Sailor
X #28 The Legion of Evil
By: John Brengman
Edited by: Thomas Schell
Before
the Fall of the Silver Millennium
While the story of Queen Beryl and her invasion of the Moon Kingdom is well known, the evil Queen and her four generals could not have accomplished the chaos they did without additional help. With much of Earth under her control, Beryl created several warriors from the very elements, and used these warriors in the final push to conquer Earth.
After the conquest was complete, the generals turned their attention to the Moon Palace while the elemental warriors mopped up resistance and ravaged the populace.
With the last of her strength, Queen Serenity saved the royal court, sending them into the distant future to be reborn in a time of peace. Her act of cleansing also saved Earth. As Beryl and her forces her being sealed in the Negaverse, the elemental warriors were encased in shards of crystal and buried in the Earth.
Her strength gone, Queen Serenity laid down among the wreckage as her life seeped away from her, safe in the knowledge that her sacrifice had saved the future.
==
* SM * ==
The
Present Day…
Mayon
Volcano – Republic of the Philippines
Everything happened quickly…much too
quickly..
First it was a mist that local villagers
could easily mistake for wispy low-laying clouds. The steam quickly increased
however, soon becoming a torrent gray smoke that belched from the mountain and
rose ominously into the sky.
Volcanic activity had become more frequent
recently, not just here, but in Asia, Japan, and in the Americas, so a normal
volcanic eruption would not take anyone in the villages surrounding the Mayon
volcano by surprise.
But this was not a normal eruption. Already
the mountain had displayed activity that would take days to build into
normally. Hurried phone calls were made to the authorities in Manila. Within
minutes of the call, a U.N. helicopter equipped with a sensor probe rose from
the tarmac at the old Clark Airfield and headed toward the scene.
The mountain continued its metamorphosis.
The smoke billowing from the summit had turned a sooty black and now and then,
a fleck of molten red could be seen as a splattering of lava was released from
deep within the core of the rumbling mountain.
The U.N. helicopter landed at a village
near the mountain long enough for a three-man team to jump off. A panic had
started and these people would help the local police evacuate people in as
orderly a manner as possible. As the helicopter lifted off, a couple with an
infant braved the man-made windstorm of the whirling rotor blades to shout a
question to the U.N. workers, who answered by shaking their heads and pointing
to the mountain. As if to confirm their answer, the helicopter soon was airborne
and it continued on its way to the blackened skies near the mountain.
Lava now splattered from the mountain to
land randomly on the rocky ridgelines leading to the summit.
The helicopter made a wide banking turn and
started to circle the mountain. Attached to the bottom of the craft, a small
cylindrical device hummed and beeped to itself as it sampled the surrounding
air and snapped digital pictures of the volcano.
Having completed a circle around the
volcano, the pilot now brought the helicopter low and edged it toward the
summit. Once in position, he spared a look down and looked into Hell.
Steam billowed from several places within
the crater of the mountain, while black smoke drifted from some of the larger
fissures. Lava ran in rivulets and collected in pools, bubbling and frothing,
adding its own steam to the mix.
The sensor on the helicopter took all this
in and the co-pilot looked over some of the telemetry. "What the hell," he
muttered.
"What is it?" The pilot asked as he looked
at the screen, at the spot the co-pilot was pointing to.
In the northwest corner of the volcano,
surrounded by fire, was a yellow oval that seemed to be reflecting the nearby
light.
Just then, a gout of lava shot out of the
mountain, splattering the helicopter. The pilot had a split second to react,
and he jerked back on the control stick. The helicopter swiftly jumped upward
and the lava missed the rotors. Soon, the pilot had his craft flying through
the open air over the island jungle.
"That was close," the co-pilot breathed.
"Too close," the pilot replied. "We took
some damage. We may have to ditch the chopper. You'd better transmit what we
found."
"Can you keep her in the air that long?"
The co-pilot asked, a hint of concern coloring his voice.
"I think so," came the response.
