Operation: Reality Check
A Sailor Moon/Reality Jumpers FanFic
By Roehl Sybing
Episode 19: Time Trap
He was in "uniform," if you could call it that. He wore a tuxedo with a cape attatched to it. He wore a top hat with a white mask that concealed his eyes. He was practically dressed for a formal party. He wore all this so that his true identity would remain hidden. There was only one problem: Hacker One was standing in the same room with him when he transformed into those clothes.
"Impressive," Hacker said to Darien, who was Tuxedo Mask, in the testing room early morning at the FRC building. "But it doesn't prove to me that you're FRC material."
"I didn't say I was finished," Tuxedo Mask replied. "I did mention that other thing, you know."
"I....I thought you were kidding when you said you could....'puncture a hole through a solid object with the greatest of ease.'"
"Well go on, test me."
"Very well.....computer, simulate a double-titanium wall about six inches thick on the other side of the room."
Sure enough, the computer acknowledged the command and the wall was made out of thin air.
"Impressive on your part," Tuxedo Mask added. "But watch this."
Tuxedo Mask produced an object out of thin air as well: a red rose. He then threw it across the room, stem point first. As it hit the simulated wall, the stem dug into the wall like a hot knife through butter. In fact, the hole the rose produced created a few visible cracks around the hole.
An astonished Hacker asked, "H-how'd you do that?"
All Tuxedo Mask did was smile.
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It was still morning and the sun had just risen. By that time, Serena was still asleep back in Jake's house. She was having a dream where she saw she was in outer space, but it felt as if her feet touched a solid surface. She could walk in any direction she wanted to, but the direction she took didn't take her anywhere. Serena screamed to the wind, "Where am I? What am I doing here?"
At a short distance, Serena could see a figure take shape. It looked like a boy, but more to the point, it looked like Jake. But Serena had a feeling that it wasn't Jake, for this figure could've been fooled for an angel without wings.
For curiosity, Serena asked, "W-who are you?"
The figure said, "I'm your conscience. You're only here....because you have something on your mind, right?"
And he was right. Serena's conscience did remind her of something that bothered her all of last night. She collapsed on the invisible ground and started crying. She struggled to talk, "I-I don't know....w-w-what to do....I'm so confused! I m-mean, I g-got two...great guys, only t-that I can only have one!"
Serena's conscience moved closer, "And...you cried yourself to sleep over this?"
"O-of course I did! What d-do you....expect me t-t-to do!?"
"......You make a decision."
Serena was surprised, "W-what?"
"Well, Jake seems depressed about this, don't you think? And Darien....heh...he doesn't even know what's going on...sooner or later you HAVE to pick one of them."
Serena tried to stop crying, "I-I....don't want to hurt you....or Darien."
"This is not about hurt...this is about who you love more...Jake....or Darien."
"A-and...how do I figure that out?"
"Simple....you listen to your heart."
The dream suddenly faded away as Serena woke up. She felt someone was tapping her shoulder. It was Jake. "C'mon Serena..." he said in a depressed yet patient tone. "We're going to be late for work!"
Serena opened her eyes and glanced at Jake. She got out of bed and replied softly, "T-thanks."
"For what?"
"For....never mind."
Jake was not in the mood for riddles. "W-whatever," he said as he walked towards the door.
Serena was again reminded of yesterday's incident. "Look, Jake...."
"Please, Serena...can we talk about this later? I'm really not for arguing right now..."
".....Fine, Jake."
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It was awfully quiet around the NegaVerse. The little light that traveled through the ill-lit caverns had now faded away. The crooked hallways that contained beings devoted to promoting death were now dead silent.
Do I need to tell you there's no one here?
The FRC noticed this and called it the perfect time to investigate a blocked-off area.
As usual, a portal opened up from a low ceiling in the NegaVerse. From it dropped the team of eleven, consisting of five Reality Jumpers, five transformed Sailor Scouts, and their friend, Tuxedo Mask. They all fell to the ground with nothing to break their fall except the people that fell before them. Unfortunately, Jake was the first to exit the gateway and thus had to suffer the weight of the rest of the team.
