The following is a chapter from an improvisational fanficiton posted at
http://indiemadnesse.sandwich.net.
This chapter was written by Racewing (ghatch@panix.com)
* * * * *
"You ain't got it like me,
You just mad 'cause I tell it how it is,
And you tell it how it might be."
-Puff Daddy, "Victory"
("No Way Out" Album)
------------
It is never a dull moment in downtown Tokyo, Japan.
Unfortunately, that often means it's never a *safe* moment in
downtown Tokyo, either. Right now, the present danger is a monster of
sorts. However montonous that is, it is still a threat.
The monster has large fangs, a green scaly body, and is just plain
butt-ugly as far as monsters go. It isn't what one would exactly call
"huge"; it is only about a building story high. However, that doesn't
hinder
it in the slightest from accomplishing some severe structural damage to its
surroundings. People scatter for their lives, more than a few tripping over
each other in the process. A great deal of screaming is heard, and a few
small riots even break out in some parts of town.
The city needs saviors. Desperately.
At the moment, however, it will have to work with what it has.
It is around this tine that five teenagers in multicolored
schoolgirls' uniforms arrive on the scene. The girls look up at the face of
their foe and cringe.
"We have to destroy this monster quickly. Otherwise, innocent
people
will be hurt!" exclaims Sailor Mercury.
"Well, thank you, Mrs. State-The-Obvious." The voice of a sixth
female, accompanied by haughty laughter, joins the festivities. The
children look up to see a woman only slightly older than them in appearance,
wearing a gray uniform slowly floating down towards them. She stops,
however, a fair distance above the ground and hovers there, legs crossed.
"Zoicite!"
"Ha ha... that's correct, Miss Moon. As you can see, this monster
is
my doing. If you want me to call it off, you're going to have to do exactly
as I say. And what I say is: 'Hand me the the Rainbow Crystal! NOW!'"
"We'll *never* hand it over to you!" shouts Sailor Moon. "Prepare
to be vanquished in the name of justice!"
"Ah, yes, the 'good little heroine' act, just as I expected,"
Zoicite
replies. "Well, I'll simply have to take solace in the fact that my monster
shall destroy you all, starting.....now!"
As if on cue, the monster advances. The Sailor Scouts do their
usual thing.
"Let's double-team it, Mercury," suggests Sailor Jupiter. "Perhaps
a large enough electric jolt will bring it down."
"There's certainly no harm in trying," replies Mercury. "I'll
provide
the conductor. MERCURY BUBBLES.... BLAST!"
The bubbles slow the monster down considerably, as well as leaving
it shivering and soaking wet. "Your turn, Jupes!"
"Got it! JUPITER THUNDER.... CRASH!"
Streetlamps blink on and off, and some burst--not that it matters,
for Tokyo is now amptly illuminated for miles. The monster does seem to be
in pain... but only for a second. But once it recovers, it is revealed to
be
quite unharmed--and quite angry.
"Well, scratch that plan," says Sailor Mars, scratching her head.
"I'll take care of this," says Sailor Moon. In a flash, she takes
off her headpiece, which shimmers in her hands.
"MOON TIARA... MAGIC!" she shouts as the throws it at the beast.
One magical explosion filled with sparks and fireworks later, the
monster is still coming, and now, it's just downright *pissed*.
"What? My tiara didn't work? But.. but *that's not fair*! It's
supposed to always woooooooork..."
"No, Sailor Moon! This is no time to cry!" shouts Mars.
"But I can't help it!" says Sailor Moon, sniffling a little bit.
"Why didn't it work??"
"How are we supposed to beat this thing?" wonders Sailor Venus out
loud.
"You can't!" says Zoicite, laughing yet again. "Now, hand over the
Crystal, or face total destruction!"
"We can't give up," says Mercury. "We have to think of something!
Anything!"
A red rose appears in the middle of the road. A boy wearing a black
tuxedo and top hat follows soon after. The Scouts begin gushing, as was the
usual procedure. Hearts replace eyes instantly.
"Wow! He's so... DREAMY!"
"It's Tuxedo Mask! He's come to save us!"
"He's come to same *me*, you mean!"
"As if!"
"Yeah, right!"
Without warning, another rose appears in the middle of the road. A
*white* rose. A boy in a white pallete-swap of Tuxedo Mask's attire
appears.
"Wow! He's even *dreamier*!" exclaims Sailor Moon. Amazingly, the
Scouts seem to agree.
The original Tuxedo Mask is taken off his guard for a full second
upon witnessing this.
Luna, who has been watching the fight from a safe spot, blinks,
confused. "What? What is this?"
Suddenly, a bright flash of light nearly blinds both the Scouts and
their enemies. When they regain their vision, they are in for the shock
of their lives.