The co-pilot pressed a button on his panel,
and a new light appeared on the probe as it transmitted its data to Clark
Airfield.
== * SM * ==
The Mayon Volcano eruption was not the only
bizarre incident to happen on the planet that day.
Wisps of clouds formed over the central
Pacific. Within an hour, a typhoon was bearing down on Philippine island of
Luzon. Three hours after its birth, the coast of China east of Hong Kong was
feeling the brunt of the storm. The typhoon continued westward, and
strengthened. Two hours later, it was over Hanoi, with winds breaking the
record for the highest winds ever recorded.
The people of the coastal regions of Oregon
and Washington were familiar with earthquakes. When the first tremors were
felt, people reacted almost as if they were acting by rote.
The rumblings intensified, and then doubled
in strength quickly after that. People as far south as the Klamath region and
as far north as Vancouver braced themselves for what they thought was going to
be a strong earthquake.
They underestimated the quake's ferocity
and duration. Six hours later, geologists in the region were still picking up
Richter Scale readings of 8.5 or higher.
A tornado touched down north of Topeka,
Kansas. Although the people in the area were concerned and took steps to
protect themselves, the general consensus was that this would be a normal
tornado that would probably make the local newscasts.
The people watched with amazement as the
tornado moved with incredible slowness, destroying everything in its path. A
weather plane sent up to get readings on the tornado came back with wind speed
readings that were off the scale.
== * SM * ==
The
Luna Foundation
Crystal
Palace Observatory
"Have you seen these reports?" Sandra asked
as she waved a handful of papers at Amy.
Amy looked up from the computer station she
was at, and the bank of monitors suspended in a row above her.
"Yes," she said. "Some of these readings
are astounding.
"Anything else?" Sandra asked.
"Each incident has some facet of it that is
not natural," Amy replied evenly. "A volcano going from no activity at all to a
full eruption, an earthquake that lasts for more than six hours, and the wind
and velocity of the tornado in Kansas…all of these are extraordinary."
Sandra gazed at Amy for a moment as the
computers hummed and clicked in the background.
"There's more, isn't there?"
"Yes," Amy said as she glanced at the
monitors. She touched a button, and the monitors changed. On each monitor was a
scene from each of the bizarre weather phenomena. On each scene was a circular
object that seemed to meld into the surrounding scene and stand out from it at
the same time.
"That looks like an egg," Sandra said
softly as she examined the monitors.
"Artemis," Amy said, "scan all databases
for matches based on the data on the observatory data stations." She waited as
the computer did its work. A button started to flash and the computer beeped
along with it, signaling that the work was finished.
Amy pressed the flashing button and the
computer cleared the monitors. A message flashed.
ONE
RELEVANT MATCH – NEGAVERSE DATABASE
EGGS OF THE ELEMENTAL
WARRIORS
"An 'Elemental Warrior'?" Sandra asked. "Never
heard of them."
"Neither have I," Amy muttered. "Artemis,
give details on the data match."
The computer spoke:
"The Elemental Warriors were created by Queen Beryl
to assist in the conquest of
Earth during the attack on the Moon Palace. The Elemental
Warriors were designed
to be formidable opponents to the Moon Kingdom, and
invulnerable to any weaponry
of the time period.
The Elemental Warriors were successful. The forces
loyal to the Moon Kingdom were
defeated as the Moon Palace fell."
"Great," Sandra said as she finished
reading. "It sounds like we're about to have a thousand-year old rematch."
== * SM * ==
The
Philippines
The crystal egg shattered under the intense
heat of the fiery volcano and a giant human-shaped lava creature crawled from
the smoldering crater and started to trudge down the mountain.
The wind ruffled through her skirt as
Sailor Mercury landed on the sandy beach next to Sailor Neptune. The shuttle
that had flown the Sailors to the Philippines quickly lifted off and glided out
over the ocean toward its next destination.
The Sailors glanced around the peaceful
scene around them, with the ocean's waves gently washing over the white sands
of the beach as the sun baked the area with its rays.
