He didn't understand it. There had been no recriminations, no hateful cursing of his name by anyone that he cared about. The knowledge he possessed had been accepted and any hurt they had from it had been bottled up apparently. At least that was what it seemed like when he was around. What was worse that this was the fact that several of his friends had tried to make HIM feel better about the situation.
Scott sighed softly as the sun began to set in the west. He'd spent all of the previous night talking. He'd spend all of the following day explaining what he was talking about. Nothing made sense. They all insisted he stay on as leader. How could they ask that of him after what he'd kept from them?
The guilt inside him had largely alleviated after bearing his soul but he still felt like he'd done wrong.
The crickets had been chirping noisily for some time now but suddenly they stopped. The quiet caught Scott's attention and he began to scan his surroundings.
To his surprise Pirotessa was standing on a tree limb directly opposite of him with perfect poise and balance despite having one hand behind her back. She was wearing an outfit that was very familiar. It was one he had never seen her wear outside of the anime she had been part of back home. She stared at him hard, even in the failing light he could clearly see that she possessed red rimmed eyes that were fighting back tears.
Several quiet moments passed before the first cricket dared to chirp again. After this climatic moment Pirotessa spoke. "How.. How could you..?"
Scott shook his head. "How could I what P-chan? Hold out on you..? Keep to myself knowledge of your life that only you should possess? Refuse to hurt you by dredging up old and incredibly painful memories?"
She glowered at him darkly. "No! How could you ...?" she began again but found herself unable to say the words she needed to.
The man from another world gazed upon a dark elf from yet another world. He saw her begin to tremble. She was struggling hard not to simply break down right here and this set off warning bells in his mind. Something was seriously upsetting her and it had little to do with his knowledge of Lodoss.
"P-chan.." he began. When her head snapped up the anger had fled and on her face was pain and worry. Scott was at a loss for a moment then as the moment passed he asked, "Can you forgive me for not noticing it sooner?"
She blinked and turned her face to the side so she didn't have to look at him. "Notice.. what?"
Scott smiled at her gently. "You know.. I don't know what REALLY happened where you are from but.. I never thought of the Marmo or you as evil despite the type casting.." he decided to say as a way of changing the subject.
She widened her eyes at the welcome change of subject then asked, "You didn't.. ? Why not.. we were trying to conquer and subjugate an entire continent. Most people thought we were scum even before that."
Her interdimensional former minion shook his head. "No one on Marmo was scum unless they chose to be. Even the goblins had a right to live better than they did."
"Goblins.. a right to live better?" she asked bemusedly. Would they even have known how to do more than live in caves and hunt oversized rats?
Scott nodded at her. "Yes, goblins, dark elves, trolls, even ugly old human beings with their big asses and short ears deserved better than being stuck on that doubly cursed rock."
She blinked at him. He actually sounded like he meant that. It reminded her so much of... But he was gone, centuries of time and a universe separated them.
"You're so strange... in my younger days I would think you were a fool."
"The younger Pirotessa would have been right."
She smiled tentatively. She had tried her best to move past all the pain in her old life but she knew she hadn't really. She had just locked it away inside her and now it came out. It was so strange hearing someone that knew something of her people and the war they started that did not think them murdering monsters.
"Hmm.. perhaps she would. Still, I.. I came out here.."
Scott wondered which direction this conversation would go. Would she profess her undying dark elven sexy live for him (yeah right she wasn't into him like that and he knew it)? Would she ask about what he thought of her? would she ask if there was any way to have saved Ashram?
She bit her bottom lip. Scott considered her standing there both nobly and timidly. She had gone through a great deal since her days during the war of heroes.
"Scott.. I.. Do you.. think we were wrong? You could see everything in your story right? Do you.. was the emperor and Ashram wrong for trying to unite Lodoss?"
For some reason he suspected that wasn't what she really wanted to ask him but he decided to answer it anyway. "Honestly?"
She nodded slowly.
"What Flaus asked emperor Beld to do wasn't wrong or right. She wanted Lodoss to be united under one strong rule so all the warring would stop. I can't condone his methods and would have thoroughly opposed the war but I can understand the purpose and agree with the concept of a unified Lodoss."
She took all that in and tried to reconcile it with what she recalled. It seemed he had a good idea overall of what happened and it did mollify her slightly to know that at least it wasn't all for naught if people could understand why they had tried to conquer Lodoss Island.
"You know besides Wagnard and to some clueless extent Karla there really were no true villains in that war. It was simply opposing ideologies and survival instincts."
