The Sun is the Moon - 19
Part 19
previous
“It’s begun!” Mina’s sharp voice rang out. The other scouts dropped whatever they were doing and rushed to where she stood with Amy and Raye. The Venusian scout had abandoned all her pretences and none of her teammates doubted her ability now. She looked the assembly of young women over and smiled grimly. “Nephrite’s appeared with three youma at the mall, although only one is registering, and who wants to bet that each and everyone of them has been perfectly briefed on us?”
“No takers,” Lita replied.
“It’s Saturday, there’ll be late night shoppers all over the place,” Haruka growled in disgust.
“Not to mention that Nephrite will undoubtedly have a little something extra for us because of Malachite and Zoisite,” Mars added.
Mina nodded. “Right, now does everyone remember what to do?” They all signalled yes and she nodded again. “Good, now let’s get to work. Transform!”
Several seconds later seven scouts were leaping across the city
While she moved Mercury tapped on her minicomputer a couple of times and all of their communicators went off.
“Mars here,” Mars responded mid leap.
“Jupiter.”
“Uranus and Neptune,” Neptune answered for both as she usually did.
Saturn whispered quietly, making her voice sound slightly ill, “Saturn.”
Venus deliberately paused before she answered breathlessly, “Venus here, what’s up guys? I’m in the middle of date right now!”
“Get your head out of the clouds you ditz!” Mars retorted, “This is serious. What’s up Mercury?”
“There’s a youma at the mall-”
“Only one?” Jupiter demanded
Mercury’s image nodded on their communicators and Uranus took her cue. She crowded closer to Neptune and asked, “Any sign of Nephrite?”
“None,” Mercury replied.
“Oh good,” Venus blurted, “Then you won’t need me! Later guys!” She turned of her communicator and grinned at Mars.
The priestess hadn’t wasted any time. “WHAT!!” she shrieked and her voice sounded apoplectic. “That irresponsible idiot!”
“Forget about her,” Saturn interrupted, “We’ll deal with her later but at the moment we have other problems. I don’t think I can make it, my injuries from this morning aren’t good.”
“You stay away then Saturn, we can’t risk you getting worse and there’s only one,” Jupiter told her. Saturn sighed into her communicator and then signed off. Jupiter added, “Same for you Mercury.”
Mars disagreed her head, “We need her to check out the youma.”
“Then she has to stay on the sidelines, do you hear me Mercury?” Jupiter questioned flatly.
“I am well aware that I cannot fight at this time,” Mercury injected bitterness into her voice, “But I will perform my duty, I will meet you there, Mercury out.”
“Looks like it’s just the four of us,” Jupiter groaned into her communicator but her eyes were sparkling so brightly that the other scouts were relieved that she was only on audio.
“Sorry Jupiter,” Neptune informed her, “Uranus and I are on the other side of town, it’ll take us a while to get there.”
“What!” Mars interrupted, “Oh for... just hurry alright!”
“Will do, Neptune out.”
“We should be able to deal with one Mars,” Jupiter told her.
“I hope you’re right, meet you there, Mars out.” The last two scouts turned their communicators off just as they landed on the roof of the mall.
“That was well timed,” Venus said, “OK Mars and Jupiter, we’ll be here if you need us. Mercury have you got the ear pieces sorted out?”
The scout in blue nodded. “Yes, I’ll relay the real information through them but I’m not sure how much help I’ll be since we can’t trust my computer. I’ll try and find a pattern to how it’s misleading me but...”
“Trust your own judgment,” Saturn told her, “Your intelligence is complemented by your experience.”
Mercury nodded slowly and Venus smiled tightly. “OK you lot, it’s time to get in there.”
*****
“SUPREME THUNDER DRAGON!”
“NOW!” Mercury screamed.
Nephrite grinned to himself from his position three floors above the scouts. He had enjoyed this confrontation from the moment the first three scouts had arrived to find not one but three youma. Of course Neptune and Uranus had come in time to rescue them but who would save Neptune and Uranus? The dark general knew for a fact that both Saturn and Venus were not going to be coming to this little get together and Mercury was powerless to help her friends.
The youma that Jupiter had just targeted staggered back and into the ring of old Christmas decorations that the other two had been cornered in and Mars wasted no time in setting the decorations alight.
“MARS FIRE IGNITE!”
“Well that’s got ‘em stuck for a little while but it won’t hold ‘em for long,” Nephrite heard Jupiter remark.
He snickered to himself at how right the irritating brats were, these youma ate elemental energies such as fire and lightning and couldn’t be hurt by water. Some of Uranus’ abilities might be able to shake them up but most of them were also edible for the youma. The scouts’ aim had been worse than normal tonight and so far they had managed to avoid supercharging the youma, but not for much longer. The fire in their surroundings was harder for the youma to devour but not impossible, the flames were already shrinking.
“So how do we destroy them?” Uranus asked. The four scouts turned to Mercury who was limping towards them. Nephrite saw the scout in blue stopped when she reached her fellow scouts and called up a display on her computer. “If Jupiter were to hit them with a very strong attack, she should be able to destroy them.”
Nephrite had to restrain a shout of triumph.
