[ We see the theater usually used for the Synopsis List
Review. Lavender and Apollo are waiting in their usual
seats.]
Lavender: Well, our first true MST of a fic.
Apollo: Yeah. It was a good thing that I found this Biles fic
in the mailbox....
Lavender:[shocked look ] Did you say Biles ?
Apollo: Yes. As I was saying -
Lavender: Damn bloody friggin' hell !
Apollo: What !?!
Lavender: [Looking upwards] I hope that Elsa doesn't have a
copy up there.
Apollo: Why ?
Lavender: Ever since Elsa read 'Dance of Shiva' ,whenever she
reads a Biles fic she goes -
Voice from above: OHOHOHOHOHO ! MARRY ME BILES-SAMA !
Lavender: SHIT ! Better get up there ! [Lavender runs out of theater]
Apollo: What about the.....Better get another MST partner for awhile.
[presses a button with one paw ] Ray, send in a sub. Elsa
and the boss are having a little discussion. [Winces as sounds
of a struggle are heard upstairs.]
Lavender[offscreen]: Stay still, you nutcase !
Voice: Nothing shall keep me away from my Biles-sama !
Apollo: And put up the soundproofing now. It's getting noisy around here.
[Theater door opens and Ami Mizuno in a Dark Kingdom General Uniform
enters.]
Apollo: Hell, Ray not her....
Dark Mercury: Hello, one-eyed dogbait.
Apollo: And a good day to you, psychotic killer scum.
Dark Mercury: [seats herself] Isn't that a quote from Mark Doherty's fic.
Apollo: Yeah, but it's true. You _are_ psychotic killer scum.
Dark Mercury: That's _beautiful_ psychotic killer scum to you. Anyway to the
folks out there, I'm Dark Mercury. I'll be showing up in one of
dear Elsa's fics in a few months.
Apollo: Anyway on with the fic ! BTW, thios is our first true MST so pardon a few
mistakes.
Ryo-ohki's report from her sensors was almost unbelievable to
Ryoko. According to the Juraiian Navigation Database, Altair had
thirteen planets and three asteroid belts. Now, it had three planets
and thirteen asteroid belts. It also had a two hundred mile long
cone orbiting Altair XI, a gas giant, like the five moons which it had
formerly possessed, all of which were now absent without leave.
DM: Someone has done a lot of work....
Apollo: The thing that did this must be a lot worse than you. You've got
three planets under your belt right ?
The BORG was sometimes blamed on the Sidar, and one
common rumor was that the Planet-Smashers had been built to
battle the BORG. However, there were no reports of the BORG
existing more than 10,000 years ago, and the Sidar had been long
dead by then.
Apollo: Borg ? Ain't those guys from Star Trek ?
DM: That's why it's called a crossover, cat.
The gates were gone now, with a few exceptions like the poor
pathetic world that Ryouko had once visited that was plagued by
malfunctioning Sidar gates that had been spewing strange chaos-
stuff across the planet. That was her theory as to their demise;
they had opened a gate to the wrong place and been eaten by
something that came out, then used their gates to travel around
destroying them.
DM: A classic example of technology turning upon it's master.
Apollo: Yeah, curiosity killed the cat after all.
The magic meter meowed, alerting Ryouko that the ships being
observed seemed to primarily power themselves through magic.
Ryouko frowned. Magical things had a tendency to pull annoying
abilities out of their butt and make your life miserable.
Apollo: We do not pull things out of our butts !
"Skuld gave me a bomb." She pulled out a bowling ball covered
with circutry with a long fuse that looked like a braided thread. "All
we have to do is make sure they don't activate the thing while we fly
down its mouth and toss this thing into its main gun."
DM: Yeah, right ! As if it was a walk in the park !
Ryouko had dived behind her command chair at the word Skuld
and winced at the word bomb. After poking her head out and looking
at the bomb, she suddenly shrank down to about a foot tall and ran
and hid inside a control panel, with only her head sticking out. In a
squeaky voice, she said, "All we have to do is fly several hundred
miles through a Planet-Smasher and toss an exploding bowling ball
into the main gun, capable of levelling planets, then get out before
we are turned into a few grains of space dust?"
