VOLUME 2-3
VOLUME 2-3
Sailor Moon Cyber - Series Two: Volume
Three - Nick sat with Ami at the computer in his apartment. They both looked on with fascination as the information he had collected the night before slowly compiled. They had been analyzing the data ever since they had returned the following evening. Ami had rushed over as soon as Nick had called, asking for her help. Hotaru and Pixie lay sprawled on the couch, fast asleep while the other two worked through the early hours of the morning. "There!" exclaimed Nick, pointing to a waveform line on the screen. "That is the energy signature that their equipment gives off." "Right." Agreed Ami. "And knowing that, it should make it much easier for us to track them." Ami downloaded the information to her personal computer and set about adding the energy signature to her tracking software. "With this information, we should be alerted the moment they appear again in the city." She smiled and nodded to Nick. "That is a good start." He replied. "We still, however, do not know where they come from, or where it is they go to when they leave. And my system still has not finished analyzing their method of transportation. It is without a doubt, based on technology, but a technology so advanced that even my computer is unable as yet to break it down. "And," Nick sighed and leaned back in the chair. "There is still the matter of their speed and agility. I went toe to toe with them and could barely hold my own." "Well, the next time they arrive, they will have all of us to deal with." Said Ami. "I do not believe that they could overpower all the Senshi at once." "You saw what they did to the Outers. and they only regained consciousness almost 48 hours after the attack. I'm not sure that even our combined powers will stop them for long. What we need, is to find a weakness. Something that we can exploit to defeat them. We know that they are highly dependent on technology, and technology can be broken down, given time. Unfortunately, time, is not something we have in abundance." Nick stood up and walked over to the couch, taking a blanket off of the back of a chair, and spreading it softly over Hotaru and Pixie. "We should both get some rest." Ami said, trying to stop a yawn. "We can meet with the rest of the Senshi tomorrow and tell them what we have discovered." "Agreed." Said Nick, yawning reflexively in response. "I'm going to catch a few hours rest. I trust you can show yourself out?" Ami nodded and gathered up her things, before walking out the apartment door, heading home to her own waiting bed. The alien signal used a band of subspace that none of the current earth defense satellites were capable of tracking. The message was short and to the point. "Heavy resistance encountered on 3rd planet from Sol. Reinforcements required." The swift response was just as brief. "Second ship dispatched. Hunter Drones on board. Rendezvous in 18 solar hours." The two Scout Drones breathed a collective sigh of relief and sat back to wait. Nick awoke several hours later, and was surprised to find Hotaru sitting on the side of his bed, softly stroking his hair with her hand. She jumped back with a start as he opened his eyes and hid her face as she blushed with embarrassment. "I. I'm sorry." She exclaimed, turning to leave the room. "No... wait!" said Nick as he reached out and caught her gently by the arm, pulling her back towards him. "I'm not angry." Hotaru looked at him with her large violet eyes. "You just looked so peaceful. Like I haven't seen you look in weeks. I just wanted to watch you. I." she lowered her face again, as the red returned to her cheeks. Nick placed a hand on her chin and slowly tilted her head back up to meet his eyes. "It's ok Hotaru. Really. it is more than ok." Nick leaned forward and kissed her softly, waiting to gauge her reaction. Hotaru practically melted into his arms and he repeated the kiss again. Nick looked into Hotaru's eyes and smiled as he said again, "Much more than ok!" He grinned and waved a hand at the door, closing and locking it telekinetically, before playfully pulling Hotaru down onto the bed. Leti awoke that morning to the piercing sound of Usagi's screeching. She bolted out of bed and ran into the hallway, towards Usagi's room; locket in hand, ready for battle. Leti burst into Usagi's bedroom and found the princess lying on the floor, laughing so hard she could hardly breath. comic book in hand. Leti leaned against the doorframe and exhaled. "Dear Gods Usagi-chan. I thought you were dying in here!" "I. I am." giggled Usagi. "Dying. of. laughter!" Leti stared at Usagi with a look of wonder on her face as the phone rang. Stepping over the laughing body of her illustrious leader, lying on the floor, Leti picked up the phone. "Hello?" "Hi Leti? It's Ami. Nick and I found a way to track the aliens last night. Get Usagi and Chibi-usa and meet us at Rae's temple after lunch for a meeting ok?" "You got in Aims!" replied Leti as she hung up the phone. Usagi still