stuff and I'll return the favor. I think everyone should do that anyway.
PART II
Both Usagi and Mamoru sat up. They had been lying on the
couch, completely lost in each others arms when everything went pitch black.
The hairs on the backs of their necks stood on end. They both
could feel it. Something wasn't right. "Mamo-chan?" Usagi
made no
attempt to hide her nervousness. "I don't like this. Something's
wrong." This time, the sometimes hero didn't bother to smile. It was
too dark for the small reassurance to be of any help anyway. "It's a storm Usako. The power lines just snapped. We'll be
fine." But
she heard the tenseness in his own voice as well. There was some
shuffling. Usagi heard footsteps as Mamoru's warmth left her side. "MAMO-CHAN!?" Panic took over.
"I'm just going to get some candles. I'll be right back."
Mamoru took only a few steps away when instinct took over. His senses screamed at him "DANGER!!" Without thinking, he rushed
back to Usagi, grabbed her by the arms, and steered her towards the
closest source of cover...the couch.
They dove behind the couch just as the glass balcony doors blew
in, spraying tiny shards of glass everywhere. The wind screeched
through the apartment like a wounded animal. Usagi could hardly
hear her own voice, but still she screamed "What is it?" Tears were
leaking out of the corners of her eyes in response to the sudden cold
as much as to fear. The tempest didn't die down for a long time,
nd all through it Mamoru and Usagi hugged each other behind the couch,
both trying to shield the other from a danger they could not yet name.
Finally, the wind died down but they still clung to each other,
eyes tightly shut. There was a slow rhythmic crunching; foot steps
moving
slowly over shattered fragments of glass. A silky feminine voice
purred. "Why don't you come on out and make this easier for yourself,
Prince." She spat the last word like an oath. When nothing
happened, the voice growled and the violent storm started up once again.
Mamoru pulled Usagi away from himself and looked her in the eyes. Because the wind was so loud, he had to shout straight into her ear
"Get out of here! Transform and call the girls! I'll distract
her!"
Usagi shook her head. Mamoru shouted again. "We might
need the other scouts! You're the only one that can call them! Don't worry,
I'll be careful!" He pushed her, still crouching, in the
direction of the front door, which had since been blown off its hinges
by the wind
and debris.
He didn't take the time to watch his love scurrying to
safety. Instead, he took a deep breath and stood up against
the tempest. It took
only that one act to still the noise and the wind. Mamoru gazed
at his new enemy. It was a woman. She looked deathly blue. Her white,
blond hair sparkled with tiny ice crystals and her clothes, though
perhaps at one time well made and highly fashionable, were now tattered
and soiled. She wore a gauzy dress of various shades of blue
and white(with splotches of brown and gray soiling it). It was very
low cut
and covered only to about mid thigh. Her knee high black boots were
scuffed and dull with age.
*Why is there never an enemy that dresses sensibly for battle?* Mamoru thought briefly. *Then again, Usagi and her friends don't
wear
the most practical clothes either, and you'll never hear me complain
about them.*
There was a brief second of silence as the two warriors took in
each other's appearance. Then the mysterious woman began to laugh.
"Who are you?" Asked Mamoru guardedly.
"Oh" She purred. "You wouldn't have remembered me. It was so long ago. My name is Arctica. I worked for Queen
Beryl while you
were under her control. I was a scholar and a scientist. I was BERYL'S TOP MIND! I created the ultimate weapon. It would
have destroyed
the enemy if it weren't for you!"
Mamoru listened to Arctica rant and he heard barely controlled,
hysterical insanity. He knew that it was a dangerous thing. You can't predict
the actions of an insane person. He didn't take his eyes off
of her as she spoke.
Arctica glared at him. Waiting for him to make a move, to
speak, anything. "You honestly don't remember, do you?" She
snorted in
disgust. "I invented the free floating weather sphere. It created any weather conditions imagineable in an enclosed area. THEY WOULD
HAVE FROZEN TO DEATH IF YOU HADN'T BROKEN IT!!!!"
Mamoru wondered whether she was completely deranged. A weather sphere? What the hell was a...
Then it struck him. Flashes of a life that he had tried
to forget began imposing themselves on him. Queen Beryl, then an
ice rink, then intense
cold all played out in his mind like snap shots. He had thrown
his cane at the source of the cold. Even as an enemy, he still managed
to help
the Sailor Scouts. He was glad of it.
Now he faced his enemy with some semblance of recognition. "You invented that ice machine. Forgive me if I don't remember you. I've
forgotten most of my unpleasant history with Beryl."
"Hmm. Well, forget THIS!" She threw her hands out,
and before Mamoru had any chance to react, he was thrown into his bookcase
by
a violent shock wave of frozen air. He slid to the ground, dimly
thinking W*here are you Sailor Moon? *
***********************
Usagi crouched up against the hallway wall, desperately whispering
into her communicator. "Girls, this is Usagi. Rei, Ami, Mako-chan?