Now standing in the middle of the batlefield, is a black-haired girl
about the same age and size as any of the Scouts, wearing a uniform with a
rainbow design on it. She holds a large golden wand with a diamond tip and
a tiara adorned with multicolored jewels.
"Don't worry, fellow Scouts!" says the mysterious girl. "We'll help
you bring this evil to justice! So say the White Tuxedo, and... Sailor
Solar
System!!"
"'White Tuxedo?'" asks Sailor Mars.
"'Sailor Solar System'??" wonders Sailor Moon.
"'Fellow Scouts'??" says Sailor Mercury, scratching her head.
Sailor Solar System gestures wildly, yet delicately, at the monster
which had accompanied Zoicite. Once all of *that* is finished, she points
her sceptre at it and yells out, "OMNI-HYPER SOLAR HALLATONIC BLAST!"
A whirling cloud of magical energy slams into the monster,
disintegrating it on contact. Zoicite, the Scouts and Tuxedo Mask can only
gape.
"What? Impossible! Ooh, you are *so* not getting away with this!"
In a flurry of flower petals, Zoicite retreats, leaving the Scouts to flock
toward their newfound "friends".
"Oh, wow! That was so cool..."
"Where did you come from?..."
"Are you here to stay?..."
"This is awesome! We'll beat the Negaverse in no time now!"
"Hey, you wanna, um... go out sometime?"
<I do not like this at all,> thinks Luna to herself. <And when I
don't like something, there's usually a good reason for it. Hmm. They
certainly don't *seem* to be radiating any Nega-Energy, but for her to be
that powerful... *oh no*.>
Luna makes a mental note to herself to make a very important
telephone call the minute she reaches home...
-----------------------------------
Racewing Productions Presents:
Self-Extraction
protecting earths from the scum of the multiverse.
Installment #4: The Best-Laid Plans
as translated with the aid of the Rosetta Stone
by Geson "Racewing" Hatchett (ghatch@panix.com)
series co-created by Thomas Wilde, A.o.D., and Quanah S. Harjo
-----------------------------------
--World #FF427--
Aeris feels herself breathing once again.
Damn.
Please.
Just this once.
If I *have* to come back to life--again--just this once....
Let me look into the face of the man I love... or my friends... or
heck, even Tifa. Just please, anyone except another super-powered weirdo
who
decides to engage himself to me...
As drops of liquid--tears?--fall on Aeris' face, she opens her eyes.
Nuts.
"Xerox! Why?"
"Aeris?" Xerox's voice is at a near whisper. "Aeris, my love!
You're alive! Thank goodness! Now we can get married tonight, and then--"
Aeris blinks. "You're kidding, right?"
"XEROX!"
Everybody looks over to where the yell had originated, and finds
Mammonette dead, apparently due to a very large projectile wound. Another
one of these projectiles narowly misses Testigen, and a shirll whistle is
heard to let them know this.
"What the hell is going on?" exclaims Xerox. Suddenly, he notices
two small figures on top of a hill a ways away. What *did* they think they
were doing?
Xerox shoots a lightning bolt towards the hill and sees the two
figures retreat. "Come on, Testigen! Let's go and destroy those...
*murderers*!" A simple Float All spell allows them to transport themselves
and Aeris (who doesn't really want to come along, but dying has a weird way
of
weakening you for a while) towards the cliff summit.
"Well, hell," says Hale.
"Damn. I was hoping for this to be easy," grumbles Carver. "Here
they
come. Brace yourself for plan B."
Aeris doesn't show it, but her heart is filled with hope. Perhaps
these... assassins, it seemed, truly would help with her problem once and
for
all...
"Are you the guys I sent for?" Aeris asks weakly as she and the
enemy descend onto the hill.
"The very same. Now you just sit tight, little missy,
while we take care of this here pest control problem for ya'," Hale speaks
in
a mock-Southern drawl.
Aeris chuckles in spite of the situation.
"Basic Agency Rule #5: 'Keep the client calm.' You *have* been
listening in training class," observes Carver.
"Well, what did you expect? So, anyway, what's plan B?"
"You remember that little remote control I gave you
just before we got here?" Carver asks Hale.
Hale fishes around for it. "Yup. Got it right here."
"Okay, Hale. Push the red button."
Hale takes out the remote and does so.
Testigen reaches for his blade. "Alright, you cold-blooded killers,
prepare to face the wrath of--hey, what gives?" Xerox and Testigen get
worried looks on their faces as they seem to be pulled by an invisible
force.
They, in fact, *are* being pulled. Across several feet of
countryscape, screaming all the way.
Hale blinks. "What the hell was that?"
"Supermagnet," replies Carver without blinking an eye.
Hale realizes, and laughs.
Carver smiles as well. "Yeah, I know. Cost the Agency a bundle, but
you have no idea just how damn *useful* it is in worlds like these. But now
you know why we didn't bring much in the way of big guns this time.
