(Steve Stachowicz)
gerrek@hotmail.com
(Matthew Frey)
mafrey@charter.net
Webpage: http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/shores/2307
Swords of Destiny
By
Eric Thorsen and Stacko
LEGAL STUFF:
** The characters and concepts used here are the property of those
people and companies holding the copyrights to the respective
storylines, series, and movies. The only exceptions are those
created by the demented minds of authors of this story. The use
of this material should be seen as the sign of respect that it
is. Besides, suing either of us would be a waste of time since
we don't have any money to begin with.
****************************************************
Chapter Fourteen: Return of the Wolf Pack Part III
****************************************************
Chibi-Usa and Hotaru ran up to Wesley, shrieking in joy while
Minako gave James a hug and Usagi gave her cousin a high five. As
everyone was congratulating their three new friends, no one noticed
Rei staring at James with fear in her eyes, then turn and run out
of the dojo. James only noticed that she was gone when the door
slammed behind her. Excusing himself, he followed her. He was on
his way to the house, when he heard Phobos and Deimos calling
shrilly in the woods off to his left.
"Just great," he muttered to himself as he broke into a jog,
trying to follow the noise the tow birds were making. After going
through several patches of thick brush, James heard something to
his right and froze. Turning in that direction, he stepped on a
dried twig which broke loudly under his foot. A short distance
away, Rei jerked her head up and glared at him.
"Go away," She growled. "I just want to be alone." Her fear
was obvious.
"Does the idea of us fighting these things scare you that
much?"
"What do you know about fighting Youma?" Rei demanded
angrily. "Absolutely nothing! I've already died once fighting
them, and it's only because Usagi made a wish that I'm alive
now. I don't want to have to worry about you as well!"
"Then don't!" James barked back. "I never asked you to. In
fact, I'd rather you didn't anyway, it's unnecessary."
“And how will we explain it if one of you dies? I doubt
Grandpa or our parents would believe us if we said we didn’t
notice you acting strangely.”
“Don’t explain.” James said with a shrug, starting to
doubt Minako’s idea. He decided to give it one last try. “If
that’s all that’s bothering you forget about it. If that happened,
I doubt anyone would ask you anything about the way I’ve been acting
anyway. We’ve only known each other for a few days.”
“Yeah, but …” Rei stuttered in surprise.
“Is there something else that’s worrying you?”
“Not … Not really.”
“Are you sure?” He asked consideringly. “You’re pretty
worked up over this for someone who can’t stand even having me
around.”
“I … You’re imagining things.” Rei said defensively.
“Maybe I am,” James sighed. “All I know is that you’re
doing a good job confusing me Sis.”
“Don’t call me that!” Rei growled, lunging at him.
James was forced to block her punch and retreated, grinning.
His grin only made matters worse, as she launched attack after
attack, driving him backward. He was paying more attention to
Rei than his surroundings, and before he knew it, James found
himself stuck in a corner of the Shrine wall. In an instant,
James made a plan and brought it into action. As Rei launched
her next attack, he didn’t even try to block and winced as the
punch landed.
With a gasp of pain, James doubled over and fell to the
ground trying to get his breath back. Rei stared at him for a
couple seconds, and then fell to her knees beside him.
“Now see what you made me do,” She moaned, tears in her eyes.
“Are you okay?” When James saw the fear in her eyes, he had to smile.
“I will be in a little bit.” He groaned after he got his
breath back. “You just knocked the wind out of me. You sure pack
a mean punch Sis.”
“I said don’t call me that!” Rei yelled, jumping to her feet.
“Okay Rei, I won’t.” James replied, slowly coming to his feet.
“I don’t want to make you angry.”
“Just leave me alone, okay?”
“All I want to know is why you were looking for me yesterday.”
James persisted. “Grandpa called before he left and told me. What
did you want to talk about?”
“I …” Rei started, and then bit her lip. “Nothing!”
She turned and ran down one of the paths as if a demon
legion was behind her. James sighed, realizing that his
relationship with Rei was going to take longer to straighten
out than he had thought. He retraced his steps and wasn’t too
surprised when he saw Minako waiting for him at the door to the
Dojo.
“Everyone’s gone.” She explained. “How’s Rei doing?”
“Okay, I guess.”
“You guess?” Minako asked in surprise. “Didn’t you find
her?”
“Sure I did.” James replied with a shrug. “But I got
the impression that Rei didn’t want me around.”
“What gave you that idea?”
“I think it was when she told me to go away.” James
chuckled. “Though it could have been that punch in the bread
basket she gave me afterwards.”
“She hit you?” Minako gasped in shock. “I thought you
were better at kung fu than that.”
“I am.” James said matter of factly. “Unfortunately she
backed me into a corner and I couldn’t see a way out that
wouldn’t hurt her.”
“So you let her hit you.” Minako sighed, shaking her head.
“Well, its official little brother, you’re definitely hooked. I
only wish we knew how she felt.
“She’s still hung up on the step-brother thing, if that helps
any.” James said as he sat on the step with a sigh of his own. “I
honestly don’t know what’s going on Min. It’s like she’s fighting
herself and blocking me out at the same time.”
“Don’t let it bother you too much, little brother.” She
laughed, patting him on the shoulder” She’ll come around eventually.”
“Thanks Min.” James murmured, flashing a grin. “Where’d
everybody go?”
“Well, Michiru and Haruka went home to get some sleep
since they had late patrol last night and eight o’clock today.
Usagi, Mamoru, and the little ones went to a movie, and Kiersten
and Wesley are at the arcade.”
“Really?” James asked getting a wicked gleam in his eye.
“I think it’s time to see if you’re any better than when you left
the international school.”
“So, a challenge is it little brother?”
“Nothing so uninteresting Min-Chan.” James laughed. “More
of a contest. We see who can finish the most games in one hour
using one coin. Are you game?”
“Always.” Minako giggled, jumping to her feet. “Race you
there!”
She took off at a quick jog, as James stared after her then
shook his head and followed. Even with his longer legs, James
only caught up with her a block from the Arcade, and then it was
a long sprint to the door, which he barely won.
“You’re faster than before.” James said with a grin. “Must
be all that late night exercise you’ve been getting.” He didn’t
notice anything was wrong until she hit him in the back of the head.
“What the hell did you mean by that?” She demanded, blushing
hotly. James looked at her going over what he said.
“Obviously not what you’re thinking, Min-Chan.” He laughed
when he realized how she was taking his comment. “Which gutter
did you pull that idea out of, hmm?”
“Never mind.” Minako said, her blush getting darker.
“There they are.”
Kiersten waved to them from where she was watching Wesley
play a game. As Minako and James came over, the guy Wesley was
playing against launched an attack. He was positive he would
win, but Wesley hit him with a combo breaker and hit him with
a super combo, knocking his character out.
“Man, talk about luck.” The other guy said, shaking his
head ruefully. “I thought I had you with that one.”
“As my dad always says,” Wesley laughed. “It isn’t over
till it’s over.” His eyes darkened for a moment and Kiersten
put her hand on his shoulder but he only shook his head. “So
who’s next?”
“I’ll take a whack at it.” James said, affecting a
British accent.
Dropping his coin in, he selected his team and waited
for the game to begin. At the signal, his character jumped
into action and he and Wesley started battling it out. After
the first two rounds, a crowd had gathered around them. As the
third round began, James beat Wesley into the corner and looked
to be winning until Wesley suddenly broke James’ combo and hit
him with an ultimate combo, knocking his character out halfway
through. Everyone cheered as he patted James on the back and
Kiersten and Minako laughed as money changed hands among the
crowd.