Apollo: Ryouko doesn't seem to be taking this quite well.
DM: Would you ?
******************
Black Moon Rising
Chapter 5: Strange Emissions
DM: APOLLO ! What is that smell ?!?!
Apollo: Sorry.
By John Biles
Voice[through sound proofing]: MARRY ME BILES-SAMA !
******************
Earth, Ruins of Crystal Tokyo, SY 1532 (4524 AD, 5276 Years after
the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 24688, Federal Year 538)
DM: I like ruins. They have that nice air around them.
Apollo: Yeah. Filled with dust.
Makoto Gelbenwald pored through the equations. He had to be
sure of what was going on. Astro-history was a precise science, but
DM: Isn't that supposed to be psychohistory ?
Apollo: That's Asimov, killer scum, this is Biles.
However, it was possible that something like the 'Bunny'
disaster was about to begin. Makoto prayed that wasn't the case.
DM: Yes, the damned cuteness of the damned things can give you
diabetes for centuries.
Apollo: Trust her. She knows.
She had only one problem: she was infertile and had no heir. In
addition, the vast magic she wielded exerted its cost. She had
lasted ten years, just long enough to plunge several of her neighbors
into anarchy and to earn a place in history, then she died. The
effects of her powers ceased in an instant. Buildings collapsed,
people died, and her realm swiftly fell as deeply into chaos as it had
climbed towards heaven before.
DM: The higher the place, the more painful the fall from grace.
Apollo: Hey ! That rhymes !
DM: Thank you for your wise ass remark, cat.
It had taken close to a century to clean up the mess she had
made of the Stingray Plan, and things still weren't entirely on track.
A manifestation of Saturn could make a big mess as well. An entire
world had died the last time they hadn't found Saturn before
her awakening. What really worried Makoto was that Pluto hadn't
shown up. Normally, she'd have at least briefly appeared and said
something vague and not very helpful by now.
DM: That's what my Pluto usually did before I killed her.
A burst of air and a loud oof drew him away from the computer
screen. It was his wife, Rita. "Bad news, Makoto. Intruders. And Dr.
Anderson picked up a time distortion when they appeared."
Apollo: An ESPer. A descendent of the Kasuga's ? Another question added
to the list.
DM: Yes. A very long list.
Arcadia woke up back in her bed. Hotaru was sitting on the floor
with Ami-chan, playing a game that resembled 'Lifepath', a popular
game on her world, although the track was different and there
weren't any Crystal Palaces in 'Lifepath'.
DM: That Ami-chan girl looks quite familar......
Apollo: [Sweatdrop]
"When what?"
"Pluto vanishing is never a good sign. Want another sandwich?"
Apollo: Yeah. That either mean's she's left you to die or she's been
captured by an evil monster hell bent on destroying the universe.
DM: You've read ahead I see.
Apollo: I did bring the fic in....
******************
Gabrielle was sweating inside her robes. If I get home alive, I'll
never make fun of the Church of Serenity again, she thought. She had
been sent by Jade to plant a droid inside the huge statue of Serenity
in the main temple of the Church. Things had begun to go downhill
from the moment she had stepped in the doors. She had thought that
being disguised as a High Initiate would make it easy to get to the
statue. Unfortunately, a horde of people had pressed in on her asking
for blessings and guidance the instant she stepped inside. Then to
make it worse, a grand initiate had arrived and roped her into
assisting in a worship ceremony, along with several other high
intitiates. Now she was stumbling through the rite with thousands
upon thousands of people watching her, or so it seemed. She could
almost feel the droid in her pocket.
To make matters worse, the sun seemed to have been turned up
to a higher volume today, and as it shone down through a high
window, she felt like she was going to melt in her robes. The light
was not just hot, it felt like it was watching her. Several times,
she almost saw a figure in the sunlight, a being of some kind,
staring at her. And it wasn't happy.