"So," Sailor Mercury growled gruffly, not
seeing any enemy to fight, "where is the big ugly monster we're supposed to
take down?"
A decidedly monstrous-sounding howl erupted
from the jungle trees nearby.
"He's that way," Sailor Neptune said as she
pointed to the jungle. "Don't worry though. It's coming this way."
==
* SM * ==
" It's coming this way!" Sailor Mars
shouted as she dropped to the ground behind a water tank in the Vietnamese city
of Hanoi. A short distance away, her mentor popped her head around the corner
of a ramshackle shed and nodded briefly.
"MARS FIRE IGNITE!" Sailor Mars yelled as
the elder Mars chimed in with "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" The twinned
attacks poured in on the water monster and soon there was a thick layer of
steam covering the area.
"Is it gone?" Mars asked as she waved a
hand through the murkiness. Suddenly a watery hand reached from the fog and
grabbed her. Sailor Mars screamed as she was pulled into the sky.
"My guess is 'no'," the elder Mars said
quietly, then unleashed another fire attack. The monster roared in apparent
pain and the fog grew thicker.
"That almost hit me!" Sailor Mars yelled.
"Well," came the shouted retort, "why don't
YOU try something!"
"I will!" Mars yelled back.
The elder Mars was about to say something
else when suddenly she heard her pupil shout, "MARS PHOENIX!" She was immediately sheathed in an angry field of
fire. Screams of agony were torn from
her mouth as the fire scorched her skin. The elder Mars could do nothing except
watch and hope that her student had learned to focus herself enough to fight
through the difficult transformation. Her faith in her student was rewarded
when the fog evaporated, seared away by the heat of the flaming bird that hung
in the air between the elder Mars and the water elemental.
"MARS
FIRESTORM FLASH!" A torrent of fire erupted from the younger Mars and speared
the water monster. A cloud of steam billowed out and Mars lost sight of it.
Suddenly
a black form leapt away from the fog. It flew down toward Sailor Mars, who had
to throw herself to the ground to dodge it. The elder Mars answered with: "MARS
CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" Her incendiary blast slashed through the spectral
form as it started to fly away. The shadowy figure seemed to be unaffected.
As the
fog flowed away the two senshi of fire looked up into the night sky where the
spectral monster disappeared.
"Where is
it going?" Sailor Mars asked her mentor.
"I don't
know," the elder Sailor Mars replied quietly, "but the others will want to
know." With that, the two women started to walk toward the edge of the
collection of water tanks and the road that would take them to the airport.
==
* SM * ==
Shuttle 2 in Earth orbit…
"Sailor
Moon, this is the Luna Foundation," a voice spoke over the shuttle's audio
system.
Sailor
Moon flipped a switch. "Sailor Moon, reporting from Shuttle 2," she said.
"The
other Sailors have reported in," the voice said. "The enemy monsters have
retreated, in a way. Each monster has fled their battles using a gas-like form.
Lunar sensors show that they are heading toward a small island in the southern
Pacific Ocean."
"They're
trying to get away," Sailor Moon said calmly.
"Or
perhaps they are regrouping for another attack," said the voice. "The Sailors
also reported that they've had to use their most powerful attacks to drive the
monsters away."
"Thanks
for the info," Sailor Moon said as she turned the nose of the shuttle downward
toward the blue-green planet it was circling. "That could be quite useful."
==
* SM * ==
"SHINE
AQUA ILLUSION!"
"VENUS
CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"
"MOON
ZERO MAGIC!"
"MARS
FLAME SNIPER!"
"MARS
CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"
"JUPITER
GRAVITON POWER!"
"DEEP
SUBMERGE!"
"DEAD
SCREAM!"
The simultaneous
attacks of the senshi arrayed against the remains of the monster erupted from
the heroic warriors and quickly enveloped the pulsating villain. It disappeared
within the swirling energies that cascaded around it.
"We got
it!" Sailor Mars shouted.
