Mission to the Past
Chapter Three: Here Come the Daimons!
Deep underground Mugen Gauken Academy, a life form stirred. It wasn't a natural life form; it had been genetically synthesized in a lab, in a test tube, for one evil purpose: to steal Heart Crystals.
It was a Daimon.
The Daimon decided to try calling out. "Daimons, arise!" it yelled. "Arise to gather Pure Hearts, to reawken the Sovereign of Silence, Mistress Nine, and serve our almighty master, Pharaoh Ninety!"
Four other Daimons stood and walked toward the first, who surveyed its "troops." "That's it?" it asked in dismay. "Five of us?" It shrugged. "Oh, well. Five will have to do. Now, what we need are some Heart Crystals. I've already marked a target. He's new to Mugen, our birthplace, and he is completely dedicated to any mission set before him, and will eliMinakote any obstacles set before him. Who wants to steal his Heart Crystal?"
No one responded.
"Whoever does it will be greatly rewarded by our master!" cried the first Daimon.
"I'll do it!" another volunteered quickly.
"Good,"said the first Daimon. "Now, I'm going to send you in a Daimon Pod." It waved its arms and the volunteer was encapsulated in a Daimon Pod. It flew up and above ground.
The Daimon Pod soared over Tokyo, until it came to rest in one object: Heero's laptop.
* * *
"Oh, man!" Duo cried, rushing out the door. "I'm late again!" He raced as fast as he could to school, wondering why school had to start so darn early.
As he turned a corner, he narrowly missed repeating the previous morning's encounter with Minako, stopping just before running into her.
"Hey, Minako!" he greeted the blonde.
"Oh, hi, Duo," she said. "Nice to see you!"
Duo's heart thumped, and not just from his early morning dash: she was happy to see him!
Minako checked her watch. "Come on, we might just barely make it!"
Duo smiled. It would be a good day.
* * *
Heero walked down the steps to his first period class, thinking about what he had found on the Internet the night before. Apparently, the Sailor Senshi were female superheroes who fought evil monsters with magical powers. He and the others had dismissed this as impossible; there was no such thing as magic or miracles, and monsters were only found in people's hearts and imaginations. It couldn't be true.
But then what about Sailor Pluto? She had seemed real enough, and she had definitely used some sort of magic to send them back in time.
Heero shook his head. None of it made any sense.
He was so busy thinking about this that he tripped on the stairs, falling a long way and landing painfully. He cursed under his breath and tried his ankle. It felt sprained. Looking around, he saw that the hallway was empty--just his luck.
A girl rounded a corner, a frail-looking, pale girl with pretty violet eyes and short black hair. She gasped as she saw him sprawled on the ground, and rushed over to help him.
He regarded her. "Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Hotaru Tomoe," she said shyly. "What happened?"
"I fell down the stairs and sprained my ankle," Heero told her.
The girl, Hotaru, seemed to be debating something important. Finally she said, "Look, I can help you, but you have to promise me two things."
"What do I have to promise you?" Heero asked carefully.
"First, you can't tell anyone what I'm about to do," she said forcefully. "And second--" she hesitated a bit, "--second, please don't be freaked out. Please."
She looked so desperate that, against his better judgment, Heero said, "Okay."
Hotaru looked somewhat relieved. "Alright. Because I'm not some kind of witch, and I don't have a pact with the devil or anything like that. I don't know how I can do this, but I can. So...so just don't freak out." She took a deep breath. "Okay. Which ankle is it?"
"The left," Heero told her, feeling slightly bewildered.
"Okay." Hotaru closed her pale hands around his left ankle and concentrated. Her eyes seemed to dim for a moment, then brightened again.
Heero marveled at what she had done: his ankle was completely healed! "How...how did you do that?" he asked wonderingly.
"I told you, I don't know," Hotaru said, looking miserable. "You're probably afraid of me now, aren't you?"
"No," Heero said, surprised. He freaked out, but not afraid.
"You're not?" Hotaru said timidly.
"Of course not," he assured her. "Why should I be afraid of a power to heal?"