DM: Ah, the Saotome principle in action.
Apollo: Saotome Principle ?
DM: Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong, all at the same time.
"There's a huge asteroid infested with byakhee that just passed
Pluto and is on the way right towards where this place is going to be
by the time the asteroid makes it to our orbit. And one of the Great
Old Ones is also on its way into the system." He sighed. "I told you
we need to find where the Black Moon Cult hides and wipe them out."
Apollo: A Great Old One ? Byakhee ? I haven't seen those things in a long
while.
DM: Probably owing to the fact that you and your master led the plan
to systematically eliminate them from existence ?
Apollo: Yeah, that might be it.
Astra frowned. "Contact the Senshi. We'll deal with the
asteroid and let them deal with the Great Old One. How big is this
asteroid?"
"About half the size of the moon."
"Which moon?"
"THE Moon."
Apollo: That's one big mama.
Demand smiled. Everything was going according to plan.
"Esmaurade!"
DM: Irritating bitch.
She walked over from where she had been busy gossiping with
some other nobles. "Yes?"
"The time has come. Let the fleet be prepared. The invasion of
Crystal Tokyo is about to begin." He smiled. We will break you,
Endymion. And then...Serenity will be mine, as she was meant to be
from the beginning. The prophecy will be fulfilled.
Apollo: Another self-deluded megalomaniac, isn't he ?
Everyone laughed except Gabrielle. The waitress, a cute blonde
woman, came over and asked, "Can I get you guys anything else?"
"Some donuts," Michael said.
"Kinda hard to get on Nemesis, eh?" the waitress asked.
DM: The waitress looks familiar.....
Apollo: Let me bet, the guys going to say something stupid, right ?
He nodded. "Yeah. Earth whiskey sucks, though, in comparison
to..." I really need to learn when to shut up, he thought.
DM & Apollo: [nod]
Uriel nodded. "Just don't put me in a cell with Michael. He
snores."
"HEY!"
Apollo: Must snore as badly as you , killer scum ?
DM: Want to become a popsicle, little kitty ?
So instead, she was playing her 1000th or so game of Lifepath
with Ami-chan and Small Lady, who loved it to death. Ami-chan
rolled a five and landed on ?You become a beloved Idol singer. Gain
23,000 Serenities.� �Woo! Your turn, Arcadia-oneechan.�
DM: That kid really looks familar.
�Some sort of legendary monster that killed people with
music, I think,� Ami-chan said.
DM & Apollo: BWAHAHAHA !
�They�ll be fine,� Ami-chan said. �Aunt Plano and Uranus and
Saturn and Neptune can beat anything! I bet they could even beat
Mom if they tried really hard.�
DM: Who's Plano ?
Apollo: Typo it seems.
It wasn�t every day that the Zodiac was getting its butt kicked.
It had been years since the last time they had all been called out for
a threat, and it showed. The problem wasn�t being out of practice; it
was that they were acting like the bad guys in a Kung Fu movie,
attacking the monstrosity one at a time.
DM: And that's how the bad guys keep getting beaten up.
They had no idea what its name was, although Leo had dubbed
it, �The Evil Jello Monster.� It looked like a huge mass of amorphous
jelly about a quarter mile across, constantly bubbling and forming
eyes, mouths, tentacles, noses, ears, tentacles, teeth, polka dots,
pimples, hairballs, fur, scales, tentacles, swords, wombats, arms,
and very small rocks. And then sometimes, just tentacles. Most of
those seemed to be dedicated to doing the wave, or whatever the
heck it was doing, as its ?arms� waved about in the background of the
battle in an elaborate pattern. Astra shouted orders to her warriors,
but kept an eye on the pattern. It looked familiar, but she wasn�t
certain what it was.
Apollo: An Old One made of jello ? That's truly evil.
