SailorStar9: With Chapter 77 out, this is Chapter 78 of this fic. Remember boys and girls, reviews are an author's subsistence. Really, is it so difficult for you guys to review instead of just putting this fic up in your favorites and alerts?
Pairings: Tieria/Ami, Mamoru/Usagi and quite possible Setsuna/Hotaru.
Standard BS Disclaimers: I do not own Sailor Moon, Gundam 00 or the pairings. If I did, the other Senshi would be as powerful as Sailor Moon and kicking MOTD ass more often and VEDA would have least an anti-hacker program installed. The only thing I do own is the plot.
Chapter 78: Wanting More Power! Mako's Lost Path
Up in the mountains...
Makoto, in a training gi, was running though the forest as she recalled the latest battle against Daimon Irondar. "I need to find a way to power myself up even more." she promised.
In Professor Tomoe's laboratory...
"I would like to talk to Eudial." Professor Tomoe placed a call to the Witches Five office.
"Eudial here," Eudial picked up the call. "I have already selected the next target."
"Nothing less from you, Eudial." Professor Tomoe praised. "And the next target is?"
"A Nichiren school monk by the name of Yakushiji Kakusui." Eudial pulled out the monk's profile on her computer. "He's been training in the mountains for four years and four months now, trying to find the true meaning of life. He is the owner of a heart with a purity rarely seen in people as of late. By the way, Professor. What shapes do the Talismans come in?"
"If the Pure Hearts are the real Talismans, they should transform into the shape of three divine objects." Professor Tomoe answered. "In other words, a mirror, a sword and an orb. And when the three divine objects gather in one place, the Holy Grail is sure to appear." inserting a daruma doll into the Daimon generation box, he then fed it with a Daimon Egg. Eudial then loaded the Daimon generation box into her car and drove off to locate her target.
In the train...
"I'm so thrilled." Usagi beamed, gobbling down her ekiben as the girls traveled to the temple where Makoto was training. "This is why I can't help traveling."
"Come on now." Rei sighed. "You should calm down a little more when you eat. You have bits of your lunch stuck on your cheek."
"Usagi, I'm hungry." Luna whined, popping her head out of Usagi's travel bag.
"Mina, can you give us some too?" Artemis pleaded.
"Sure." the two blondes chorused and dropped the tail ends of their ebi fry into the Mau cats' mouths.
At the bus stop...
"According to the guidebook, there is supposed to be a great hotel around here." Usagi informed the girls. "There it is." she pointed to the hotel ahead of her. "Why don't we sleep over at the hotel?"
"But, we're here to help Makoto in her training." Rei reminded.
"It doesn't matter where we sleep." Usagi argued. "I mean, we're fine as long as as we can help Makoto out."
"Stop!" Luna objected. "Everyone, don't fall for Usagi's little conspiracy. Mamoru is working at that hotel."
"Then, how you said you wanted to help Makoto's training..." Rei glared.
"And how you wanted to study." even Ami was annoyed.
"Were all lies." Minako snapped.
"I wasn't lying." Usagi fibbed. "Come on, it is a trip, after all. Wouldn't it be more fun if there were many objectives?"
"Let's go to the temple, as we originally planned." Rei stormed off.
"You really are that insecure about Mamoru that you have to do this to show off, aren't you?" Ami was not impressed. "Satoshi and I are doing fine, by the way." she added and followed Rei.
At the temple's entrance...
"Makoto!" the girls beamed, spotting Makoto punching and kicking a nearby tree.
"What are all of you doing here?" Makoto asked, approaching the rest of the Senshi.
"We're here to help in your training, of course." Usagi replied.
"Isn't he amazing?" Makoto smiled, after seeing Kakusui jump over the four girls and continue his run. "He does 50 laps around these mountains every day."
"You fell in love with that monk, didn't you, Makoto?" Usagi teased.
"That's not it." Makoto protested. "Now, back to training."
The next day...
After leaving Makoto to train by herself, Usagi pulled the rest off to the hotel where Mamoru was working.
"A meal has to be like this." Usagi declared, gobbling down her plate of spaghetti. "Mamo-chan!" she gushed, spotting her boyfriend walk with two piles of dirty plates balanced on his hands.
"Is everyone here?" Mamoru blinked.
"What a coincidence to meet here of all places." Usagi remarked. "Mamo-chan, let's go out somewhere and play."
"Sorry, but I don't have time for that." Mamoru apologized. "This place pays well, but the workload is pretty tough."
"How boring." Usagi pouted, after Mamoru went back to work.
Ami just sighed and headed towards the swimming pool, her plate of mochi ice cream half-eaten.
"So, you're here too, Ami-chan?" Michiru spotted her younger cousin by the pool.
"What a coincidence." Haruka lifted her sunglasses as the four Inner Senshi clustered around them.
In the forest later...
"Just like Rei said, I can't go on a date." Usagi whined as she trekked back to the temple. Spotting Eudial's car drive past her, she picked up her speed.
Deeper in the forest...
Both Makoto and Kakusui were mediating on a boulder each.
Just then, Eudial pulled up to the pair and took out her Capture Gun. Firing her weapon at Kakusui, she extracted his Heart Crystal.
Makoto jumped into the bushes to transform, "Jupiter Star Power, Make Up!"
"Moon Cosmic Power, Make Up!" Usagi also took the chance to transform.
"I, Sailor Jupiter, will not forgive anyone who put their hands on Kakusui." Sailor Jupiter declared, placing herself between Eudial and the extracted Heart Crystal.
"A Daimon is enough to fight against you." Eudial chuckled. "Appear before me, Daimon." she summoned Daimon Daruma.
Jumping to dodge the brush bristles Daruma shot from her brush, Sailor Jupiter charged up her attack in mid-air just as Daruma fired a circular block at her. "Lighting Bullet!" the Thunder Senshi countered with her lightning attack of her own, said bolt of lightning destroying the wood block.
"Hold it right there!" Sailor Moon cut in. "Even if your evil plans make heroes of justice stumble seven times, they will always stand up for the eighth time. I am the Sailor Senshi of Love and Justice, Sailor Moon! In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!"
"And we'll chastise you, too!" Sailor Mars added, arriving with the other Senshi.
"Leave this to me." Sailor Jupiter insisted. "Lightning Bullet!" she tossed her high-speed lightning shot at Daruma, who twirled her brush to deflect off the attack.
"Thanks for the hard work, but this isn't a Talisman." Sailor Uranus informed, snatching the Heart Crystal from Eudial.
"She sure runs away quickly." Sailor Neptune noted as Sailor Uranus tossed the Heart Crystal back to its owner, Eudial retreating in her car.
"Shall we help?" Sailor Uranus asked.
"I'll do it myself." Sailor Jupiter stood her ground. "I'll defeat it by myself."
Daruma grew black tendrils from the ink on her brush and extended it towards Sailor Jupiter.
"Cyro Scythe!" Sailor Mercury conjured a scythe made of ice and sliced the black tendrils into pieces.
"Jupiter Planet Power, Make Up!" Sailor Jupiter went up another level. "Crimson Shock!" channeling a large amount of lightning in her hands, she formed it into a whip and looped the electric lash around the Daimon's neck, electrocuting it. "Cross Thunder!" she then unleashed a much larger lightning ball than 'Sparkling Wide Pressure' and fired it as a beam towards the paralyzed Daimon, destroying it.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.