"Not so
fast," Neptune muttered and the elder Mars nodded her head in agreement. As if
on cue, the monster emerged from the slowly-dying torrent of celestial
energies. The monster now was a combination of all of the villains the Sailors
had fought to this point. The head of the beast swirled with an angry clump of
fire. One arm was barely visible, but it had swung at Sailor Mercury, and even
when it missed, Mercury was sent flying by the accompanying gust of wind.
The other
arm of the creature was made of water, and the two legs looked like piles of
sod.
The
creature bellowed and blew a gust of smoky air at the Sailors, who tried to
shield their eyes against the acrid onslaught.
"Damn!"
Sailor Jupiter yelled. "I thought we had it too! Our combined attacks…"
Mercury
had pulled out her computer and was busy scanning the monster as a gust of wind
ruffled her hair. "There is an energy field around the monster that dampens any
single attack that hits it. Our attacks were launched simultaneously, but they
hit the creature at different times, and the energy field was able to dampen
each attack."
"What do we do?" Sailor Moon shouted
over the din of the artificial wind.
"Separately, we can perhaps get separate attacks to hit the monster at
the same time," Mercury said. "What we need is for all of our powers to hit the
monster at the exact same time. The combined energy should overload the field
surrounding the creature."
The
Sailors easily put some space between themselves and the lumbering monster and
then they gathered around Sailor Moon as she brought her staff up and held it
above her head….
"MOON
CRISIS POWER!"
A soft
white light flowed in on Sailor Moon, and she basked in its warm glow as it
cascaded over her. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she wore a silky
white dress with gold embroidery along its edges. The thin crown of the crown
princess of the Moon Kingdom sat lightly atop her head.
Having
completed the transformation, Princes Sandra shouted, "MOON STAFF!" A golden
light flared and the Moon Staff, appeared in her hands just long enough for her
Silver Crystal to glide from the top of the finely-crafted artifact and into
her hands.
Princess
Sandra raised the Silver Crystal into the air and mentally searched out her
friends nearby. The jewel in each of the tiaras that the Sailors wore flared to
life as each warrior gave a small portion of her powers to help Princess Sandra
control the Silver Crystal and ready the attack on the monster.
After all
of the Sailors had quietly acknowledged the lending of their power, Sandra
looked up and held the Silver Crystal between the advancing monster and
herself.
"You are
a perversion of the pureness of the elements," she said, "created by evil to
spread chaos and destruction. Now the evil that created you is no more, and you
must join her in that oblivion! In the name of the Moon, I shall punish you!"
The
Crystal flashed an angry red, and glowed brightly like the setting sun.
Princess
Sandra concentrated on what she needed the Crystal to do and then concentrated
on her words…
"MOON
CRYSTAL POWER!"
The
Silver Crystal flashed, then a brilliant beam of light surged from the crystal
and washed over the energy field around the monster. Waves of amber washed over
the protective dome over the monster, then cracks appeared. Suddenly, the
dome-like field collapsed and the energy of the Crystal flowed in on the
creature. The creature let out an agonized scream as it was simply washed away
under the tide of the Crystal's energy.
As the
energy from the final attack faded, the Sailors and Sandra collapsed in a tired
heap on the white sands of the beach where the entire battle had taken place.
==
* SM * ==
"Welcome
to FOX News Sunday, I'm Charles Zellmer. In our top story, the European Union
is fractured as the government of France officially announced that it will not
sign the unification treaty backed by the United Nations. France joins several
countries in south and eastern Europe and northern Africa in a coalition that opposes
the unification treaty, which is designed to bring the nations of the world
under a single world government in order to combat the current environmental
crisis.
The European Coalition as it is called,
joins similar groups of nations in southeast Asia and South America…"
Sailor
X series inspired by Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon,
ã 1992 by Toei Animation Co Ltd. and based on
Kodansha's
manga production of "Sailor
Moon", written by Naoko Takeuchi
This
fanfic is freely distributed.
Release date: August 13,
2001
Edited: August 13, 2001