The void isn�t supposed to carry sound, but the blasts of energy
of the Zodiac made noises anyway, for the power of the stars is
most at home in space. It had a certain rythym to it, zap, thunk, zap,
boom, zap, zap, thunk. It was almost a dance, blow and counter blow,
advance and retreat. Of course, normally your dancing partner
wasn't a soul sucking monstrosity.
Apollo: You know they should release an album of that stuff. It sounds
a lot like The Chemical Brothers.
Saturn felt a burst of power down a side tunnel. A burst of her
power. A burst of Saturn power. Except that was imposible. "What
the..."
Apollo: As Belgarath from the Belgariad would say, nothing is impossible.
DM: You read a lot for a cat, you know that.
For a moment, she saw a figure down the tunnel. A woman
carrying a glaive. Her glaive. Her costume. Her power. She knew
the face that body wore. Mistress Nine. "You're DEAD!" she shouted.
I must be imagining things, she thought. What would Mistress Nine
be doing in the middle of an asteroid full of Byakhee, anyway?
And she's DEAD! I destroyed her.
Apollo: You know , my boss thinks Mistress Nine is cute.
DM:Remember Lavender's the guy who tried to get a date with Ifurita.
You can't trust his choice of girls.
The laughter mocked her. Images flitted before her eyes, her
body a puppet with Mistress Nine pulling the strings, her father
possessed, her friends battered down at her own hands. Once those
images would have shamed and paralyzed her, but she had long
ago faced those demons down. Now it did only one thing. It made her
mad.
She screamed and charged through the Byakhee filling the
hallway. Black ribbons of death trailed from her glaive as she raised
it high. Every Byakhee they touched evaporated, crumbling to dust in
instants.
Apollo: I remember the time the boss took on Saturn. Now that was ugly.
Saturn screamed, "This time, you're going to STAY DEAD!" She
charged forward and swung down her glaive with every ounce of
power she possessed. "DIE!"
Mistress Nine blocked the blow with the key, which stopped
the Glaive as if the blade was a plastic toy. "You cannot stop the
Saturn Power with the Saturn Power. Power of Saturn, heed my call!
Come to me and be free of the one who has chained you! COME TO ME
AND FULFILL YOUR MISSION!"
Apollo:This is going to be bad.
DM: Real bad.
Uranus took Neptune's hand and said, "Who the FUCK are you?"
DM: A real nice way of asking someone his name.
The interrogation of the four captured Black Moon Cultists was
in progress. They had already grilled Raphaelle and Uriel. Michael
was on the spot now. Sailor Venus was conducting the interrogation
while some dark haired guy that Michael didn't recognize from what
little knowlege he had of the Sailors sat nearby in a troubleshooter
uniform. Mars was looming menacingly, tossing little balls of fire
back and forth between her hands and making tiny firebirds that kept
flying around the room. He was pretty sure the others were likely
going through all the stuff they had in their chambers.
DM: This looks like something out of NYPD Blue.
Apollo: So who's the 'good cop' and who's the 'bad cop'
DM: Shut up cat.
"Lock you up until we can have a proper trial. You'll probably
end up on Demos for the duration of your sentence, experiencing the
joys of boredom. Likely for decades, possibly for life." She leaned
forward across the table a little. "Cooperating with us will
get you a lesser sentence. You're already likely facing a fifty year
sentence, assuming we don't find any deaths connected to your
activities, which could easily get you life. And given the level of
our health care, that could be a looooong time."
DM: You're too merciful. I say just shoot him and get done with it.
"What, you're not going to kill me? Even though I'm a spy?"
The man who had been watching silently finally broke his
silence. "You'll die eventually anyway. Of course, we could give you
to Uranus and Neptune for target practice if that's what you REALLY
want."
Michael didn't really want to think about that.
Apollo: That should hurt a lot.
"I don't suppose you'd be interested in playing poker to pass the
time?" the junior Pluto asked.
He simply stared at her with his solid black eyes.