lay on the ground holding her stomach in laughter. "Rah give me strength!" Leti walked back out of the room and down the stairs in search of breakfast. Later that afternoon Nick, Mamoru and the rest of the Sailor Senshi sat on the front steps of Rae's temple as Ami explained to them all how they could track the movements of their new adversaries. They discussed possible strategies on how to combat a foe that was as powerful and as fast as these aliens were. "I say we strike hard and fast." Said Minako. "Surround them from all sides and not give them a chance to strike." "A good plan." Agreed Mamoru, "But we will need to distract them somehow first. Get their attention while the others slowly surround them." "And who are you thinking of using as a decoy?" asked Nick, raising an eyebrow at Mamoru. "Well, myself of course." He replied. "Not a chance. You wouldn't last 2 minutes if they attacked you!" said Nick. "Oh and you would then? Mr. Tough Guy?" "It's not a matter of who would or wouldn't but I have fought them and they are very, very fast. I highly doubt a well placed rose would slow them down much!" "And what's that supposed to mean!" growled Mamoru, standing up and taking a step towards Nick. "ENOUGH!" yelled Leti, who stood between the two. "I'm tired of this little testosterone show between you two. I will act as the decoy while the rest of you get into position!" Leti put a finger to her lips to stifle protests that began to arise from the others. "Shh. end of discussion. Nick, Hotaru and I are the only ones who have successfully driven them back so far. And to prevent any more ego bruising I will be the one who will bait them out! Besides, they will likely be much more anxious to focus their attention on me after the pounding we gave them the last time!" "But what if you get hurt?" asked Usagi. "I don't want to see any of my friends hurt!" "It's not up for debate anymore princess." Replied Leti. "I will do what I have to do." "Then you had best do it quickly!" said Ami, as her pocket computer started to beep loudly. "I have incoming energy signatures occurring in the downtown square." "This early in the day?" exclaimed Rae. "I thought you said these guys didn't like sunlight?" "Well, it was just a theory!" said Ami, blushing. "We have time for conjecture later!" said Leti. "Let's roll!" The temple grounds brightened from the magic of the multiple transformations and the assembled team started to run towards the temple gates. "Ahem!" exclaimed CyberWarlock loudly. The others stopped in their tracks and turned. "You are taking the long way!" he grinned as he raised a hand and a portal appeared before him. "I have the gate open one block from where Ami's computer has pinpointed their location. Should give us enough room to maneuver." Nick walked through the portal and the other's quickly followed. Nick smiled to himself as he overheard Tuxedo Mask say to Sailor Moon. "Ok, ok... yes, he DOES have his uses." The Sailor Senshi spread out in flanking positions as Sailor SunFire ran down the street, directly towards the alien invaders. She rounded the corner and stopped dead in her tracks. Something was very wrong. On all the previous attacks, the aliens had never drained the energy of more than 5 or 6 people at a time. It had seemed that that was the maximum amount of power their snake-like staves could hold at once. But here, all around lay the bodies of the people who had been on the street. Some two dozen or more all drained of energy. Something else didn't sit right. The two aliens who stood in the center of the carnage were different somehow. The coloring and insignia of their outfits was the same, but there was more armor on them now, and was she seeing things, or were they actually bigger than they had been the night before? "Stop where you are slime!" she yelled towards them, spinning her Ankh Staff around in a threatening manner. "You should have learned your lesson last night and packed up and left. I guess I am going to have to teach it to you again. Such slow learners you are." The first alien looked at the other. "Earth type female. Unnatural power level for this species. Aggressive pose. Identified as reported hostile." The second alien nodded. "Re-set energy weapons. Harvest is sufficient. Eliminate target." Oh yes. Definitely something, very, very wrong here, thought SunFire. She unconsciously took a few steps backwards. "Come on guys... hurry up." She muttered under her breath. The first attack was so quick she barely had time to get out of the way as the eerie green light shot out towards her. She leapt to the side just in time, but the weapon still caught the side of her, burning the material of her fuku and slightly singeing her skin. SunFire dropped and rolled, coming up facing her attackers. "SOLAR FLARE!!!" The two creatures jumped out of the way of her attack, landing effortlessly a few feet away from her. SunFire swung her staff at the closer of the two. It parried and struck back at her. She didn't even