“I thought he had you.” Kiersten said as they walked out
of the Arcade. “How did you beat him?”
Wesley laughed a little self-consciously, and then shrugged.
“Do you remember the talk we had earlier about how each of us
likes to fight?”
“Sure.” Kiersten said, then threw him a confused look.
“But this is a game not real life. How did that help?”
“James likes staff combat which is why he chose his
characters. My own choice was influence by the way I fight and
so was yours. In our game, all I did was hold off until I
thought James’ mind would be completely on attack and hit him
then. Of course that wouldn’t work in a real fight.”
“But then we wouldn’t be fighting each other anyway.”
James laughed.
“Also true.” Wesley admitted riley. “So what shall we do
next? Lunch? Mass destruction?”
“Tempting as your third option sounds; I think we’ll have
to settle for one and two.” Kiersten replied.
“Ah, but in what order?” James asked sagely. “Do we watch
a disgusting horror movie and then eat a light lunch? Or do we
gorge ourselves and watch a comedy?”
“I’ll take option two.” Minako said, and then punched James
when she saw the amused look in his eye. “You know I don’t like
horror. Besides, I’m hungry anyway.”
“A good choice.” Wesley agreed. “Kiersten?”
“Fine by me.”
“Out voted again.” James sighed, shaking his head dolefully,
and then grinning. “Shall we try ‘Café Van Rensburg’ for lunch?”
“No thanks.” Minako replied, shaking her head vigorously.
“Why not?” Kiersten asked in surprise. “What’s wrong
with it?”
“Nothing if you like smiley and walky-talky with mngqusho.”
James said innocently, grinning when Minako gagged.
“What’s that?” Wesley asked, looking from one to the other.
“Mngqusho is corn and beans.” Minako said glaring at James.
“But smiley and Walky-talky are gross. How could anyone eat a
sheep head or the feet and head of a chicken?”
“I don’t know.” Kiersten said revolted. “I think we’ll
stick with pizza guys.”
“Okay.” James laughed, grinning at Wesley who looked a
little green. “Don’t worry Wes, I wouldn’t have actually ordered
them.” Wesley looked at him suspiciously and just shook his head
as they walked.
* * * * *
Night was falling and as the salary men left their offices,
they looked like hundreds of ants, scurrying around, especially
from Hawks’ vantage point at the top of one of the downtown high-
rises.
“What’s so absorbing down there anyway?” An Annoyed female
voice demanded from behind him. He turned and glared as Michelle
Schmidt came to his side.
“Nothing you’d understand Michelle.” Hawks sighed annoyed
with himself for bringing her along. “How are the arrangements
progressing?”
“All of the Youma are dormant and in place as instructed.”
She replied stiffly. “Now would you mind telling me why I just
put six Youma around a Kabuki Theater in the middle of nowhere?
We’re here to get energy, remember?”
“Of course.” Hawks said patiently, smiling glacially.
“But I think you will see my reason soon enough. But let’s go
into position, shall we? I don’t want to miss the show.”
With an abrupt nod, she pulled the gate crystal from the
pocket of her jacket and opened a gate. After they were in the
Negaverse, she opened another gate and they stepped out into
the bushes near the theater and walked the two meters to the
edge of the clearing. The open air theater was already starting
to fill with tourists and locals eager for the evening’s
entertainment.
A short time later, the play started and Hawks drew a
storage crystal from a pocket and grinned when it started
collecting the latent energies from the crowd. As the play
continued, the crystal filled and Hawks drew another from his
pocket and watched with a smile as it filled, requiring his
third and final crystal.
“Is that all we’re going to do sit and watch the crystals
fill?” Michelle asked in disbelief. “Why the hell did you have
me put six Youma out there? I could have gone out for some
hunting!”
“Shut up and learn amateur.” Hawks growled, as she was
about to reply to that, she caught motion off to their left.
As she concentrated on the trees, she saw two forms that looked
like young girls who were looking for something.
“Who are they?” She demanded quietly, her hand tight on
the long sword that she carried everywhere. “More important,
what do they want?”
“Those, my dear child, are two of the Senshi.” Hawks
replied smugly. “They are looking for us, though they don’t
know that. You can let the Youma go to work now; we have what
we came for.” She nodded and broke the dark green crystal that
held the six Youma in check, still confused.
All six burst from the bushes, rushing the surprised guests.
Sailor Uranus and Neptune immediately went into action, jumping
down into the clearing. While they fought the creatures, Hawks
and Michelle simply opened a gate and left, short time later,
all six had been destroyed. When they turned over to Rei and
Minako later, they still hadn’t figured out the purpose of the
attack. It was quiet the rest of the night, and the Senshi met
to fill each other in on what was going on.
* * * * *
“So all in all, it was an uneventful night.” Haruka said
with a shrug. “Nothing much happened.”
“What do you mean nothing much?” James asked, confused.
“The news this morning was full of an attack on the Blue Rose
Kabuki Theater.”
“It was only six old style Youma.” Haruka said dismissingly.
“It only took us five minutes to get rid of them.”
“Really?” Wesley asked in surprise. “That sounds like a
waste of their time. What was their target?”
“We don’t know.” Michiru replied, still a little worried
about it. “It’s not like them to waste Youma like that.”
“What do you mean?” Kiersten asked in confusion. “I
thought they have thousands.”
“We actually don’t know how many they have.” Minako replied
for everyone. “They always had a lot, but Michiru’s right; they’ve
never used them without having a definite target.”
“Weird.” James said thinking hard.
“What’s so weird about it?” Rei demanded irritably. “I
personally won’t complain if they want to waste resources.”
“That’s just it.” James replied, ignoring her tone. “No
one in their right mind would waste resources on a pointless
attack. They would have to know it was bound to fail.”
“They didn’t know we’d be there when the attack started.”
Haruka said with a shrug.
“You were already there?” Wesley asked, looking up quickly.
“How did that happen?”
“I detected a strange aura coming from the crowd.” Michiru
explained. “It was like what happens when someone from the Negaverse
drains someone’s energy. But it was faint, as if they weren’t draining
the people, just collecting the energy they gave off.”
“Why would they do that?” James asked. “From what you told
us, these people don’t care if they hurt people. Why would they
change now?”
“Maybe they feel bad about it?” Usagi suggested hopefully,
Kiersten just shook her head.
“As much as I wish that were true, I don’t think it’s
possible. They must have another reason for it.”
“Maybe they do.” James said, getting an idea. “Correct
me if I’m wrong, but when they start draining people, you can
sense it, right?”
“Sure, why?” Minako replied.
“Doing it like this would allow them to avoid detection.”
James explained. “It would also explain why they would send out
six Youma, even if they knew you were there.”
“What do you mean?” Haruka demanded.
“Diversion.” Wesley said simply, snapping his fingers.
“The easiest way to distract you is to give you a target you can’t
ignore. Then they get away with the energy they’ve collected, or
whatever they were after.”
“Possibly the energy.” Minako agreed. “They are usually
just after that. Besides, the news said that nothing was missing
after the attack.”
“Doesn’t mean they didn’t take anything.” Haruka said, deep
in thought. “Looks like the enemy is getting smarter. Damn, I
hate that thought.” Michiru and the others nodded in agreement
and sat in silence for several minutes.
“Is there anything else?” Usagi asked, obviously hoping not.
She sighed in defeat when Wesley raised his hand.
“Only as a matter of insignificance, our ‘uniforms’ will
arrive today. Anyone thought of what we’ll call ourselves if
anyone asks.”
“The Wolf Pack.” Artemis replied, breaking the silence.
“It’s where Luna got the uniform idea from anyway.”