She broke into a huge smile. Tears of happiness filled her eyes. "Oh, thank you!" she cried, then ran down the hall.
Heero stood up. From the way she acted, you'd think that was the nicest thing anyone had every said to her. Shaking his head in wonder, he walked to his class.
* * *
"So what do you think, Michiru?" Haruka asked.
"I honestly don't know," said Michiru. "I'm getting strange vibrations off of him, but I can't tell for sure."
"Either way, do you think she should have done that?"
Michiru considered this. "I don't suppose it did any harm."
Haruka nodded. "We should ask Setsuna about him. She'll be able to tell more certainly."
Michiru agreed.
* * *
Usagi, Ami, and Makoto were sitting with Quatre and Trowa at lunch, along with some other friends of theirs. Sounds of laughter and chatter filled the area, making it extremely loud.
"So, what do you guys know about the Sailor Senshi?"
Usagi, Ami, and Makoto simultaneously choked on their food and coughed. The question had come from Trowa, who was facing them squarely.
Ami was the first to regain her composure. "Why do you ask?"
Trowa shrugged. "No reason. Just heard some things about them, that's all."
"Well," Usagi said, "they're beautiful warriors who protect us from evil monsters and demons."
Trowa and Quatre exchanged skeptical glances. "Sounds like an urban legend to me," said Quatre.
"The
Sailor Senshi?" Makoto said. "No
way! They're as real as it comes!"
"Uh-huh," Trowa said.
"It's true!" Usagi's redhead friend, Molly, said. "The Sailor Senshi have saved me several times in the past!"
"Me, too!" agreed the class freak, Melvin.
Quatre and Trowa exchanged another look. This one said: "A lot of crazy people here, aren't there?"
"Sailor Moon's the best by far," Usagi said in a burst of egotism.
"Uh-uh," said Makoto angrily. "Sailor Jupiter rules!"
"No way," said Usagi indignantly. "Sailor Moon's a million times prettier!"
"But Sailor Jupiter's a billion times stronger!"
"Well, actually," Ami interjected, "I think Sailor Mercury's the best."
"What?!" yelped Usagi and Makoto together.
"After all," Ami continued, "she's got the others beat by far in the brains department."
Makoto and Usagi sulked.
Quatre and Trowa watched this whole performance, somewhat amused.
RING!
The bell rang, and everyone went to class.
* * *
What a joke, Wufei thought to himself. Sailor Senshi. Hooey. He was walking down the hallways of his school at lunchtime. I can't believe it, his resentful thoughts continued. We're stuck centuries before we should even exist, searching for stupid girls who probably don't exist. I mean, who ever heard of magical powers to fight monsters? That's the sort of stuff fairy tales are made out of, and I hate fairy tales. He stopped walking, sensing someone behind him.
He whirled around, then stiffened. "Oh. It's you."
"I'm not any happier to see you, you know," Rei said, narrowing her eyes.
Wufei started to storm off, but stopped, thinking, Perhaps she knows something. "Rei," he called.
She sighed. "What?"
He hesitated. "Have you ever heard of the Sailor Senshi?"
Rei rolled her eyes. "Geez, you really aren't from around here," she said. "Everyone's heard of the Sailor Senshi. They go around and save people from evil monsters."
"So, you believe in them?" Wufei asked.
"No duh," Rei said. "Sailor Mars is the best, of course."
Wufei was considering her response. Rei was obnoxious, but he had thought she was reasonably intelligent.
"So you think the Sailor Senshi are fake?" Rei said incredulously.
"Yeah." Wufei nodded.
Rei cocked her head and got a strange look on her face, almost like she was prophesizing something. "You'll see," she said. "One day, they'll save you. Just watch."
"Whatever," Wufei muttered, then walked away.
Rei watched him go. "There's something odd about him," she said to herself. "Very odd." She shook it off and headed to her next class.
* * *
"Hey, where do you live?" Minako asked Duo as they walked out of detention. Minako had forgotten her homework, and Duo still had detention for not cutting his hair.
"Oh, I live over on Greenwalk Boulevard," Duo said.
Minako considered whether to walk with him to his house or not. She decided to find out more first. "Are your parents going to be home?"
