was 1997, right?"
"Yeah."
"So, how much do you look like your mother?"
"I look exactly like my mother--ah, kami-sama!"
"I'm not too sure you should say that," Sailor Jupiter said.
"They think we're the present-day Sailor Scouts," Sailor Mercury
concluded. "Namely, our mothers."
"How much did the public know about the Sailor Scouts at this time?"
Sailor Moon asked.
"In 1997, not much," Sailor Mercury said, checking her data computer.
"The Japanese government was still trying to keep a tight lid on all such
'supernatural activity'."
"So they don't know as much as we think they do," Sailor Moon said.
"So, again, how much are we going to tell them?" Sailor Jupiter
asked.
"I say we don't have to tell them anything," Sailor Venus announced.
"We just take their crystals from them by force."
"That's not feasible," Sailor Mercury replied. "I kept Quicksilver
scanning during the battle. The Crystal Scouts' current powers are equal to
our star-level attacks. The red one used a power equal to our super-level
attacks. I'm sure I don't have to remind you that we're at our normal-level
powers now--dangerously below their attack capabilities. In other words, if
they don't want to give us the Rainbow Crystals, we can't make them."
"What would you tell them, Sailor Mercury?" asked Sailor Moon.
"Me?" Sailor Mercury considered briefly. "I'd tell them the truth."
"The _entire_ truth?" Sailor Moon raised an eyebrow. "Time travel,
Crystal Tokyo, the whole ball of wax?"
"No," Sailor Mercury replied. "Something along the lines of: in
order to have any chance of beating the Black Moon, we need Sailor Moon at
full strength. Sailor Moon can't be at full strength without the power of
the Silver Crystal, and right now the Silver Crystal is in the form of the
seven Rainbow Crystals."
Sailor Moon cast a glance at the others. "Sounds good to me,"
Sailor Mars said.
"Me too," added Sailor Jupiter.
"I can't believe you're going to tell them," Sailor Venus sulked.
"Why not?" said Sailor Moon. "I think we can trust them."
The seven girls who held the Rainbow Crystals returned to the living
room. The only problem was that there weren't enough seats for all of them.
Sailor Mars took a seat crosslegged on the floor between Sailor
Moon's straight-backed chair (which, with her sitting in it, seemed eerily
like a throne) and Sailor Venus' recliner. Sailor Jupiter chose a more
natural (at least to her) position leaning against the wall. Sailor Mercury
stood, just behind Sailor Moon and to her right.
Aurelia, Merry and Tori took the shorter couch, with Tori sitting
closest to Sailor Moon. Gail, angered by Sailor Venus' refusal to give up
what she considered "her" LazyBoy, sat on the opposite end of the longer
couch, as far away from Sailor Venus as possible. Roxanne, Lucia, and Chloe
sat on Gail's right.
"Why haven't you transformed back?" Tori asked.
"It helps me to sense evil," Sailor Mars said after a short silence.
Gail snorted. "I'll sense evil quicker than you will."
"It also helps us heal injuries faster," Sailor Moon added.
"I didn't know that," Merry mused. "I'll keep it in mind."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Tori realized. "We should have introduced
ourselves. I'm Tori Brand and this is Merry Rivers. We own this house."
"Which Crystal Scouts are you?" asked Sailor Moon.
Tori looked confused. "You can't tell?"
"No, we can't," Sailor Moon admitted. "When a Sailor Scout
transforms, a kind of disguise magic kicks in. Two untransformed Sailor
Scouts can't recognize each other as Sailor Scouts unless they already know
the other's identity--even though they might look exactly the same as they
do as a Sailor Scout."
"Tori and I are the Red and Blue Sailors, respectively."
"Aurelia Steele, Purple Sailor."
"I'm Chloe Bloom, the Green Sailor."
"Roxanne Grant, the Orange Sailor."
"Gail Skyler, Indigo Sailor," Gail grumbled.
"/Lucia Lumiere, Yellow Sailor./"
"/You speak French, not English?/" Sailor Mercury asked, surprised.
"/Well, yes. I grew up in Paris,/" Lucia explained. "/My English
isn't very good yet, but Aurelia and Merry understand French./"
Sailor Moon considered briefly. "I guess we can tell you our true
identities. My real name is Rini Warren."
"Mine is Rachel Sanada," Sailor Mars said.
"Melinda Levin," said Sailor Jupiter.
"I'm Jessica Brooks," Sailor Mercury said.