“Fine with me.” James said. Wesley and Kiersten nodded
in agreement. After making arrangements for the night’s patrols,
they split up for the day’s activities.
* * * * *
“I still can’t believe you won thirty-five games on one coin.”
Minako told James as they came out of the Crown Arcade three hours
later.
“You can’t believe it?” Kiersten said, still a little in
shock. “I don’t believe it and I was the one that was keeping
track. He even went through X-men vs. Street Fighter without
losing once. I’ve never seen anyone do that.”
“Neither have I.” Wesley agreed, and then jumped when his
cell phone rang. Checking the number, he realized it was Jervis
and took the call. “Hello Jervis, what can I do for you? … Oh,
thanks, I’ll be back soon as possible then.”
“What was that?” Minako asked curiously. “Why are you
going home so early? The day just started.”
“The uniforms arrived just now.” Wesley replied, smiling
when Kiersten cheered. “I was thinking the others would like to
try theirs on.”
“Good thinking.” James replied smiling as well. “I want
to see how much these disguises will slow us down.”
“Is that really a problem?” Minako asked James in surprise,
as Wesley called Geoffrey to find out when he would be there.
Before he could answer, the limo came around a corner and pulled
up in front of them. After they were in the car, she turned to
him again. “Well?”
“We don’t have magic helping us, Min.” James explained.
“If these uniforms are too stiff, they’ll slow us down and we
won’t be any help at all.”
“That’s part of the reason they used to be made of silk.”
Artemis told him. “It makes them easier to move in, even with
the old metal inserts we used. The only problem will be repairs.”
“I ordered eight copies of each one, just in case.” Wesley
replied. “It made a serious dent in my allowance, but I felt it
would be would be a bad idea to run out. Besides, the fabrics
we ordered them in are hard wearing. I just hope the order
wasn’t messed up or we’re going to have some problems.”
“We’ll see soon enough.” Kiersten said as they passed
through Drakkenheim’s main gate.
They arrived at the castle ten minutes later and rushed
up to the dojo, where Jervis had sent the boxes. Wesley was the
first in the room and he froze, blocking the door.
“What’s wrong Wes?” Kiersten asked, and then gasped when
she saw how many boxes were stacked against the wall. “You
ordered how many complete uniforms?”
“Eight each.” Wesley replied, and then swore. “That’s
twenty-four uniforms! There’s no way we’ll need that many!”
“We can’t send them back.” James reminded him, laughing
at Wesley’s shocked expression. “I think we’ll just have to
find a place to store them.”
“Where are we going to do that?” Wesley demanded. “I
can’t leave them here?”
“How about asking Jervis to store them?” Minako asked,
smiling at their disbelieving expressions. “I think you can
trust Jervis not to open sealed boxes if you ask him to put
them in storage for you.”
“I guess so.” Wesley reluctantly agreed. “How about we
sort them out then take three changes out of each and store the
rest?”
“Sounds good.” Kiersten said, pulling out her pocket knife.
“I’ll take these six.” As she started cutting open boxes, the
others chose piles of their own and went to work. Soon the floor
was littered with packing material and odd bits of clothing.
Wesley asked Jervis to bring up twenty-four heavy suit hangers
and the four teens went to work putting each uniform together.
* * * * *
“So all you did was sit and watch the play while the crystals
collected ambient energy?” Jarosite asked Hawks in surprise. “Didn’t
that take a lot of time?”
“About an hour and a half.” Hawks replied smugly. “The Senshi
didn’t even detect us. They only showed up when the third crystal
was filled.”
“So it’s only active draining that attracts them, eh?” Jarosite
asked interested. “The only problem I see with using this tactic is
the time factor. Damian won’t like it. He’s impatient about the
delay as it is.”
“If that moron could see past his own pleasure, we might
actually succeed in defeating the Sailor Senshi.” Hawks grated;
annoyed by the pressure Damian was putting on them. “Is there any
news on our friend Schwartzstern?”
“According to my agents, he’s in North America.” Jarosite
replied with an evil chuckle. “It’s unfortunate that his woman
was able to stop him from killing Drakkar and Princess Natasha,
but according to the latest reports, that may not be a factor
next time.”
“Excellent, I’ll go check on him and then we’ll go back
to work.” Hawks left, chuckling to himself.
“Sometimes I wish I’d met you on that ship instead of
Rochefort.” Jarosite sighed, shaking his head and went back
to the energy storage chamber to check on how much energy
Hawks collected.
Five minutes after the chamber was emptied, Michelle
stepped out of the shadows with a self-congratulating smirk
on her face. “So Jarosite doesn’t like having Damian around.
I wonder what he would do to keep him from finding that out.”
With idea’s forming in her head, she walked out of the cavern
smiling.
* * * * *
“So how do I look?” Kiersten asked, posing in her uniform
for her three friends. She giggled when Wesley whistled at her
in appreciation. The uniform consisted of a set of combat fatigues
with a beret, a mask, and gloves. There was also a jacket that
went over the shirt. It was solid black with the only color being
a silver howling wolf head on the beret and on the front left side
breast pocket area of the jacket. On the guys, it looked like a
comfortable fit, but on Kiersten, it was more form fitted.
“I think she looks better in these uniforms than you guys
do.” Minako replied, laughing when James gave her an offensive
look. “Not that you guy’s don’t look good of course.”
“Looks are one thing.” Wesley said seriously. “But I
think it’s time for a work out to see how these uniforms will
work in combat. Last one to the woods cleans the dojo.”
He ran from the room, stopping only long enough to collect
his axe and raced everyone out his private entrance. They got
to the woods at about the same time and started warming up.
After Minako transformed at James’ request, she squared off
against Kiersten.
“Remember, no edge attacks, and if you start getting tired,
the fight stops, agreed?” Both girls nodded and James gave them
the signal to begin.
Instantly Kiersten dove in, only to have to roll away when
Venus fired a Crescent Beam Smash at her. Coming back to her
feet, she jumped to the side to dodge a Love Chain, and then
launched another attack of her own. The fight continued for
ten minutes until Sailor Venus caught Kiersten around the ankle
with a Love Chain.
“Hold!” James called and Minako dissolved the chain.
“How does the uniform feel?” Wesley asked Kiersten after
helping her to her feet.
“Great.” Kiersten said, dusting herself off. “Even the
boots don’t slow me down. It’s heavier than my workout gear,
but not too much.”
“Let’s see how ours feel.” James suggested.
After unscrewing the retaining nuts, they pulled the blades
off of their weapons and got into position. After Minako’s signal,
they came together and the clatter of wood on wood was heard for
several minutes while first James then Wesley was chased around
the clearing. After twenty minutes, Minako called a halt, shaking
her head.
“So how was it?” Kiersten asked eagerly, as they attached
the blades back on.
You’re right about the boots Kiersten, it’s almost like
I’m barefoot.” James said looking down at his boots. “The
Kevlar reinforcements in the pants and jacket don’t slow me
down at all.”
“I guess it’s time for the final test then.” Wesley said,
removing his jacket and tying it between two trees. Stepping
back from it, he swung his axe in a blinding arc, hitting the
jacket at full speed. While his actions surprised his companions
at first, they were more surprised when the axe bounced back.
“What is this stuff?” Minako asked, fingering James’
sleeve. “It feels like silk.”
“It’s some kind of new synthetic the company recently came
up with.” Wesley replied, untying his jacket to look at it
closer. “They said it was ‘almost bulletproof’, but I think
they were being modest.”
“Well, we’re not going to try getting shot at to find out.”
Kiersten said firmly. “That would just be stupid.”
“Don’t worry, that’s all the tests I had planned.” Wesley
laughed, holding up his hands defensively. “We agreed to serve
as reserves, so we won’t go in until Usagi says so.”