Duo cringed inwardly. Now he had to figure out what to tell her about his "room mates." "Well, actually, I don't have any parents," he said carefully. "They died when I was very young."
Minako looked stricken. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said sympathetically. "I shouldn't have asked."
Duo could tell that she really felt sad, unlike some people who would just pretend to care. "It's okay," he reassured her. "I live with four friends of mine."
Minako decided not to press him any more, much to his relief. Instead, she said, "Would you mind if saw your house?" She ignored Artemis clawing at her socks. She knew she would be late for Study Buddies, but the others wouldn't be too upset.
Duo's heart jumped. She wanted to see his house! "Okay," he said, smiling. "That'd be great!"
Minako flashed him a quick smile. "So, let's go!"
They walked mostly in awkward silence, each feeling too shy to speak much. When they reached the house, Duo said, "This is it." He opened the door with his key and shouted, "I'm home!"
"About time," said a voice from the kitchen. Trowa emerged, then, noticing Minako, said, "Who's this?"
"Oh, this is my friend from school, Minako Aino," Duo introduced her.
"Hi!" Minako said cheerily, and gave a small wave.
"Minako, this is Trowa Barton," Duo told her.
"Nice to meet you," Trowa said politely. He extended his hand, and she shook it.
Quatre and Wufei came in. Duo introduced them to Minako, and vice versa. Then he asked, "Where's Heero?"
"Upstairs on his laptop," Wufei told him. "Where else?"
"Duo, is that you?" Heero called down.
"Yeah," Duo yelled back. "Come down here, I want you to meet a friend of mine." He wondered if Minako could tell he was about as nervous as he ever had been, having her at his house.
"Coming," Heero called, getting up. He clicked the "enter" key.
"YAAAAAHH!"
"That's Heero!" Quatre gasped.
"Come on!" Trowa shouted, racing up the stairs, with Wufei and Quatre close behind.
"Minako, you wait here," Duo told her, worried out of his mind, then raced after his friends.
"Like heck," Minako muttered. "It's sweet of him to want to protect me, but that was an 'I've-just-been-attacked-by-a-Negaverse-monster-and-am-having-something-of-my-essence-stolen-from-me' scream if ever I heard one." She raised her pen to transform, but stopped, realizing something important. "Artemis," she said slowly, "I've got to transform, but if I do, Duo will recognize me for sure!"
"Just concentrate on having a mask," Artemis told her, "and you'll have your mask from your Sailor V days. Give me your communicator. I'll contact the others and tell them the same thing."
"Okay," Minako agreed, very relieved. She raised her pen again. "VENUS CRYSTAL POWER...MAKE-UP!" And in a few seconds, she was Sailor Venus, complete with red goggles. "Hey, it worked!" she exclaimed. Turning to Artemis, she said, "When the others get here, tell them the battle's upstairs." She ran up to fight.
The scene she found upstairs was a grim one. A boy with messy brown hair was chained to the wall, breathing heavily. In front of him was a small, red object: his Heart Crystal. Standing and looking at the Heart Crystal, with a smirk on its ugly face, was a Daimon.
Venus gasped. "I could have sworn all the Daimons were gone for good!"
The other four boys were looking with anger and fear from the victim to the culprit. "What did you do to him?" Duo demanded. "You...you...witch!"
The purple-skinned Daimon, whose skirt bore a startling resemblance to a computer keyboard, rolled her eyes. "Ignorant human," she hissed. "Don't you even know when a Heart Crystal is taken?"
"A what?" Quatre asked.
"A Heart Crystal," the monster repeated impatiently. "It's the very essence of your life. Duh."
"You killed him?" Wufei roared.
"Well," the Daimon said, smirking, "he's not dead yet, but he will be very soon.
"How dare you!" Duo yelled. He started to run toward the Daimon.
"Wait! Stop!" Sailor Venus commanded. She had been hoping not to get involved until the others arrived, but she couldn't let Duo get hurt.
Duo obeyed. He and the others, with the exception of Heero, stared at Sailor Venus. Heero turned his head, too, but his breath was becoming shallow.