"Dakota Peters," Sailor Venus lied.
Sailor Moon glared at her, but let the lie stand.
"She's tough as flint," Sailor Mercury added quickly. "She fights
as crazily as Buffalo Bill, but we try not to take her for granite."
Of the eleven others in the room, only Merry and Roxanne acted as if
they caught any of Sailor Mercury's verbal wordplay. Sailor Venus sat
impassively, clueless as usual, while Aurelia was unconsciously checking
her battle wounds.
"We almost came to Tokyo to get your help," Tori said.
"I'm glad you didn't," Sailor Moon replied. "A whole lot of weird
things have been happening there lately."
"It must be difficult to be disavowed and disowned by your own
country," Roxanne said.
"Come on," Sailor Moon scoffed. "Do you really think an incredibly
sexist and competitive nation like Japan would want to admit to being
rescued by a bunch of girls?"
Sore spot, Tori noted. Time to change the subject. "So, uh, what
powers do you have?"
Sailor Moon saw her chance and took it. "In this form, not many.
That's what I wanted to discuss with you seven. You see--" she took a deep
breath-- "you seven were never meant to fight."
The Crystal Scouts were shocked--well, six of the seven. Gail's
reaction time was decreasing. "What?" she exploded.
Sailor Moon held up a hand for silence. "If you will allow me to
explain," she continued. "You each have one of the seven Rainbow Crystals.
The Rainbow Crystals, in turn, are pieces of the Empyrean Silver Crystal.
The Silver Crystal is what powers my attacks. Basically, I'm not even a
shadow of my true self right now."
"So what do you want us to do?" Merry asked. "Just give you our
crystals?"
_Our_ crystals, Sailor Moon thought. "Well, actually...yes."
"I knew it. Ya want our crystals too," Gail said angrily. "Ya may
not be as evil as our enemies, but you're close enough."
Tori motioned for her to be quiet. "What if we refuse?"
Sailor Moon shrugged. "We won't force you to, but we--or at least
I personally--can't promise you any help."
"Then our answer is no," Tori said.
"All right," Sailor Moon accepted. "But there are a few things you
should know. The Silver Crystal isn't just the source of my powers. It's
also the most powerful item in the universe--which is why the Black Moon
warriors want it."
"The Black Moon?" Merry asked.
"Yes. They want to attack a peaceful kingdom, ruled by a queen in
a crystal city," Sailor Moon evaded. "The Black Moon warriors think that
with the Silver Crystal they can finally defeat her."
"Is that why the Silver Crystal was split into the Rainbow
Crystals?" asked Merry. "Because you didn't want the Black Moon to get
their hands on it?"
"Uhh...yeah," Sailor Moon feigned. "I know it sounds stupid, but it
seemed like a good idea at the time. We didn't expect them to still come
after us anyway."
"How did the Rainbow Crystals get scattered?" Tori asked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Sailor Moon replied.
"Suffice to say that we didn't expect them all to wind up in the same place."
"Funny how the most powerful thing in the universe is on Earth,"
Chloe said. "I never thought I'd see evil space aliens come to this planet--
at least not in real life."
"Everything seems to come to Earth--sooner or later," Sailor Jupiter
said, sounding slightly bored as usual.
"There's one more thign you should know," Sailor Moon said. "Sailor
Scouts have been known to die."
"Why're ya tellin' us this?" Gail exploded. "Ya tryin' ta make us
change our minds?"
Kami-sama, what a temper, thought Sailor Mars. She felt her own
rising to match it (perhaps the only thing besides her looks that she'd
inherited from her mother). "Hold on a second, you hot-tempered, short-
sighted little..."
"Stop it, both of you!" Sailor Moon commanded. She stared at Gail,
reddish eyes seeming to bore straight through the dark blue haired girl.
"No, I am not trying to make you quit," Sailor Moon spoke slowly and
deliberately. "But you should know the risks. This is not a game."
You don't have to tell me that, thought Gail. She didn't dare to
say it, though.
"We understand the risks, and we accept them," Merry said somberly.
"I like twelve to four odds better than five to four," Roxanne said.
"Besides, if we get killed, you get your Rainbow Crystals back
anyway," added Tori, perhaps a shade too flippantly. "What have you got to
lose?"
"It isn't what I have to lose, but what you do," Sailor Moon replied.
"There are worse things than death."
"I can't think of any," said Tori.
