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 #6
"Test of Metal"
The Red Sailor was already on her way to the cabin of the plane.
"Get everybody in here and lock the cabin compartment door!"
"Aren't you supposed to stay in your seats in an emergency?" asked
the Green Sailor.
"Sure, if you want to be sucked out of the plane!" the Red Sailor
yelled back. "Now hurry up!"
"Yes, boss," the Orange and Indigo Sailors said simultaneously.
The Red Sailor had already taken the pilot's seat and was wrestling
with the control stick. The Blue Sailor quietly slipped into the co-pilot's
chair and started typing on her laptop as the others crowded in behind them.
"You _have_ flown a plane before, right?" the Green Sailor asked,
a little nervously.
"Does the flight simulator at the arcade count?" the Red Sailor
replied through gritted teeth.
"Crystal's location has not changed," the Blue Sailor droned.
"Computing our own position now."
"Somebody want to pick up the radio and signal a Mayday?" the Red
Sailor asked.
"I would," said the Orange Sailor, "but the microphone doesn't have
a cord anymore."
"Radio's smashed real good too," the Indigo Sailor added.
"keep her aloft ten more minutes and you'll put us right on top of
our target," the Blue Sailor announced.
The left engine sputtered and died. The only sound now was the wind
rushing by as the plane lost altitude.
"No parachutes left," said the Green Sailor. "No surprise, huh?"
"Somebody sure went to an awful lot of trouble to get us into this
mess," the Orange Sailor said wryly.
"There's one thing they forgot to destroy," the Red Sailor said,
slamming the fuel release lever closed a couple of minutes too late.
"What's that?"
"Us."
"Eight minutes ETA," the Blue Sailor said.
No one spoke except the Blue Sailor, who marked off an eternity in
thirty-second intervals.
"Two minutes ETA. Air speed 180, altitude 500."
"We're not going to make it," the Red Sailor said.
"Aren't you going to put down the landing gear?" the Green Sailor
asked.
"I'd rather go in on our belly, but at this speed we'll crash
_badly_," the Red Sailor said. "They'll slow our airspeed, but which button
is it?"
"This one," the Green Sailor answered, pressing her choice.
A shudder rocked the plane.
"What was that?" the Orange Sailor yelled.
"That wasn't the landin' gear," the Indigo Sailor said. "That was
the bomb bay doors."
"Close them quick!" the Red Sailor ordered.
"Hang on a minute," the Indigo Sailor said. "I got an idea." She
disappeared into the back of the plane. "Close 'em in ten seconds!" she
yelled.
Another shudder shook the plane.
"Air speed slowed to 100, altitude at 2500," the Blue Sailor
announced. "New ETA thrity seconds."
"Close the doors! We're going down!"
"Altitude 2000...1500...1000...500...200...50..."
The plane bounced twice off the snow, snapping off its right wing on
the second. The left wing, now unbalanced, dug a furrow in the snow,
causing the plane to trace part of a great circle, while also slowing it
down. It finally came to rest, turned nearly ninety degrees from its
original course.
"Everybody okay?" asked the Red Sailor.
"Sore shoulder," said the Orange Sailor.
"Scraped elbow," the Green Sailor answered. "Nothing a bandage and
a little peroxide won't cure."
"What about the Indigo Sailor?" the Blue Sailor asked.
"Door's jammed," the Orange Sailor said, trying to open it.
A red boot flashed out at the door lock, breaking the door open.
"Always wanted to do that."
"She's not in here," the Green Sailor said after a cursory search.
The Red Sailor glanced out the cabin door. "Oh no..." she
whispered, jumping out of the plane.
The three others followed her to the door. The Red Sailor was
kneeling over a facedown Indigo Sailor.
"Please don't be dead..." said the Red Sailor, rolling her over.
She found herself staring into a pair of dark blue eyes. "Not yet
I ain't," the Indigo Sailor returned.
"You've got a gash on your forehead," the Red Sailor said, relieved.
"Anything else I should know about?"
"Sprained right wrist and I think I cracked a coupla ribs."
A snowmobile's distinctive roar interrupted their conversation.
"Somebody's coming. Can you transform back?"
The Indigo Sailor closed her eyes and returned to Gail. The crystal
fell from her injured hand. Tori pressed it into her left.
"Hey Tori, promise me somethin' when we get back to Frisco."
"What's that?"
"Take flyin' lessons."
The snowmobile arrived, towing a sled behind it. Its rider wore a
parka with the hood pulled up. The figure removed the hood, revealing a
girl with short purple hair.
"Name's Aurelia Steele," she told Tori in a soft voice. "Put your
friend on the sled and I'll take her to my cabin--get her some help."
"How far?"
"About a kilometer--that way," Aurelia pointed.
Tori helped Chloe move Gail onto the sled. "We'll follow."
Aurelia nodded as Chloe climbed aboard, then slowly pulled away.
Fifteen minutes later, the six girls were in front of a blazing
fire. Gail was on the floor, covered by a blanket.
"I've already radioed Edmonton," Aurelia said. "They'll be here
within two hours."
"Two hours? How far is it to Edmonton?"