And don't worry about the car. It can pull against the forces for long
enough." Sure enough, Hale could hear the rumbling of the invisible car
close by. The fact that the sound did not move from where she could hear it
from proved tht Carver was correct. "Now, get rid of any metal you've got
on
you. We're going for a walk."
"Oh, no we're not." The voice of Aeris startles both agents, who'd
forgotten all about her. Before the two of them can react, all three are
careening thruogh the air towards the spot where the magnet was set up about
a half hour before, courtesy of a spell from Aeris.
The girl means business.
--------
--An Unknown World.--
Carelessness had killed him the first time. Matthew Russell
wonders
if curiosity would do so again.
He still has trouble believing that he had actually followed this
mysterious man, this "Mephisto," willingly to their destination. It was, at
least from outward appearance, a *very* large office complex a great many
worlds away. Russell had to force himself not to sleep on the long car
trip.
As they get out of the car and walk toward the building, Russell
takes a look at his surroundings through the rainy weather. Everything has a
gray hue to it. The buildings, the pavement, and, of courrse, the skyline.
Now inside the building, Mephisto leads Russell into a large room,
filled with media accessories and other suited individuals milling about.
Monitors litter the walls, revealing various happenings on different worlds.
Meters serving all purposes, ranging from telling time to tallying names to
counting bodies are also present. A large table sits in the center of this
office. Russell and Mephisto sit down at it.
For the first time since their trip began, Mephisto speaks. "I'm
sure that, by now, you're wondering just who we are and what we do."
"Yeah, that might be a good start," replies Russell.
Mephisto chuckles. "Our trade is one of the oldest known, and yet,
it is very unique. Have you ever wanted to be somebody... or do
something--(or someone, for that matter)--so badly, that you could taste
it?"
"I don't think that's any of your business."
Mephisto hmphs. "Be that as it may, that is what we specialize in.
Simply put, we create fantasies. We bring peoples' fondest desires and
ambitions to reality, all in a matter of minutes. Fully customizable
happiness, no muss, no fuss. The mind is limited, Mr. Russell. People crave
something greater. And for a small fee, that is where we come in.
"With our service, people can work alongside their favorite
superheroes--or be one on their own altogether. People can date with their
favorite entities--or they can mate with them. The possibilities are
endless, and the consequences few, which keeps the business thriving. Of
course, they can always just go for good-old-fashioned fame and fortune as
well. As people from different worlds find out about others, we do our best
to connect our clients to them, show them a good time, and make a little
pocket change in the process."
"Really. And what about people with evil intentions?" inquires
Russell. "Or have you thought about that at all?"
"The intentions of our clients are none of our concern. We are here
to provide a transportation and orientation service. Nothing more."
Mephisto's face remains emotionless as he speaks.
Russell grins maliciously. "So... what you're telling me is, you've
basically been a *feeder system* for *our* organization?"
For a moment, Mephisto is flustered. "Well... not intentionally..."
Russell is now laughing. "Well, hell! Thanks for making me my
money!
So does everyone we've ended up killing come to those worlds through you?"
"No. many do find their own means of inter-Earth travel, but not so
many as to be bad for business. However..." Mephisto begins pacing.
"There
*is* one thing that is bad for business. Very bad. Your 'Agency', as it's
called, is destroying our clients, and it's starting to give our
business--how does the vernacular go--a bad 'rep'. However, rest assured
that we already have plans to rectify this problem. Plans that will only be
made obvious to those that they affect once they are carried out in full."
"So, I'm one of your enemies, then. Why haven't you killed me
already?"
"We almost did. It's tough to explain, really... but I'll put it
this way. I don't believe in wasting what I can salvage. At least, not
immediately. I'm giving you a chance to join the winning side, Mr. Russell.
Use your skills to help us. We already have some of our own working on the
inside lines of your... former employers.
"So, what do you say? Join us willingly. Or don't. The choice is
yours."
The people who had been milling about in the large room suddenly
turn all eyes on him, awaiting his answer.
--------
--World #FF427--
Hale smiles. "I hope this finally teaches you boys that bigger
doesn't always mean better."
She is referring, of course, to the fact that Xerox and Testigen
were
drawn to the supermagnet by means of the oversized swords on their backs.
The two struggle vainly to get free, and in all, the sight proves to be very
amusing indeed. Not even their magic spells are able to help them. After
all, the magnet has quite a bit to work with.
"Now, you two just relax and let this cyanide do its job. Down the
hatch. That's right." Carver force-feeds a vial to each of his targets,
whose struggles slow shortly after, then stop altogether.
"Wow. Guess that was easy after all," Hale remarks as she turns
off the magnet.
Just then, Xerox's body gives off a bright flash.
"You would think, huh?" says Carver.
"He must have had some Final Attack Materia on him," says Aeris.
"What was his main power? Have you seen him summon any spirits?"
"Just this one that looks like a big bird," Hale replies.