“So you just want me to zap ‘em?” Jupiter asked eagerly and there was a short pause while everyone stared at Mercury.
“Come one brats,” Nephrite hissed under his breath, “Go for it.”
“Do it,” Uranus decided and Mars nodded in agreement.
Mercury turned towards the ring and murmured something too quietly for the general to hear.
Jupiter moved closer to the burning ring and braced herself. “SPARKLING...”
Nephrite noticed that Mars saw his reflection in one of the shop windows, he grinned maliciously and bowed to her.
“WIDE...”
“STRIKE!!” The last word was shrieked out but not by Jupiter. Ice began to enshroud the three youma and he cursed in surprise. Mercury was not supposed to be able to use her powers. The only reason she was there was to feed the doctored data in her computer to the others and he wondered why his information was wrong. Then his thoughts were cut off as he realised that the ice was doing what none of the other attacks could do: hurt the youma. No, just slow them down, Nephrite corrected himself. To make ice, Mercury drained heat from a given area and heat was energy. The youma had plenty but it would take them a little while to free themselves and that would give the wretched knights some time to appear and finish things off. Mars turned to grin directly at him. Suddenly Nephrite’s temper snapped and he brought out the surprise he had prepared just before initiating this attack. Two humans appeared floating in midair, trussed up with dark energy like a pair of chickens for slaughter.
“GRANDPA!” Mars screamed, her face pale.
He smiled viciously at her and revealed himself to the other scouts. “Well, well, well, Sailor Mars. Not so cheerful now are you? Why would that be I wonder? It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with this old priest and his servant now, could it? I mean the only person that they’d matter to would be the old man’s granddaughter. After all, they’re the only family she has since her father abandoned her. Maybe you know her, she’s called Raye-”
“Negascum! FLAME SNIPER!”
Nephrite laughed evilly and used the two men to shield him from the approaching flames. His laughter grew when she frantically called the fire back and accidentally scorched Mercury in the process. “Poor little priestess, can’t do anything now can you? If either you or your friends make one wrong move, this pathetic pair are very dead.
“Let them go!” Jupiter demanded, “Or I’ll-”
“You’ll what, Sparky? Try to zap me? Oh, please do! I wonder how the old man will react to having a thousand volts shoved down his throat? Maybe it’ll restart his heart after I stop it to demonstrate just what the cost of standing against me is.”
The five scouts were silent. Jupiter bowed her head and Mars stared at the two hostages fearfully.
“What do you want for their freedom?” Neptune stepped forward to ask.
He felt his face twist in the euphoria of victory. “You will surrender and bow down before Beryl.”
“Not in this life-” Uranus started to yell but was stopped by Neptune’s hand.
“Let them go first,” the elegant scout of the oceans commanded.
“Do you think I’m stupid?” Nephrite barked.
“You are far less trustworthy than we are,” Neptune returned, “We need assurance that Grandfather Hino and Chad will be safe.”
“Then they will die-” he started but was interrupted.
“CRESCENT BEAM!”
“DEATH RIBBON REVOLUTION!”
The first attack cut through the magical bonds holding the two captives, the second shot straight for Nephrite himself. He twisted out of the way instants before the mass of destructive energy blazed through the space he had just been. When he straightened up, moments later, he saw Saturn and Venus land near their fellows, each holding one of the freed hostages.
“Brats!” he snarled and began to gather energy to himself. “For that you die!”
“Bring it on Neffy baby,” Uranus mocked, “Your youma are still trapped. It’s just you against the seven of us, not your kind of odds.”
“You know nothing little girl. I have the strength of the heavens at my fingertips and the paltry magic of a thousand scouts could not equal me. Feel the infinite power of the stars!” He released the blast of energy at the gathered scouts. Neptune, Uranus and Jupiter leapt away but the last four scouts and the two humans remained in the path of the blast.
The blast struck with an enormous hollow boom, stirring up a huge dust cloud but Nephrite had already turned to his next target. Blast after blast, he attacked the visible scouts. The destructive power of his anger brought ruin to the building and Nephrite revelled in the damage. The cloud cleared away from his first attack to reveal four scouts kneeling around the two unconscious males, each warrior drained from the hasty shield they had erected. He bared his teeth and took aim at the helpless group.
*NEPHRITE!*
The general stiffened in shock. Beryl never called in the middle of battle. “Yes, my Queen,” he whispered to thin air.
*RETURN AT ONCE.*
“But your Majesty I-”
*RETURN! WE HAVE BEEN ATTACKED!*
Nephrite jerked at the mental scream and nodded. He looked a last time at the scouts below him. Mars and Venus had regained their feet and stood protectively over the humans. Jupiter was helping Saturn and Mercury while Uranus and Neptune prepared to attack again. He bit off a curse. He had almost had them! He could still defeat them if only he had the time! He growled as his eyes swept over the battle site and then paused in growing mirth. Apparently Saturn and Mercury were still recuperating from the morning’s battle. The information he had been given was not totally in error and now they’d been battered about even more... and the youma were still there. He took aim, released a tremendous energy beam and disappeared.
