Generation V Starring Sailor V!
Act Two: Sailor V, Outlaw!
Written by M. Hadley(2001)
* Last Time on Generation V: Minako has a dream in which Serenity, the beautiful Moon Princess tells her that it is time for her to be awakened! Meanwhile, Generation V has come under fire from the city, as a startling article falsely reveals a connection between the alien menances that plagued Tokyo and their very protectors!
And...Command Central...and the Crowne Center Arcade has been blown sky-high! Will our young heroines survive this onslaught?
Read on!*
NK-1124, this is Marie, speaking on all frequencies. We have a situation. I repeat we have a situation. Command Central has been breached and destroyed. Generation V must be assembled immediately!
The light digital voice of Generation V's "World Monitor" satellite computer system, Marie, echoed inside her audio sensor "cat ears" as they flapped up to receive the message. But, Atsuko "Nuku-Nuku" Natsume's cybernetic mind wasn't on the message or the present task at hand. Her thoughts were on one very special feline.
Artemis. She never had a chance to tell how she really felt about him before he disappeared. She was afraid he would see her as nothing more than a freak of nature. After all, she was a cat thankfully stuck in the humanoid form of the world's most powerful android. She enjoyed her family, friends, and cybernetic powers immensely, and also the attention she garnered from the males that pursuit her in the name of love. They were sweet, but nothing like Artemis.
There was something about the white cat that stirred a bizarre reaction inside her. She did not know what the strange feeling was at first, figuring something was malfunctioning within the metal framework of her body. But, when she revealed her problem to her friend and fellow teammate Linn Suzuki, the petite redhead gave her a startling diagnosis.
That mysterious feeling was love.
Yet, this left Nuku-Nuku with an even harder question, one that she was afraid to answer. Could a half-android cat-girl ever fall in love?
"Nuku-Nuku, watch out!" she heard her 'cousin's' voice fill with slight panic. The robotic cat-girl broke out of her thoughts, returning her attention to pedaling her bicycle through the Tokyo traffic, her 'cousin' holding on for dear life. The source of his outcry was the fact that Nuku-Nuku had absent-mindedly pedaled past the red light into the dangerous onslaught of incoming traffic.
Of course, this did not mean that Ryunosuke Natsume had less faith in his 'cousin's bionic abilities. With eyes that covered powerful optical lenses, and with a computer-enhanced brain, Nuku-Nuku easily determined the velocity of the tons of metal bearing down on her and her cousin. In picoseconds, she had already determined a path through the gauntlet of speeding cars. Quickly, she raced forward, clearing the intersection just in the nick of time.
After riding a few blocks, she screeched to a stop and hopped off the bike.
"Nuku-Nuku? What's wrong?" Ryunosuke asked, concern in his eyes.
"Emergency!" She replied cheerfully. "Command Central has been breached or something..."
"I'm not talking about that." The brown-haired boy said. "I'm talking about back there at the intersection. That's not like you. Are you okay?" His question was not an exchange between machine and human, but from one worried human to another.
"Nothing wrong!" Nuku-Nuku quickly replied, knowing that Ryunosuke was a lot smarter than other 10 year olds.
"Are you sure?" he asked, giving her a disbelieving look.
"Sure, sure!" she answered, nodding rapidly. "Are you okay on your own?"
"Duh. It's not like Poison One's going to spring out or anything." The boy smiled. "Besides, it's you I'm worried about. It took a lot for Dad to heal you last time when you had those giant talon marks from...what's his name..."
"Tokima." The pink-haired girl chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Well I'm off! Gotta transform first."
"Nuku-Nuku! Don't you think you should find a place where you can change IN SECRET?" Ryunosuke pointed out, looking around rapidly to see if anyone else was near. "Y'know, like a broom closet or a phone booth or something?"
His last words fell on deaf ears. In one fluid motion, the android cat-girl held up her wrist, brandishing a silver watch with a golden V in the center where the watch-dial should have been. Her lips moved, and one word flowed out.