Where are you?" The only response she got was static. "Luna,
can you hear me? This is Usagi. Look, we've got some major
monster
activity at Mamoru's apartment. I could really use some help!" Still, all she heard was the gentle whisper of static. *Must be the
storm.*
She thought.
The wind inside the apartment had faded away moments ago. *I don't know whether that's good or bad.* Usagi crept towards
the door,
trying to hear what was going on. "Forget THIS!" She heard,
and then there was a strong gust of wind that forced her up against
the far
wall. "Mamo-chan!" she managed to squeak. It looked
to her like it was butt kicking time.
************************
Distantly, Mamoru could hear footsteps closing in on him. He tried to clear his head, but he had hit the bookcase badly. The
wind was
knocked out of him and his mind was buzzing. He managed to push
himself up on his hands and knees before two black boots found their
way into his field of vision.
"How could a pathetic creature like you have defeated Beryl's
mind control?" Arctica's icy voice matched her cold eyes. Mamoru
met
her eyes with a furious glare. "Oooo" she taunted. "You don't like me, do you?" A sick smile appeared on her face. "The feeling's
mutual!" She displayed her right hand in front of her. Five long, lethal looking ice talons slid fluidly out of her fingertips. "Bye bye Cape
Boy."
Mamoru's strength was returning quickly, but there was no time
for him to transform, and there was no way that he could fight in his current
form. He watched helplessly as the clawed hand raised for
a killing blow.
"Stop right there!" A voice cried out. *Where the
hell have you been?* Mamoru thought as he sighed in relief. Arctica, distracted by the
new voice, turned away from her quarry. There, in the doorway of the apartment, stood Sailor Moon in all her glory.
"You call him pathetic, but who's the has-been villain who can't even get herself a new wardrobe?"
*Oh lord Usagi!* Mamoru rolled his eyes at the inappropriate
dialog. As she continued, he pulled a rose out of his sleeve and
transformed,
unnoticed.
"I am Sailor Moon. I stand for love and justice, and in
the name of the moon...I WILL PUN..." A blast of Arctic air shot
towards her
before she got a chance to finish. She jumped clumsily out of
the way, moving the battle fully into the apartment. The two girls
circled each
other. "I know you." Arctica smiled. "You were there
in the ice rink. The Prince was protecting you when he destroyed
my weather sphere.
This is going to be fun!" Inwardly, the demon wondered whether
the Prince would even have the will to fight once his Princess was dead.
*Have to make him suffer.* She thought.
She retracted the claws of her right hand while at the same time
sending another blast with her left. Sailor Moon narrowly missed
it by
throwing herself to the ground. She rolled and returned to her
feet with surprising speed. Tuxedo Kamen watched his girlfriend take
a
running leap at the villainess. She intended on delivering one
of her sailor kicks. Mamoru had seen her do it hundreds of times
and he
never grew tired of it.
But his admiration turned to fear as Arctica grabbed the foot
out of the air and swung Sailor Moon viscously into Mamoru's large fish
tank. Shards of glass and water flew everywhere and Sailor Moon
hung limp and motionless in the wreckage.
Fear and concern overwhelmed him. "Usagi!" he screamed. Instinctively, he threw one of his steel tipped roses at the enemy, but
his aim
was off. It struck her in the shoulder. Arctica shrieked
in rage, but Tuxedo Kamen wasn't paying any heed. He rushed towards
Sailor
Moon as the rest of the world faded from his perception.
Reality has a cruel way of inserting itself, however. Before
reaching his love, something slammed into his side throwing his balance
off.
He stumbled to the floor, confused by what had happened for no longer
than a fraction of a second. Fiery pain began to spread from his
side.
Cruel laughter floated from behind him and he sluggishly wiggled around
to see what he was already sure was there. Arctica stood over him,
her ice claws stained red.
Tuxedo Kamen quickly took stock of his situation. Though
the wound itself was not life threatening, he was loosing blood and strength
fast.
His entire abdomen felt as though it was burning. His eyes were
locked on Arctica, but he didn't move or speak. He let her laugh. While she
gloated, he and Usagi had time to recover. Perhaps the other
Scouts would arrive soon. All that was certain, was that the enemy's
inflated ego
was buying them time.
Unfortunately, her laughing died rather quickly. "Right"
her voice had become serious now. "time to finish off the little
hussy. You're next
Cape Boy."
Tuxedo Kamen panicked. *Distract her!* A voice ordered. "So" he gritted through clenched teeth "Whatever happened to your
little ice
maker? Is it a museum piece, or did they just scrap it?"
Arctica stopped short
and turned. Her face was dangerously calm. She sauntered over to him slowly. "I never really liked you. You
always had such a nasty little ATTITUDE! Without warning, she
kicked him viscously in the side. This time he couldn't hold back
a raspy
cry. He reflexively rolled into the fetal position, perspiration
beading on his forehead.
*This is NOT going well.*