The last thing he heard as he teleported was Jupiter shouting, “He’s freed the youma-”
*****
Sol looked for his sister vainly, her clothes blended perfectly with the arctic environment and only her presence of her in his mind that gave any hint of her location. He sighed and looked directly up to find her white form floating above him and her sapphire eyes twinkling down at him.
*Very funny Twis!* he sent irritably.
*I thought so,* she returned, *But, all jokes aside, they’re in position.*
Sol nodded grimly. *It’s show time.*
*Time to give the Negaverse something to think about!*
Sol felt his sister’s predatory smile as it grew under her mask and one of his own spread across his face. He turned back to the mountain of ice in front of him and screamed, “SUPER NOVA RISE!” The mountain exploded into a myriad of sizzling droplets and even from a distance the knight could hear a shriek of rage. In response to that distant anger the temperature dropped, winds picked up and a storm started to form. Sol glanced up again but his sister had dissolved into the weather. Absently he wished that she had chosen to fight in her senshi form but he understood her reasoning. The idea of possessing a trump card for Beryl was attractive. She was not only more powerful as Sailor moon but also tougher.
*Don’t worry so much Twib.*
*Sorry Twis, but I really would prefer it if that durability was active during this little endeavour.*
She sent a wave of cheerful confidence at him. *Trust me Twib o’mine, I know what I’m doing. Now, get ready they’re coming for you.*
Sol watched the small horde of youma that stampeded towards him and stood tall. Deliberately he gathered light and his armour began to shine like a beacon in the wretched in environment. The light transfixed the youma and they ran towards him heedless of other considerations. He stared at them until the closest was less than two metres from him and then, in a lightning movement, he drew his sword. Simultaneously two forms dropped down on the attacking party from above and began to create chaos. Sol heard Amon’s screams of challenge rise above the increasing din of battle and not long after they began, he felt his twin’s warm presence settle at his side and they waded into the skirmish side by side.
*****
Tuxedo Mask quietly slipped down the corridor, sheltered from discovery by the myriad shadows. Ahead of him he saw Terran similarly using the darkness for cover as the Guardian provided point guard.
*This seems too easy Quill.* His telepathic sending was clumsy but strong, proximity overcoming the resistance of the dark energy surrounding them.
*Things are quiet Thorn, but for how long I wonder.* The moon senshi’s armour gleamed slightly in the darkness and Tuxedo Mask felt his friend’s unhappiness. Where the silver armour would easily blend with an errant moonbeam, down in the depths of Beryl’s fortress it provided absolutely no camouflage. Instead it gathered the almost nonexistent light to it. *I’m beginning to wonder if I shouldn’t have let one of the twins come in my place. It couldn’t be worse if I had a red neon sign saying, ‘target’!*
Tux smiled grimly. *Do you think either of the twins would have been any better? You gleam, but Sol shines and Sun is little better. Both of them are safer on the surface where they can blend in with the Arctic scenery.*
Lunari sighed. *True Thorn, but I don’t think I would label them safer seeing that they are going to keep Beryl and Nephrite focused on them.*
*If we do this right then we should be gone before Beryl decides to help Nephrite... providing Malachite and Zoisite can be trusted.*
*They can,* Lunari replied with absolute assurance.
Tux decided to let the matter drop. He would gain nothing by arguing with the elder warrior at this point other than to distract the both of them. The process of sneaking into a fortress set in the frozen wasteland of the Arctic in an attempt to rescue the eight Guardians held prisoner by a demented sorceress with delusions of grandeur and aided only by two men, a woman, a wolf and a falcon was not something to do if you mind was wandering.
A slight whine told him that the coast was clear ahead and he moved to join Terran at a large iron door. Moments later Lunari stood by his side as he removed one of his gloves and lay his bare hand on the door. A telepathic search of the room beyond was out of the question. Their proximity to Beryl made anything other than the most basic sendings dangerous but they needed to know what lay beyond before they risked triggering alarms. That left Tuxedo Mask’s tactile clairvoyance. His mind remained blank for a moment and he strained to see something, anything, of what lay inside. Just as he was about to give up an image of Terran’s face came into his mind. He stayed there for a moment longer and wondered if he had seen Terran because the wolf had touched the door and what it was that seemed so strange about the image. He turned away from the door to face Lunari when the knight’s emblem caught his eye and he realised what had been strange about the vision of Terran.
“There’s another Guardian wolf isn’t there?” he whispered to his companions.
Lunari nodded and Terran sighed, “My elder sister, Rhea-”
“She looks just like you right?”
“She’ll be wearing the crescent of a Guardian of the Silver Millennium but the only real difference between us is size. Why?”
“She’s in there.”
“Anyone else?” Lunari asked.
Tux shook his head apologetically. “Sorry, can’t tell.”
“Ah well,” the silver senshi sighed, “We’ll have to find out the hard way then.” Without another word he pushed open the iron doors and light spilt out into the dark corridor.
“Oh man,” Tux muttered as he took in what lay behind the door.