"TRANSMUTE!"
A mysterious wind dramatically flowed upward, causing Nuku-Nuku's pink-hair to stand on end as well as her skirt to billow upward around her thighs. A quick flash of light exploded, followed by an aura of blue energy engulfing Nuku-Nuku's form. This was the trademark signature of the V-Style Transformation Bracelet, as it performed its duty. Instantly, her shapely form was transported into a pocket dimension, as time seemingly stopped. At once, her school outfit melted away from her body, replaced by a cloud of blue energy forming around her breasts and thighs. The blue energy around her breasts transformed into a white form-fitting Sailor V-esque top (with her taut stomach showing and a yellow sailor collar), complete with a yellow bow. A light blue mini-skirt, with a yellow backbow, formed around her pantied area. Yellow high heeled platform sneakers, with pink hearts, materialized on her bare feet, while a yellow chocker, with a golden catball, formed around her slender neck. As the transformation drew to a close, a yellow Sailor V mask formed on her beautiful face.
The pink-haired cat-girl grinned widely at her smaller companion, as she twirled around, showing off her costume. "See you later!" she declared, before taking off literally like a rocket. Her pink hair waved like as banner as she blazed down the street with speed rivaling that of the fastest fighter jet. In the span of seconds, she had already disappeared from sight, leaving Ryunosuke shaking his head half in disbelief and half in pity.
"I guess a secret identity is one concept she'll never grasp." He grumbled to himself.
************Generation V************
Fearful screams ricocheted off the walls of one building to another. Children, filled with terror, clutched their parents, who were numb with fear. Older teenagers could only respond with disbelief, as they watched the spectacle with wide eyes. The streets, once bustling with citizens going about their daily lives, were now filled with those selfsame citizens, terror-stricken at the event that was unfolding before them.
Fire had come to the Crowne Center Arcade.
Motoki Furuhata, clerk of the Arcade, stood in front of the crowd in a state of semi-shock. How could this have happened? That question kept repeating over and over in his head, as he glanced down at his smoke-filled apron. He was in the storage area when the first blaze erupted, and was lucky to escape the resulting inferno and evaluate the patrons. With the exception of calling the fire department, the sandy-brown haired young man was powerless to stop the all-consuming flames from destroying his place of employment.
Above him, on the rooftop of a building adjacent to the disaster, a mysterious whirlwind, accented by rose petals heralded the arrivals of Zoiscite carrying her two teammates Shizuka and Miyuki. As soon as she alighted on the rooftop, she loosened her grip, letting her passengers drop roughly to the concrete ground.
"Ow!" Shizuka cried, rubbing her tender skirted bottom and adjusting her glasses.
"Gee, thanks." Miyuki replied sarcastically, quickly rising and helping Shizuka to her feet.
The tall woman ignored them both as she walked to the edge of the roof and peered over the side. Using the senses gained from centuries of Dark Kingdom servitude, she narrowed her eyes, scanning the crowd both visually and mentally for signs of anything out of the ordinary. But her scan yielded no results.
"Aw man!" Miyuki exclaimed, dashing to the rooftop edge in shock. "That fire's intense! What kind of explosives did those creeps use?"
"What difference does it make?" Zoiscite growled, giving her an angry glance. "If it wasn't for you, I could have prevented this from happening!"
"Oh no. You're not going to pin this on me!" Miyuki faced her, eyes narrowed in anger. "Y'know, Zoiscite, fact is I can't stand you. You're always trying to make yourself look soooo good. There is no way you could have known that Artemis or whoever was about to do something like this. So stop lying."
"I was considering leaving you behind in that fire..." Zoiscite smirked. "Lucky for you Shizuka was there-"
"Zoiscite, that's a terrible thing to say!" Shizuka spoke up.
"Don't worry...coldhearted bimbos like her are use to such cowardly acts." Miyuki sneered, bawling her fists. "What's the matter, you reject from Big Fire? Afraid that ya can't really beat me in a real fight?"