"Oh dear. The Phoenix! Revival *and* control over the fire
element..." Aeris' face takes on a glum expression.
Sure enough, a humongous firebird appears in the sky. "I AM
REBORN!!!" exclaims the Xerox the Phoenix. "PREPARE TO RECEIVE PUNISHMENT
BY
FIRE FOR YOUR ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS!"
Fireballs rain down from the heavens, sending the three scattering.
Nearby trees are set aflame.
"Um, well, Jack, it's been nice knowing you..." Hale says weakly.
"I knew I should have brought the big ice gun," Carver mutters.
Suddenly, Aeris stops running and looks up at the sky. She knows
what
she must do.
"Kill me," she says.
Hale's eyes go wide. "What??"
"I said, 'kill me'. It's the only way."
"You can't be serious. We're not gonna--"
"Look." Aeris gestured at the skyscape. While I'm dead, my spirit
protects the Planet. So you don't have to worry. I live on, even when I'm
on the other side." Aeris droops her head. "But when I'm alive, it seems
that I'm always made into some horny boy's plaything."
She looks ar Carver, wide-eyed. "End it already, please. For my
sake and yours."
"No way," Carver says. "Our primary objectives are to protect you,
and kill *them*. If we--"
Aeris, however, has already grabbed Testigen's sword. "Then I'll do
it myself. It's the only way you'll understand." Before she can be
stopped,
Aeris impales herself with the sword.
Hale gasps. "She did it. She actually did it."
A few moments later, the fiery being in the sky seems to double
over in pain. A bright flash of orange light erupts as the being shrinks
into nothingness, almost imploding.
The White Materia flashes. The red fire of the Phoeinx dims.
And in another instant, the sky is blue once again. Except of
course,
for the huge floating transparent Aeris head in the middle of it all.
Aeris smiles. Hale gives her a thumbs-up.
Carver nods in reverence. "Yup. She did it, all right."
-------
By now, there is a fairly humongous size of money in the center of
the circle of poker players.
The final hand is being dealt. Cid has his Highwind on the
line; Cloud his Ultima Weapon. Tifa and Vincent have already bowed out,
leaving the two to battle in the game of chance alone.
Cloud asks for a one-card replacement, which Cid delivers. The two
get ready to play their hands...
And are rudely interrupted by a cloud of white smoke appearing in
the
very center the whole setup, causing the entire party to cough. The smoke
clears after a few minutes to reveal a small girl clad in green ninja garb.
"Yuffie??" Tifa says, mildly shocked.
"Yup! Hiya! Sorry, but I couldn't help but notice the great big
pile of goodies you've got here." Yuffie edges towards said pile.
Vincent draws his gun. "Touch those winnings and die, girl."
"I thought your father said you could *stop* stealing to help out
your
city now," says Cloud.
"What, Wutai? That old place?" Yuffie laughs. "All *this* cash?
Yuffie's gonna buy herself her own all-male harem! Whoo!"
The party makes moves to attack, but all Yuffie does is disappear
using the same smoke she used to make her entrance with. When Cloud and the
others regain their vision once again, the pile of money is gone.
Giggles echo throughout the countryside.
---------
Once Hale and Carver get back to the office, Hale flops down on
the chair and gives a long sigh. "Are these missions *always* this hard? I
feel like I've been through a wringer here."
"I know what you mean." Carver looks over the list of targets once
again. "This many tough kills in a single week..." Carver chuckles.
"Maybe
they really *are* getting smarter."
"Perhaps they've started giving each other free classes," Hale
jokes.
"Oh, relax. You said so yourself--'they're almost never that smart,' right?
So, not to worry. Anyway, how many more misions do we have left? I wanna
start my weekend already."
"Two. And this request's from a faithful subscriber. A code MG
world. Let's go."
-------
--An Office that Russell didn't see.--
"Damn!" A suited man slams his hand on a desk. "There goes one
more. All of our 'special clients' are getting picked off, one by one.
Carver should have been sitting next to his buddy out there by now! What's
going on?"
"He had outside help this time, it seems," says another. "Between
that and that girl he's been carting around with him all the time, we can't
touch him."
"It took a lot of stealth and time to get that specially
prefabricated list of 'targets' in the hands of Jack Carver, but for all
it's
been worth, we may as well have just been sitting on our asses for the past
month. Poslowski and Groat proved to be utter jokes. Kelsey got us
*something*, at least, but he's still *dead*. Xerox and his two sidekicks
were cheated, in my opinion. As was 'Sayan666' Yablonski.
"Now we've only got three agents left. They had *best not fail*."
The first man clenches a fist.
"Wait. Three?"
"Yep. This time Carver's, going to have to take down two of our
best
--and brightest--at once. And I took the trouble of making sure these two
were warned beforehand. So let's see just how long Jack's incredible luck
holds out...."