The room was in fact a softly lit cavern with stalagmites and stalactites adorning both ceiling and ground. Against the eastern most wall a computer was set up but instead of electrical sockets and telephone outlets, the cables ran into a dark stone which seemed to swallow light. Yet that was not what drew his eyes. Instead it was the two rows of four stone altars, each with a captive sprawled and bound. Lunari stepped through the doorway slowly and Tux followed him with Terran close on his heels.
“They’re all here,” the wolf said softly as he looked around the cavern. “There’s Thanatos and Necros,” he said as he passed two ravens, “Pheibos and Deimos-”
“Are they the same Phobos and Deimos that Raye used to feed at the tem-” Tux asked softly.
“Yes,” Lunari answered, “Neither of them remembered who or what they were, only that they must stay with their charge.”
“And the others?”
“Hermes and Io are the Moon cats, Atlantia is the falcon and the wolf is Rhea-”
“Probably the reason Uranus is so afraid of dogs,” Terran muttered sarcastically.
Lunari’s lips twitched. “She was ah... strong minded,” he said diplomatically as he began to untie the blue and silver tabby.
“She was temperamental and bloody stubborn,” Terran contradicted in a muttered aside and Tux restrained a snicker as he slipped into a very light healing trance in order to awaken the cat who could only be Hermes.
“Don’t listen to him my friend,” Lunari chuckled, “Rhea and Terran have something of a troubled home life. Both possess strong personalities that clash and she does not relate to children very well. Terran is several years younger than her and they did not get along. But that strength is what made her perfect to be the Guardian of an avatar who is as intractable as Uranus...” He moved on to the tortoiseshell cat.
Terran watched the soft golden glow around his master’s hands and deliberately avoided his sister. “Go on Quill,” the grey Guardian prompted, “Finish what you were about to say.”
“I have nothing more to say,” the Lunar Knight replied, “Although it must be pointed out that those same qualities were what had you chosen to become Endymion’s Guardian.”
“You can’t argue with him there,” a hoarse voice teased and Terran jumped up against the table to grin toothily at the cat.
“Hermes, my old buddy,” he said, eyes bright, “Luna said to say hi.”
“Luna?” the tabby’s eyes lit up, “Ah, it seems you’re moving up in the world Terran. Your associates are of much higher quality than in the old days. What was your old girlfriend’s name? Spot? She was the poodle right?”
“Nah, you’re thinking of who consoled you after Luna finally came to her senses and dumped you.”
The cat blinked and then chuckled as he got unsteadily to his feet. Tux smiled as he moved onto the next Guardian and left the two to banter between themselves. Awakening the Guardians was simple once he got the hang of it. It helped that his healing abilities had been becoming steadily more dependable since the day he had healed Serena in the park.
“Who the hell are you?!” the sharp voice broke him out of the light trance he had maintained for the healings. He blinked at the Guardian in front of him, dazed, and the wolf staggered to her feet and snarled at him. He opened his mouth to reply when Terran spoke for him.
“Who do you think he is, you moron!”
“You!” Her voice was full of disgust. “I should have known!”
“No offence, Rhea, but it is rather obvious that that’s Endymion,” Hermes drawled.
Tux sighed as Rhea and Terran began to bicker while Hermes watched in amusement. “Both of you quit it. Terran, you know better than to argue when we’re in this much danger. Terran winced but Rhea looked belligerent. Terran looked at her in irritation, “He’s right and you know it. We’re in the middle of a Negaverse fortress. Now shut up and do as he says.”
“That’s everyone Tux,” Lunari said from behind him.
He turned to the older man gratefully. “Tell the twins and let’s get out of here,” he advised his friend and the elder man nodded. Tux turned back to the gathered Guardians. “You all know the Lunar Knight and Terran. I’m called Tuxedo Mask and I am the reincarnation of Endymion. I don’t know how much you remember of what’s happened to you over the past couple of months-”
“Not much,” Hermes informed him and several of the other Guardians nodded in agreement. “You mentioned something about being in the middle of a Negaverse fortress?”
Tux sighed. “Several months ago the Negaverse discovered the existence of the datanet and the Guardians.”
“We were captured,” the tortoiseshell Guardian stated with certainty.
“I’m afraid so,” Tux confirmed and continued quickly, “Now the enemy’s attention is being drawn away from us. We have maybe ten minutes to get away from here.”
“Teleport?” Atlantia asked calmly.
Lunari shook his head. “Too much dark energy around. We have to get to the surface first.”
“Not happening I’m afraid,” an angry voice said from near the computer. The form of the Negaverse’s sole remaining general materialised next to the dark crystal. He was scowling at the group and with an absent gesture, he crushed the computer.
“Nephrite,” Tuxedo Mask spat. Terran began to nudge the closest of his compatriots towards the exit. Tux glanced at Lunari and sent, *We can’t afford a pitched battle in here and none of the Guardians are up to it anyway. I’ll buy you the time to get them out of here, now go!* He turned to Nephrite before his friend answered and challenged, “Well then Nephrite, let’s have at it.”