"Have you ever had your soul eaten?"
"No."
"I have. It's not a pleasant experience."
An uncomfortable silence ensued.
"All right," Sailor Moon said, throwing up her hands in emphasis.
"You've made your decisions. It's on your own heads now."
"I am _so_ glad that's settled," Sailor Venus said caustically,
snatching the remote from the coffee table. "Maybe there's a Seagal movie
on."
She cycled through three channels, each showing the same scene of a
burning warehouse.
"Hold on just a second," Chloe said, swiftly taking the remote from
Sailor Venus and turning up the volume. Sailor Venus glared at her, but
listened to the broadcast.
"We're here live from our eye in the sky chopper, where a sudden
explosion in this empty warehouse rocked the harbor district just ten short
minutes ago. Authorities are now launching an investigation to determine
whether it has any connection to the odd occurences in Chinatown yesterday.
We will update you on this story when we receive new information and
developments. For Channel..."
The television picture went to static. After a short pause, the
startled anchorman appeared on the screen. "We seem to be experiencing
technical difficulties," he managed. "Hope everything's all right up there.
In other news--"
Chloe turned off the television. "I think that's our cue."
"Should we teleport in there?" Aurelia asked.
"No," Sailor Mercury said. "We'd be going in blind. We'd better
use more normal means of transport."
Within twenty minutes, the twelve Scouts had reached the harbor
district. Flames no longer spurted from the warehouse, but smoke still
billowed toward the heavens.
"I see the police cars and helicopters," said the Orange Sailor,
"but where are all the people?"
"Inside the steeple," Sailor Venus muttered.
"Is it safe to go in?" asked Sailor Moon.
Sailor Mars glanced at the Indigo Sailor before answering. "I think
so."
The twelve slowly made their way into the warehouse, making sure not
to touch any still-smoldering surfaces.
"Can anybody see anything?" the Red Sailor asked, straining her eyes
to see through the smoky haze.
Sailor Mercury had tapped her visor into place and was scanning with
Quicksilver. "I'm--"
The rest of her statement was drowned out by a high-pitched squeal
from the computer, followed by a burst of static.
Reality seemd to warp and twist before finally falling away from the
twelve Scouts.
The Green Sailor was aware of a couple of things as she slowly
fought her way back to consciousness.
The first was that she had a splitting headache. Of course, that
was understandable, given that she'd just experienced vertigo to the fourth
degree.
The second was that she had a mouthful of grass. She spat it out
and rolled over onto her back.
The Green Sailor slowly rose to her feet. As she did so, her
headache began to fade, but her disorientation remained.
Somehow she had wound up in a dense forest, with just enough light
filtering down from above to turn everything a few shades brighter than
black.
She decided to call out for help, though she knew it would probably
do no good. "Red Sailor! Crystal Scouts! Sailor Moon! Sailor Scouts!"
No response to any of the four.
The Green Sailor began to explore her surroundings. The dim light
made it difficult to see, and she stumbled over most things she came across,
finally running into a tree.
She fell backwards, but for some reason she thought she heard the
tree say "ouch".
The Green Sailor again picked herself up off the ground. She slowly
reached her hand out to touch the tree, whose form shimmered and changed as
she did so.
Before the Green Sailor knew what was happening, Sailor Jupiter had
put her in an armlock.
Just as swiftly as she had performed the move, Sailor Jupiter
released the hold. "Sorry."
"It's okay," said the Green Sailor, first rubbing her arm, then her
eyes. "Didn't you hear me call you?"
"No," Sailor Jupiter replied. "Got to find the others."
The Green Sailor surveyed her surroundings, frowning slightly.
"Which way should we go?"
Sailor Jupiter shrugged. "Left."
The two traveled in silence for a few minutes, both losing their
footing more than once. The light became more brilliant as the trees began
to thin out.
"Almost there," said the Green Sailor.
"Not out of the woods yet," Sailor Jupiter cautioned.
As they passed the final group of trees, the light became almost
unbearable. The two Sailors shielded their eyes.
"Should have brought my shades," Sailor Jupiter said.
The hem of the Green Sailor's skirt began to smoke. "What..." She
quickly took two steps backward.
The forest which had been behind her had vanished, replaced by inky
blackness. Ahead, a blazing ball of light beckoned. Only by looking out of
the corners of their eyes could the two see the laser beams which
crisscrossed in front of the glwoing sphere and which had scorched the
Green Sailor's skirt.