“How are we going to know that they need us though?” James
asked seriously. “Any suggestions Min?”
“Not really.” Minako said with a blank look. “This kind
of thing only came up twice before.”
“What did you do then?” Kiersten said eagerly.
“One of us stayed with the people who were helping us.”
She explained shrugging. “They were acting as our back up
during another attack on these guys.”
“That won’t work too well in this case.” Wesley replied,
considering the problem. “With two members of the team on
holiday, you need to have everyone there to fight as it is.”
“What would you suggest then?” Minako demanded in
irritation. “We can’t give you a communicator or one of
us wouldn’t have one.”
“I understand that Minako.” Wesley sighed. “What I
was going to suggest was that we buy four short wave radios.”
“What about eavesdroppers?” Kiersten asked in concern.
“We don’t want anyone listening in, especially not Damian and
his people.”
“Seeing as we’re in the electronic capital of the world,
I doubt there will be any problem getting scrambled radios.”
James said with a smile. “We should probably get them soon
though. We’ll need them for tonight.”
“Okay, I guess I can go with you so I can give Usagi
hers later.” Minako replied, a little dazed by how fast
things were moving. “Is there anything else you can think
of?”
“Only that I’m going to have to stay over at the shrine
with Jim if I’m going to be able to help.” Wesley said,
noticing the last hitch. “Jervis locks the house up and sets
the alarm after I get home every night.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.” James said with a grin.
“It’ll annoy the heck out of Rei though.”
“I’ll have to stay at Usagi’s house.” Kiersten sighed.
“It’s going to be crowded though.”
“If it gets bad, you can always stay with me.” Minako
invited. “I have plenty of room and we could talk about girl
stuff.”
“Sounds fun.” Kiersten giggled, giving Wesley and arch
look. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”
Wesley shrugged and led the way back to his wing. After
they changed out of their uniforms, they packed them into bags
and Wesley packed his overnight bag. Then they had Geoffrey
drive them to Akihabara where they found the four radios. After
dropping Kiersten and Minako at Usagi’s house, they heard over
to the shrine. Rei was already in her room, so they put their
bags in James’ room, and went to the kitchen for a light dinner.
“So how’s ‘Project Rei’ going?” Wesley said around his
grilled cheese sandwich as James made another one. “Any progress?”
“None.” James sighed, taking the sandwich out of the
toaster and putting another two in. “I get the feeling that she
wants to talk to me, but she seems to be terrified that we might
get hurt. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Why is that?” Wesley asked a little confused. “They’ve
been doing this stuff for three years with no serious injuries
right?”
“That’s what doesn’t make sense.” James said, showing his
confusion. “Rei says that she died fighting Youma once already.”
“She what?” Wesley said loudly, forcing James to make
quieting motions. “How does she explain the fact that she’s
alive now then?” He continued in a quieter tone.
“She said it was because of a wish Usagi made.” James
replied shrugging. “I don’t know. It doesn’t really make
sense, but then if fighting these things isn’t as bad as she
says, then why is she so scared about us fighting?”
“You got me.” Wesley sighed as he finished the second
sandwich. “But if were going to be awake to fight these things,
we’d better get some sleep now. We don’t want to make stupid
mistakes our first time out.”
“Good idea.” James agreed, unplugging the toaster.
“I’ll show you where the spare futons are kept.” After
getting Wesley a futon and some linen, they went back to James’
room and were soon both asleep with both radios on full blast.
They were so sound asleep they didn’t even notice when Rei left
for her patrol.
* * * * *
Hawks made his way into the throne room with Michelle
close behind him, and smirked when she saw the bored expression
on Damian’s face, and then returned his face to his normal
stony expression as he came closer to the throne.
“What news is there on your project, Hawks?” Damian
growled in annoyance. “Has Schwartzstern eliminated Drakkar
yet?”
“No he hasn’t, though he’s leading Drakkar and his friends
on a worldwide chase at this moment.” Hawks replied. “Schwartzstern
recently killed Jeffery Barber in Wisconsin, and then was cornered
by the Kino woman and his mortal toy, but Drakkar was no where
around.”
“Did you find out where he was?”
“No.” Hawks said evenly. “My sources say he arrived in
Wisconsin about three hours after Schwartz stern left. They’re
tracking Schwartzstern now, but I doubt they’ll find him for a
while, especially in Europe.”
“That’s not good enough Hawks.” Damian barked angrily.
“You claimed that Drakkar would be dead by now. Now you’re
saying that not only is he still alive, but that Schwartzstern
has lost him and is somewhere in Europe, and when are you going
to start harvesting the energy I need to produce the next batch
of my Youma? The amount you brought in last time was pitiful.
It wouldn’t even make one.”
“What would you suggest Damian?” Hawks demanded. “If
you want the Senshi onto your project before you even start,
and then go ahead and actively drain large groups of people
in Tokyo. I’ve told you before, collecting ambient energy is
far more effective than active draining because the Senshi
don’t detect it unless you’re right on top of them. Hell,
they didn’t even show up until I’d finished that job.”
“I don’t like your tone Hawks.” Damian said quietly.
“Be careful that I don’t eliminate you and carry on your plan
out myself.”
“You can try, but you lack the necessary patience.”
“So you say, but you will follow my orders Hawks.”
Damian said his voice dangerously quiet. “You will go to Tokyo
and you will attack the Lotus Blossom Tea Garden tonight.”
Hawks nodded curtly and stormed out of the throne room, trailing
Michelle behind him.
“Why the hell does he want us to attack a tea garden?”
Michelle demanded angrily once they were out of the Negaverse.
“That sounds like a stupid waste of time and energy.”
“If it was simply a tea garden, I would agree with you.”
Hawks sighed in annoyance. “Fortunately, even Damian isn’t that
stupid. No, the Lotus Blossom Tea Garden is a massive shopping
mall in Tokyo.”
“How big are we talking about here?”
“Third largest in the world.” Hawks replied, smiling as
her eyes widened. “But there’s no reason to do that tonight,
we’ll do the recon tonight and then hit Cherry Blossom Park
around 8pm.”
“Why there?” Michelle asked in surprise. “Isn’t it a
little public?”
“Not really, it’s mid-summer, not cherry blossom time.”
He chuckled. “There’ll only be about a thousand people there
tonight for a small concert. But since Damian doesn’t want us
to just collect ambient energy, we need as much open space to
move around in as possible. The Senshi will be all over us in
minutes.”
“How many Youma do you want me to bring with us?”
“Better make it ten.” Hawks said seriously. “We’ll need
the time to get away with the crystals.”
“I can always toss them trough as you finish charging
them.” Michelle suggested.
“Not a bad idea.” Hawks said approvingly. “If the gate
is in the ground, no one would even see it. We’ll do that, but
carefully. At the first sign that the Senshi know where we are,
go though and close the gate. After you drop off the crystals,
meet me at the Tokyo Tower.”
“Sounds good, shall we go do the recon on the ‘Tea Garden’?”
“I suppose.” Hawks said with a shrug. “Maybe we can do
some passive draining there while we hit the park too. Put a
couple Youma there to give us a little diversion for the Senshi.
But set them off after closing time. I don’t want to scare
anyone off from our little party tomorrow afternoon.” Michelle
nodded and went to collect the twelve Daemon eggs she’d needed.
After she came back, they opened a gate into a store room and
joined the crowds flowing through the malls hallways.
After dropping off the two Daemon eggs in planters at
each end of the mall, they looked around, finding the security
room and a prefect place to store a large number of Youma for
an ambush if needed.