The general sneered and without further warning, shot a blast of energy towards the caped warrior. From the corner of his eyes Tux saw Terran and Lunari herd the weakened Guardians out the door and then he focused on Nephrite. Three roses neutralised the energy blast headed towards him and he followed them with a golden globe of energy to begin the fight in earnest.
next
previous
“It’s begun!” Mina’s sharp voice rang out. The other scouts dropped whatever they were doing and rushed to where she stood with Amy and Raye. The Venusian scout had abandoned all her pretences and none of her teammates doubted her ability now. She looked the assembly of young women over and smiled grimly. “Nephrite’s appeared with three youma at the mall, although only one is registering, and who wants to bet that each and everyone of them has been perfectly briefed on us?”
“No takers,” Lita replied.
“It’s Saturday, there’ll be late night shoppers all over the place,” Haruka growled in disgust.
“Not to mention that Nephrite will undoubtedly have a little something extra for us because of Malachite and Zoisite,” Mars added.
Mina nodded. “Right, now does everyone remember what to do?” They all signalled yes and she nodded again. “Good, now let’s get to work. Transform!”
Several seconds later seven scouts were leaping across the city
While she moved Mercury tapped on her minicomputer a couple of times and all of their communicators went off.
“Mars here,” Mars responded mid leap.
“Jupiter.”
“Uranus and Neptune,” Neptune answered for both as she usually did.
Saturn whispered quietly, making her voice sound slightly ill, “Saturn.”
Venus deliberately paused before she answered breathlessly, “Venus here, what’s up guys? I’m in the middle of date right now!”
“Get your head out of the clouds you ditz!” Mars retorted, “This is serious. What’s up Mercury?”
“There’s a youma at the mall-”
“Only one?” Jupiter demanded
Mercury’s image nodded on their communicators and Uranus took her cue. She crowded closer to Neptune and asked, “Any sign of Nephrite?”
“None,” Mercury replied.
“Oh good,” Venus blurted, “Then you won’t need me! Later guys!” She turned of her communicator and grinned at Mars.
The priestess hadn’t wasted any time. “WHAT!!” she shrieked and her voice sounded apoplectic. “That irresponsible idiot!”
“Forget about her,” Saturn interrupted, “We’ll deal with her later but at the moment we have other problems. I don’t think I can make it, my injuries from this morning aren’t good.”
“You stay away then Saturn, we can’t risk you getting worse and there’s only one,” Jupiter told her. Saturn sighed into her communicator and then signed off. Jupiter added, “Same for you Mercury.”
Mars disagreed her head, “We need her to check out the youma.”
“Then she has to stay on the sidelines, do you hear me Mercury?” Jupiter questioned flatly.
“I am well aware that I cannot fight at this time,” Mercury injected bitterness into her voice, “But I will perform my duty, I will meet you there, Mercury out.”
“Looks like it’s just the four of us,” Jupiter groaned into her communicator but her eyes were sparkling so brightly that the other scouts were relieved that she was only on audio.
“Sorry Jupiter,” Neptune informed her, “Uranus and I are on the other side of town, it’ll take us a while to get there.”
“What!” Mars interrupted, “Oh for... just hurry alright!”
“Will do, Neptune out.”
“We should be able to deal with one Mars,” Jupiter told her.
“I hope you’re right, meet you there, Mars out.” The last two scouts turned their communicators off just as they landed on the roof of the mall.
“That was well timed,” Venus said, “OK Mars and Jupiter, we’ll be here if you need us. Mercury have you got the ear pieces sorted out?”
The scout in blue nodded. “Yes, I’ll relay the real information through them but I’m not sure how much help I’ll be since we can’t trust my computer. I’ll try and find a pattern to how it’s misleading me but...”
“Trust your own judgment,” Saturn told her, “Your intelligence is complemented by your experience.”
Mercury nodded slowly and Venus smiled tightly. “OK you lot, it’s time to get in there.”
*****
“SUPREME THUNDER DRAGON!”
“NOW!” Mercury screamed.
Nephrite grinned to himself from his position three floors above the scouts. He had enjoyed this confrontation from the moment the first three scouts had arrived to find not one but three youma. Of course Neptune and Uranus had come in time to rescue them but who would save Neptune and Uranus? The dark general knew for a fact that both Saturn and Venus were not going to be coming to this little get together and Mercury was powerless to help her friends.
The youma that Jupiter had just targeted staggered back and into the ring of old Christmas decorations that the other two had been cornered in and Mars wasted no time in setting the decorations alight.
“MARS FIRE IGNITE!”
“Well that’s got ‘em stuck for a little while but it won’t hold ‘em for long,” Nephrite heard Jupiter remark.
He snickered to himself at how right the irritating brats were, these youma ate elemental energies such as fire and lightning and couldn’t be hurt by water. Some of Uranus’ abilities might be able to shake them up but most of them were also edible for the youma. The scouts’ aim had been worse than normal tonight and so far they had managed to avoid supercharging the youma, but not for much longer. The fire in their surroundings was harder for the youma to devour but not impossible, the flames were already shrinking.
“So how do we destroy them?” Uranus asked. The four scouts turned to Mercury who was limping towards them. Nephrite saw the scout in blue stopped when she reached her fellow scouts and called up a display on her computer. “If Jupiter were to hit them with a very strong attack, she should be able to destroy them.”
Nephrite had to restrain a shout of triumph.