Zoiscite mirrored her, causing her eyes to flash with threatening energy. "I'm not afraid to shut your mouth, rich girl. But, after I'm standing over your broken body, I probably have to worry about your sister, now would I?"
"You shut up about my sister." Miyuki growled, a dangerous glint in her eye.
Silence came between the two girls. Shizuka watched as the two circled the other, like enemy lions, each quietly tensing muscles. After a second, they stopped, facing each other in their unique fighting poses. For Zoiscite, she lacked a traditional pose, and stood normally, beckoning her human opponent with a graceful flick of the wrists. Miyuki, on the other hand, took a karate pose. After all, being from a rich family had its perks...especially having a personal martial arts trainer.
The two eyed each other, searching for any weakness that could be exploited. Shizuka could swear she was watching the climax to a movie, with the blaze from the arcade nothing more than something added for dramatic effect. Realizing she would have to separate the warring factions, the bespectacled girl took a step towards the two.
However, something had already beaten her to it. From out of nowhere, twin blasts of blue energy streaked between the hostile girls before they could even start towards each other. Three pairs of astonished eyes looked for the source of the disturbance, following from where the volley had come from. Standing on the building ledge behind the trio, twirling her twin Tridencer pistols like an old western cowboy, was Ritsuko Inou.
"You two play nice...before I kill you both." The brown-haired weapon specialist rolled her eyes, leaping off the ledge onto the roof and making her way to the trio. Miyuki and Zoiscite could only give blank looks as she came up to them. Although Ritsuko was your average schoolgirl, years of living in an alternate universe filled with magic, in which she had to strip voluptuous elves in order to return to Tokyo, had changed her. She was now as well trained in weapons and warfare as any Navy Seal...and twice as dangerous. She looked the part, already being in her fighting outfit, which consisted of a skimpy light blue Sailor-V-esque top with a red tie, a red sailor collar, a skimpy black pleated schoolgirl mini-skirt, black high-heeled Mary Janes with combat boot soles, and an orange Sailor V-esque mask on her face. Her ever present high ponytail was wrapped with a shimmering black ribbon, with two bullets decorating it. The uniform came complete with matching purple leg bracelets on her thighs, both with holsters to hold her guns. Any enemy facing her was indeed a goner.
"What's the deal, Inou?" Zoiscite questioned angrily, irritated that someone ruined the confrontation. Ritsuko said nothing, but coolly pointed towards the blaze. Three sets of eyes followed where she was pointing and gasped. The initial inferno had lessened, thanks to the work of the newly arrived firefighters, who bravely battled the blaze. However, even with their efforts, the deadly flames had now engulfed the building next to them, a corporate office for a company called Armaco. However, unlike the arcade, this building was far from empty.
"You're lucky, you witch." Miyuki said quietly to Zoiscite. "If it wasn't for people being in danger..."
"Oh, use that for an excuse!" Zoiscite sneered, waving her off. "You're not even worth my time, you snobby little runt."
"Oh stop it!" Shizuka groaned, rolling her eyes in irritation. "If anyone needs me, I'll be monitoring from the Star-Arrow."
"So far, I've contacted Nuku-Nuku and Nagisa for support." Ritsuko reported. "We have to hurry."
Miyuki and Shizuka only nodded, while Zoiscite sniffed. "You go save lives. I'm going to find out about our rogue Artemis."
"Rogue Artemis?" Ritsuko repeated.
"Believe me, a long story..." Miyuki smirked, lifting her wrist and V-Style Transformation Bracelet to eye level. "I trust you've brought the package?"
"Duh." Ritsuko rolled her eyes.
"Good. TRANSMUTE!"
In the blink of an eye, the mechanical marvel's dirty overalls shifted to a scantily silver Sailor V-esque top, with a dark blue bow and white sailor collar, a silver pleated schoolgirl mini-skirt, a silver Sailor V-mask, black fingerless gloves, and silver ankle-strap high heeled Mary Janes.