"How are we..." the Green Sailor began.
"Hop on my shoulders, piggy-back," Sailor Jupiter said.
"Uhh...okay," the Green Sailor replied slowly.
Sailor Jupiter hopscotched about as the Green Sailor desperately
clung to her, trying to keep her balance. After a few seconds, she stopped.
"We're through," Sailor Jupiter announced as the Green Sailor
dropped off her back.
"How did you _do_ that?" asked the Green Sailor in awe.
"I closed my eyes."
"You _what_?"
"Sight's not much good here anyway, right?"
"Well...that's true," the Green Sailor admitted.
"Besides," said Sailor Jupiter, "I was blind until I was thirteen.
It's not like I haven't done this kind of stuff before."
The Green Sailor started to grope around, both arms outstretched in
front of her. "Well, _I'm_ not used to not being able to see..."
Sailor Jupiter grasped her right wrist. "At least stay close!" she
ordered, pulling the Green Sailor back slightly. Her left arm flew out for
balance--and hit something.
The Green Sailor tried to break free from Sailor Jupiter's iron
grip. "Wait! I..."
A new voice called out. "/Who's there?/"
"It's Lu...the Yellow Sailor!" The Green Sailor's cheerful
countenance suddenly darkened. "Do you know French?"
"Not much."
"Just tell her who we are," the Green Sailor said.
"Sailor Jupiter," she called, introducing herself.
"And the Green Sailor," she prompted.
"Ver--verde," Sailor Jupiter said tentatively.
The Yellow Sailor found them, hugging them both. "/I thought I'd
lost you guys forever!/"
"Uhh...yeah, whatever," the Green Sailor said, embarrassed. "Let's
get out of here."
"Not yet," Sailor Jupiter replied.
"Why not?"
"Sailor Moon's power is light-based."
"She said she used the Silver Crystal," the Green Sailor said,
confused and suspicious.
"The Silver Crystal releases power in the form of light."
"Oh. How are we going to find her?"
"Same way you found the Yellow Sailor. Take my left hand, have her
take my right, and spread out."
Sailor Jupiter drew on her previous experience of sightless
navigation, gently leading the other two in search of Sailor Moon.
She only missed her by a foot, as something solid caught Sailor
Jupiter's elbow.
"Oof..." Sailor Moon seemed to have some of the wind knocked from
her by Sailor Jupiter's elbow. "What did you do that for?"
"Sorry," Sailor Jupiter said, starting to take a step toward her.
"/Wait!/" the Yellow Sailor shouted.
Even if the others had understood her, it would have been too late.
The ground dropped out from beneath the four.
The Green Sailor returned to consciousness for the second time that
day. Her cheek was resting on something cold and hard--metal, she guessed.
She groaned and pushed herself up off the surface.
The other three Scouts were more or less up as well. The Green
Sailor looked around her.
The four were inside a large sphere, approximately thirty feet in
diameter. A thick column rose from the base of the sphere to the top of
the domed ceiling.
Sailor Jupiter was running her hands along the curved walls.
"Completely smooth," she said. "No openings."
Sailor Moon was tapping at it. "It sounds pretty thick."
"One foot, at least," Sailor Jupiter agreed.
The Green Sailor reached out to touch the column. "Then it looks
like this is our way out."
"/Don't touch it!/" the Yellow Sailor cried out.
Again, nobody understood her, although by now the other three were
wishing they had taken French in school.
The column disappeared, replaced by the Purple Sailor. She, however,
was only five feet four inches tall, not thirty feet. Deprived of its
support, the ceiling came closer as the metal sphere began to contract.
"/The sky is falling,/" the Yellow Sailor noted apprehensively.
"/Don't I know it,/" replied the Purple Sailor, with a hint of
sarcasm.
"Finally, somebody who speaks French," said Sailor Jupiter.
"No time," the Purple Sailor interrupted. "We've got to get out of
here."
Her steely purple eyes locked onto the warm green ones of the Green
Sailor. "Plants don't grow well in metal."
Cold purple eyes gazed into Sailor Jupiter's glinting green ones.
"Electricity doesn't mix with metal," she shrugged.
Purple eyes beginning to show a trace of fear met seemingly
indifferent red eyes. "I don't have any powers, remember?" Sailor Moon said.
"/Guess it's up to me then,/" said the Yellow Sailor, aiming low,
near what passed for the floor. "Lumiere--Eclat!"
