Rei set her rucksack down on the ground with a thump. She drew out a machete and an automatic handgun. Putting the later into her belt, she absent mindedly pulled on the hem of her short shorts. "Lets go get that emerald." She said tersely.
"What's the rush?" asked Makoto. "I doubt Adimus is even aware of us being here or of where the emerald could be."
"Well, it's not going to take too long for the pilot on that jet to contact the Coast Guard or the cops or the military or someone and tell them that we are trapped on an island and that we hijacked a plane with civilians on it. It won't be that hard to find us either, what with the parachutes on the beach, the tracks in the sand and the trail Rei is about to hack into the jungle!" said Ami shortly.
"THAT is a very good point." Said Makoto, who was putting her hair into a ponytail and tucking a gun like Rei's into her belt.
The girls followed Rei who was energetically hacking into the tall palm bushes and foliage. All of them were dressed in a manor that would aid their internal cooling systems, short shorts and cotton tank tops. All their clothing was done in a camouflage pattern that would conceal them if they were followed. After about an hour of tramping through the jungle, Rei stuck her machete in a stalk of bamboo and turned around to Ami. "How we doing direction wise?" she asked.
Ami took a little compass out of her pocket and looked at it. "We are headed south east and-" here she took a map from her pocket, unfolded it and then continued, "We need to turn to the left slightly, so we will head south west. If we continue in the right direction we should find the first monolith." Ami took a turn with the machete then and the little group continued.
Five hours later, Makoto was resting near the first monolith. It loomed up high in the twilight as great thunderclouds rolled over the sky. It was a figure of some ancient thunder god created millennia ago by the now extinct natives of the island. Minako was grumbling about complex jungles, she was still angry after she had gotten lost and Rei had to look for her, spending two hours tramping about in search of the blond. As punishment, the others had voted Minako the one to set up their shelter for the night. On first watch duty was Ami, and she was in a tall tree looking down onto the trail they had made and into the jungle.
The thunder rumbled as it grew darker and Minako called out happily as she finished dragging bracken over the tent to conceal it. Even after her energy overdose that morning, she was very tired, and everyone else was more so. Makoto called up to Ami if she wanted to switch out on watch duty, but Ami just laughed and told the tall girl she couldn't climb trees with her arm. Unable to stand the challenge, Makoto clambered up the thin trunk of the tree, using her mangled arm as a support. She swung it around the tree and grabbed onto it with her good arm. Thus she climbed up to the high branch where Ami sat.
"Your good Mako. I'm glad I have some company now." Mako's keen robotic eyes could see Ami smile even in the velvet darkness. A cool wind ruffled Makoto's wavy hair and tickled Ami's cheeks.
"I feel like I'm on the brink of something profound." Said Makoto after a moment. "You know? After we found out that we weren't human, that we were just cyborgs, I've felt only more alive than like I'm running on a battery. It's like something in me is trying to defy those words."
"I feel the same way. After I got my sapphire, I felt even more exhilarated and powerful." Whispered Ami, as if she were afraid of what she was saying. "But I also feel like something…" Ami trailed off as her head jerked to follow a sound in the jungle.
"What is it?" asked Mako.
"Shush…it's coming this way…"
"It's only a monkey Ami! I can see it clear as day!" Ami sighed and she relaxed against the tree trunk. "Afraid of Adimus are you?" Ami didn't answer Makoto. She just looked away and was silent.
"Ami," Makoto said after a long while, "You get some rest. I didn't work as hard today; I didn't do any bush cutting. I'll keep first watch tonight." Makoto nodded encouragingly and though Ami hesitated she seemed relieved to get the rest.
"Matrika my dear, I think it's time we make up for lost time and try to find those gems that are not already in the position of those girls. I have an idea of where the emerald is, so let me run a computer check and I'll send one of our latest endeavors to make the collection. Now come here and finish your job, that's a good girl…"
"You've made cyborgs able to reproduce themselves, why do you need me?" sobbed Matrika as she slowly and painfully unwrapped the towel from around her pale, thin body.