"A good forty kilometers, by air," replied Aurelia. "Nearest town
is five kilometers."
"Don't worry about me," Gail said. "I ain't goin' anywhere yet."
"This is a nice place," said Roxanne. "Do you live here alone?"
"I do now," Aurelia said quietly, violet eyes glistening.
"Oh. I'm sorry," Roxanne apologized. "Do--do you want to talk
about it?"
"It's a long story."
"We've got a couple of hours," Tori reminded her.
"Well, okay," Aurelia began. "It all started over a hundred years
ago..."
"Back then, the Klondike gold rush was on in Alaska. My great-
grandfather wanted to go and make his fortune, but my great-grandmother
insisted on going with him. So, they made their way to Alaska together.
But a couple of days after they left Edmonton, there was a vicious
snowstorm. My great-grandmother stated that they were not going to go any
further north, so they settled right here. He tried to open a mine, but
nothing much ever came out of it. In time, it passed to my grandparents,
who made a pretty good living farming the land. They had one child: my
mother. When she grew up, she moved to Pittsburgh and married my father,
who was a steelworker. They had one daughter as well. When I was ten, my
parents were killed in a train wreck, so I came here to live with my
grandmother. She died a couple of months ago."
"Your mother married a steelworker named Steele?" asked Roxanne.
"Yes," Aurelia smiled wistfully. "They often joked about it."
"You say your grandparents farmed here?" Merry said.
"Hard to believe with all this snow," replied Aurelia. "But during
the growing season, it's actually very fertile here. Alberta is the
breadbasket of Canada, after all."
Chloe, meanwhile, was browsing the shelves. "Amazing! These are
the best works of scrimshaw I've ever seen!"
"My great-grandfather sailed on the old whaling fleets before he
became a miner," Aurelia said. "He taught my grandfather how to do it, too,
but there wasn't too much ivory around here. So my grandfather carved wood
instead. He made the replica of the whaling ship on the shelf above."
Merry had noticed something else on the shelves. She gently nudged
Tori, then surreptitiously pointed it out with her pinky, while resting her
hand on her chin.
Tori finally spotted it. She whirled back to Merry, jaw open to
speak--but only a shrill whistle came out.
"Tea's ready," Aurelia announced. "Who would like some?"
Five "I would"s--one slightly muffled--were her reply.
Aurelia disappeared into the kitchen, returning almost instantly,
carrying a tray with six teacups.
"Who's going to help Gail with hers?" asked Aurelia.
"I will," Chloe said, taking two of the cups. "So, does artistic
talent run in your family?" she asked.
"Not really," answered Aurelia. "I can barely draw stick figures.
I learned how to fight instead."
Gail was laughing and coughing at the same time, something obviously
painful because of her broken ribs. "Ya fight? What style?"
"Boxing, mostly. My father was the amateur champion of Pittsburgh
and came in second in the state tournament. He taught me some wrestling,
too."
Gail was still alternately laughing and grimacing. "I'd like to
spar with you sometime."
"Not until you heal first," Aurelia smiled. "What style do you
fight with?"
"Urban survival."
"Oh, really?" Aurelia sipped her tea. "Maybe I could teach you some
real skills, instead of that street-fighter anything-goes martial-arts
stuff."
Gail started to reply, but Chloe stuck the teacup in her mouth
instead.
"So what about you?" Aurelia asked. "Where are you from?"
"San Francisco," Tori answered, "although Roxanne just moved there
from New York City. Merry's and my parents run an undersea research
company; Roxanne's are in real estate; Chloe's an art student; and Gail...
well..."
"I'm their bodyguard," Gail supplied.
"I see," Aurelia smiled again. "Where were you going?"
"To France," Tori answered.
"What about your pilot--or was one of you flying the plane?"
"I was," Tori answered. "For about five minutes."
"Where's your pilot, then?"
"Somewhere between here and the Rockies," Tori replied. "When one
of our engines quit, he bailed out on us."
Aurelia rushed to the radio. "I've got to contact the Mounties and
have them send out a search party."
"I wouldn't worry about it," Merry said quietly.
"You're kidding, right?"
Silence.
"You're _not_ kidding."
"I figure it's paybacks for leaving us helpless and without
parachutes," Tori said. "Besides, we can tell the rescuers when they
arrive."
"If it were December, I'd disagree with you," Aurelia said. "But it
probably is just desserts now--for a couple of hours at least."
"Just view it as bad judgment," Merry said. "If he'd stayed with
us, he'd be safe and sound."
"True," Aurelia agreed. "How true."
There was only one question left to be asked. Tori stared deep into
her teacup, took a deep breath, and finally asked it.
"Aurelia, do you ever get lonely out here?"
Aurelia sighed. "Sometimes I miss not being around people at all,
much less anybody my own age. But I do have a friend that I go see whenever
I get lonely."
"Who's that?"
"The bear that lives in the old mine."
"A bear?" came from five throats simultaneously.
"Yes. She's actually very friendly," replied Aurelia. "I named
her Klondike."
Snickers and groans came from her audience.
"She's about three years old," Aurelia continued. "I found her in
the mine when she was a cub, so I raised her."
"Is she a polar bear?" Chloe asked.