A blinding bright flash of light followed her words. Other than
heating the area of metal attacked to red-hot, it had no effect.
"/Do it again,/" the Purple Sailor ordered.
"Lumiere--Eclat!"
This time the Purple Sailor was right behind her. "Metal--Chain!"
The chain tore through the super-heated metal as if it were tissue
paper, leaving a hole wide enough for a person to get through. However, much
like the area inside the metal sphere, the area of the hole was also
decreasing.
"Everybody out!" the Purple Sailor said.
Sailors Jupiter and Moon wasteed no time in following her order,
joined just as quickly by the Yellow and Green Sailors. The Purple Sailor
dove headfirst into the rapidly diminishing opening.
She would never know exactly how close she came to losing her legs.
The Purple Sailor ordinarily would have finished a headlong leap with
a somersault roll upon landing. She had just started the tuck portion of the
somersault when she realized there was not much ground, but rather blue sky,
in front of her.
She landed on her hands, performed half of the somersault, and
twisted while doing so, leaving only the lower half of her body swinging in
space.
The other four rushed to pull her back to safety.
"Why didn't you try to stop me?" asked the Purple Sailor.
"We didn't expect you to come blasting out of there like a
cannonball," the Green Sailor said.
The Purple Sailor didn't answer, but instead looked around her. The
five Sailors appeared to be on a mountain with a halo of fog and clouds at
the top. A narrow trail spiraled around the mountain, presumably leading
to the top.
"Which way?" asked Sailor Jupiter.
"To the top," said Sailor Moon and the Purple Sailor simultaneously.
The five began the slow ascent to the peak. They had completed
nearly two revolutions arounds the mountain when they found their path
blocked by a large boulder.
"Time to climb up," Sailor Moon commented.
"I don't think so," said the Green Sailor pensively. She placed her
hand on the boulder, which shifted into the form of the Orange Sailor.
"I can't trust my eyes anymore!" exclaimed the Purple Sailor.
"Use your other senses," Sailor Jupiter said, unsurprised. "I am."
The Orange Sailor looked at the other five Sailors. "Is this...are
we all that are left?"
"No," Sailor Moon reassured her. "We're still in the process of
finding everybody else."
"Six down, six to go," said Sailor Jupiter.
"The Purple Sailor's right--you can't trust your eyes," said the
Orange Sailor. "All I saw were two trees, one of them sparkling like
lightning, a bright yellow ball of light and a dimmer pink one, and a bar of
metal, until one of the trees--the Green Sailor--touched me. Then I
recognized everybody."
"Everybody appears as their element," Sailor Jupiter supplied.
"So we're looking for another boulder who's really Sailor Venus, and
some representation of fire and water," Sailor Moon mused.
"And air, for the Indigo Sailor," said the Green Sailor.
"So we're the only things that are real, and everything else is a
hallucination," the Purple Sailor thought aloud.
"Not true," said Sailor Jupiter. "That contracting sphere of death
was real. Some things are, some things aren't."
"So how are we going to get out of this illusion?" asked the Purple
Sailor.
"That's not our primary concern at the moment," the Orange Sailor
pointed out. "We've still got six more Scouts to rescue."
"We could teleport out of here, once all twelve of us are together
again," Sailor Moon suggested.
With that, the six continued up the mountain. They had nearly come
to the cloud cover around the top when they came to a gap in the path.
"Rockslide," announced Sailor Jupiter.
"Looks like we'll have to climb after all," Sailor Moon said.
The six began to climb the rock face, each trying not to look down,
but not always succeeding. The freshly marred surface had plenty of toe and
handholds, but not all of them were stable.
The Green Sailor reached out for an outcropping of rock, only to have
it turn into Sailor Venus' skirt. Surprised, she lost her grip and began to
fall.
Sailor Jupiter and the Purple Sailor, following right behind her,
both reacted instantly. Sailor Jupiter caught the Green Sailor's left arm
while the Purple Sailor caught her right, hauling her back up to safety.
Sailor Venus looked below her. "Nice catch," she said. "Where are
Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars?"
"Haven't seen them yet," Sailor Jupiter replied.
Sailor Venus merely grunted in response and continued climbing,
finally vanishing into the thick clouds. Sailor Jupiter and the Purple
Sailor soon joined her, with the other four not far behind.
They found Sailor Venus on her hands and knees, staring surprised
into space. The others were just as stunned as she was.