"Just shut up you little whore. Come here and do as I say or…"
Matrika hung back a moment and considered the consequences of the "or". It could mean many things, but it was never good. So she came forward as Adimus grabbed her by the hips and pulled her onto his sweaty body.
Makoto, Rei, Ami and Minako weren't aware of the conversation going on between Adimus and his unhappy slave. They were resting in the shelter Minako had built. Makoto got every one up early and they broke came, spreading the foliage that had covered the tent out in the brush. They continued to follow Ami's direction until they reached the second monolith; it was similar to the first. They stopped to rest and continued onward after the half hour break.
After the third monolith they saw it the entrance to the temple. It was underground, and Minako easily flung a large stone that sat over the mouth of the tunnel to the side. Rei descended into the pit first and paused to look at the carving of the sign of Jupiter on the wall.
"Bingo. We've hit the treasure cache!" said Rei jubilantly as she ran her long, thin fingers over the mark in the stone. They trooped into the cave excitedly, awaiting the third gem.
After walking down the long corridor a ways, the floor titled upwards and they noticed that the stones on the floor were becoming smoother and more plentiful, instead of the dirt track behind them. It was Makoto who first noticed the idols. They hung on the walls, were carved in the walls, and some were in-between. Each had a mouth that led into the walls through a small, straight pipe. Makoto pressed a red floor tile, the color hardly recognizable from years of being left to the elements. A small dart in the shape of a lightning bolt half-heartedly leapt from the mouth of an idol. "A sign of Zeus…" mumbled Ami.
Treading carefully, the girls managed to get through the hall without too much mishap, until Rei accidentally stepped on a red tile and had to go through some handsprings to get out of the way of the darts, subsequently launching more.
"I wish Adimus hadn't got a hold of my VR visor. It would have been helpful in this labyrinth." Sigh Ami as Rei pulled a dart from her butt.
"Just a flesh wound. Not that deep. I'm defiantly ok." The dark haired girl said in reply to Minako's concerned look.
There were small statues of Sailor Jupiter and her human form all over the place in the gallery the girls were resting in. There were also wall paintings and murals of forests and stormy skies. "Looks like this was the room they managed to use without disturbing the other inhabitants of the pyramid." Mumbled Rei.
"You mean the ancient mummies of the natives?" asked Ami, Rei nodded in reply.
The sarcophagus was sitting inside a circle of Jupiter statues that were painted, unlike the others in the room. Minako carefully cleared the statues away and Ami and Rei lifted the lid. Inside was another statue of Jupiter, and the emerald was set into her tiara. Makoto picked up the emerald with awe in her eyes and then looked sadly at her crushed socket. "Damn" she whispered.
Out of no where Makoto was suddenly pummeled left and right. Invisible hands pushed her, punched her, choked her. She would lift up into the air and then fall to the ground. The tall girl would bounce off invisable enemies like a pinball.
"I think I saw something!" shouted Minako, raiseing her gem arm to blast what ever was attacking Makoto. A flash of orange light whizzed past Makoto and singed off some of her auburn locks. A horendous scream came from the shadows and suddenly the assailent, or at least one of them, became visable. It was a Ves Ves of the Amazoness Quartet. Behind her were Pala Pala, Jun Jun and Cere Cere.
"A distant idea of your faces is in my mind..." whispered Rei.
Rei had dragged Makoto away to a corner and was holding her back from Sailor Senshi. The gem in Makoto's hands was glowing brightly in the dim light, and suddenly the emerald let out a great blinding flash and Makoto's injured arm turned to liquid metal. It did not drip or flow, but instead highlighted green. Makoto's eyes had gone blank and she blindly applied the gem to her molten appendage. In a moment the great glow stopped and Makoto was left stareing at her arm, which no longer had synthetic flesh on it. It was now only metal and wire, but renewed to it's previous strength and dexterity. Only after the miracle did Makoto pass out as Ami and Minako had done.
The Cere Cere, standing in a corner and looked over to Makoto in the corner. "We stay here to protect the princess's power. None of us were sure that you were part of the prophecy. Now the gem has found it's rightfull body we shall help you in any way we can."