"So, what happens if Carver and Hale are still alive at the end of
all of this?" the second man asks.
The first man's expression becomes grim. "Then we'll just have
to...
accelerate the schedule, and bring in the big guns a little early."
-----------
--World #SMS02--
"This is the place," says Carver as he pulls in front of a cozy
suburban-style home.
"This place familiar to you?" Hale asks.
"Yeah," Carver says. "I've done missions here once or twice. Not
so often, though, because I'm a specialist. I handle the *important*
stuff--"
"I assure you that the protection of my young charges is more
important than anything *you've* done," says a haughty voice, seemingly from
out of nowhere.
Hale looks around. "Huh? Who said that?"
"Down here," the voice says. Hale looks down to see a black cat
with
a yellow crescent-shaped insignia on its forehead. "I take it you're the
agents I sent for," says the cat.
"Yep. You've got us," says Carver. "You should be happy. 'Luna',
I
presume?"
"Yes."
"So... what's the story?"
"The usual, I'm afraid. We've got one Sailor Scout and one Tuxedo
Mask... *wanna-be's* running around. The girl just upstaged my Scouts this
afternoon, and the boy seems to be after their hearts, so to speak."
Carver muses on this. "Or maybe a bit more."
Luna nods. Hale's face takes on a contorted expression as she
realizes what the two are talking about.
"I think Zoicite's involved too," says the cat.
"Oh, geez. He wants it all, doesn't he?"
"Don't they all?"
"Okay. Where are these two going to strike next?
"I found this on Serena's desk today. It seems as if it came by
mail. It invites the Scouts to meet our mystery boy tomorrow near the local
lake. Or rather, the forest close by." Luna fishes out a small note and
gives it to Carver, who examines it.
"How dense is the forest? Can it be considedered a 'secluded'
spot?"
Carver asks.
Luna nodded.
"'Secluded'? He's not planning what I think he is, is he?" asks
Hale.
"It's probably exactly that," says Carver. "In this world, it's
*usually* exactly that. Thanks to those girls, this place attracts
guys from so many other worlds like a magnet. That's why Luna here gets a
bulk rate. She's our biggest customer."
Hale's face becomes angry. "That sick, perverted... bastard! I'm
gonna make sure to gut him a few extra times when I catch up to him!"
"Sure. But, remember. No matter how much something may piss you
off,
Hale, it's important never to let the job get to you." Carver nods to the
cat. "We'll be there. Let's go, Kate. I'm sure you'll give 'em hell
tomorrow."
As they walk back to their car, Hale begins giggling.
"What's so funny?" asks Carver.
Hale continues giggling. "Sorry. I just started wondering. If
she's
a cat, how can she dial the numbers to call us up all the time?"
Carver says nothing, but simply opens the door and gets in.
"Guys?"
Luna walks back to the house.
"Guys?..."
--------
--That night...--
In a hotel across town, Craig Gates, known otherwise as The White
Tuxedo, answers a ringing room phone. His twin sister, Amanda, is not
present; she is "out" for the moment.
"So... has the plan been set into motion?" asks the person on the
other end of the line.
"Yep. Everything's on schedule. I get what I want, and you get
what you
want. My yummy Scouts.... and your dead agents." Craig licked his lips.
"And Amanda? How is she faring?"
"She's fine, but she can't come to the phone right now. She's
decided to have a little fun..."
---------
Tuxedo Mask is standing in front of the castle that he has so many
nights before. He hears the voice that he had heard so many nights before,
and wonders what it all means, like he has so many nights before.
A voice calls out to him. "Daaaaariiiieeeen..."
Darien looks around and sees the familiar-looking woman on the
balcony that he's seen, so many times before in his dreams. As usual, she
is
obscured by a bright light just enough for him to be unsure of her identity.
He tries to get a closer look, and to his utter surprise, this time he is
able to. Darien moves forward on the balcony.
"Darien... Tuxedo Mask, my love... I am the one you are *truly*
destined to be with... let me be yours forever...
Darien edges ever closer... the girl finally turns her head from the
side, and the light finally dims enough to become bearable for him to see
clearly.
But instead of the girl with long flowing blond hair that he is used
to seeing, and so much wanted to get to know better, he sees the brunette
that
had showed up earlier that afternoon. In full Scout ensemble, no less!
What was going on here?
The girl reaches out to him. "Darien! Come with me!"
Darien backs away, and "falls" off of the balcony in the process.
The girl yells. "DARIEN!!! Aw, geez..."
The mild shock forces Darien out of his dream and into a cold sweat.
Once *again*, like so many nights before.
It seemed as his questions were never meant to be answered.
Who the *heck* was that new girl?
--------
-The Next Morning...--
"Serena?"
"Mmmmnnnmmm... five more minutes, Luna," comes Serena's sleepy
reply.
"Serena! Wake up alrady!"