"Is that so?" asked the dark elf thoughtfully from her tree. She wasn't so sure of that. Sometimes she looked back on her earlier life and wondered what it was all for. Then of course it would always come back to one man. A man she had loyally served for centuries with little hope of his salvation.
Scott allowed one of his legs to dangle over the edge of his tree limp while the other stretched along its length. He had no fear of falling. Even if he snapped his neck he doubted he'd die from it. He was beginning to wonder if he could die at all. The shear amount of near death experiences and hospital stays made him wonder what it would take to actually kill him.
The two were quiet for a time as night birds and crickets sang. It was nice to know that at least some animals survived. Of course for all he knew those might be alien crickets from an alternate dimension. There seemed to be a great deal of that going on.
"Scott.."
The man glanced over at his... friend and smiled. "Yes, P-chan?"
The dark elf grew quiet for a brief moment and glanced down at the ground. She seemed to be thinking deeply about something. Then after this time passed she looked back up again. "How bad is it.. this Negaverse you mention?"
The man from another world shook his head. "Bad Pirotessa. Ya know how I said I can see the reasoning for the Marmo invasion of Lodoss even if I couldn't agree with it?"
She nodded. "Yes.."
"That was because it was people warring over the same cause viewed through different philosophies. The Negaverse.. it's different.. it doesn't want to rule."
She gazed at him pointedly for a moment and then steeled herself. "What does it want then?"
Scott looked up at her with a world weary expression, "The complete and total destruction of all life. The Negaverse, or dark kingdom if you will, is nothing but a bunch of puppets being controlled by an evil being that wants to suck the entire planet dry of its life force.. then move on to another. It is hatred, envy, and chaos with no purpose other than destruction."
"Could it really do that.. destroy all life?"
Scott nodded slowly. "Yes, it nearly did so once before. If the story is even remotely true then nearly all of the sentient life and much of the animal life on the planet was absorbed into itself and the bodies of the fallen became youma. Though that's my interpretation.. some claim that the people were simply converted and they remained alive."
Pirotessa bit her lip softly and turned to look at the full moon. It was the second of the three nights that the moon would be full this month.
As she gazed at the moon she thought about her past and her future. She knew Scott would be a central figure in the battles to come but he wasn't strong enough. He was powerful, but he was a weak length compared to his harem. There was something she could offer him but she couldn't make herself give it up to him until hearing the truth.
"So.. umm.. dark elf of my dreams.. what's with the adventuring garb. You planning on waging a war or just trying to make my eyes bug out of my head?" he asked her in a soft masculine voice.
She fought back a blush and started picking at her outfit. She'd never been so self-conscious of it before. "What this old thing?"
Scott barked out a sudden laughter that caught her off guard. Soon they were both giggling.
As the laughter started to die down she said, "I thought it appropriate since I am coming with you from now on."
The man quirked an eyebrow at her. "Not that I would dislike your company P-chan but what about the institute?"
She shook her head sending her platinum blond hair waving back and forth. "Already handled. I'm coming."
"What if I wanted to keep you safe and said no?" he asked her lightly.
She snorted at him. "Maybe you'd have to beat me to make me stay behind?"
"Maybe you'd like that too much?"
She blinked then smirked at him, "Now why would I enjoy such a thing?"
The man smirked at her in kind, "You may be a natural blond.. but your roots are showing P-chan."
Her eyebrows arched lightly at the mention of her roots and her smirk deepened to a predatory gleam. "How much do you know about my roots, mere human that you are?"
Scott chuckled at her softly. "Sticks and stones may break your bones but whips and chains excite you?"
She choked a little then released a surprised giggle at him. He was such a goof ball unlike Ashram.. Pirotessa thought over the fact that she kept comparing Scott to her late beloved king and paramour. While there were definite similarities they were not the same sort of people at all.
Ashram only laughed when he was fighting. Most of the time he scowled. The black knight of Marmo had a certain danger about him that mixed well with his aura of command.
Scott.. was currently making weird motorboat noises in the branches of a tree. He laughed a lot whenever he didn't try to take the burden of the world on his shoulders. He was reasonably decent with a sword but Ashram would have carved him up readily. The only thing they seemed to share was her interest in them.. and a desire to soldier on and conquer their foes.
She knew that if he was to fulfill what she suspected to be his ultimate destiny as a world saving hero he'd need proper equipment. She'd gone home via Alanera and retrieved a special item for the man. It was something incredibly precious to her despite its hateful nature. It once served the man she loved.. and despite her inability to reconcile those feelings she knew deep down that tonight it would once again serve such a man.
"Scott.. I.. I didn't just come out here to chat about old times you weren't a part of.."
The tree limb perched man blinked and then asked, "Yes Pirotessa? Why else did you come..?"