“So you just want me to zap ‘em?” Jupiter asked eagerly and there was a short pause while everyone stared at Mercury.
“Come one brats,” Nephrite hissed under his breath, “Go for it.”
“Do it,” Uranus decided and Mars nodded in agreement.
Mercury turned towards the ring and murmured something too quietly for the general to hear.
Jupiter moved closer to the burning ring and braced herself. “SPARKLING...”
Nephrite noticed that Mars saw his reflection in one of the shop windows, he grinned maliciously and bowed to her.
“WIDE...”
“STRIKE!!” The last word was shrieked out but not by Jupiter. Ice began to enshroud the three youma and he cursed in surprise. Mercury was not supposed to be able to use her powers. The only reason she was there was to feed the doctored data in her computer to the others and he wondered why his information was wrong. Then his thoughts were cut off as he realised that the ice was doing what none of the other attacks could do: hurt the youma. No, just slow them down, Nephrite corrected himself. To make ice, Mercury drained heat from a given area and heat was energy. The youma had plenty but it would take them a little while to free themselves and that would give the wretched knights some time to appear and finish things off. Mars turned to grin directly at him. Suddenly Nephrite’s temper snapped and he brought out the surprise he had prepared just before initiating this attack. Two humans appeared floating in midair, trussed up with dark energy like a pair of chickens for slaughter.
“GRANDPA!” Mars screamed, her face pale.
He smiled viciously at her and revealed himself to the other scouts. “Well, well, well, Sailor Mars. Not so cheerful now are you? Why would that be I wonder? It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with this old priest and his servant now, could it? I mean the only person that they’d matter to would be the old man’s granddaughter. After all, they’re the only family she has since her father abandoned her. Maybe you know her, she’s called Raye-”
“Negascum! FLAME SNIPER!”
Nephrite laughed evilly and used the two men to shield him from the approaching flames. His laughter grew when she frantically called the fire back and accidentally scorched Mercury in the process. “Poor little priestess, can’t do anything now can you? If either you or your friends make one wrong move, this pathetic pair are very dead.
“Let them go!” Jupiter demanded, “Or I’ll-”
“You’ll what, Sparky? Try to zap me? Oh, please do! I wonder how the old man will react to having a thousand volts shoved down his throat? Maybe it’ll restart his heart after I stop it to demonstrate just what the cost of standing against me is.”
The five scouts were silent. Jupiter bowed her head and Mars stared at the two hostages fearfully.
“What do you want for their freedom?” Neptune stepped forward to ask.
He felt his face twist in the euphoria of victory. “You will surrender and bow down before Beryl.”
“Not in this life-” Uranus started to yell but was stopped by Neptune’s hand.
“Let them go first,” the elegant scout of the oceans commanded.
“Do you think I’m stupid?” Nephrite barked.
“You are far less trustworthy than we are,” Neptune returned, “We need assurance that Grandfather Hino and Chad will be safe.”
“Then they will die-” he started but was interrupted.
“CRESCENT BEAM!”
“DEATH RIBBON REVOLUTION!”
The first attack cut through the magical bonds holding the two captives, the second shot straight for Nephrite himself. He twisted out of the way instants before the mass of destructive energy blazed through the space he had just been. When he straightened up, moments later, he saw Saturn and Venus land near their fellows, each holding one of the freed hostages.
“Brats!” he snarled and began to gather energy to himself. “For that you die!”
“Bring it on Neffy baby,” Uranus mocked, “Your youma are still trapped. It’s just you against the seven of us, not your kind of odds.”
“You know nothing little girl. I have the strength of the heavens at my fingertips and the paltry magic of a thousand scouts could not equal me. Feel the infinite power of the stars!” He released the blast of energy at the gathered scouts. Neptune, Uranus and Jupiter leapt away but the last four scouts and the two humans remained in the path of the blast.
The blast struck with an enormous hollow boom, stirring up a huge dust cloud but Nephrite had already turned to his next target. Blast after blast, he attacked the visible scouts. The destructive power of his anger brought ruin to the building and Nephrite revelled in the damage. The cloud cleared away from his first attack to reveal four scouts kneeling around the two unconscious males, each warrior drained from the hasty shield they had erected. He bared his teeth and took aim at the helpless group.
*NEPHRITE!*
The general stiffened in shock. Beryl never called in the middle of battle. “Yes, my Queen,” he whispered to thin air.
*RETURN AT ONCE.*
“But your Majesty I-”
*RETURN! WE HAVE BEEN ATTACKED!*
Nephrite jerked at the mental scream and nodded. He looked a last time at the scouts below him. Mars and Venus had regained their feet and stood protectively over the humans. Jupiter was helping Saturn and Mercury while Uranus and Neptune prepared to attack again. He bit off a curse. He had almost had them! He could still defeat them if only he had the time! He growled as his eyes swept over the battle site and then paused in growing mirth. Apparently Saturn and Mercury were still recuperating from the morning’s battle. The information he had been given was not totally in error and now they’d been battered about even more... and the youma were still there. He took aim, released a tremendous energy beam and disappeared.