At the same time, Ritsuko tapped a hidden button in one of her white opera gloves. The steady hum of a star-powered engine was heard as her trademark spaceship, the sleek blue Star Arrow dramatically rose from its hidden place in the alley below. As it hovered to the roof, the door to the craft opened with an audible hiss, and a stylish silver motorcycle appeared, rolling down the ejected ramp to stop before Miyuki.
"My baby!" the girl squealed with delight, kissing the handlebars. It was a true statement. The Mach 5, the name she bestowed the vehicle, was her baby, a labor of love between her and Daisuke Mifune, the father of the world famous racer Go Mifune.
"Will you stop tongue-kissing your bike and come on?" Ritsuko hissed, hoping on. Shizuka was already aboard the Star Arrow, while Zoiscite had vanished, her mindset on finding the perpetrator of the crime.
"Oh shut up," the motorcyclist mumbled, leaping on her bike and strapping her helmet on. Revving the engine, she took off the brake and raced forward.
"By the way, Ritsuko..." she started. "Were you serious?"
"About what?"
"About killing us. Y'know, me and Zoi?"
"Is that a trick question?" Ritsuko asked sarcastically. "Yes."
Nothing else was said as the two heroines jumped the edge and plunged over the roof onto the street below, establishing one memorable entrance. It was fortunate that Miyuki muttered under her breath, or Ritsuko would actually have a reason to follow up on her promise.
************Generation V************
Intriguing was the "outside" universe to the silver-haired goddess of light, Stashia. As she and Minako continued their search for Artemis, the young deity could not help but delight in the almost musical sights and sounds of the streets of Tokyo. Around her, people brushed past her, heading towards their individual destinations. Window displays of various stores greeted her with interesting items such as clothing and televisions. The smells of cakes snaked their way to her acute nose.
She especially was fascinated by the species known as man, these hairy humanoids that seemed to dominate the female species. Such bizarre organisms were these deep-voiced beings. She had never lain eyes on one before. After all, she was from a place populated by only other female goddesses, which was severed from the rest of the universe by the purifying Astrostar of the Mother Goddess.
But, over the last few months living on Earth as an explorer of the new frontier, she had also seen the dark side of the "outside". Those selfsame fascinating men creatures were also sometimes rude, inconsiderate, and lewd. Even the females possessed the same traits. Their fabulous automobile machines, alien concepts to her, projected smoke that choked her. She also could not understand how humans could consider such evil thoughts as taking lives or stealing from one another. Yet, the goddess was careful not to judge so quickly or harshly. In spite of everything, there was still some good in humanity. Her friends in Generation V were a testimony to that.
"AHHH! He's here! He's here!"
Stashia's eyes followed the direction of Minako's squeal of delight. The blonde rushed onto a deserted playground, filled with colorful play equipment shaped in the form of mythical animals. Stashia followed, a smile widening on her face.
Now she can stop worrying about him, the goddess thought. She already has enough on her conscious as it is...
Was she wrong to mention the fact that the Sailor Senshi were needed? Maybe. But, from what Minako had told her from the dream she had, Serenity was to return. She could not shake the feeling that a major future event was to threaten the Earth, and the team's power would be useless to thwart it. Only the Moon Princess and her court would have the power to prevail.
As she came up on her friend, the blond girl was huddled over in the grass, turning some object over and over in her hands. When Stashia knelt down beside her, she instantly recognized the object. It was Artemis's collar, flayed by large teeth and claw marks.
"Oh no..." the silver-haired girl breathed in disbelief. She placed a comforting hand on Minako's shoulder, and glanced into her face. The blonde did not respond, but continued to fidget with the collar. Stashia could tell that her friend's increasing happy demeanor was now shattered, replaced with a just as quickly expanding anxiety for her feline guardian's state of being.
"Don't worry, Minako." She comforted her. "We'll find Sir Artemis. He'll be safe and sound, I promise you."