Rei looked up at the Quartet and said "Just tell us about this prophecy."
"What's the rush?" asked Makoto. "I doubt Adimus is even aware of us being here or of where the emerald could be."
"Well, it's not going to take too long for the pilot on that jet to contact the Coast Guard or the cops or the military or someone and tell them that we are trapped on an island and that we hijacked a plane with civilians on it. It won't be that hard to find us either, what with the parachutes on the beach, the tracks in the sand and the trail Rei is about to hack into the jungle!" said Ami shortly.
"THAT is a very good point." Said Makoto, who was putting her hair into a ponytail and tucking a gun like Rei's into her belt.
The girls followed Rei who was energetically hacking into the tall palm bushes and foliage. All of them were dressed in a manor that would aid their internal cooling systems, short shorts and cotton tank tops. All their clothing was done in a camouflage pattern that would conceal them if they were followed. After about an hour of tramping through the jungle, Rei stuck her machete in a stalk of bamboo and turned around to Ami. "How we doing direction wise?" she asked.
Ami took a little compass out of her pocket and looked at it. "We are headed south east and-" here she took a map from her pocket, unfolded it and then continued, "We need to turn to the left slightly, so we will head south west. If we continue in the right direction we should find the first monolith." Ami took a turn with the machete then and the little group continued.
Five hours later, Makoto was resting near the first monolith. It loomed up high in the twilight as great thunderclouds rolled over the sky. It was a figure of some ancient thunder god created millennia ago by the now extinct natives of the island. Minako was grumbling about complex jungles, she was still angry after she had gotten lost and Rei had to look for her, spending two hours tramping about in search of the blond. As punishment, the others had voted Minako the one to set up their shelter for the night. On first watch duty was Ami, and she was in a tall tree looking down onto the trail they had made and into the jungle.
The thunder rumbled as it grew darker and Minako called out happily as she finished dragging bracken over the tent to conceal it. Even after her energy overdose that morning, she was very tired, and everyone else was more so. Makoto called up to Ami if she wanted to switch out on watch duty, but Ami just laughed and told the tall girl she couldn't climb trees with her arm. Unable to stand the challenge, Makoto clambered up the thin trunk of the tree, using her mangled arm as a support. She swung it around the tree and grabbed onto it with her good arm. Thus she climbed up to the high branch where Ami sat.
"Your good Mako. I'm glad I have some company now." Mako's keen robotic eyes could see Ami smile even in the velvet darkness. A cool wind ruffled Makoto's wavy hair and tickled Ami's cheeks.
"I feel like I'm on the brink of something profound." Said Makoto after a moment. "You know? After we found out that we weren't human, that we were just cyborgs, I've felt only more alive than like I'm running on a battery. It's like something in me is trying to defy those words."
"I feel the same way. After I got my sapphire, I felt even more exhilarated and powerful." Whispered Ami, as if she were afraid of what she was saying. "But I also feel like something…" Ami trailed off as her head jerked to follow a sound in the jungle.
"What is it?" asked Mako.
"Shush…it's coming this way…"
"It's only a monkey Ami! I can see it clear as day!" Ami sighed and she relaxed against the tree trunk. "Afraid of Adimus are you?" Ami didn't answer Makoto. She just looked away and was silent.
"Ami," Makoto said after a long while, "You get some rest. I didn't work as hard today; I didn't do any bush cutting. I'll keep first watch tonight." Makoto nodded encouragingly and though Ami hesitated she seemed relieved to get the rest.
"Matrika my dear, I think it's time we make up for lost time and try to find those gems that are not already in the position of those girls. I have an idea of where the emerald is, so let me run a computer check and I'll send one of our latest endeavors to make the collection. Now come here and finish your job, that's a good girl…"
"You've made cyborgs able to reproduce themselves, why do you need me?" sobbed Matrika as she slowly and painfully unwrapped the towel from around her pale, thin body.
"Just shut up you little whore. Come here and do as I say or…"
Matrika hung back a moment and considered the consequences of the "or". It could mean many things, but it was never good. So she came forward as Adimus grabbed her by the hips and pulled her onto his sweaty body.