* * * * *
“James, Wesley, wake up!” Kiersten shouted over her radio,
startling both awake.
“What’s up Kiersten?” Wesley asked as James sat up and
glared at his own Radio.
“Usagi just got a call that there was another attack, and
this one made no sense at all.” Kiersten replied, sounding a
little breathless. “It was at the Lotus Blossom, but after it
closed, so no one was really there. Minako and Rei took them
out but … hold on.” Kiersten stopped sending for a short time,
and the Usagi’s voice came over the radios loudly.
“All right Wolf Pack; it’s time for you to move out.”
She said sounding very different from normal. “Meet us at Cherry
Blossom Park; someone is doing some pretty heavy duty draining out
there.”
James and Wesley jumped up with a whoop and dressed
quickly, sliding their weapons into the special back scabbards
they’d made. Taking a short cut through the shrine grounds,
they ran for the park. Making sure their masks were in place,
they stepped into the brush and moved toward the sound of
screaming. Once they could see, they froze and keyed they’re
radios.
“Senshi, this is Wolf two and three.” Wesley said once
he was in position. “We are in sight of the action, awaiting
instructions.”
“Standby Wolf Pack.” Sailor Moon replied. “Neptune’s
trying to locate the place where the energy is going. There’s
some kind of distortion close to it that’s making it hard to
locate.”
“Copy that Senshi, standing by.” Wesley and James waited
for five minutes then swore when six creatures burst out of the
bushes surrounding the concert area. The Senshi jumped out of
hiding, and ran to cut the creatures off.
“Wolf Pack, hold your positions.” Sailor Moon said over
the radio as they started fighting. “We should be able to handle
this if this is all. Keep an eye out though if you see that we
need help, you are cleared to engage.”
Wesley watched from his position near the band stand and
smiled when two of the creatures dissolved into dust. Trying
to get a better view of the fight, he went up a tree and onto
the band stand roof. He watched from that position and marveled
at the coordination Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus showed in their
attacks, and the raw power in Uranus’ and Neptune’s. As the
last of the six dissolved, the Senshi relaxed and that’s when
disaster struck.
Directly behind Mars and Venus, two more Youma appeared
silently at the same time two others roared from the other
direction. With their concentration on the two noisy ones,
no one but Wesley saw the danger, but that was enough.
“Shit.” Wesley shouted. “Wolf two incoming!”
Ignoring Sailor Moon’s questions, he got himself up and
took a running jump off the band stand, drawing his axe in
mid-jump. It was almost like flying as he arced over the Senshi.
He slashed through the Youma behind Sailor Venus, hearing her
scream behind him, and then rolled when he hit the ground,
coming up at the ready. Turning toward the second, he smiled
when he saw James take it out. Hearing Sailor Moon scream over
the radio, he whirled and ran toward the Youma that had cornered
her. His concentration was so focused that he almost didn’t
hear Kiersten.
“So you think you can hurt my cousin huh?” She growled
angrily. “I don’t think so!!” She burst from her cover,
jumping over Sailor Moon and splitting the Youma lengthwise.
“No one messes with my family!”
“Sailor Uranus blasted the last Youma, and as everyone
waited tensely, silence descended over the clearing.
“Wolf Pack, sound off.” Sailor Moon shouted into the
radio.
“Wolf one, at okay.” Kiersten replied.
“Wolf two, all clear.” Wesley barked.
“Wolf three, safe and sound.” James finished. “No
motion at my end.”
“Excellent.” Sailor Moon replied. “Split up and re-group
at Cherry Hill. Now move!” The order must have gone over the
communicators as well as the radios, because as one, everyone
scattered in different directions.
As the Senshi scattered, Hawks swore and followed their
example, running toward the river. Once he was sure no one
was following, Hawks slowed to a walk.
“Shit.” He muttered angrily. “Who the hell were those
three? I almost had two of them.” He sighed and made his
way to the base of Tokyo Tower. Hot wiring the elevator, he
went up to the observation deck and waited for Michelle, who
arrived two hours later.
* * * * *
Wesley jogged down the road with his axe sheathed, hoping
no one would see him, then swore when he heard a siren behind
him, freezing he heard the car come to a stop and waited panicking.
“Turn around slowly, with your hands up.” One officer
ordered. As he opened his door, his partner did the same.
Both officers stood with their guns pointed at him. “Who
are you and why are you dressed like that?”
“Would you believe I’m on my way to a costume party?”
Wesley asked hopefully. At the officer’s hard expression, he
sighed. “Didn’t think so…”
As he was trying to think of what to so, the right side
tires exploded simultaneously, impaled by two red roses. Using
this distraction to jump to the top of the wall, Wesley flinched
as a gun went off and he felt a sharp impact on his shoulder,
knocking him off the wall. Before he could reorient himself,
someone threw him over their shoulder and carried him away,
moving silently. Five minutes later, he was set on his feet
and realized that the person who’d been carrying him was Tuxedo
Kamen. As he stared at him, Mamoru checked his shoulder
carefully, and then chuckled.
Lucky for you, your jacket stopped the bullet.” He
responded to Wesley. “You will have a pretty good bruise though.”
“So they are bullet proof.” Wesley laughed in relief.
“Kiersten is going to kill me.”
“I doubt it.” Tuxedo Kamen said turning away. “We need
to get to the Shrine though.”
“Right.” Wesley agreed, following him though the woods
until they came to the shrine. When they arrived, Usagi relaxed
a little and led them into the Dojo where the others were waiting.
“What took you so long?” Kiersten asked curiously. “We
were back ten minutes ago.”
“Had a bit of a run in with the police.” Wesley sighed,
taking his beret and mask off. Everyone else had already
changed back to normal. “I tried to tell them I was going to
a costume party, but they didn’t believe me?”
“How did you get away?” Minako asked surprised.
“Mamoru blew out their tires and I jumped over a wall.”
Wesley replied, looking at Kiersten and edging away from her a
little. “Not before they shot at me though.”
“They shot you!!” Kiersten squealed in demand. “Good
thing they missed.”
“Yeah.” Wesley sighed in defeat. “Except they didn’t.”
“You … Idiot!!” Kiersten yelled, hitting him in his
shoulder, making him swear.
“What’s wrong?” Minako asked in concern.
“That’s the shoulder they hit.” Mamoru explained, making
Kiersten gasp in shock.
Before he could stop her, Minako wrenched his jacket off
and opened his shirt, staring at the livid bruise. “That must
have really hurt. Why didn’t the bullet go through though?”
“Because the jackets are bulletproof Min.” James supplied.
“Wesley suspected it this afternoon, remember? He wasn’t supposed
to test it though.”
“I know, I know.” Wesley said, nodding. “I wasn’t testing
it alright? Even if my jacket is bulletproof, my head isn’t.
What kind of idiot do you think I am?”
“A lucky one.” Minako replied with a smile. “Well, I
guess Rei and I had better get back on patrol. See you at two,
Haruka and Michiru.” The two girls nodded as Minako and Rei
transformed and left. The others left soon afterwards and James
led Wesley back to his room. Both collapsed onto their futons
and slept for the rest of the night.
* * * * *
Five Youma guards waited for Hawks on the other side of
Michelle’s gate, and after a brief struggle, took him to the
throne room. Dragging him into the room, they brought him to
stand right in front of Damian then released him.
“How dare you treat me like this Rochefort.” Hawks growled.
“What is the meaning of this absurdity?”
“Schwartzstern has been cured of your Incurable disease
Hawks.” Damian replied scathingly. “At this moment, he is
celebrating with Drakkar and their pets. Explain how this
could happen.”