"Yeah." Minako replied quietly, giving Stashia a small smile. "Hope is all I have, I guess. Besides, 'in all things it is better to hope than to despair.'"
"What?" Stashia stepped away from the blonde in disbelief. "Unbelievable!"
"Huh?" she gave the goddess a questionable look. "What's wrong?"
"You actually...actually recited a quote correctly! I remember that particular passage from my initial research of Earth when I first arrived here. The author's name was Johann Goethe..."
"Just great!" Minako fumed, jumping to her feet. "Not only am I actually quoting right for a change, but it's from some guy I never heard of!"
The two exchanged serious glances for a few silent seconds, before bursting into giggles.
"And the search for Arte continues..." Minako said, placing the worn collar in the pocket of her school uniform. Just as she was about to suggest to Stashia that they should rejoin with the others, a sudden feeling of weightlessness fell over her like a shroud. The sunny sky darkened, and forked bolts of lightning rained down from the newly formed storm clouds. A fog materialized from nowhere, blinding the blonde schoolgirl.
"What on Earth?!" she exclaimed, bewildered by the sudden climate change. Suddenly, a familiar voice reached her ears from out of the mists. Although it was melodious and serene, there was a certain note of fear and urgency that caused her to rush towards the direction from where it had came.
"Princess Serenity!" she yelled into the thick fog. "Where are you?"
A scream rewarded her with an answer. Instantly alert and ready for action, the disguised senshi boldly rushed into the fog. It felt like eternity as she pressed on, the only sound heard was that of her footsteps.
"M-man...this fog ...is...murder," she panted, stopping to take a breath. Just as she was about to continue, a semi-visible form materialized in front of her. For some unknown reason, the figure was obscured by a mysterious shadow. However, a second shape appeared, this one very visible and very feminine.
She was a blond girl with her hair in odangoes, and clad in a beautiful ivory gown. The shadowy figure kept two dark hands clamped tightly on the girl's shoulders, keeping her from moving.
"Serenity!" Minako screamed, her blue eyes narrowed at the shadowy figure. "Let her go, you creep!" Already, she was reaching for her transformation pen.
The figure only laughed, a deep haunting cackle of insanity. The imprisoned princess glanced at her guardian with tear-stricken blue eyes, slowly shaking her head.
"Save me, Minako." She said quietly, bowing her head sadly. "I'm in need of your services...Sailor Venus."
Sailor Venus...Sailor Venus...Sailor Venus...
The princess's mention of Minako's other identity reverberated in her ears as the blond super heroine was engulfed in a blinding kaleidoscope of light. She awoke to find Stashia kneeling over her, a look of despair scrawled over her divine features. Minako sat up, surprised that she was sitting in the grass. Once again, the day was sunny, with the sweet smell of the park flowers wafting in her nose.
Was that a vision? She mused to herself. She did not even remember blackening out. Was that how her old friend Rei Hino experienced these things?
"Are you alright?" Stashia asked worriedly, helping her friend to her feet. "Your eyes were glazed over...it was like you were possessed..."
"I'm fine." Minako said calmly. "And I know what I must do."
"'Must do?' I don't understand."
"Neither do I." The blonde said honestly, brandished her transformation pen, which glittered in the sunlight. Not even checking to see if any civilians were present, Minako uttered the words to power her transformation from normal girl into super heroine: "MOON POWER TRANSFORM!"
A golden aura of light enveloped her body, before climaxing with a brilliant flash. Scarcely a few seconds later, the light dissipated, revealing the masked senshi Sailor V to the world. Without even pausing, she quickly took off in a frantic dash.
"Wait!" Stashia cried, racing after her. "V-babe, wait! TRANSMUTE!"
A flash of gold and the goddess was engulfed in a golden light. A golden Sailor-V mask formed on her face, while a golden Sailor V-top with a red bow formed over her breasts, complete with a golden chocker(with a silver crescent moon symbol) around her slender neck. A silver pleated mini-skirt swirled around her thighs, while glittering silver high heeled gladiator sandals snaked up her legs.
