Ch. 5
Little Bunny Frou-Frou
Hopping through the forest,
Snatching up the field mice
And bopping them on the head.
-Don't ask me why. I dunno. Blame my friend Brittany.
Rubbeus was smiling. His plan was going perfectly. They had the bait, and the Troopers and Senshi couldn't POSSIBLY beat them on their own turf. He decided to check in on his "guests" As he walked up, he saw that Rajura and Anubis were already there jeering at them. Makoto aimed a kick at Rajura. It was a good aim. It hit him in the side of the head.
"Let us go and THEN let's see you jeer at us!!" she shouted. Anubis hit her across the face.
"Shut the fuck up!!" he told her.
"We'll never shut up! The senshi will always prevail!!" Ami shouted desperately. Rajura looked up and laughed.
"I don't think you three fully comprehend where you are." Minako snorted.
"Oh, we know where we are, all right. We know we're in the hands of the most vile people in the universe!!" Rubbeus let out a little chuckle.
"Vile? I don't think so." He walked up and looked Minako square in the face.
"We're not vile. We just need to get what we need, and that is you guys out of the way. If you joined us, on the other hand..." Makoto aimed a kick at Rubbeus, who dodged it.
"Think about it." he told them. "You three could be goddesses. Ruling wherever you wanted to. You'd have unlimited powers and respect."
"UNDER AN EVIL RULE!!! NO THANKS!!!" all three shouted in unison. Rubbeus smiled.
"You senshi are so sure of yourselves for all your lofty truth and justice. Look where it's gotten you. Captured with US the free ones." Makoto spit at him. Rubbeus shrugged.
"Suit yourself. It is an offer that will only be offered to you once. Think it over carefully." With that, he turned to leave.
Sailormoon shivered.
"Why's it so cold here?" Tuxedo Kamen held her close.
"Don't worry. It should get warmer soon once the effects of the warphole wear off." Suddenly, Sailormars stopped.
"I'm getting serious nega-vibes. Not the ones all around us, either." Suddenly, Prizma and Avery appeared, smiling.
"Hello, SENSHI." Prizma said smirking. Sailormars checked herself.
"What do you want?" Avery shrugged.
"Just welcoming you to our domain. Oh, and a couple of things. You will NOT find it easy to find your friends. Everyone here is your enemy." Touma snorted.
"We KNOW that." Prizma and Avery laughed.
"Just as long as you know." Prizma giggled. "OH!! And there is one more thing. There is a welcome wagon on the way. You'd better prepare yourselves." The two girls disappeared laughing. Shin grit his teeth.
"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us." Sailormars sighed.
"If we had Mercury's computer, we'd be through this in no time." Luna looked up at her.
"True, but maybe we can take an educated guess. Let's see," at this, Luna closed her eyes a second. "Sailormars, Seiji, I want you two to see where you get the strongest vibes from. From which direction?" Both appeared to concentrate and then, in unison, they pointed to their lefts.
"Then that's the way we'll head." Luna said, and she set off in that direction, with everyone following.
Sh'ten appeared in front of the three girls, chuckling. Minako looked at him.
"And what's so funny?" she asked. Sh'ten smiled up at the three of them.
"Rajura is downstairs cursing because the kick Makoto aimed hit him right in the temple." Ami became concerned despite herself.
"Oh, I hope he's all right!!" Sh'ten nodded.
"He's had worse. Anyway, I find it funny whenever Rajura is mad about something, but I came up here to warn you all. Rajura is very mad with you. It's not good to incur his wrath." Makoto snorted.
"Wrath? He'll see wrath if I ever get my hands on him!!" Sh'ten smiled in a way that seemed almost like pity.
"He's especially mad at you in particular, Makoto. I'd be careful." Makoto snorted again, and Sh'ten disappeared. Makoto sighed to herself.
"What do you think they'll do to me?" she asked. The other two girls shook their heads.
"I dunno." Minako told her.
"Whatever it'll be, I'm sure Rajura will make sure it hurts." Makoto grit her teeth and braced herself for when Rajura would come barging in. She didn't have long to brace. Rajura appeared and hit her savagely across the mouth. Even though Makoto couldn't touch the spot, she knew by the warm sticky fluid that was now seeping from the corners of her mouth that she was bleeding. She shook her head.
"Your temple still hurt, Rajura?" she managed to ask. Anubis appeared, and held back Rajura's next blow.
"We need them in good condition. It's no good if you hit on this one." Rajura snorted. Anubis quietly treated the spot where Makoto had been injured.
"It's show time." Anubis said to Rajura, and Rajura smiled. He was going to enjoy this, and Makoto herself was going to help them. Suddenly, Makoto found herself in a Sailorjupiter costume. Immediately, she tried to free them all.
"Supreme Thunder!!" she yelled, but it had no effect. Then, Makoto, Minako and Ami were all hit with the same charge of electricity that the Dynasty was throwing back at them.
Shin looked helplessly as he watched Makoto, Ami and Minako being charged with electricity. He looked around, and saw that Seiji was trying to watch with an air of detachment, and not succeeding very well. Shin sighed. At least they knew they were heading in the right direction. Hang in there, Makoto. he thought. We'll get you out of there, so help me. He turned to Seiji.
"Let's get over there and get them before they do anymore damage!!!" Seiji nodded. Sailormars and Sailormoon were still staring at their comrades.
"I hope they'll be okay." Sailormoon whispered. Touma shook his head.