“I haven’t the slightest idea.” Hawks murmured in shock,
and then brought himself under control. “But that’s beside the
point. Those four can’t get back to Tokyo for at least twenty-
four hours. Now is the time to destroy the Senshi and I even
know how.”
“And how would that be?” Damian demanded angrily. “You
have yet to prove you can destroy one of them. I warn you
Hawks don’t waste my time.”
“Listen Damian, I tested my plan out tonight. With a
couple of adjustments, it will work perfectly.”
“I hope so Hawks, for your sake.” Damian said with an
evil grin. “You may proceed, but do not fail me. I will not
be so forgiving of failure next time.” Hawks nodded stiffly
and stormed out of the throne room. Michelle followed him
closely.
“What’s the plan Hawks?” She asked once they were out
of the caverns occupied by Youma guards. “Do you think it
will work?”
“Yes, but to be safe, I want you to move our equipment
to Lichtenstein.” Hawks said pointedly. “Once there, I want
you to stay there. I don’t trust Damian, especially now.”
“Sure thing boss.” She replied with a smile. Ducking
under an over hang, she vanished into the side passages. Hawks
nodded and went to discuss the requirements for his plan with
Jarosite, wondering if he would succeed.
* * * * *
Minako sighed as she laid down on her bed, smiling at
Kiersten’s soft snores and she was asleep almost before her head
hit the pillow.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Princess Ruri Cathal sighed as her ladies maid finished
arranging her hair and smiled at the results.
“Oh, your Highness, you are so pretty today, maybe you’ll
win the prize tonight.” She gushed happily.
“I hope not.” Ruri murmured. “It’s Meriel’s turn tonight.
I won last month and Crystal won two months ago.”
“Maybe she doesn’t deserve it.” The maid said
conspiratorially. “Missy said she came back from a ride without
any clothing and some rather strange bruises at her wrists and
ankles, and her hair was also cut shorter. When Missy asked
about them, she blushed and wouldn’t answer.”
“While interesting, I can’t have you spreading rumors
about Princess Meriel, Cassy.” Ruri said angrily. “I’ll
ask her about this, but you might want to warn Missy not to
talk about anything unusual that happens, okay?”
“Yes, you Highness.” Cassy replied, bowing low, and
excusing herself, the young maid left.
Ruri came to her feet with a sigh, and walked to the
mirror alcove she used to check her appearance, and that
was when she noticed. The translucent nature of the
material hadn’t been as evident before and now she could
see the color of her panties through it along with their
outline. With a soft yelp, she ran back to her closet
and changed quickly to one of the flesh tone ones that
she bought for a similar dress. Going back to the mirror,
she sighed in relief when she saw that nothing embarrassing
was visible.
“I look practically nude under this dress.” She giggled.
With a grin, she walked to her sitting room and gathered her
shawl, when the door chime sounded. Ruri opened the door and
greeted her brother.
“What’s wrong Marcus?” She asked, noticing his grim
expression. “Is Crystal mad at you again?”
“Not that I know of.” He sighed in reply. “It’s just
that she seems to be avoiding me lately.”
“Is there maybe a reason?” Ruri suggested curiously,
noticing his guilty flush. She grinned. “What did you do,
catch her skinny dipping in the reflecting pool?”
“She does that?!” Marcus gasped in surprise, looking
shocked. Ruri tried to stop but a giggle forced its way out.
“What’s so funny?” He demanded.
“You are silly.” She replied. “Here you are beating
yourself up trying to figure out what you did wrong and it
was all probably a misunderstanding. Why don’t you ask her?
Then if necessary, you can apologize and stop moping around.
You’re making me depressed.”
“Yes oh Jubilant One.” Marcus intoned gravely, bowing
low. “To depress you is a great crime.”
“Cut that out. We have to go down to the Ball room now.
I want to be there when Meriel arrives. I’m hoping she wins
the Orchestra Master’s prize tonight.”
“Sadly, I think you might take it again.” Marcus said
as they walked towards the stairway. “That marsh spider silk
is strange stuff. It’s supposed to rival cloth, but to
conceal exposed skin, kind of like a bikini effect.”
“No, it’s just slightly translucent.” Ruri replied
blushing a little. “If you don’t wear underwear that matches
your skin tone, it tends to show through. Of course going
naked under it would also solve the problem.”
“Sure, but with the problems the ventilation system in
the Ball room was giving last night, your second option might
make you a little cold.” Marcus chided, smiling when she
blushed hotter. “That and I think mom might have a bit of a
problem with you going to a Ball in nothing but a translucent
dress.”
“I know.” Ruri sighed, and then grinned. “Of course,
the fact that she did it when she was my age might help me.
I got the impression that daddy dared her to do it, and she
did, having her maid verify it.”
“She may have.” Marcus agreed, with a shrug. “I’ve
never heard of it. That dress certainly looks good on you.
You don’t have to take my word for it though, here comes Ivar,
and it looks like he agrees with me.”
Prince Ivar Hurst of Pluto was coming toward them in
similar clothing to those that Marcus was wearing. His black
evening suit was tailored to him, while his white shirt was as
snowy as his neck cloth. The only color either man wore were
the sashes that marked them as the first prince of their home
world, Marcus in orange and Ivar in dark green with black stripes
on each side. Smiling in welcome, Ruri removed his hand from
her brother’s arm.
“Hello Ruri, Marcus.” Ivar said, returning her smile.
“May I have the honor of escorting this lovely lady into the
Ball?”
“Fine with me.” Marcus replied. “I have to find Crystal.”
“Sure Marcus.” Ruri giggled. “Don’t forget our talk.”
Marcus nodded and made his way into the Ball room.
“Lovely as always Ruri.” Ivar said as he escorted her
into the room. “I was wondering if I could persuade you to
sit out the supper dance with me.”
“But why?” Ruri asked in shock, looking up at her tall
companion. “The supper dance is when Master Giovanni chooses
the girls who compete for the prize. I can’t sit that out.”
“Please Ruri; I’m trying to spare you some embarrassment.
Meriel was talking to Gerrek earlier and she said …”
“Just stop Ivar.” Ruri interrupted angrily. “While I do
think Meriel should win this time, I’m not going to throw the
contest by getting out of the supper dance. Thank you for
escorting me in, but I don’t think I want to see you anymore
tonight.”
“But …”
“Goodnight Ivar.” She said pointedly, glaring at him and
stalking away while Ivar swore under his breath.
Two hours later, she saw Ivar cringe when Master Giovanni
tapped her on the shoulder, and angrily, she brushed him off
when he tried to talk to her during supper. Smiling at Meriel,
she let her go up on the stage first then followed her up.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to present
you these two lovely young ladies, Princess Meriel MacDougall of
Mercury and Princess Ruri Cathal of Venus. They are the most
beautiful, poised, and graceful young ladies in this room. It
is now your opportunity to choose, which of these two girls shall
receive this month’s prize?” Giovanni said to the crowd.
As the normal murmur of conversation began, Ruri smiled
out at the crowd that was when she felt a strange feeling.
Wondering what it was, she was appalled when her skirt blew up
around her head. Forcing it down, she ran, blushing, down the
steps and into the garden, only stopping when she had made her
way to the center of the maze. Collapsing onto a bench, she
burst into tears. A few minutes later, a soft sound startled
her, and she jerked her head up in surprise when she saw Ivar.
She turned her back on him, muttering angrily.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that Ruri.” He sighed,
sitting next to her. “I guess Meriel really wanted to win this
time.”
“What do you mean?” She demanded, turning around. “What
does Meriel have to do with this?”
“Everything.” Ivar said with a shrug. “That’s what I
was trying to warn you about. Just before you came in, I heard
her talking to Gerrek.”