"What's going on?" she asked, slightly annoyed from her friend's bizarre behavior.
Sailor V gave her a worried glance. "Danger. I'll explain on the way..."
************Generation V************
INTERLUDE...Hikawa Jinga
The Hikawa Jinga was a literal portal to the ancient past of Japanese nobility. Sitting regally on top of a hill overlooking a busy street, one could see the clash between that past and the very present. Although ancient, the beautiful Shrine showed no indication of its age. Its splendor was only increased by the presence of the sakura trees doting the front landscape.
Two crows silently alighted on one of the branches of the trees. Then, after a moment they pushed off, flying through the opened front door of the shrine as normal as any humans. The two birds navigated the inside labyrinth of halls with ease, gently brushing the head of a small elderly man as they passed by. He only smiled, before continuing walking down the hall.
Finally, the two landed in front of their destination. The door to the room was slightly ajar enough for them to squeeze in. Light flickered off the walls of the large room, exaggerating their shadows as they flew in and perched on fixtures. A huge blazing bonfire, the source of the light, was directly in the center of the room. In front of the fire, dressed in Shinto temple robes, was a beautiful raven-haired girl.
She was in deep meditation, eyes closed and kneeling before the fire. Sweat glistened on her brow from the combination of the heat of the flames and her own inner concentration. The two crows exchanged glances. They knew what was going on.
She had sensed something wrong.
Minutes later, the girl opened her eyes and heaved a small sigh. She turned to the newly arrivals with a slightly sad smile.
"Phobos. Deimos. Come here." She commanded.
The crows obeyed, each perching on one of her shoulder. As the girl petted them, memories of her dream from the night before replayed in her head. She could remember the odangoed-haired princess, warning her of an unknown danger. Serenity.
She could remember the words Princess Serenity had spoken. They were: To save me, you must forgive the past. You must dissolve the hatred...
What did she mean? The girl thought. What hatred? She had meditated all the day, but received no answers from the higher planes of existence.
Lost in her thoughts, she stood up, finished with her meditation. But, just as she was about to leave, the bonfire flared. Instinctively, the girl glanced into the flames and was instantly spellbound by what she saw. Her purple eyes widened in horror as flashes of the faces of unknown enemies greeted her. A shadowy figure loomed in her vision, but it was soon replaced with an even darker menace appearing as a caped figure. She could feel the raw evil pulsating from the figure, and nearly cried out in fright. Then she saw Princess Serenity crying out in pure fear and grief, reaching out with a delicate outstretched hand, searching for a rescuer...a defender...
"NO!" she exclaimed, snapping from her vision. Her head spun from the onslaught of imagery, but she soon regained her self-control. Fishing in the pockets of her Shinto robe, she pulled out her transformation pen, which proudly displayed the symbol of Mars. Four words activated the powers of the pen.
"MARS POWER, MAKE-UP!"
About a minute later, the elderly Grandpa and the Shrine's other boarder, Yuuichirou, rushed into the meditation chamber, drawn by the girl's outcry. But, only her two pet guardians greeted them from the fixtures.
For Sailor Mars, the Senshi of Fire had already vanished into the afternoon, her destination being the Tsuskino household. Although she lacked all the information from her vision, one thing remained certain.
Usagi was definitely in trouble.
END INTERLUDE
((To Be Continued))
NEXT EPISODE: "Hello, the beautiful idol Sailor V here! The deadly fire that evil Artemis started has spread to other buildings...but Generation V is on the case! But, the people don't trust us, and start acting strange even! And we get a chance to see Usagi, yea! But she gets a few other strange visitors...that want her dead! That's just so rude! And yeah, Sailor Mars shows up too...like we really needed her help! Prepare for the fight of a lifetime in GENERATION V, the third Episode, SHOWDOWN IN JUUBAN! Don't miss it!"