"Who...who in the heck are you?" Trowa finally stuttered.
"I am a champion of justice, defender of beauty, and goddess of love!" she introduced herself. "I am Sailor Venus! And I will throw down your punishment of love from heaven!"
A collective gasp came from the four still-standing boys. "Sailor Venus?" Trowa repeated. "So she's a Sailor Senshi?"
Venus winked. "You got that right. Now," she turned to the Daimon, "time to show you what a Sailor Senshi can really do!" She prepared to launch her attack. "VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!" Golden hearts shot out at her opponent, hurting her, but not causing serious damage. "Uh-oh."
"Hmmph! How dare you!" shouted the Daimon. "Take this! SOFTWARE VIRUS!" An electric shock beamed out from her hands, causing Venus to give a loud shriek of pain.
"You'll pay for that!" a voice came from the doorway of the room.
"Sailor Moon?" Venus gasped.
"In the flesh," came the answer, and sure enough, there was the meatball-headed soldier, along with the rest of the gang. All of them were wearing masks, color-coordinated with the rest of their outfit.
"You know," Uranus grumbled, "I'm stronger than she is. I'm more dedicated than she is. In a one-on-one fistfight, I could whip her butt. So how come she gets all the glory?"
"Are you all Sailor Senshi?" Quatre asked, amazed.
"Yeah," Jupiter nodded. One by one, they introduced themselves.
"I am Sailor Moon, the champion of justice! And in the name of the moon, I will right all wrongs and triumph over evil! And that means you!"
"I am Sailor Mercury, protector of wisdom! I shall drown out any evil!"
"My name is Sailor Mars, soldier of passion! You will burn at my hand, demon!"
"Sailor Jupiter's the name, zapping bad guys is the game! I'll punish you in the name of Jupiter!"
"Guardian of time, I shall eternally purge the universe of evil! I am Sailor Pluto!"
"I fight for the future moon! I am Sailor Chibimoon!"
"I shall follow and stop the tide of evil in its tracks! I am Sailor Neptune!"
"Fast as the wind, king of the sky, I am Sailor Uranus, and I'm bored out of my mind!"
"I am the soldier of death and destruction, Sailor Saturn! You have no chance before me!"
Duo's ears perked up at the word "death." "Death? Nice touch."
Quatre had a more pressing concern. "Isn't Sailor Pluto the one who brought us here?"
Trowa thought about this. "She's probably this one's future self, so she won't know us." Quatre nodded.
Sailor Pluto was startled. What is this? she thought. These time-shifted auras... She had to save her thoughts for another time, however, for the battle was well underway.
"JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!"
"MARS FLAME SNIPER!"
The double attack hit the Daimon head-on. "AAUGH!" she cried in pain. "Die, sailor twits! HARD DRIVE MELTDOWN!"
Pluto and Mercury quickly met the attack with their own. "DEAD SCREAM!"
"MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!"
That attack sent the Daimon reeling. It was clearly weakening, but so was Heero. "INTERNET CRASH!" That attack grazed the Sailor Senshi, but they weren't done yet.
Sailor Saturn glanced worriedly at Heero, then turned to the monster. "SILENCE GLAIVE SURPRISE!"
Sailor Moon and Chibimoon raised their kaleidoscopes. "MOON GORGEOUS MEDITATION!"
This should have killed the Daimon, but instead it just laughed. "Heh-heh. I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve. MEGA-UPLOAD!" And with that, the monster was as good as new.
The Sailor Senshi gaped for a moment, wondering what the heck they were going to do now. Then Uranus blew her top. "I've had about enough of this! I've got a million better thing to do than stand here in a short skirt and toy with you. Let's get rid of this quickly, Neptune. SPACE SWORD BLASTER!"
And with that, the monster was finally gone.
"Why didn't we just do that in the first place?" Uranus wondered, then shrugged. "Let's blow this joint. Come on, Neptune." The two Outer Senshi leaped out the window and sped away. Pluto went shortly after them.
"Come on, Senshi," Jupiter said. "Our work here is done. The six Inner Senshi followed after their more powerful allies.