“I know, you told me.”
“But you didn’t let me finish.” Ivar growled. “What I
was trying to tell you was that Meriel told Gerrek to blow your
skirt up around your ears if you were chosen.”
“You … you mean they did it on purpose!?” She howled
outraged, and getting more so. “I’ll kill him! I’ll never
speak to her again.”
“Calm down Ruri.” Ivar said, stilling her hands. “No
one saw anymore than they did at your beauty pageant last year.
Besides, I think everyone felt sorry for you. They think it
was an accident.”
“But … but …”
“Besides, even if no one else will tell you, the view was
great.” As she stared at him, he kissed her soundly and by the
time he was done, she was in a bit of a daze. “Now, let’s go
back and talk to Meriel. I think she feels pretty bad about
what happened.”
“Okay …” Ruri said, smiling dazedly as they made their
way out of the maze. About halfway out, she jerked to a stop
and looked at Ivar in shock. “You kissed me!”
“Yeah, what of it?” Ivar demanded. In response, she
smiled up at him and jumped at him, wrapping her arms and
legs around him and staggering him with the impact.
“This …” Ruri sighed and kissed him hard.
Five minutes later, a slightly dazed Prince was led
out of the maze by Princess Ruri and they rejoined the party.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Minako yawned as she woke up and saw that the sun was
just rising. As she stretched, she saw Artemis come in then
stop, surprised to see her awake.
“You’re up early.” He said, jumping up to her bed.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Great.” Minako sighed happily. I had the most w
onderful dream.”
“What was it about?”
“None of your business Fur ball.” She snapped blushing,
and then jumped when she heard movement behind her. “What the …?”
“Morning Minako.” Kiersten said sleepily. “Thanks again
for letting me stay the night. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Minako replied, smiling in relief. “Would you
believe I forgot that you were there?”
“Sure, I did it to Usagi once when we were about eleven.”
Kiersten laughed sheepishly. “I got up, showered, got dressed
and ate breakfast, and then screamed the house down when I saw
her sit up. It was a big shock.”
“How … never mind.” Minako thought better of her question.
She got up and showered and was on her way to her closet when she
saw Kiersten sketching. “What’s that you’re drawing?”
“Nothing really.” Kiersten sighed, blushing. “It’s just …
I’ve been having these really weird dreams lately, and I’ve been
sketching my dreams. It seems to help me remember them.”
“Can I look?” Minako asked, finishing her outfit.
“Sure, go ahead.” Kiersten said with a shrug, going to
take her shower.
When she got back, Minako was staring at two pictures.
One was of a Ball room, as seen from an upper balcony. It was
obvious that the person who was watching was trying to hide.
The second was of a tall young man in military fatigues.
“You’re very good.” Minako told her. “I almost feel
like I’m in that Ball room and this one of Wesley is pretty
good too.”
“Wesley?” Kiersten gasped, and then giggled when she
saw the picture.
“What?”
“You’re the second person who thought that the picture
was of Wesley.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No, that’s someone from my dream.” Kiersten said with
a smile. “His name is Ivar Horst, and he’s a prince.” Minako
stared at her in shock, and then shook her head.
“I could have sworn it was Wesley.” She sighed. “Oh
well, can’t win them all. Would you like some breakfast?
What would you like to do today?”
“Sure, and I don’t know.” Kiersten laughed. “What
did you have planned?”
“Shopping and boy watching.” Minako giggled. “Actually,
I thought I might go see the remake of Titan A.E. in English.”
“That’ll be cool.” Kiersten said nodding. “Where do
you usually go shopping?”
“Lotus Blossom.” Minako replied. “It’s the place that
the first attack happened last night. Luckily we took these
things down before they did too much damage. It’s really cool.”
“Sounds fun.” Kiersten said as she finished dressing.
“Breakfast?”
“Follow me.”
After a good meal, they set out for the bus stop and were
soon on the way to the Lotus Blossom Tea Garden.
* * * * *
With a vicious smile, Hawks stored the tenth crystal he’d
filled from the ambient field of the mall this morning. “It’s
so much easier this way.” He muttered grimly staring out across
the entertainment complex.
“Talking to yourself boss?” Michelle asked with a grin,
bringing the coffee to their table. “How’s the harvest?”
“Simple and easy.” Hawks replied, sipping the coffee.
“If only Damian wasn’t so short sighted we could get away with
this forever.”
“Yeah, but Rochefort wants results fast so … how’s the
set up going?”
“As soon as the Negabomb is placed next to the security
room, I’ll splice into the video links in the Melamine and we’ll
be done. I’m glad you thought of the documentation though, I
don’t want Damian to have a chance to accuse me of lying about
this.”
“Well, I guess that’s it then.” She finished her coffee
and picked up the bag containing the Negabomb and took it to
it’s place beside the security room while, with practiced ease,
Hawks did the electronic part and then they returned to their
table and filled several more crystals while they watched the
images from the security cameras.
* * * * *
“Wow, this is like the mall of America.” Kiersten said,
turning slowly to see everything. “Where do we start? Clothes,
shoes, or accessories?”
“I think we’ll start with clothes.” Minako giggled. “Once
we have our clothes, finding the right shoes and stuff will be
easier and besides, the cutest boys are always at the food court
around now.”
“Really?” Kiersten gasped in surprise. “So why are we
shopping?”
“Because the teen girls clothes shops are right across
from the food court. We can combine some quality boy watching
with our shopping.”
“Great idea.” Kiersten giggled happily.
Minako smiled in response and led the way up the stairs,
pointing out good stores on their way to the shops they discussed.
After a few minutes in the first shop, Minako started to get an
uncomfortable feeling and looked around suspiciously. That was
when she noticed the tired look of the sales people.
“That’s weird.” She murmured, trying to figure out what
the source of her uneasy feeling was.
“What is?” Kiersten asked curiously.
“Hmm?”
“What’s weird?”
“Umm, it’s just a feeling I’ve got, like something’s not
right.” Minako replied in confusion. “Have you noticed how
tired the girls in the shop look?”
“Yeah, that is weird.” Kiersten said, looking around.
“I thought you said this place didn’t open until ten?”
“It doesn’t.”
“Then why does everyone look like they’ve been here for
at least five hours?” Kiersten asked significantly. “They don’t
have any energy. It’s like they’ve been partying all night.”
“Or like they’re being slowly drained.” Minako said,
snapping at the idea. “The Negaverse must be collecting the
energy from the entire mall.”
“Oh my god, look over there.” Kiersten said, pointing
across the food court. There, at one of the tables, a man was
sitting, holding a crystal that gave off a weak glow. Minako
grimly led Kiersten to the ladies room and keyed her communicator
when they were alone.
“All call, all call, this is Sailor Venus.” She said
calmly. “The Negacreeps are draining people at the Lotus
Blossom Tea Garden. All Senshi and Wolf Pack report to that
position as soon as possible, with Kiersten’s gear if possible.”
“We’re on our way.” Haruka replied, to be followed by
the other Senshi. Minako transformed and left Kiersten in
the restroom and met the other Senshi at the service entrance
to the mall.
“Where are they?” Mars asked, as Sailor Moon gave
Kiersten her uniform. “Are they still here?”
“Over next to the Ramen Pride stand.” Venus explained.
“The problem is with these crowds, someone’s bound to get hurt.
What do we do?”
“This.” Mars said with a smile, pulling a fire alarm
switch, setting off the alarms. As the crowds moved toward
the exits, Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars moved to stop Hawks,
who came to a stop when he saw them.
“Well, if it isn’t the Senshi.” Hawks laughed. “I’m
honored.”