There was no top to the mountain. The clouds were the only things
visible--and they appeared to be solid. A line of them stretched like
cobblestones into the distant sky.
The Orange Sailor prodded the cloud experimentally--it was soft and
springy, like a marshmallow.
"Stop poking around and let's go," Sailor Venus ordered.
The Orange Sailor looked as if she couldn't decide whether to tell
Sailor Venus to take a flying leap or to actually do the deed herself. She
finally chose neither, instead opting to follow the others.
The trip was like a giant game of hopscotch, with the Scouts fully
exploring each cloud before leaping to the next. They had just finished
with the next-to-last cloud when Sailor Venus broke her long silence.
"This is stupid! Why aren't we looking for Sailor Mars and Sailor
Mercury instead of searching for this Indian--"
"Indigo," Sailor Jupiter corrected.
"--Sailor?" Sailor Venus finished.
"Because apparently the rules of this game are that you've got to
find all the hidden Scouts on one level before you can progress to the next,"
Sailor Moon said, reverting to video game terms. "Now come on. We've got
one more cloud to check out."
Six of the Scouts leapt to the last cloud, leaving Sailor Venus
behind. They were as surprised as she was to discover that the last cloud
wasn't a cloud at all.
It was the Indigo Sailor.
The seven Scouts hung for a few seconds in midair as if in a cartoon
before finally succumbing to the effects of gravity. Sailor Venus stood on
the edge of the cloud for a couple of seconds.
She finally shook her head in resignation and dove after them.
The seven Scouts had latched onto one another, like they had seen
skydivers on television do. Of course, skydivers usually had the common
sense to carry parachutes with them.
Sailor Jupiter looked down at the unforgiving water rapidly coming
toward them. "This is going to hurt."
"Anybody got any ideas?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Yeah, I do," the Indigo Sailor said. She jerked her thumb up
toward Sailor Venus, who was streaking toward them, arms pressed close to
her sides to pick up speed. "But do we wanna wait for her?"
Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter exchanged a glance. "Yes," they
chorused, although hesistantly.
Four seconds later, Sailor Venus came barrelling into the other
seven Scouts, nearly separating them all. The water was now a little more
than three hundred feet below.
"Whatever you're going to do," Sailor Moon prompted, "do it now."
"Everybody get a good grip," the Indigo Sailor ordered. "'Cause
I've only done this once," she added under her breath.
The four other Crystal Scouts instinctively flinched. They knew
what was coming.
"Air--Wind!" the Indigo Sailor shouted.
The vortex of air slammed into the water, slowing the eight Scouts'
descent. However, it also had the unintended effect of creating twin tidal
waves on both sides of the eight Scouts.
The Scouts landed with a splash.
The tidal waves descended with a crash.
The eight Scouts were driven below the surface by the twin walls of
water. Most of them knew not to fight toward the surface, but rather to let
the current carry them up; the Yellow Sailor more from book smarts than
experience.
One did not.
The Green Sailor did not know how to swim. Consequently, she had
not taken a deep breath before being forced underwater, as the others had.
Now her lungs were almost ready to burst. Starved for oxygen, she
frantically clawed her way toward the surface, fingers brushing against
something, instinctively clutching at it.
Once again, she had grabbed Sailor Venus' skirt.
This time, she did not let go.
The eight Scouts' heads bobbed back above the surface. They all
spent a few moments gulping the fresh air before any of them spoke.
Sailor Venus addressed the Green Sailor. "Would you get--"
The Green Sailor hysterically tugged at Sailor Venus' collar with
one hand, nearly strangling her, while splashing her in the face with her
other. "Help me! I can't swim--"
"All right already!" Sailor Venus yelled. "Stop! Stop struggling!"
The Green Sailor nervously did as ordered.
"Now drape--_drape_--your arms over my shoulders," Sailor Venus said.
"Can you feel the rhythm of my kicking?"
"Yes," answered the Green Sailor.
"Then kick--don't thrash--at the same time I do. Ready? Kick--
kick--kick--got it?"
"Uh-huh."
"Seems like you've made a new friend," Sailor Moon said quietly.
Sailor Venus glared at her, but said nothing.
Unnoticed by the others, Sailor Jupiter had been doing some
exploration on her own. "I think I've found them," she announced in her
typical flat monotone.
"Just remember," Sailor Venus lectured, "take a deep breath before
we go under and kick when I do. Okay?"
"Okay," the Green Sailor answered.