The last thing he heard as he teleported was Jupiter shouting, “He’s freed the youma-”
*****
Sol looked for his sister vainly, her clothes blended perfectly with the arctic environment and only her presence of her in his mind that gave any hint of her location. He sighed and looked directly up to find her white form floating above him and her sapphire eyes twinkling down at him.
*Very funny Twis!* he sent irritably.
*I thought so,* she returned, *But, all jokes aside, they’re in position.*
Sol nodded grimly. *It’s show time.*
*Time to give the Negaverse something to think about!*
Sol felt his sister’s predatory smile as it grew under her mask and one of his own spread across his face. He turned back to the mountain of ice in front of him and screamed, “SUPER NOVA RISE!” The mountain exploded into a myriad of sizzling droplets and even from a distance the knight could hear a shriek of rage. In response to that distant anger the temperature dropped, winds picked up and a storm started to form. Sol glanced up again but his sister had dissolved into the weather. Absently he wished that she had chosen to fight in her senshi form but he understood her reasoning. The idea of possessing a trump card for Beryl was attractive. She was not only more powerful as Sailor moon but also tougher.
*Don’t worry so much Twib.*
*Sorry Twis, but I really would prefer it if that durability was active during this little endeavour.*
She sent a wave of cheerful confidence at him. *Trust me Twib o’mine, I know what I’m doing. Now, get ready they’re coming for you.*
Sol watched the small horde of youma that stampeded towards him and stood tall. Deliberately he gathered light and his armour began to shine like a beacon in the wretched in environment. The light transfixed the youma and they ran towards him heedless of other considerations. He stared at them until the closest was less than two metres from him and then, in a lightning movement, he drew his sword. Simultaneously two forms dropped down on the attacking party from above and began to create chaos. Sol heard Amon’s screams of challenge rise above the increasing din of battle and not long after they began, he felt his twin’s warm presence settle at his side and they waded into the skirmish side by side.
*****
Tuxedo Mask quietly slipped down the corridor, sheltered from discovery by the myriad shadows. Ahead of him he saw Terran similarly using the darkness for cover as the Guardian provided point guard.
*This seems too easy Quill.* His telepathic sending was clumsy but strong, proximity overcoming the resistance of the dark energy surrounding them.
*Things are quiet Thorn, but for how long I wonder.* The moon senshi’s armour gleamed slightly in the darkness and Tuxedo Mask felt his friend’s unhappiness. Where the silver armour would easily blend with an errant moonbeam, down in the depths of Beryl’s fortress it provided absolutely no camouflage. Instead it gathered the almost nonexistent light to it. *I’m beginning to wonder if I shouldn’t have let one of the twins come in my place. It couldn’t be worse if I had a red neon sign saying, ‘target’!*
Tux smiled grimly. *Do you think either of the twins would have been any better? You gleam, but Sol shines and Sun is little better. Both of them are safer on the surface where they can blend in with the Arctic scenery.*
Lunari sighed. *True Thorn, but I don’t think I would label them safer seeing that they are going to keep Beryl and Nephrite focused on them.*
*If we do this right then we should be gone before Beryl decides to help Nephrite... providing Malachite and Zoisite can be trusted.*
*They can,* Lunari replied with absolute assurance.
Tux decided to let the matter drop. He would gain nothing by arguing with the elder warrior at this point other than to distract the both of them. The process of sneaking into a fortress set in the frozen wasteland of the Arctic in an attempt to rescue the eight Guardians held prisoner by a demented sorceress with delusions of grandeur and aided only by two men, a woman, a wolf and a falcon was not something to do if you mind was wandering.
A slight whine told him that the coast was clear ahead and he moved to join Terran at a large iron door. Moments later Lunari stood by his side as he removed one of his gloves and lay his bare hand on the door. A telepathic search of the room beyond was out of the question. Their proximity to Beryl made anything other than the most basic sendings dangerous but they needed to know what lay beyond before they risked triggering alarms. That left Tuxedo Mask’s tactile clairvoyance. His mind remained blank for a moment and he strained to see something, anything, of what lay inside. Just as he was about to give up an image of Terran’s face came into his mind. He stayed there for a moment longer and wondered if he had seen Terran because the wolf had touched the door and what it was that seemed so strange about the image. He turned away from the door to face Lunari when the knight’s emblem caught his eye and he realised what had been strange about the vision of Terran.
“There’s another Guardian wolf isn’t there?” he whispered to his companions.
Lunari nodded and Terran sighed, “My elder sister, Rhea-”
“She looks just like you right?”
“She’ll be wearing the crescent of a Guardian of the Silver Millennium but the only real difference between us is size. Why?”
“She’s in there.”
“Anyone else?” Lunari asked.
Tux shook his head apologetically. “Sorry, can’t tell.”
“Ah well,” the silver senshi sighed, “We’ll have to find out the hard way then.” Without another word he pushed open the iron doors and light spilt out into the dark corridor.
“Oh man,” Tux muttered as he took in what lay behind the door.
The room was in fact a softly lit cavern with stalagmites and stalactites adorning both ceiling and ground. Against the eastern most wall a computer was set up but instead of electrical sockets and telephone outlets, the cables ran into a dark stone which seemed to swallow light. Yet that was not what drew his eyes. Instead it was the two rows of four stone altars, each with a captive sprawled and bound. Lunari stepped through the doorway slowly and Tux followed him with Terran close on his heels.