"I doubt it. They Dynasty doesn't treat it's prisoners nicely." Ryo sighed.
"All the more reason we've got to get them." Tuxedo mask nodded, and led the way.
Ami woke up to the sound of two males arguing. She looked up and saw that it was Rajura and Sh'ten. Didn't Rajura get along with anyone? She listened.
"You were in my way!!!" Sh'ten yelled. Rajura snorted.
"If I hadn't been, you would have been more hurt than you are now!!" Sh'ten shook his head.
"I could have handled that."
"At fifteen million KPH? I don't think so!!"
"Uh, excuse me." Ami said quietly, and both warlords turned to look at her.
"Yes?" Rajura asked. Ami looked at him.
"What was going to hit Sh'ten at fifteen Million KPH?" Rajura smiled warily.
"We were training, and a bolt of lightning and a couple of bullets were heading for him. I pushed the fool out of the way and he was only grazed. I was the one who got hit." Ami shook her head.
"Rajura is right. You probably owe your life to him." Rajura smiled in triumph while Sh'ten stamped off.
Rajura looked curiously at Ami.
"Why'd you defend me?" Ami smiled.
"You were the one in the right. I just told the truth." Minako, who had evidently waken up, chimed in.
"We're always just and fair. Senshi never lie." Rajura shook his head.
"I bet." he said, laughing, and he disappeared.
Touma stared at the now rising castle in the distance.
"That's gotta be Talpa's castle." He said. Tuxedo Kamen nodded.
"Yeah, but there's something bothering me." Seiji turned to him.
"What? Everything about this place is bothering me." Tuxedo Kamen shrugged.
"Well, it's just that Prizma and Avery said that there would be someone to meet us, but so far we've seen no one. Sailormoon appeared to think on this revelation a moment.
"Hey, you're right." she said.
"Then, they were lying?" Shou's eyes grew wide.
"Uh..guys?" he said, his voice cracking. Tuxedo Kamen turned to him.
"What is it, Shou?" Shou pointed to the rise and Tuxedo Kamen turned pale. Naaza and Sh'ten were riding out on horses with a bunch of Dynasty thugs behind them. Touma armed his bow.
"Speak of the devil.." he muttered, and Ryo smiled ruefully at Mamoru.
"Had to go and mention that, didn't ya?" he asked. Tuxedo Kamen smiled back and whipped out a rose. Naaza charged, sword upraised. He struck at Seiji, who warded off the blow with his own sword. Touma let an arrow loose at Sh'ten' side. Sh'ten saw it, however, and deflected it. Sailormars started to get angry, and both Sailormoon and Tuxedo Kamen saw the imminent eruption. Sailormoon and Tuxedo Kamen exchanged glances, then backed everyone away from her. Sailormars, however, was already starting to let loose.
"Burning Mandala!!" Sh'ten' horse went crazed when it saw the fire hurtling towards it and it threw it's rider to the ground. Shou held up his staff.
"IRON ROCK CRUSHER!!!" he yelled, and he sent Sh'ten flying. Naaza watched Sh'ten as he flew over his head, then he charged at Sailormars. She dodged it, and took out a charm.
"Akuryo Taisan!!" she threw it at Naaza's face and there it struck, leaving Naaza unable to move.
"Fire Soul!!!!"
"FLARE UP...NOW!!!" both Sailormars and Ryo shouted at the same time, burning both horse and rider, leaving the horse barely able to turn ass and get out of there. Naaza fell off, unable to move from the pain and the charm, which was still working. Sailormoon stepped forward, scepter raised, but Tuxedo Kamen held her back.
"Let him be. He won't bother us for the moment." he told her. She stared down at Naaza and nodded. They turned back towards the castle and continued to walk.
Rubbeus glared angrily at the image of the Troopers and the Senshi. He sighed. He hadn't been expecting them to get past the paddy wagon so soon. Now their plan had to take a gigantic leap to keep on schedule. Katzie appeared next to him.
"You gonna make the offer again?" Rubbeus smiled.
"I have to. Besides, we have Rajura. Remember?" They both smiled and disappeared. They reappeared in front of Makoto, Minako and Ami.
"I'm here to hear your final word on my offer." he told them. Ami shook her head.
"No thanks!! We don't want to rule with you!!" Rubbeus shrugged.
"If not with me, Ami, then how about with Touma?" Ami stared at him as if she had been shot.
"Yes, Touma's with us, now. He's very anxious to see you." Ami shook her head.
"You're LYING!!!" Makoto shouted. Rubbeus smiled ruefully and shook his head.
"No, I'm not Makoto. Shin's with us too. As is Seiji." he said, glancing at Minako. They all stared at him.
"Don't believe us?" Katzie asked. "See for yourself. Touma! Shin! Seiji!" Just then, three figures entered the room. Makoto drew in a breath. He looked like her Shin, but was he?
"Shin...?" Makoto ventured. "Shin" smiled and walked up to her, kissing her solemnly. "It's me, Makoto." he said. Makoto shook her head.
"No...it can't be." Touma smiled.
"It is, Makoto. The Dynasty's going to win anyway. We're just joining the winning team." Ami stared at him.
"You told me that you hated the Dynasty, Touma. What happened to that?" He shrugged.
"Opinions change." Seiji looked at Minako.
"Emperor Talpa has promised us to rule wherever we want. We want you three by our sides." They stared at them, realizing the awful choice they would have to make.