Makoto, Rei, Ami and Minako weren't aware of the conversation going on between Adimus and his unhappy slave. They were resting in the shelter Minako had built. Makoto got every one up early and they broke came, spreading the foliage that had covered the tent out in the brush. They continued to follow Ami's direction until they reached the second monolith; it was similar to the first. They stopped to rest and continued onward after the half hour break.
After the third monolith they saw it the entrance to the temple. It was underground, and Minako easily flung a large stone that sat over the mouth of the tunnel to the side. Rei descended into the pit first and paused to look at the carving of the sign of Jupiter on the wall.
"Bingo. We've hit the treasure cache!" said Rei jubilantly as she ran her long, thin fingers over the mark in the stone. They trooped into the cave excitedly, awaiting the third gem.
After walking down the long corridor a ways, the floor titled upwards and they noticed that the stones on the floor were becoming smoother and more plentiful, instead of the dirt track behind them. It was Makoto who first noticed the idols. They hung on the walls, were carved in the walls, and some were in-between. Each had a mouth that led into the walls through a small, straight pipe. Makoto pressed a red floor tile, the color hardly recognizable from years of being left to the elements. A small dart in the shape of a lightning bolt half-heartedly leapt from the mouth of an idol. "A sign of Zeus…" mumbled Ami.
Treading carefully, the girls managed to get through the hall without too much mishap, until Rei accidentally stepped on a red tile and had to go through some handsprings to get out of the way of the darts, subsequently launching more.
"I wish Adimus hadn't got a hold of my VR visor. It would have been helpful in this labyrinth." Sigh Ami as Rei pulled a dart from her butt.
"Just a flesh wound. Not that deep. I'm defiantly ok." The dark haired girl said in reply to Minako's concerned look.
There were small statues of Sailor Jupiter and her human form all over the place in the gallery the girls were resting in. There were also wall paintings and murals of forests and stormy skies. "Looks like this was the room they managed to use without disturbing the other inhabitants of the pyramid." Mumbled Rei.
"You mean the ancient mummies of the natives?" asked Ami, Rei nodded in reply.
The sarcophagus was sitting inside a circle of Jupiter statues that were painted, unlike the others in the room. Minako carefully cleared the statues away and Ami and Rei lifted the lid. Inside was another statue of Jupiter, and the emerald was set into her tiara. Makoto picked up the emerald with awe in her eyes and then looked sadly at her crushed socket. "Damn" she whispered.
Out of no where Makoto was suddenly pummeled left and right. Invisible hands pushed her, punched her, choked her. She would lift up into the air and then fall to the ground. The tall girl would bounce off invisable enemies like a pinball.
"I think I saw something!" shouted Minako, raiseing her gem arm to blast what ever was attacking Makoto. A flash of orange light whizzed past Makoto and singed off some of her auburn locks. A horendous scream came from the shadows and suddenly the assailent, or at least one of them, became visable. It was a Ves Ves of the Amazoness Quartet. Behind her were Pala Pala, Jun Jun and Cere Cere.
"A distant idea of your faces is in my mind..." whispered Rei.
Rei had dragged Makoto away to a corner and was holding her back from Sailor Senshi. The gem in Makoto's hands was glowing brightly in the dim light, and suddenly the emerald let out a great blinding flash and Makoto's injured arm turned to liquid metal. It did not drip or flow, but instead highlighted green. Makoto's eyes had gone blank and she blindly applied the gem to her molten appendage. In a moment the great glow stopped and Makoto was left stareing at her arm, which no longer had synthetic flesh on it. It was now only metal and wire, but renewed to it's previous strength and dexterity. Only after the miracle did Makoto pass out as Ami and Minako had done.
The Cere Cere, standing in a corner and looked over to Makoto in the corner. "We stay here to protect the princess's power. None of us were sure that you were part of the prophecy. Now the gem has found it's rightfull body we shall help you in any way we can."
Rei looked up at the Quartet and said "Just tell us about this prophecy."