After the light from the closing portal disappeared, Jake said with his face on the cold floor, "Yep....it's Monday." He looked around blindly using his hand to find the flashlight that he was holding. After finding it and turning it on, he stood up and added, "You know, it's unusually dark around here, even for the NegaVerse."
Sailor Mercury had her computer in her hand, "We're the only lifeforms in this entire area! Where did Queen Beryl and her minions go?"
Mike asked, "Yeah, what are we doing here anyways?"
Jake replied, "We're here to confirm that we've won. Considering..."
Tuxedo Mask interrupted, "Considering I put that gunshot wound into Queen Beryl, it's likely that she's dead, right?"
"Um, guys?" Sailor Venus said while pointing straight ahead. The rest of the group looked as well. A tornado-like object was spinning towards them at almost blinding speed about a few hundred feet ahead of them.
"Run!" Jake shouted. They did so in the opposite direction. But their speed wasn't able to match that of the twister, which was gaining on them and fast. Chris, being the slowest, was the first to get caught in it. He screamed, but his voice disappeared in the noise that the twister made. One by one, the others became trapped in the tornado. They all shouted in fear as they disappeared in the middle of the twister.
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Jackie had Jake's flashlight in her hand. She stood up and pointed it in a couple of directions, saying, "Guys.....where are we?"
Sailor Mars got up and looked around, "Hey, we're alive!"
The others regained consciousness and looked around as well. Chris said, "Well, we're still in the NegaVerse..."
Jake heard something, "Someone's coming! Let's get outta here!" Quickly, he grabbed the track-and-return device from his pocket and activated it, opening a portal in the right wall. Without hesitation, all eleven jumped in.
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A portal opened up in DIMENSIONAL TRAVEL 8, back in the FRC. Out of it were the team of eleven, all bruised and battered, thanks to the twister. Hacker One stood in another corner of the room as he watched them get thrown to the floor.
Hacker looked at the group, "Well, you guys are here early..."
Kim replied, "Yeah, we had a slight problem..."
"I'll bet...you're not due back here in three days!"
Sailor Moon looked at Hacker, "Three days?"
"So, Jake, you going to introduce me to your friends here?"
Jake looked surprised, "What are you talking about?"
"Look, did you at least get the scanner like you were supposed to?"
"What scanner?"
"You know...our missing long-range scanner...from Tek Industries?"
"Tek Industr---Hacker...we did that mission a while ago!"
"No......you're doing that mission now. Hey....you guys OK?"
Mike said, "No, we're not...could you leave us...alone for a minute?"
"Yeah....sure...." Hacker walked out the door, but not before turning his head and asking, "Who ARE you?"
As soon as the door closed shut, Tuxedo Mask asked, "WHAT is going on here?"
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The team of eleven walked down the busy city street outside the building. It was the same New York City street they had used to get to the FRC building for a long while. The street hasn't changed. The busy people haven't changed. The cars that zoomed by the pedestrians at fifty-five miles per hour haven't changed. Yet the entire team had a feeling something was deeply wrong.
"I don't get it....at all," Lita said while looking around. "No one in the building knows us....not even the security guards at the front desk!"
Jake replied, "Well, they seem to know US."
Chris, meanwhile, was solving the current riddle in his head, "Tek Industries...we did that one a long while ago! A long while....ago!" He then said out loud, "That's it!" Chris walked across the crowded street while the others followed. He took three quarters out of his pocket and put them in a newspaper vending machine. After opening the door and taking out a copy, Chris examined one corner of the front page. "I knew it!" he shouted.
"What?" Ami asked.
"This is a paper copy of NewsNetLink.....dated July 13, 1995!"
The group stood silent, but Serena said, "What does that mean?"
Chris was almost disappointed in Serena's lack of logic, "It means that twister....sent us back in time exactly one year!"
TO BE CONTINUED....