“They’re all here,” the wolf said softly as he looked around the cavern. “There’s Thanatos and Necros,” he said as he passed two ravens, “Pheibos and Deimos-”
“Are they the same Phobos and Deimos that Raye used to feed at the tem-” Tux asked softly.
“Yes,” Lunari answered, “Neither of them remembered who or what they were, only that they must stay with their charge.”
“And the others?”
“Hermes and Io are the Moon cats, Atlantia is the falcon and the wolf is Rhea-”
“Probably the reason Uranus is so afraid of dogs,” Terran muttered sarcastically.
Lunari’s lips twitched. “She was ah... strong minded,” he said diplomatically as he began to untie the blue and silver tabby.
“She was temperamental and bloody stubborn,” Terran contradicted in a muttered aside and Tux restrained a snicker as he slipped into a very light healing trance in order to awaken the cat who could only be Hermes.
“Don’t listen to him my friend,” Lunari chuckled, “Rhea and Terran have something of a troubled home life. Both possess strong personalities that clash and she does not relate to children very well. Terran is several years younger than her and they did not get along. But that strength is what made her perfect to be the Guardian of an avatar who is as intractable as Uranus...” He moved on to the tortoiseshell cat.
Terran watched the soft golden glow around his master’s hands and deliberately avoided his sister. “Go on Quill,” the grey Guardian prompted, “Finish what you were about to say.”
“I have nothing more to say,” the Lunar Knight replied, “Although it must be pointed out that those same qualities were what had you chosen to become Endymion’s Guardian.”
“You can’t argue with him there,” a hoarse voice teased and Terran jumped up against the table to grin toothily at the cat.
“Hermes, my old buddy,” he said, eyes bright, “Luna said to say hi.”
“Luna?” the tabby’s eyes lit up, “Ah, it seems you’re moving up in the world Terran. Your associates are of much higher quality than in the old days. What was your old girlfriend’s name? Spot? She was the poodle right?”
“Nah, you’re thinking of who consoled you after Luna finally came to her senses and dumped you.”
The cat blinked and then chuckled as he got unsteadily to his feet. Tux smiled as he moved onto the next Guardian and left the two to banter between themselves. Awakening the Guardians was simple once he got the hang of it. It helped that his healing abilities had been becoming steadily more dependable since the day he had healed Serena in the park.
“Who the hell are you?!” the sharp voice broke him out of the light trance he had maintained for the healings. He blinked at the Guardian in front of him, dazed, and the wolf staggered to her feet and snarled at him. He opened his mouth to reply when Terran spoke for him.
“Who do you think he is, you moron!”
“You!” Her voice was full of disgust. “I should have known!”
“No offence, Rhea, but it is rather obvious that that’s Endymion,” Hermes drawled.
Tux sighed as Rhea and Terran began to bicker while Hermes watched in amusement. “Both of you quit it. Terran, you know better than to argue when we’re in this much danger. Terran winced but Rhea looked belligerent. Terran looked at her in irritation, “He’s right and you know it. We’re in the middle of a Negaverse fortress. Now shut up and do as he says.”
“That’s everyone Tux,” Lunari said from behind him.
He turned to the older man gratefully. “Tell the twins and let’s get out of here,” he advised his friend and the elder man nodded. Tux turned back to the gathered Guardians. “You all know the Lunar Knight and Terran. I’m called Tuxedo Mask and I am the reincarnation of Endymion. I don’t know how much you remember of what’s happened to you over the past couple of months-”
“Not much,” Hermes informed him and several of the other Guardians nodded in agreement. “You mentioned something about being in the middle of a Negaverse fortress?”
Tux sighed. “Several months ago the Negaverse discovered the existence of the datanet and the Guardians.”
“We were captured,” the tortoiseshell Guardian stated with certainty.
“I’m afraid so,” Tux confirmed and continued quickly, “Now the enemy’s attention is being drawn away from us. We have maybe ten minutes to get away from here.”
“Teleport?” Atlantia asked calmly.
Lunari shook his head. “Too much dark energy around. We have to get to the surface first.”
“Not happening I’m afraid,” an angry voice said from near the computer. The form of the Negaverse’s sole remaining general materialised next to the dark crystal. He was scowling at the group and with an absent gesture, he crushed the computer.
“Nephrite,” Tuxedo Mask spat. Terran began to nudge the closest of his compatriots towards the exit. Tux glanced at Lunari and sent, *We can’t afford a pitched battle in here and none of the Guardians are up to it anyway. I’ll buy you the time to get them out of here, now go!* He turned to Nephrite before his friend answered and challenged, “Well then Nephrite, let’s have at it.”
The general sneered and without further warning, shot a blast of energy towards the caped warrior. From the corner of his eyes Tux saw Terran and Lunari herd the weakened Guardians out the door and then he focused on Nephrite. Three roses neutralised the energy blast headed towards him and he followed them with a golden globe of energy to begin the fight in earnest.
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