With her eyes half-open, Serena looks at her clock. It reads 10:15.
Ten-fifteen... she was sure that meant something... what was it
again?... then it hit her.
Serena sits up in her bed with a start. "HOLY CRAP! I'm gonna be
late! No! I'm *already* late! Really late! YAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
In several consecutive mad dashes, Serena throws off her pajamas,
showers, brushes, dresses, and runs down the stairs... to an empty kitchen.
"Huh?"
"Serena! It's Saturday," says Luna, who promptly facefaults.
"However, at least now you're fully dressed. I had come up to your room to
tell you that your friends were her to see you."
Sure enough, Amy, Raye, Mina and Lita are waiting just outside the
front door. Serena and Luna go out to meet them.
"Hey, Serena. Did you get an invitation too?" Raye asks, holding
out
one just like her friend's.
"Yup. Sure did," says Serena.
"This is so cool. I wonder what he'll be like? And where did that
new Scout come from? It's about time we had some questions answered, dont
you think? And that white stranger's even hunkier than Tuxedo Mask! I
can't
wait!" Raye babbles happily.
"So let's get over there! We've only got a half hour before the
time
on the card!" exclaimes Lita.
"A half ho--but my card said 4 p.m. this afternoon! It's only 10:30
now!"
"Really?" Amy scratches her head. "Let me see that." Serena hands
the card over. "You're right. I wonder why that is. Well, there's no
reason we can't all go together now, right?"
Serena," interjects Luna, "I'm not too sure if you should go to
this. Or any of you, for that matter."
"Oh, come off it, Luna. It's just a harmless date."
"With ALL FIVE of you? Do you call that a date?"
"Fine. An outing. Now stop getting in the way!" Serena storms out
of the door, nearly stepping on the black cat in the process. "C'mon, guys.
Let's go."
As she watches the Scouts leave, Luna sighed. It was hopeless. She
can already sense that Serena and her friends were under the foreigners'
spell, as it were. She could only hope that the people she hired could
exterminate them in time.
Luna wondered why Serena's card would have a different time listed
on
it.
Then it hit her.
They knew.
They'd sent a different time to Serena's invitation because they
knew
Luna would get help. They knew that it would throw her agents off.
Well, she wasn't about to let *that* happen!
--------
"You're kidding," Carver says over the phone.
"I'm afraid not," says Luna. It looks like they fooled all three of
us. Get over here right away."
"You got it," says Carver. "Unfortunately, it'll take a little over
an hour. Your world is way out there. Can you stall the girls in any way?"
"They're already gone!"
"Terrific. Hang on, then." Carver slams the phone down angrily.
They'd been duped, all right.
Hale doesn't seem the least bit alert when Carver calls her
dwelling.
"Hello..."
"Kate? It's Carver. Get dressed, we're going hunting. Now."
"Wha--" Hale's voice sounds tired as well. But I thought--"
"They tricked us, Hale."
"What??" Hale is now sitting up in bed, wide awake. "The girls are
already in the forest?"
"Or on their way. Hurry and get to the office. We've got a road
trip to make."
---------
--The Park--
Craig Gates, aka the White Tuxedo, could barely contain his
excitement. He looked out at the lake, seeing some of those lovely young
girls sunbathing. He knew that he had the power to take any one of them.
But he restrained himself, waiting for the big prize: Sailor Scouts willing
to do anything he wished.
He had hoped to have Zoicite too. But that would have started a
time-consuming battle, what with the Scouts there. Ah well.
The chatter of familiar girls' voices brought him out of thought.
It
was finally time...
---------
Carver and Hale are quite tired after making their way through the
forest on foot. (The car couldn't get through, of course.) But finally,
they've found who they were looking for. Both of them hide behind some
fairly
large trees to work out a plan.
"Alright, Hale. We've got to catch this guy unawares. I really
don't feel like getting in another real fight right now." Carver grins.
"I hear you," says Hale, grinning as well.
"Okay. I'm going to sneak up on them with the big ice gun. Once
they're frozen stiff, we finish them off. But before tht happens, I'll give
you a signal to distract them. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Good. Let's make this quick." Carver disappears into the foliage.
Stil hidden behind the tree, Hale is able to make out the scene
going
on in front of her. Craig was talking to the girl in red--the one called
"Mars", if she remembered correctly.
The boy makes a move toward the girl, but Mars quickly turned away,
and the others rushed to meet her. Apparently she wasn't about to give
herself up so readily. Good.
However, the boy seemed to now be just standing there. Gradually,
the
girls began to move toward him. They proceeded to grope him, kiss him, and
pull at him, as if fighting to see who got him first. The boy, of course,
was now wearing a very smug smile on his face.
Hale's eyes widen. Did the boy really have *this* much power?
Mars, it seemed, had now pushed the other girls back and shed her
dress. The boy followed suit, and his pants joined it to one side.