The dark elf sighed and removed her hand from behind her back. Clenched in her fist was a sword.
It took Scott a moment to recognize exactly what he was seeing but when he did his eyes slowly widened to the point of bugging out. "P-chan.. that.. that's not...?"
"So.. you recognize it then? I thought that you might.."
"Soul Crusher.. How do you have it.. I thought.. I mean.. shouldn't it have been buried with Ashram?"
She glared at him hatefully for a moment then her expression softened and she replied to him, "I.. could not allow some grave-robber to steal this sword. No one would have bothered it for decades, perhaps a century or two, but eventually someone would have come for it. There is always someone that thinks they deserve its power."
Scott gazed at the cursed blade and shuddered softly. That thing.. it was only safe to carry it while it was sheathed. Once someone actually draws it from its sheathe the blade would try to devour their soul.
"That blade.. it.. that's Ashram's blade Pirotessa. I can't.. it wouldn't be right.."
"I don't know if you ever heard it in your stories. Once on the voyage to Crystania Ashram told me that even though it was an evil blade he would keep it.. he needed its power to defend what he loved.."
"Ashram.. I never really knew him.. but.. from I could see.. he was a brave and honorable man..." replied Scott as he saw the obvious pain on the face of his friend. Even the darkness could not hide such agony with the full moon shining.
"So are you.. and you.. you have people you love and need to protect.."
Scott nodded softly. Then while gazing into her eyes from across the gap between the tree limbs he said, "Yes Pirotessa.. there are people I do love and need to protect."
She closed her eyes gently for a moment as a slow smile spread on her lips. He'd made his point quite well.
"There is a problem though... its not called the demon blade or the accursed sword for nothing.. that thing.. it is powerful.. it took Ashram months to master it. We might not have that much time.."
The dark elf nodded. "You need a proper weapon. Your magic seems to be growing stronger. The sword you currently wield won't hold up much longer. It grows dull and weak because your mystical power is too much for it."
"Yes.. it will probably break on me one day soon.. Still.." admitted Scott slowly. He knew the sword could be a major help but it was such a longshot that he could even control it.
"There is also the fact that the demon king that bonded with the sword is greatly weakened now. It has not fed on a destroyed soul in nearly four hundred years."
Scott thought about that seriously for a moment. From what he could recall the thoughts on what soul crusher actually did varied. Some believed it simply destroyed a soul and was singularly powerful. Other people thought that when it destroyed a sword it took some of the fallen opponent's life force to strengthen itself. There were several other theories. From what Pirotessa was saying it sounded like this particular version of Soul Crusher might work like the second concept espoused.
The man gazed intently at his first long term friend in this world and nodded slowly. "If you wish to entrust me with the legacy of that sword I will accept it and the consequences of my choice."
She nodded back to him seriously then moved forward and did a short, for her anyway, hop across the branches then held the sword out to him.
Scott reached up to take the sheathe of the greatsword then as his fingers grasped it he said, "Thank you for trusting me with this.."
She nodded at him as a few previously unshed tears began to slide down her cheeks. She had finally given up the last tangible item of her love for Ashram.
The men held the blade sheathe tight in his hand and gazed up at the friend that had decided to entrust her heart to him. The fact that this blade was in his hand spoke more of her feelings than anything else. This blade which she had used to slay her only love to set his soul free of the dark god that possessed him.
"So.. draw forth your mighty blade hero.." said Pirotessa through her tears.
Scott smiled at her but did not grasp the hilt. "Not in this tree and not with you so close. This thing might have enough presence of mind to try and make me kill you if you're within striking distance."
She blinked then nodded slowly at him. This was true. The dark elf jumped down from the tree branch and moved a short distance away to give Scott room. She wanted to be there when he drew the blade for the first time.
Scott followed suit soon after. He landed quite a bit heavier than the lithe elf but he was not injured in any way.
The man took a deep breath and stared down at the sword sheathed in his hand. He gazed at the blade known as Soul Crusher. He considered its lines, its curves, and its history. Scott took in the sight of a sheathed sword that had slain both a demon king and a god.
He took another deep breath and steeled himself for the shock to come. He knew that the moment he touched the handle of this blade he would be locked in a spiritual struggle with the sword's demonic spirit. He would have to move with purpose and decisiveness when he took control of the blade.
Scott flexed his hand, wiggled his fingers, then with another deep breath he grasped firmly the handle of the blade and drew it out in one swift motion with a roar that would have intimidated most anything.
He primal scream echoed into the night but no further screams occurred. The man stood there with the blade fully drawn in a manner akin to a statue as he breathed in and out slowly.