"Let's go, then," said Sailor Moon.
"Ready?" Sailor Venus asked. "Count of three. One--two--three!"
The eight Scouts dove below the water. Knowing that the Green Sailor
was unable to swim and probably could not hold her breath for more than
thirty seconds, Sailor Jupiter wasted no time in reaching Sailor Mercury
and the Blue Sailor, by using her thirteen centuries of non-sight perception
to track their ripples.
The ten Scouts quickly returned to the surface.
"I never thought I'd see _that_," the Blue Sailor said, wringing some
of the water from her hair. "Swimming trees and clouds, floating rocks and
metal--things are definitely not right around here."
"We found a cave," Sailor Mercury said bluntly. "We would have
explored it, but we wanted to find you guys first."
"You didn't think we might have been in the cave?" asked Sailor Venus
facetiously.
Sailor Mercury shook her head. "Quicksilver said no." She neglected
to mention that her computer had been telling her a whole lot of wrong
things lately.
"Ready for another dive?" Sailor Venus asked her passenger.
"Ready," the Green Sailor replied.
"Hyperventilate--breathe in and out rapidly--before we go under,"
Sailor Venus said. "We don't know how long this cave is, and you're going
to need all the air you can get."
The Green Sailor did as she was told as once again the Scouts plunged
into the depths of the lake. Fortunately, the cave was neither long nor
completely underwater; following a short drop just after the entrance, the
cave gradually rose above the water level. The ten Scouts spent a few
minutes trying to dry themselves off before continuing.
If they had known what lay for them ahead, they would have waited.
A wall of flame flickered dangerously at the end of the cave.
"Time to blow out this birthday candle," the Indigo Sailor said.
"Air--Wind!"
The flame died down under the onslaught of her attack, then blazed
back brighter than before.
"Empty room in there," Sailor Jupiter noted.
"So once we get by the fire wall, we're safe inside," Sailor Mercury
mused, thinking as usual.
"Talking about it doesn't get us past it," the Indigo Sailor said,
annoyed that she had failed and looking for a new target for her anger.
"I can," said the Blue Sailor, stepping forward. "Water--Wave!"
The Blue Sailor did not aim her attack at the flames, but rather at
the cave ceiling above the Scouts, completely drenching them all, herself
included.
The Indigo Sailor stared at her incredulously. "I _just_ got dry--"
The Blue Sailor shoved her through the wall of fire. "No time!" she
yelled, switching to French for the Yellow Sailor's benefit. "/Get moving!/"
she shouted before jumping through herself.
The other Scouts may not have understood her words, but they
definitely caught her meaning. They quickly followed her through the flames
before the effects of the fire-retarding water were nullified by the heat.
Sailor Jupiter had been correct in her assessment. The room beyond
the fire wall was indeed empty. It was, however, ringed with blazing flames
whcih licked the walls.
"Nice atmosphere," the Indigo Sailor said.
"All it needs is a bunch of little demons jumping around," Sailor
Venus added.
"Be careful or you just might get your wish," said Sailor Moon.
Sailr Jupiter had been walking around the room, staying as close to
the walls as she dared. "Right here," she said, stopping.
"Right here what?" asked the Indigo Sailor.
Sailor Jupiter reached her gloved hand into the flames and pulled
Sailor Mars out before anyone could warn her to be careful.
"Good call," Sailor Moon said approvingly.
"What the..." the Indigo Sailor began.
"That part of the wall was cooler," Sailor Jupiter explained, neatly
cutting her off.
The Blue and Green Sailors were checking on Sailor Mars, who seemed
dazed. "Are you all right?" the Blue Sailor asked.
"Over there," Sailor Mars managed, trying to point. "Directly across
from where I was."
Sailor Jupiter walked to the spot Sailor Mars had indicated and
swiftly rescued the Red Sailor from the flames, depositing her near Sailor
Mars.
The Blue Sailor started toward her. "Are you--"
"I'm fine," the Red Sailor said, motioning her back.
"Wonder what happens now," Sailor Jupiter asked no one in particular.
"Link hands," Sailor Moon said. "We're teleporting out of here."
"No, you're not," said a new voice. The girl in gray suddenly
appeared in the middle of the twelve Scouts' circle, swinging a dangerously
sharp long sword.
The twelve Sailors ducked, dodged and dived out of the way of the
glittering blade, which although obviously inexpertly wielded, was just as
deadly as if in the hand of a champion fencer.