<Jack, damn it.> Hale is getting restless. <Where are you?>
This being his first time (of course), Craig didn't feel like
fooling
around at the moment. He went straight for Raye's white panties.
Hale growls. She can't take it anymore. <Jack,> she thinks, <I'm
sorry...>
"That's it, you." Hale jumps out from her hiding place and levels
a pistol at Craig's head. "PUT YOUR PANTS ON SO I CAN KILL YOU WITHOUT
EMBARASSING BOTH OF US!"
Craig responds to this demand with much quickness. After he does
so, he realizes just who's crashed his party.
"Aw, hell," wails Craig. "Not now! This was just starting to get
good!" For a few moments he stares at the assassin, the Scouts, and back
and forth again, as if trying to decide. "Guess I'll have to waste
you two quick. SIS!"
A flash of light heralds Sailor Solar System's appearance. "Oh,
look! Our guest has already arrived, I see. But... where's the other one?"
"Who cares?" says the White Tuxedo. "We've got Wonder Woman. After
we waste her, the partner will be easy pickings."
The two nod to each other and begin charging their attacks, both
of which require lots of gestures and poses.
"OMNI-HYPER..."
"BURNING VIGOR..."
Hale is wondering just *why* she isn't able to run away. She *has*
the time..."
"SOLAR HALLATONIC..."
"FOCUSED ENERGY..."
Damnit. Why couldn't she *move*? They were still talking!
Just as the lights surrounding her assailants' hands are at their
brightest, she feels a sharp pain at her side. The next thing she knows, she
is rolling roughly along the grass.
"...BLAST!"
"...BEAM!"
Her vision goes white and returns just as quickly. What she sees
shocks her.
Carver is lying on the ground, groaning, hit by the attacks that had
been meant for her.
And that's when she gets pissed.
Grabbing the other pistol that had been in her pocket at such a
speed
that nobody else has time to react, she begins firing several shots at her
two targets. These aren't wild shots, no--these are somehow carefully aimed
despite the fact that she uses no type of aiming sight at all.
Hale's face becomes controted, her teeth gritted.
Fuck weaknesses. Fuck stealth. Fuck plans. Fuck instinct.
Ironically, she is actually relying on the basest instinct of all.
Each and every bullet fired hits a vital body part. Blood flies
liberally. Hale briefly realizes that these are basically *children* that
she is turning into so much paste, but then she realizes; she doesn't give a
damn. Not after what just happened. Once the guns run out of bullets, she
grabs *Carver's* pieces and fires on the corpses *before* gravity takes
effect.
After her minute-long volley, the Gates twins *finally* fall down,
motionless and lifeless. But Hale isn't finished yet.
She walks up to Craig Gates, the White Tuxedo, the person who almost
lived his ultimate fantasy. She aims both pistols at his crotch area and
pulls both triggers in unison.
"Jack," Hale whispers, with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry."
---------
Hale chuckles bitterly to herself. Finally, she had been allowed to
drive. Just her luck she hadn't been able to enjoy it.
The infirmary had said that he would pull through fine thanks to
protection that he had been wearing. While relieved, she is still quite
unsettled.
Now, strangely enough, she is back at the office. She couldn't go
anywhere else this worried. She flops down on a chair and tries to forget
about the day's events, with, of course, little success.
The short of it was that it was Hale's fault that Carver had been
taken down. She had snapped, the very thing that Jack had warned her
against
doing. Thank goodness he had seen her in time to save her life. Thank
goodness he was still alive. But what would have happened if she had done
that sort of thing against someone like, say, Sayan666? She shudders at the
thought.
Peering around the room, her gaze falls to rest on Carver's fax
machine. After a moment, she gets up from the chair and picks up the paper
resting on it.
It is time to atone.
A code "UP" world--Unique Physics. It'd be yet another new
experience. And going in alone may not be the best idea.
But she has to. For Carver's sake. She owes him--not to mention
all these crazies running God-knows-how-many-worlds--big time.
As she runs to the car, information in her hand, she makes a
resolution to herself. She would show these bastards that Kathleen Hale
didn't go down so easily.
Scratch that.
She didn't go down at *all*.
--------
--World #SH03: "Mobius" to its inhabitants.--
"And once you provide the diversion, as always, Bunnie and our
'new addition' will do whatever damage they can to Robotropolis' computer
systems." Princess Sally Acorn drew a rough sketch in the dirt. "Have you
got all that, Sonic?"
Sonic the Hedgehog did not reply, instead looking to one side and
tapping his foot idly.
Sally siighed. "Sonic..."
"Yeah?"
"What is it?"
"I don't even see why we *need* a plan this time, Sal. Or even
a mission, for that matter."
"Huh?"
"I mean, why don't we just send in that new guy and see how much
damage he can cause by himself?"
"Come on, Sonic. Let's not start this again--"
"I'm completely serious."