Saturn was the only one left. Carefully, she took Heero's bright Heart Crystal and replaced it in his body, then, without a word, followed her fellow warriors.
The four boys rushed to Heero's side. "Heero!" cried Duo. "Are you okay?"
Heero slowly got to his feet. "Yeah," he said dazedly. "What the heck was that all about?"
Duo shrugged. "Beats me," he said. "All I know is, the Sailor Senshi are real after all."
"Weirdly enough," Trowa added.
"That was pretty amazing," Quatre said.
"Hmph," was Wufei's only comment.
"Duo, what happened?" Minako faked concern as she came into the room.
The braided teen turned to her. "Some monster attacked Heero, and these Sailor Senshi people saved him, and it was really freaky."
"Oh, is that all?" Minako said, sounding relieved. Everyone else in the room gaped at her. Seeing their shocked expressions, she added, "I thought it was something like a fire, or something, but a monster's no big deal as long as the Sailor Senshi are around, especially that Sailor Venus."
Minako nodded. "Yeah." Then she asked Heero, "Are you alright?"
Heero nodded, still very freaked out.
"What did the monster do to you?" Minako asked.
"Well, she, or it, or whatever, said something about removing a Heart Crystal thing," Heero remembered.
Minako decided that if she knew too much, it would seem suspicious. "A Heart Crystal? What's that?" she asked innocently.
Quatre searched his memory. "Something like the essence of your life, I think," he said, doing his best to recall what the monster had said.
"Oh, geez!" Duo said. "I haven't even introduced you to Heero," he said to Minako. "Minako, this is Heero Yuy. Heero, this is Minako Aino."
"Nice to meet you," Minako said, holding out her hand.
"You, too," Heero said, taking her hand and shaking it a bit uncertainly.
Minako looked at her watch. "Oh, shoot! I'm late to meet my friends! I'm sorry, Duo," she apologized. "I've got to go."
"That's okay," Duo told her. "I'll see you in school tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah," Minako said. "Bye, Duo!"
"Bye, Minako," Duo called as she ran down the steps. He watched her go with a dreAmi smile on his face.
"Duo?" Trowa said.
"Hello, Earth to Duo," Quatre said. "Come back from La-La Land!"
Duo snapped out of his trance. "Huh? What?"
"Oh, nothing," Quatre said. "Just making sure you were still here."
Heero had a mischievous smile on his face. "So, Duo," he said casually. "Was that your crush?"
"WHAT?" Duo yelped. "Of course not!"
Wufei nodded. "Uh-huh. Right. I'm sure all girls send you off into Dreamland."
"Shut up!" Duo said hotly. "At least she's my age. So if I had a crush on her, WHICH I DON'T, it would be normal. Last time I checked, Sally Po was a good four years older than you are."
Wufei felt his cheeks grow hot, and looked away.
"Well," Quatre said brightly, hoping to avoid conflict, "let's get started cleaning this mess up."
The five boys started to work. But even as he helped out, Duo couldn't help wondering why the image of Minako's beautiful face wouldn't leave his mind.
* * *
That night, Setsuna knelt in her living room, deep in concentration. Her eyes were closed, her eyebrows bent in a small frown. With her mind, she reached across the space-time continuum to her other self.
Now she could see, with clarity, herself as Sailor Pluto, standing guard at the Gate of Time. She poured out her whole self, until the two were one, and she could see her own memories of the boys with the time-shifted auras.
In a matter of moments, she could see the entire story of the Gundams and their young pilots. She couls see the way they had come to Tokyo, in this time, to save their world once again.
Setsuna's garnet eyes opened. She had seen what she needed to know, and she knew that she could not tell a soul. If she did, it would only alter the course of history, even more than she had already.
* * * * * * * *
Notes: Well, same things apply. E-mail, e-mail, e-mail! No flames, please.
FYI: In the manga, Usagi and Chibi-Usa do the Moon Gorgeous Meditation together, as opposed to the show, where only Usagi does it. "Chibimoon" mean "little moon," and is Chibi-Usa's original Japanese alter ego.
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, or anything related to them, and no, I am not making any money from this.