"I had hoped my illusion would stall you all long enough so that I
could pick you off one by one," the gray-haired girl said. "But having you
all here at once makes my job a little easier."
"Who _are_ you?" asked the Red Sailor.
"My name is Pearl, not that it matters." She spotted Sailor Moon
lying on the ground, not moving. "So the Rabbit is still alive," she said.
"Time to do what that fool Rubeus never could." She fixed the sword point
close to Sailor Moon's heart.
"If I had my katana," Sailor Mars said helplessly, "I'd cut you to
pieces."
"But you don't, do you?" Pearl taunted. "You're unprepared as usual.
Do you realize you have even lower power levels than you did at the time of
our first attack? Have all those centuries in Crystal Tokyo made you soft?"
"Ya want tough, I'll give ya tough!" yelled the Indigo Sailor,
charging at Pearl.
Pearl shot a dark energy bolt from her left hand, sending the Indigo
Sailor flying. She was distracted just enough to raise her blade a fraction
of an inch, however.
This was just the sort of opening the Purple Sailor was waiting for.
"Metal--Chain!" she shouted, wrapping the end of the chain around Pearl's
wrist. With a quick jerk, the Purple Sailor sent the sword skittering
harmlessly across the floor.
Pearl made the Purple Sailor pay for her attack, zapping her with an
energy bolt. What she didn't expect was Sailor Jupiter to pop up right after
the Purple Sailor fell.
"Jupiter Thunder Crash!"
Pearl dodged Sailor Jupiter's attack--that is, she tried to dodge,
but she seemed to be on a tether somehow. In any case, the attack had never
been aimed directly at her to begin with.
Sailor Jupiter had planted her boot on the end of the Purple Sailor's
chain. She had focused her attack not at Pearl herself, but rather at the
chain, jumping back when she released it so as not to electrocute herself.
Like a quick-bruning fuse on a stick of dynamite, the electricity traveled
down the chain and up the Black Moon girl's arm.
Pearl lit up like a Christmas tree.
The force of the attack drove Pearl backward, straight into the
still-flaming walls.
Eleven pairs of eyes involuntarily closed. Sailor Venus kept hers
opened, not becuase she sadistically reveled in watching another dying
horribly, but because she had to be sure.
She could have kept them closed. The air soon filled with the
sickeningly sweet stench of burning flesh, signaling to the other eleven
that Pearl had been sent back to the darkness that had spawned her.
The flames finally released their grip on Pearl's charbroiled body,
sending her falling to the floor. The moment she landed, the ground began
to shake.
"She's dead, Orange Sailor," the Purple Sailor said. "You don't
have to attack her."
"I didn't," the Orange Sailor replied.
Sailor Venus found herself standing next to Sailor Mercury. "Nobody
told me Sailor Uranus was going to be here," she whispered.
"She's not," Sailor Mercury whispered back. She raised her voice
after checking her screen. "Quicksilver states the earthquake is roughly
analogous to the structural integrity of the warehouse!"
The Blue Sailor acted as interpreter. "Building's faling apart.
Link up. We're out of here!"
The warehouse exploded into a fireball, sending dust and debris
flying for blocks. Two figures--one in brown, one in pink--stood on a nearby
warehouse rooftop, watching. They seemed to be protected by some sort of
shield--none of the smoke or pieces of the building had reached them.
The brown one spoke. "Pearl is dead. The Scouts are now your
problem, Coral."
Coral nodded. "Yes, Commander."
The Commander vanished, taking the shield. The dust and smoke rolled
in, billowing around Coral. Tears were welling in her eyes, not all of them
from the effects of the smoke.
Hi, it's me again. Here are the notes...
* With regard to the names, the Scouts' last names are the last names
of their fathers, the Ronin Warriors (with the exceptions of Rini Warren,
who's pretended to be Serena's cousin (Serena's last name is Warren--rabbit
home, to keep the rabbit jokes), and Cody Stone, who lied and said she was
Dakota Peters.) Both Stone and Peters (Greek) relate to rock. Levin means
lightning (it's an archaic word I found in an Edgar Allan Poe poem), Brooks
has an obvious relation to water, and Sanada is Ryo's Japanese last name.
Since Raye kept her Japanese last name, I figured Ryo could too. The first
names don't really have any meaning, they're just (mainly) girls I knew in
high school.
(
geocities.com/tokyo/bay) (
geocities.com/tokyo)