There were many things he had thought he would feel upon drawing this accursed blade. The absolute absence of anything at all was not one of those suspected feelings.
He blinked stupidly for a moment then raised the sword up to eye level and stared at it with a frown. Following this he proceeded to shake the indomitable blade of utter destruction and soul crushing force. It showed no sign of being concerned by that.
Pirotessa gazed upon him with concern as he seemed to shake the sword violently. 'He must be struggling with the demon of the blade.. such conviction!' thought the dark elf from the world of Forceria.
Finally in annoyance at the lack of inner conflict he stared at the blade and thought in confusion, 'What's wrong with you?'
A soft and strangely feminine whimper emanated from the sword. Scott thought he had imagined it for a moment but then it came again softly in a simplistic child-like voice, 'Hungrrry...'
The sword that had slain a demon and then a god was not exactly an overwhelming force right now. Scott blinked at the sword as he considered what it was talking about.
'Blood.. and souls..' expressed the sad and incredibly lonely sounding feminine voice.
The man shuddered at the disconcerting disparity between the desire for blood and the voice that spoke of. Apparently this version of Soul Crusher really was a vampiric sword that drew on the life force of those it slew.
'Hello.' thought Scott loudly while looking at the sword. It took a moment but a very weak 'Hi..' echoed back. Somehow it managed to sound shy and afraid despite being a thing of evil.
The man from another world held a sword from yet another world in his hands and despite the evil twisted nature of the thing he couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry for it current state.
He couldn't resist asking it something though. 'Sword.. I thought you were a demon blade.. what happened?'
The world was silent for a moment as even the crickets stopped chirping briefly. Then finally the blade answered, 'I was hungry.. now... so lonely..'
He remembered some of the lore. The blade hadn't truly become tainted till it absorbed the soul of the demon king that was slain by it. However, it was a magical sword even before that. He was probably wrong but it sounded like the sword was claiming it had finished digesting the soul of that demon king over the last few centuries and it was lonely and starving.
Scott continued gazed down at the sword and asked, 'Will you accept me as your master without conflict?'
A short time passed and the blade answered, 'Will you feed me.. and keep me company?'
Scott answered the sword without pause 'If I can choose the opponents, the blood and souls you wish to devour as well as allow me total and complete dominion over you then yes.. I will feed you and keep you company.'
'I am yours master..' responded the sweet child-like voice of the blade in a tone that disturbed the man greatly. It had subtle undertones that made him quite uncomfortable.
Scott spoke aloud to the blade to seal the deal, "You are mine."
Pirotessa arched an eyebrow at the strange admissal then blinked as Scott sheathed the sword and smiled at her tiredly. "That was.. interesting.."
The dark elf nodded. It certainly had been.
"Is there anything else you want to do or can we call it a night P-chan.. i'm a little tired."
She flushed at his question then shook her head. "I.. just.. let's just go to bed."
Scott gasped at her in faux-shock. "Why P-chan.. how very forward of you!"
Normally she would snort at him or scoff but tonight seeing him hold that sword she could only look at him and shake her head. "I don't care.."
The man blinked. He had just been playing with her but she was acting strangely serious. Things got even more confusing when she slid her hand to the left side of her white extremely low cut outfit and pushed one side open before shrugging her shoulder out of it. Soon the other shoulder followed and then the one piece ensemble slid to the ground and she stood there before him in all of her naked glory. The moonlight shone brightly against her coppertoned flesh. It accentuated her every curve as she opened her eyes, which she had closed as she undressed.
Then as she stood there she smiled timidly at the man she had grown so fond of.
Scott was not sure what to say about this turn of events. This was no time for words anyway. He placed the sword to the ground and slipped off his own clothing. He didn't manage it with remotely similar amounts of grace but once it was done he moved swiftly across the gap between them and stood in front of her as the moon shined down upon them.
Lips moved forward tenderly until they met each other. Hands found secret places to hold and caress. In the hearts of a man from another world and a dark elf a new bond was forming that had nothing to do with genetics.
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Chapter 25: Dark Knight Rising
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Morning came swiftly to the shrine as the occupants began to stir. Minako yawned lightly as she hopped out of her tree and looked around. Her guard shift with Makoto was over. The amazon-chan was stationed in another neighboring tree. Guard duty sucked but it had allowed them time to reflect while they tried to safe guard the area. Generally they would patrol the grounds for an hour then set up in a different location for a few minutes. It wasn't a perfect situation and it could be a bit boring but it was necessary. They were at war after all.
She had reported the shout in the woods back to the SOG (sergeant of the guard) last night but Serena had said not to worry about it. Of course that could have just been her being lazy.