"So you prefer bridge?" She pointed. "There's an actual deck of
cards there, you know. We might as well use it." Movement among
the wreckage caught her eye. The junior Pluto smiled. "How about
Go Fish?" She kept talking, hoping that rescue was on the way
instead of more trouble.
DM: That kid can be quite irritating at times.
<snip>
She smiled at him, and they kissed under the glittering light of
the stars. It felt like forever, but Hikaru broke off the kiss sooner
than usual, which startled Ken, who wondered if he had stepped on
her foot again. She glared past him. "You'd think the Senshi of TIME
would have better timing."
He froze. Sailor Pluto was here?
Apollo: She always shows up when and where you least expect it.
It's enough to make someone paranoid.
Sailor Pluto laughed faintly. "Would you rather I have waited
until your mouth was full of food? Or perhaps I could have waited
about an hour and a half and caught you..."
DM: Naughty, naughty !
Hikaru blushed. "You could have tried about three minutes
earlier."
"I was running another errand at that time. I have need of you."
Ken blinked, turned around, and bowed. "Good evening, Pluto-
sama."
"Good evening, Lord Asagiri. I request that you go to the
embassy and tell the Ambassador and her husband that I'm coming
for them."
Ken blinked. "What?"
"We must go to the Queen, Hikaru. Now." She looked Hikaru up
and down. "Luna will likely die." She smiled a tiny smile.
Hikaru sighed and stepped away from Ken. "Go tell Nene-chan
and Ryu-kun what Pluto said." She turned to Pluto. "Next time, I get
to interrupt YOUR date."
"I give you permission. However, if we do not hurry, the
likelihood of either of us every having another romantic evening
with anyone at any time, will become very small." Pluto took
Hikaru's hand and they vanished.
Ken really didn't like the sound of that.
DM: I always didn't like what my Pluto said. That's why I killed her.
"Don't worry, queenie," Dan said. "I, DAN HIBIKI, am
undefeated! We'll kick whoever has Pluto's daughter's butt and bring
her back in no time at all." He struck what he thought was a heroic
pose.
DM: This Dan fellow can be quite irritating.
Apollo: You don't know the half of it.
"She's not my daughter. Just my successor." Pluto said. "And
my friend."
"You have friends?" Dan said, then immediately regretted it.
DM: Oooohh, he insulted Pluto.
Pluto simply smiled at Dan, and said nothing. He was sweating
a river by the time they departed.
Apollo: And he should be.
"I should have thought of this in the first place. If you want to
spread Mass Destruction, Wasyuu is usually the best place to start
your quest. Heck, with Wasyuu, you get mass destruction whether or
not you were looking for it," Linna said. "But how to find her."
Apollo: Follow the trail of human guinea pigs ?
The anvil that fell on her heralded Wasyuu's arrival in the
place on the other side of the mirror-connection. "Despite your
aspersions against my skills, I will gladly help you. I've been
wanting to add a Planet-Smasher to my collection for a long time!"
Apollo: From what I saw of it that would be a bad idea.
Earth, Ruins of Crystal Tokyo, SY 1532 (4524 AD, 5276 Years after
the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 24688, Federal Year 538)
The Time Gate closed and vanished. For a moment, the group of
five would-be rescuers looked around in shock, and then horror set
in. "Everything is...broken," Jenni said finally, breaking the silence
that had settled upon them as they gazed on the ruins of the city
they knew, loved, and lived in.
"I am Ozymandias. Gaze on my works, o traveller, and despair,"
Hikaru whispered.
Apollo: You shouldn't be surprised. Good or bad, all things will pass.
That's one of the things the boss taught me. It's just a matter
of time before everything crumbles down and becomes dust.
Nene glanced at the small device in her hand, a very powerful
portable computer and sensor bank. "Well, Sailor Pluto is that way."
She pointed off towards a distant star. "Only about thirty light
years that way."
"..." Dan said.
DM: I imagine that I would have the same response.
"So what are they saying?" Dan asked.
"They'll help us, but only if we let them eat you," Hikaru