"No, she's a grizzly bear. Polar bears live far to the north, near
the Arctic Circle."
"And you said she's tame?" asked Roxanne.
"She always was around my grandmother and me," answered Aurelia.
"I could call her if you'd like to meet her."
"No, that's okay," Tori said hastily. "What I really wanted to know
was--" She paused for a couple of seconds, as if marshaling the strength and
the words. "If you could leave here, would you?"
"I--don't know," Aurelia said slowly. "The only one left who
depends on me is Klondike, but she can probably fend for herself."
A shadow passed in front of the cabin window.
"Here she comes now," said Aurelia.
"I don't think so," Gail groaned, painfully pulling herself up to a
sitting position. "Somethin's wrong."
The door of the cabin exploded inward, revealing a seven-foot
flannel-clad lumberjack monster with axes for hands.
Its beady eyes surveyed the room. "Crystals..."
Four girls transformed into Crystal Scouts.
Tori had something more important to do.
She raced for the shelves.
The lumberjack was big and slow, but it wasn't stupid. It hurled
one of its axes at Tori's retreating back.
In a spin move worthy of a baseball infielder, Tori scooped the
purple crystal off the shelf and tossed it into the air. The axe slammed
into the shelves where she had been a second before, splitting them and
sending their contents tumbling to the floor.
The purple crystal landed in Aurelia's surprised lap.
The lumberjack started toward Aurelia.
"Don't let it get the crystal!" Tori yelled.
"It's just a piece of crystal that I found in the old mine."
"If that were true, why would the monster want it?" Tori asked.
"Just hold it up and do what I do!"
Tori held the red crystal high. "Red Crystal Power!"
Aurelia held hers up. "R--no, Purple Crystal Power!"
Twin lights blinded the lumberjack, sending it staggering back.
"What do you feel?" the Blue Sailor asked.
"Hard and tough, like st--well, metal, at least," the Purple Sailor
said, hand glowing. "Now, can we destroy this thing?"
She started to charge toward the lumberjack monster, but the Indigo
Sailor grabbed her wrist and held her back.
"Ya can't go toe-ta-toe with these monsters," she told the Purple
Sailor. "Ya gotta use your magical attack powers."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your power's metal," the Indigo Sailor explained. "So think of
somethin' metal."
The Purple Sailor concentrated. "Metal--Chain!"
A glistening silver chain shot from her hand and wrapped around the
monster, pinning its arms to its sides.
"I think we ought to take this outside," the Purple Sailor said,
dragging the lumberjack out the door.
The other five followed her, making a semi-circle around the
monster.
Suddenly the monster's arm came free. It wrestled with the chain,
trying to release its other arm.
"Attack it!" the Red Sailor ordered. "Fire--Flame!"
"Earth--Shake!"
"Wood--Sprout!"
"Water--Stream!"
"Air--Wind!"
When the dust and snow cleared, a gray gem was all that remained of
the lumberjack.
The Red Sailor shook the Purple Sailor's hand. "Welcome to the
team," she said quietly.
Coral stared at the light screen as the purple indicator lit up,
then the one indicating the monster flickered and died.
She sighed heavily. Another brilliantly designed (not to mention
energy-costly, and presumably unauthorized) plan shot down by poor
execution.
No matter. The temporal disturbance scanner still hadn't registered
anything, which meant that the Sailor Scouts still hadn't arrived yet. That
didn't mean too much, though; they could still show up at any point in time.
The yellow light was still unlit, too, which meant that nobody had
activated that crystal yet either.
Coral smiled; not an evil grin, but more of a thoughtful one. As
long as that one crystal still remained on the loose, she still had a
chance.
A chance to get that one crystal.
A chance to get all the others.
And a chance to use them for her own purposes.
Coral's face turned into the evil grin. She'd get all the crystals,
then have their power for herself.
The Commander had no idea what was coming.
Hi, it's me again. Here are the notes...
* I think I've thrown in every stereotypical Canadian reference I can
think of in here (except for ending every sentence with "eh?"): snow, a
lonely cabin in the middle of nowhere, snow, the Mounties, snow, polar
bears, snow, lumberjacks, snow...
* I'll admit that the opening to this chapter was freely inspired by
the similar plane scene from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"...in
fact, the original plan was to mirror the dialogue, too.
* Now that I think about it, Aurelia's text description sounds a lot
like Sailor Saturn...glad that my artist, Jayyne, fixed that.
* Okay, so maybe a train wreck is a bit unusual, but it's tough to
find new ways to get rid of everybody's parents. A train is about the only
thing that _hasn't_ been used. (For the record, Darien's parents died in a
car crash as seen in NA episode 30, and Lita's were killed in a plane
crash.)
* Don't ask me why Tori is so surprised at spotting the purple
crystal--it just kind of flowed out of my pen. Maybe that Aurelia's keeping
the crystal on the shelf instead of in her pocket or something.
* Here it is: the only Ranma 1/2 reference you'll find in this story.
* One other thing I noticed is that Gail's speech is becoming tougher
to keep track of (deliberately misspelling words isn't exactly my thing...)
Maybe Merry's influence is rubbing off on her.
(
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