Every night a minimum of three people in the harem and Aaron would stay up guarding the place so their friends and family could sleep safely. It sucked but it had to be done.
"So, what do you think the plan will be for the day?" asked Makoto. She knew Scott was planning something soon but no one knew what was coming up for certain.
Minako shook her head. "No idea. Though, he did say that since we insisted on keeping him on as the leader then it was time to start strategizing."
The tiger landed nearby with a flap of wings and regarded the two pokegirls for a moment before lying down and closing its eyes. Neither pokegirl wanted to know why it had blood drying around its mouth or where said blood had come from. Minako shuddered involuntarily as she recalled the shout from the night before.
The massive feline blinked its wide yellow eyes and looked into the forest. Minako and Makoto span around and got into combat stances. The tension didn't ease in their forms until they saw Scott and Pirotessa walking out of the woods.
"Wha?" asked Minako as she took in the sight of them. It looked like they'd been in some kind of fight! Scott and Pirotessa both were covered in scratches and terrible bruises. Of course Scott's were already healing but still!
The two stopped as they realized they were caught but had the decency to flush brightly.
"Scott! What happened! Who attacked you?" asked Minako excitedly. Whoever it was they were gonna pay!
The man's eyes widened in shock at the exclamation and was at a loss for how to answer that. Pirotessa started too but the door to the shrine opened and out came several of the others to see what the noise was about.
"What's going on?" asked Serena in worried confusion. She'd head someone shouting out here.
"Wha.. what happened to you two? Was there a fight?" asked Rei before her nose began to notice a strange but somewhat familiar scent in the air.
"Someone dared to strike my master! A samurai cannot stand for such things! I shall avenge you my master!" cried out Ryoko as she leveled her wooden blade.
"Uhm.." began Scott as he tried to get in a word edgewise.
Soon Aaron was on the scene as well asking questions. His appearance was followed by Ami as she came wandering out in her aquamarine colored jammies and fuzzy slippers. She yawned loudly then blushed at being caught doing such a thing.
The rest of the group came out by ones or twos, including Grandpa Hino, until everyone was congregating in the open air trying to decide what was going on. Scott and Pirotessa glanced and each other and shook their heads. It promised to be a very interesting morning after.
Several hours later, after the situation was explained, and many gasps of surprise and good natured ribbing occurred, The group met in the sacred fire room to discuss a few things. It was the easiest place indoors there to accommodate the group and it seemed appropriate still.
"So, Scott.. what's the plan?" asked Artemis. He was one of the first to speak up the day before when it came to keeping Scott the leader. When Scott had tried to give up leadership it had come as a major shock. He had been the only thing that really held them together in the first place. His insistence that he should never have been in charge was shouted down loudly. While he had delivered a massive emotional blow to everyone it wasn't completely out of left field that he knew more than he had let on. He'd mentioned the stories and fiction he'd read or seen back home on occasion. It was simply the depth of his knowledge that bothered everyone.
Scott nodded to the moon cat before he took a deep breath. "If we are to win this thing we have to stop being a day late and a dollar short.."
"Huh?" asked Kai Harn. She wasn't really part of the group but she did serve Arshes Nei. Nei, despite her occasional quarreling with Scott did consider herself to be nominally part of the situation if not his group specifically.
"Just an old expression.. basically.. we keep barely surviving battles with what amounts to nothing more than the monster of the week. If we can't find a way to be more effective against the weaker monsters of the Negaverse then we have no hope of ever defeating their generals much less the Negaforce."
"Then.. there's.." began Scott as he thought about the power scale of their current enemy compared to the true final battle.. if such does occur. Metallica, Metaria, whatever the fuck she calls herself in this timeline was a termite compared to the true 'final boss' of the Sailor Mooniverse.
"So.. what you want us to keep training?" asked Makoto. She had been working really hard but she had not improved that much recently. Only actual fights really increased a pokegirls experience and power in swift order. They had all been fighting each other so much in practice that it was no longer much of an increase to battle each other.
Scott nodded at her. "Yes, there is that. However, there are also other possibilities."
"Such as?" asked Aaron curiously. He was interested in anything that gave them an edge. They had had too many close calls in their battles for any possible aid to be let slip through their fingers.
"Well, for starters we need to find the other four senshi. I know one of them at least exists in this world." admitted Scott thoughtfully.
"Pluto!" exclaimed Artemis helpfully. He had seen her after all.
"Huh.. you know who the other senshi are?" Minako asked the little white cat.
"We've seen her.. on the roof of the shrine.." admitted the cat.