"You are *incapable* of being serious!"
"Look, Sal. In the time that super fox has been here--"
"Hyperfox," Sally corrected.
"Whatever. Since the time that guy's been here, he's given Knothole
a cloaking field, deroboticized the populace, and he's found out each and
every one of Robotropolis' crippling weaknesses in one day. Plus, he's
faster than me, and the Swat-Bot's blasters don't have any effect on him.
Sonic counted on his fingers. "He's escaped the Roboticizer--AFTER
being roboticized--several times already. He's trashed more bots in a
single
day than I do in a week. He carries guns bigger than any I've ever *seen*
on
Mobius, even around here. He says the King--your POP, Sal--sent him, but
have *you* heard anything from good ol' dad about him?
"And let's not forget *Bunnie*. I thought she was *Antoine's* main
squeeze. How did she have such a change of heart so fast? The way she fell
over him when he arrived, I thought her legs had rusted or something. Geez,
all that noise coming from her hut alone last night--I'm *glad* she was
having a good time, but if Robotnik really wanted to, all he would have had
to do was crack open a window, and he would have been able to pinpoint
Knothole's location in a Sonic second!" He snapped his fingers to
accentuate.
Sally chuckled to herself. She'd had to place a pillow over Tails'
head and ears just to make sure of things last night.
"It's *not* funny," Sonic said with a frown.
"Well, Sonic, just what *are* you trying to say?"
"Well..... come ON, Sal! HE JUST GOT HERE FIVE DAYS AGO!" Sonic
threw up his hands in exasperation. "Does that sound *normal* to you?"
"Well... it is a little strange..."
"Darn right it's strange. And you know what? I'm going to show you
that *this* hedgehog's still got the goods. I'm fed up. It's time 'Buttnik
went down, and I'm going to do it myself, without the help of some
super-powered geek!"
Sonic took out a power ring, and, after drawing upon its energy, did
the fastest peel-out run he had ever done in his life and rushed off towards
Robotnik's main HQ. Tens of Swat-Bots were dismantled in his wake, and the
resulting winds blew Sally back a full fifty feet.
"Sonic! WAIT!" Sally screamed, to no avail. "Oh... sometimes that
boy is *impossible*!"
-------
--Robotnik's Main HQ.--
"HALT, FREEDOM FIGHTER! HALT, FREEDOM FIGHTER! SURRENDER AND
PREPARE
FOR FULL--"
*blam*
Another Swat-Bot goes down, courtesy of a large gray cybernetic
fox's
shoulder-mounted plasma cannon.
"That's another one." Hyperfox yawns. "Hey, Robotnik!" he yells.
"Why don't you just quit with the stupid sentries and show your face? Or
are you that scared?"
"Give it up, boy!" Robotnik's voice booms through the construct's
PA system. "So many have tried before you and failed. Don't you know you
can't win?"
Deep down, both Robotnik and Snively know he is lying through his
teeth. From out of nowhere, this... outsider... had come in and thrown the
balance of power completely topsy-turvy. In less than a week, their empire
was facing imminent destruction.
And they were helpless to do anything about it, they know, as they
watch another squadron of Swat-Bots become assorted parts after a volley of
rapid-fire shots.
For once, Robotnik *wants* the hedgehog to show up.
To save *his* hide.
As Antoine walks behind Hyperfox and Bunnie, who are holding hands,
he grumbles, but otherwise stays silent. He knows that in a matter of
minutes, Hyperfox won't be a problem anymore. Steal *his* love, would he?
He would soon know what his pain felt like... forever.
Where *were* those people he called in, anyway? Time was running
short.
At that moment, Carver's car arrives and comes to a stop just on the
outskirts of Robotropoilis.
A woman steps out of it. One Kathleen Hale, much more armed and
dangerous than her outward appearance lets on.
She checks her equipment, takes a deep breath, and braces herself.
It's go time.
--------------
(End Chapter 4.)
Afterthoughts:
Finally. It's finished. *collapses*
I was trying to give a bit more meat to the underlying plot of this
series...
I just hope that I didn't destroy it in the process. The "business"
described earlier in the story by no means has to be the major evil force in
the story--I'd actually prefer for it not to be. I did, however, want to
portray the image of our two intrepid avatar hunters being in over their
heads. Now they have to find out why... plus, it sounded cool when I
thought
of it. :)
Well, otherwise, I hope you enjoyed. Thanks to my prereaders:
A.o.D, W4, and Arlieth Tralare.
An extra-special thanks goes out to Austin Loomis, who revealed the secret
to
a Moonie mystery that'd been plaguing me for years. Without him, this part
might not have turned up as early as it did. Someone buy this man a
night with Mai Shiranui. He deserves it. :)
Next Chapter by W4, The Mad Author. Yo, tell 'em why you mad, son. Tell
'em
why you mad.
-Racewing
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