Ch. 3
A/N: What happened to my contest, eh? No one's guessing! Well, except for one person. No one gets to Beta if they don't get it right. here's a hint: It's a guy. Yep, that's all. Someone's BOUND to get it right. Gomen ne for the long absence, minna. I have a rather fickle muse.
Benjamin was watching some old silent movies he'd found in the basement. The placards were in English but he, being the boy he was, had already taught himself a good deal of the Language. The placard held up now wasn't a challenge for him.
"The Immigrant," he read aloud. He smiled as the music played and the Black and White film began. Touma walked in, curious as to what all the childish laughter was about. Upon seeing the little white-haired boy perched in front of an old Charlie Chaplin movie, he smiled and went into the kitchen to make a bowl of popcorn for him. He mused that he might even watch the movie with him, he was a Charlie Chaplin fan himself. He walked out into the living room…to find that Benjamin was already munching on a box of Odango. He frowned.
"Where'd you get that from?"
Benjamin shrugged. "I picked up the tin box over there," he pointed to where a tin full of candies had sat.
"I looked in and thought that I wanted Odango…and it turned into a box of Odango. " He shrugged again and went back to watching the movie. Touma was stunned. Benjamin was only six! If this was what he thought it was…he decided to be very careful with his phrasing.
"Benjamin," he said slowly. "If I wanted a soda, do you think you could turn this vase," he handed Benjamin a fairly inexpensive vase. "Into a bottle of Pepsi?"
Benjamin shrugged. He looked at the vase carefully. One moment it was a vase. The next, a bottle of Pepsi. Touma blinked.
"Uh…could you turn it back?"
Benjamin nodded eagerly. Another concentrated look and the vase was back to its original shape. Touma took the vase back and peered at Benjamin in a very shrewd way. Benjamin blinked.
"Daijoubu desu ka?"
"You can't mean that his powers are manifesting already!"
Touma frowned. "I can't think of any other explanation. We could easily have a DNA sample sent to Professor Xavier and see what he says."
Ami nodded. "That's a good idea, but I'd like to run it by his parents first…they really should be here."
Touma nodded and sighed a bit. "I know…well, we have Katzie, she's closest of kin right now."
"What if she doesn't let us?"
"Well, something needs to be done," Touma said. "What if he decides he likes the refrigerator better as a block of ice or something?"
Ami shuddered a bit. This was beginning to sound a lot like an episode from that Twilighty Show about that Zone.* She sighed.
"I suppose we've no choice. Until Rajura and Bertie come back with the prisoners, we've got to rely on Katzie as his guardian and ask her."
Touma nodded again. "Let's just hope she's of the same frame of mind we are."
I don't think it'll be too much of a problem.
Touma and Ami both blinked and turned. Benjamin was smiling in a very kawaii manner at the both of them. It took them a moment to realise that it had been his voice they'd heard. Touma decided to take this another step further.
"You mean you've talked to her already?"
No, but I know she doesn't harbour any hard feelings towards mutants.
Ami blinked again. His vocabulary was far more extensive than she had thought. He knew words that he was too young to articulate yet.
Thank you, Ami-sama, though I owe most of it to my parents.
Ami glanced at Touma and frowned. Benjamin blinked and smiled again.
"I'm sorry if I make you nervous, Ami-sama," he said out loud. "I'll try not to do it too much. It's just…easier for me that way."
Touma smiled kindly. "Just do me a favour and let me know out loud when you want to use that power with me, okay?"
"Stupefy! Petrificus Totalus!"
Shin looked up sharply as the spells rang out. He stood as the door opened and he was knocked to the floor by a sobbing green, white and pink blur. He held his wife close, nuzzling his face into her hair for a few moments. He then kissed her softly and frowned at the acidic taste on her lips.
"Ma-ko, daijoubu ka?"
Supersailorjupiter frowned a bit. "I'm a little sick-vomiting but nothing major."
He nodded. "Where are the guys?"
Jupiter now grinned in a way that told him she knew something he didn't. He stepped out of his cell and blinked in surprise. The Shogun and Ayakashi sisters, but no Senshi or Troopers. He raised a questioning brow at Anubis, who grinned a bit.
"We figured we'd be the good guys for once."
Shin chuckled softly and quickly transformed.
"So now we go back?"
"Shi-chan, we can't," Jupiter said. "There are three others we've got to get."
Shin frowned. "So we've got to press on for the other three." It wasn't a question. Naaza sighed and jerked his head down the corridor and the group set off once again.
"So what's going on??"
Rei resisted the urge to cast an exasperated look over her shoulder at Minako and instead continued to focus on the readings.
"Shin and Makoto are together…and they've gotten the three others too!"
Usagi heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Do you know who they are yet?"