"Wait.. hold up.. you've seen another senshi..HERE? Why isn't she with us?" squawked Serena excitedly.
Scott answered her. "Honestly, I'm not sure. She might be stuck guarding the gates of time, she might be any number of things. She can't stay long whenever she shows up. The only two times I have seen her it had been a full moon. She admitted to at least having a hand in me being here in the first place."
"What are the gates of time Master?" asked Ryoko. The wanna-be samurai girl felt incredibly left out since she didn't have any connection to the silver millenium or these sailor thingies. She was just a pokegirl and not a reincarnated princess after all.
"They are a doorway between times.. a passage between the past, present, and future. A type of time machine." stated the man. He could definitely see the uses of such a thing. Too bad they probably wouldn't be able to use it.
"Wait.. hold up.. a time machine? We could.. we could.. we could DO something with that right?" asked Makoto excitedly. Why they could pop back and forth and set things right! She wasn't exactly sure what that meant but it was worth a try.
"Honestly I don't know. Since the only way I know how to use it involves Sailor Pluto and her staff, there's no way to access it. Well.. not unless a pink haired brat from the future comes back in time with a key or something."
"A pink haired brat?" asked Serena curiously.
Scott nodded to her. "Yes, in the original story that I spoke of you and Endymion have a daughter a thousand years from now. Well, seven hundred or so years from now. Her name varies, but she was given a key that would allow her to travel back and forth in time. It was a means to protect her from a time traveling threat."
"Can we expect this.. pink haired child.. to show up?" asked Pirotessa thoughtfully as she leaned against a wall of the room with her arms folded across her beautifully crafted chest.
"Honestly.. unless we can find Endymion.. survive the current crises.. and set up a crystal Tokyo.. I don't think so. The Negaverse is just the first in a long line of enemies that can destroy the planet.. It's a powerful opponent but nothing compared to some of the ones that will come after them."
"There's something WORSE than the Negaverse?" exclaimed Luna in shock. Her fur was standing up at the very idea of a stronger enemy.
"Yeah.. there are many would-be enemies. Some can be converted to friends.. several are weaker than the Negaverse.. a few are MUCH stronger. The strongest opponent we are likely to face could annihilate Metallica and every youma in the dark kingdom without much thought."
"Wha.. what?! We .. what kind of enemy is that!" exclaimed Minako in shock. She'd been fighting the Negaverse longer than anyone else. Her appearances in the Blue League might be tied to early Negaverse activity.
"A single person, a valiant warrior that took the true essence of the spirit of chaos and destruction into herself to protect the rest of the galaxy from it. It corrupted her over time and now she lives solely to destroy all that exists. She goes by the name Sailor Galaxia and she is the strongest senshi in the Galaxy."
"Our strongest opponent is a senshi like us?" asked Makoto in surprise. This was a shock to be sure.
Scott nodded. "She has other corrupted senshi that follow her. However, if we can't handle the current crises we'll never be able to stop her. We need to focus on Beryl and the dark kingdom."
It seemed like a few of the group wanted to find out more about these other threats. Still, they saw the point in focusing on the danger at hand instead of dangers that might not even exist if his story was wrong.
"So, how do we beat her?" asked Rei. She might not have shown her senshi side yet but she felt like she was a part of this. She wanted to know.
"We won't be able to do it the way we have been. Stumbling across her schemes won't work. We need to get stronger and we need to utilize the resources we have at hand as well."
"So, what do you suggest?" asked Aaron.
Scott turned to him and nodded. "First off.. are there any starlightXpress pokegirls in this league?"
"What..? Hmm.. I know of no such pokegirl type.. are they new?"
The man from another world blinked and shook his head. "No. They are supposed to be rare but they evolve from cabbits."
"Um.. what's a cabbit?" asked Serena curiously.
"Hold on, let me check something." said Scott before he left the room and returned two minutes later with his dex. He opened up a search function and tried to find the entry for cabbit. Then when that didn't show up he tried the starlightXpress. Once again there was nothing. It was as though those pokegirl breeds didn't exist.
"Apparently they are either extremely rare or they don't exist. Which sucks. They were our best bet."
"Why's that?" asked Ami in a bout of confidence. She was feeling both strange and excited bye being included in this meeting.
"The starlight is a pokegirl that can create a shell with an atmosphere. They work as living spaceships and would have allowed us access to the ruins of the moon kingdom, transport to Beryl's castle, and the possible capacity to find the orbital fortresses each of the senshi has."
"Wait.. we have fortresses?!" exclaimed Serena excitedly. She had like a castle and stuff? That was so cool!