see its staff as it connected with the side of her head and she fell to the ground in a blurry haze. The only thought in her mind was, "I am going to die." SunFire closed her eyes and prepared herself for the killing blow. There was nothing she could do. Her body would not respond to her and she was helpless before them. Then, the next second, she felt strong arms around her and a sensation of weightlessness. Just before she lost consciousness completely, she thought she heard the combined attack powers of the Sailor Senshi. She smiled to herself and passed out cold. CyberWarlock set SunFire down on the rooftop of a nearby building beside Chibi-Moon. "Take care of her hon. I have to go back and help the others!" "What about me?" exclaimed Pixie as she fluttered by the edge of the roof, looking down at the battle that was now beginning below. "You," said CyberWarlock. "Stay here. Your magic is not going to be enough to defeat these creatures. You are better off helping Chibi-Moon try to revive Leti." And with that he dove off the rooftop, catching the air around him with his magic as he fell, harnessing its power to fly. He flew as fast as he could towards the alien attackers, hoping to catch them from above, unawares. He failed. His intended target looked up at the last second and sidestepped, bringing his staff up and knocking CyberWarlock back. His momentum carried him through the wall of a building across the street. All through the town center, flashes of Senshi magic erupted and each time, the targets moved out of the way. The Sailor Senshi definitely had their adversaries on the defensive, but it wasn't accomplishing anything. Although the aliens had very little time in which to fight back, neither did their attackers slow them down. Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn rushed in towards the aliens, with their staves raised high. Hoping to keep the creatures busy long enough for one of the others to take them out. Each picking a target, they engaged the aliens in combat. Saturn lasted 2 seconds longer than Pluto, and they both lay on the ground at their enemies' feet. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" screamed CyberWarlock as a powerful blast of magic screamed across the square. There was nowhere for the aliens to run as the magic flames washed over them, tossing them from their feet onto the ground. CyberWarlock climbed out of the rubble of the building he had fallen into, and had been just in time to see Hotaru fall. "Retreat!" he hollered at the others. "Get Saturn and Pluto out of here!" "What about you?" screamed Usagi from across the street. "We can't leave you here with them!" "You can and you will Sailor Moon! Go now!" Already the two aliens were recovering from the surprise attack and leveled their energy weapons at CyberWarlock. They fired, hitting him square in the chest. Nick winced in pain and took another step forward. Another energy beam was shot towards him. Again, the pain and again, he walked forward. The third and forth beams finished what the first had started and his armor and shirt lay in tatters on the ground behind him. He closed his eyes trying to block out the pain of the burns across his chest and arms. His mask fell in ashes to the ground, exposing the metal and circuitry beneath. CyberWarlock opened his eyes and they flashed red. His mouth curled into a snarl as his canine teeth grew to their full size. "You, will not hurt her again!" he screamed in defiance. He attacked the first alien so quickly, it never had a chance to react as CyberWarlock's hand closed around its neck and tossed it violently into the wall. The second however, did. Nick staggered back as the alien energy weapon began draining his strength. He screamed and lashed out towards his attacker, growing weaker by the second. He tried to take a step forward and fell to one knee, the alien warrior just out of reach. Now both aliens were on their feet, energy staves draining the life force out of CyberWarlock. "Interesting," spoke the first creature as Nick fell to his hands and knees, still struggling to move forward. "This one has far more energy than is normal for this planet's race." "Agreed." Said the second. "This requires further attention." "Agreed." The first alien touched a node on his wristband and suddenly Nick was enveloped in a shield of glowing green light. He lashed out against it vainly, it only tightened around him until he was unable to move. The alien pressed a second button and they and CyberWarlock disappeared in the iridescent flash of green light, that their transport devices used. Hotaru sat up, leaning against Usagi and Leti as her eyes brimmed with tears. "Nick. no." she whispered, barely able to get the words out. "Shh. Rest now Hota-chan." Said Usagi. "We'll get Nick back for you. I promise!" A tear slid down Hotaru's cheek as she closed her eyes and slipped into unconsciousness.
The End of Series Two, Part Three |
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