“Silence Negaverse scum.” Sailor Mars growled. “For
crimes against the people of Tokyo, we will punish you.”
“Really?” Hawks laughed scornfully. “I am so frighten.
Did you really think you can catch me this easily?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been expecting you.” He laughed, triggering the
Negabomb in the mall. All of the security doors in the main
colonnade crashed down and the Security room became a fire
ball. At the same time, the elevator in the amphitheater
lowered into the floor. “Now you have a choice, stop me, or
stop them.” As she said this, the elevator returned carrying
twelve Youma.
The Senshi jumped down to fight, except for Sailor Venus
who stayed on the Mezzanine level, glaring at Hawks.
“What is it that Damian Rochefort offers someone like you
to get you to do his dirty work?” She demanded, glaring at him.
“It must be something important.”
“You’ve got it wrong ducks.” Hawks chuckled, noticing
that Michelle was moving up behind Sailor Venus. “I’m doing
that moron Rochefort a favor.” As Michelle raised her sword
to strike the Senshi down, a large figure came down behind
her and grabbed her arm.
“Naughty, naughty.” Wesley admonished, holding
Michelle’s arm in an iron grip. “It’s not nice to attack
people from behind you know.”
Michelle hit him in the chest and swung at him at the same
time the Senshi called for help. Swearing viciously, he ducked
under the swing and rolled away, jumping down to take out a Youma
that almost gutted Sailor Mars. Sailor Venus abandoned her
position to help her friends. After five more minutes, the
Youma were so much dust and all the Senshi jerked their heads
up when they heard applause from the mezzanine.
“Very good.” Hawks said sarcastically, clapping as they
stared up at him. “Very good indeed. I really must tell you
that I am impressed. Sadly, I haven’t time to speak more on
this vein, but my other friends are impatient to meet you.”
As he pushed another button, the amphitheater lift appeared
and twenty more Youma stepped off. As they advanced, one brushed
a pile of dust that was left over from the previous Youma and
Sailor Mars gasped as it absorbed the dust.
“They’re the new type!” She shouted, firing off a Flame
Sniper and swearing when its shield stopped her attack. The
Senshi moved away from the approaching Youma for a short time,
and then started firing attacks off. Several Youma collapsed
into dust piles, but the final result of the attack was twelve
Youma that were resistant to all of their attacks.
“Go hand to hand.” Uranus barked, pulling her sword out
of subspace and attacking a Youma.
Wesley, James, and Kiersten soon jumped in, but the
others were forced to dodge the Youma’s attacks, their punches
and kicks were unable to destroy the creatures. Four minutes
later, the Senshi were surrounded, Uranus and the Wolf Pack
were forced to keep the Youma away from the others. Above
them, Michelle and Hawks smiled in satisfaction as the eight
remaining Youma closed in.
“Ah, what a scene.” Hawks gloated with anticipation.
“The end of the Sailor Senshi at long last. If only Rochefort
could see this.”
“He will soon enough.” Michelle chuckled then tensed when
she felt the presence of another Immortal approach. She looked
over at Hawks and saw him frown while looking up. “Who is it?”
“Looks like the party’s over.” Hawks replied at Michelle’s
confused look.
“What the hell!?” Michelle gasped when the skylight above
them shattered and watched as an apparition that looked like a
dragon made of lightning speared out of the opening and destroyed
two Youma.
“Hey Kevin, it looks like someone decided to have a party
and forgot to invite us.” A figure laughed from above the sky light.
“How rude!” Another voice shouted and four figures jumped
down landing on the ground floor. “Never fear, Kevin’s here.”
Kevin O’Connell grinned at the stunned expressions on the
Senshi’s faces. Scott and Sailor Mercury dove to the side as
Youma attacked them, and Sailor Jupiter grinned up at the two
people on the mezzanine.
“Don’t go away.” She laughed, summoning her sword.
“We’ll be with you shortly.”
The four new comers engaged the Youma and immediately
it was obvious it was time for Hawks and Michelle to leave,
as they turned though, they were stopped by another Immortal.
“Don’t go yet, the party’s just getting started.” His
sword gleamed in the light from the skylight. “I’m sure Scott
and Kevin will want to talk to you.”
“Sorry, but we have an appointment elsewhere.” Hawks
said with a shrug.
“I was afraid you’d say that.”
Michelle stepped between Hawks and his antagonist and
smiled grimly. “Go ahead Hawks; I’ll take care of this one.”
“Of course my dear.” Hawks laughed, leaving them to
fight. As Michelle moved toward the other Immortal, she drew
her sword, smiling when she saw the gleam in his eye.
“Michelle Schmidt.” She said saluting with her sword.
“James Dillinger.” He replied, returning the salute.
“Shall we begin?”
“Yes, let’s.”
With a lightning slash, she attacked, driving him back
a little, only to be forced back when he attacked in return.
Circling each other, they watched, trying to find a weakness.
As they came together for another exchange, James smiled
knowingly.
“You know that hair style of yours in interesting.” He
commented, parrying her thrust and countering with a lunge.
“Mind telling me where you got it?”
“Not at all.” She laughed. “I copied it from Star Wars,
episode one.”
“Thought as much.” James sighed. “I should have known
that someone who hangs around with Rochefort wouldn’t be very
creative. He likes to have idiots around him so he wouldn’t
feel inferior.” Michelle growled low in her throat and lashed
out with several pattern attacks, which James stopped easily.
“You know that’s the thing about originals though.” He sighed
dismissively.
“What’s that?” She asked, a little breathless. A little
clumsily, she lunged over extending. With a deft slash, James
knocked her sword from her hand.
“Simple.” He sighed sadly. “There can be only one.” With
a soft smile, he brought his sword down, removing her head at the
shoulders.
As the Quickening subsided, James stumbled, and then regained
his equilibrium, smiling at Scott and Kevin as they led the Senshi
up the stairs. “Sorry guys, Hawks got away. I had a little tiff
with his chippie there.”
“Not that big a deal, Jim.” Scott sighed. “He’ll be back.
I think we should get out of here before the police arrived though.
Do you have another way of getting out of here than up?”
“Sure, hold on a sec.” He pulled a cell phone out of his
jacket and pushed a button. A female voice came over the line
and he smiled at what she said. “Yes, Washu-Chan, we made it
in time, they’re all still alive. The reason I’m calling though
is to see if you could give us a gate to Kevin’s place. … Yeah
the Castle … Okay, thanks Love, I’ll tell you all about it
when I get home, bye.”
As he hung up, a glowing doorway opened in a blank wall
and he waved them toward it. After Scott and Kevin showed that
is was safe, the Senshi and others stepped through, after which
the doorway collapsed and the Senshi stared around themselves
amazed to find that they were in Kevin’s Dojo.
“Well, now that we’ve escaped from that sticky situation,
I feel that some introductions are in order.” Scott said,
sitting with his back to the wall. “I’m Scott Schwartzstern,
the guy with the goopy grin is Jim Dillinger, and the two lovely
ladies are Sailor Mercury and Jupiter, also known to their
friends as Ami and Makoto. Oh, and our host is Kevin O’Connell.”
Each waved as he said their names. The Senshi transformed out
of their Fuku’s and introduced themselves.
“Who are your masked friends?” Jim asked curiously,
indicating the Wolf Pack.
“Umm … the girl is my cousin Kiersten Dean, and the
shorter guy is Rei’s new brother, James.” Usagi said as they
took off their masks. “The other guy is …”
“Wesley!” Kevin said in shock, staring at his ward.
“Hi, Uncle Kevin.” Wesley said with a sheepish grin.
“Good to see you?”
* * * * *
To Be Continued …
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