"Well.. the other senshi do.. you have something far more precious and it is as much of a priority to get you set right with that as it is to find the other senshi."
"What could be better than fortresses and technology from their age if it is as advanced as you think it is?" asked Pirotessa.
Arshes nodded at that. She hadn't really spoken much during this meeting but she had been taking it all in.
"The single most important artifact of the silver millennium and the only actual hope we have of being able to defeat the negaverse."
Scott gazed at everyone intently then nodded. "The ginzuishou. The greatest physically representative power in the universe. It is an artifact capable of bringing life to entire worlds and restoring life to worlds that have been destroyed. It can rewrite existence and banish even the strongest of evils."
"Wow! That would be really great to have!" exclaimed Ryoko. That sounded like just what they needed.
"Are you saying with this.. ginzuishou.. we could defeat our current enemy?" asked Aaron.
Scott nodded slowly.. "It's vital actually. In point of fact it was the only reason Queen Serenity was able to seal away the negaverse in the first place as well as send her daughter and her court to the future to be reborn on Earth."
"I can understand you keeping a lot of what you told us to yourself.. but why hide this?" asked Minako thoughtfully.
"Yeah.. we should have been looking for it...!" exclaimed Makoto before blushing lightly at her outburst.
"Looking for it won't do any good. We've had it all along." stated Scott. After his fateful words eyebrows shot up. He'd mentioned the ginzuishou during the meeting the other night but hadn't really answered too many questions about it.
"What...? You had it all along! Why.. wouldn't you use it?" asked Serena in surprise.
"I don't have it Serena. You do." stated Scott confidently.
"What.. the meatball head has it?" asked Rei in shock. She was imagining Serena with a weapon that could destroy or create worlds and the cold sweats were about to start.
Serena glared hatefully at Rei then turned back to Scott. "But.. but.. I don't have anything like that!"
"I told you all about the 'sailor crystals' you possess. The ginzuishou is your sailor crystal. Unfortunately it is fractured and separated. Only the core piece is currently within you. We need to find the other fragments before your true identity as the moon princess will resurface. You quite literally are the last best hope of all life on this planet... no pressure huh?" Scott informed the angel pokegirl.
Serena's eyes bugged out at his admission and several others shook their head in disbelief. If what Scott was saying was true then the world's ultimate fate currently rested in the hands of a somewhat flakey angel pokegirl that tripped over her own feet and routinely forgot she could fly.
"Well.. that's.. just great.. we're all doomed." sighed out Rei sarcastically.
"Heee-eey" cried out Serena in shock at the catgirl. How dare she say such an obvious truth.. er thing aloud!
"So.. we retrieve these.. fragments and we win this war?" asked Arshes Nei with interest. This artifact sounded very powerful. She'd like to see it first hand.
Scott shook his head. "We regain the ginzuishou for Serena and we have a chance to win.. the army we're about to raise will have to actually make certain we can get her there."
"Army?" asked Aaron.
The dimensionally displaced man nodded at his mentor. "Yes, I can't imagine that the dark kingdom is letting the free 'manpower' or feral pokegirls go to waste. I have no doubt they are capturing them and amassing an army of their own, even if it is just as batteries to support their powers. This isn't like some afternoon cartoon I watched as a child. I'll be damned if we're going to march on Beryl's base without a real fighting force to back us up."
The older man nodded back at him. It made perfect sense.. but would the league go along with it? Besides the logistics of running a private army were horrible. How would they support them. The league was strapped for credits as it was with all these dimensionally displaced monsters popping up and the bounties being paid out.
He decided to ask about those very points, "While I can see the merits of a standing army to fight this war, how will you fund it? You can't keep that many pokegirls in long term storage. They'll need food, equipment, sleeping arrangements, taming.."
Scott acquired a thoughtful look then answered the man. "We won't keep them in storage. We will have to become a standing army that is also a working one. We'll form a mercenary company of sorts.. some of our agents will go out and collect money off of bounties from menace pokegirls. Other agents will train full time. Some will work as craftspeople to create our weapons and gear.. We'll have to purchase tents.. or buy land and create housing."
"Taming.. I.. I am uncertain of taming requirements as we need this army to be completely cohesive and loyal. Too many tamers could cause it to splinter at the last moment due to personal desires." stated Scott as he considered the logistics just as Aaron had. There was a reason why standing league armies tended to be small and most threats were handled by tamers and tradesmen.
"You do know that will be incredibly expensive. You have a little money as I recall.. but nowhere near the amount necessary to raise an army.." cited Arshes Nei. She wasn't really nay-saying. The idea of an army to battle these monstrous idiots was definitely a better thought than simply running across them with in a random manner.
"I may be able to help a little with the league.. but if they grant money they will want a liaison to overlook expenditures." said Aaron with a hint of disgust on his face.
"I can offer about two million credits to the task out of pocket but there isn't much else I can offer without discussing the situation with my people." stated Pirotessa in a most welcome manner.
Scott beamed a happy smile at her and said, "Thank you P-chan.. That will help immensely."
Aaron brought his hand to his chin and nodded slowly. "That would be a reasonable start, but any real standing army will require a great deal more money than that. It would acquire land and immediate supplies, but we'd be bankrupt within a month."
The leader of the group looked over at Aaron then quirked an eyebrow. "We will have to build a warchest. With the money P-chan can front and.."
"I can roughly match her amount, give or take a hundred thousand." said Aaron.
Scott smiled brightly at him and said, "That would be incredibly helpful."
Minako spoke up then, "Um.. But where will we have this army..I mean I can't see us just being allowed to set up a force as large as we will want in the middle of town."
"We'll have to build our own fortress. I figure if we use plant, rock, ground, and steel type pokegirls we can form our new homes and barracks directly out of the environment.."
"I can't promise they will fight in the battles to come but I have a large collection of allies that can at least perform the task of making trees into homes.." stated Pirotessa thoughtfully. With so many elves and elven pokegirls it wouldn't be difficult to raise a small living city in short order.
"What about us? What do you want us to do?" asked Ami curiously. She'd been mostly quiet during all this as the new girl of the group. Kai Harn didn't really count yet.
"You girls will need to hone your Senshi powers.. or awaken them in your case and Rei's. We'll also be building a war chest by fighting menaces and taking on short term lucrative bounties." replied Scott decisively.
"So, we pretty much keep doing what we're doing?" asked Makoto.
"For now. We need money, experience, and more money. We also have to be at top form should be run across any dark kingdom plots. There are also the rainbow crystal carriers that we have to look for. Those are the people with the fragments of the ginzuishou inside them."
"Uhm.. won't the league have an issue with this..? I mean.. they don't even like letting ranches have a lot of pokegirls.. much less what we're planning." asked Ami curiously.
"I have the authority to allow him access to as many pokegirls as I see proper for the mission. I'll have to do some legal hoop jumping with the league heads but considering the threat we face and the fact that we're going to be footing the bill I doubt they'll complain too much as long as discipline is maintained... and we set up shop in frontier territory far away from any towns." replied Aaron.
"After we get set up, we'll have operatives in every town in this league. If we can set up a teleportation network we can rapidly deploy troops to any situation that occurs and try to build our strength while protecting the citizens." stated Scott as he continued running out his plans in his mind. Things seemed to form within his mind's eye and it was just what they would need to see themselves through this situation.
"This will take a great deal of planning. It probably won't be able to be done all in one day. I just hope the Negaverse waits long enough for us to set up shop." replied Artemis as his tail lashed. He sincerely liked the idea of backup.
"I don't see why we need to get any more people involved in moon kingdom business." said Luna snottily.
"Have you lost your little kitty mind?" asked Minako. They'd been nearly killed at every turn. A large back-up force would be incredibly useful.
Luna snorted. "Well, what's to keep them all from dropping like flies when the youma starts draining their energy?"
"Specialized equipment." replied Scott.
"Huh..? You can make stuff that will keep the Negaverse from draining them?" asked Makoto with some excitement. An army of people that could help out and not becoe instant casualties would be awesome.
"Not me personally, that's what our magical craftspokegirls will be for. As important as an army is, equipment is even more vital. I was thinking we'd acquire a few sorceresses, enchantresses, barrier maidens, etc. Weapon and armor making pokegirls will be vital as well. A few celestial pokegirls wouldn't hurt either since i'm sure their abilities would at least do some damage to a youma."
"Hey, i'm a celestial pokegirl!" exclaimed Serena helpfully.
Scott smiled at her. "Yes, you are."
Serena beamed happily despite herself. She was helping!
"Hmm. Let's lay down some ground work and see what needs to be done first." said Aaron with more than a little excitement. He was all for having back-up.
The others agreed with him and began drawing up plans. Soon the war would truly begin. This time, the enemy wouldn't have it nearly so easy.
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An: Yep, seems I finished the next chapter. For those wondering what the fuck.. well.. get over it. lol.
The chapter might have been too talk heavy for some. Well, soon the weird battles will return, have no worries about that. Seems Scott has finally moved past the whole "hey i'm living in a wacked out sailor mooniverse" scenario and is at last working with the resources at hand to fight the threat in a sensical manner. Go figure.
As always read and review.