Rei frowned as she tried to extract the information from the sacred fire.
"They're vaguely familiar…but they're different too. Gomen ne, I can't say just yet. Maybe once they come out of the Dark Kingdom…"
She trailed off and her eyes flew open. She cast a wry smile at a darkened corner.
"Isn't this the wrong area for you?"
A low chuckle came from the corner and everyone now knew who stood in the shadows.
"I admit I am unused to being in a Shinto temple. You see," here a foot wandered out into the light. "That I have removed my shoes." The voice became grave. "I'm afraid that your services will be needed."
Ami sighed. "The Shogun and Sisters?"
"Of course," The Ancient One affirmed. "This will be dangerous," he said. "I cannot guarantee that you will all come back."
Shou paled. He sighed and glanced about the fire lit faces and looked into the corner.
"If they need us, we'll go."
Rubeus sighed in frustration. More than three-quarters of the dungeons searched and still no one else found. And he was getting nervous. Usually there were soldiers to patrol these areas, even if no one was being held. Where were they?
Rajura seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he'd suggested coming back for the other three in a few days. Anubis had shaken his head.
"We can't," he had said. "It's all or nothing."
And so they'd all pressed on. Upon reaching the final corridor, they'd only taken a quick look down it and frowned in vexation. No guards here, either. Perhaps Sailormars had made an error?
They turned to return from whence they'd came and saw their way blocked. Rubbeus cursed, Talpa had let them wander down here so that it'd be harder for them to get out.
Sailorjupiter activated her antenna in her tiara.
"Well, let's go!"
It was an odd feeling-travelling with the Ancient One, that was. Touma didn't know if he'd ever truly be able to get used to it.
Then again there were many odd things about this trip. Katzie had, of course, been left behind to care for Sayotasho. But Benjamin had been brought along. The Ancient one was, also oddly, fully aware of Benjamin's powers and was now explaining the extent of them to the rest of the group. When it was mentioned that he had telepathic and telekinetic powers, many of those in the group had developed uneasy expressions, not really daring to think anything inappropriate for a six year old. Thoughts about children's books and ice cream abounded. It rather annoyed Benjamin.
Now the Ancient One was explaining that everyone had indeed been rescued, but that they were all in deep peril at the moment. Supersailormoon had asked the important question.
"Who are the other three?'
No one could see the Ancient's face as he responded "I cannot tell you that."
Follow up questions had, of course, been asked but the Ancient refused to expand on his statement.
Ryo sighed, frustrated. The infuriating thing about the Ancient One was that he had a habit of revealing enough to show that he knew something, but not revealing the thing itself until it was far too late.
Ryo only hoped that the games the Ancient One was playing didn't result in the death of Makoto or Shin.
"Supreme Thunder!"
Quite a few soldiers fell, but of course that wasn't nearly enough to let them escape. Rubbeus grit his teeth and sent a series of powerful blasts at the soldiers, who took the hit without truly diminishing their ranks. Rajura cursed softly. They were in deep trouble if they didn't get out of this and soon. One of the soldiers made a lunge for Bertie. Avery, seeing what was to occur before it did, pushed her sister out of the way, but not without suffering a blow to the back which made her collapse to her knees. Everyone was around her in a second, fending off attacks while Kale tried to quickly treat her.
There was nothing to be done, however, she'd suffered severe damage. He looked at Rubbeus with doubt in his eyes. Rubbeus' expression twisted and he turned with a new hatred on the soldiers attacking them. Bertie and Prizma began fighting fiercely to fend off the soldiers from their sister. Rajura cursed as more soldiers sprang up.
"This is no good, we've got to take care of all of them at once."
"Web of Deception?" Naaza suggested. Rajura shook his head.
"They'd have captured me before I could loose all of you."
Any other suggestions?" Prizma asked, her voice becoming high pitched.
"Keep fighting," Rubbeus growled, blasting away half of the soldiers.
We're on our way…
Rajura startled. He turned to his wife, who looked as confused as he.
"You heard it too?"
"Yes…but how…?"
Mom! Dad! Hang on! We're almost there!
There was no doubt in Rajura's mind now that he was hearing his young son. The questions of how and why were pushed out of his mind when from behind the mass of soldiers before them he heard a very welcome sound.
"Venus. Love and Beauty Shock!"
"Moon Tiara Action!"
"Akuryo Taisan!"
Mars' attack was most effective, and froze the multitude of soldiers in place. The Senshi, Troopers, Benjamin and the Ancient One shoved through the frozen mass to the would-be rescuers.
"Am I ever glad to see you," Jupiter said to Mercury as she quickly checked her over. She then moved on to Avery as Mars blinked.
"Ancient One, you said everyone had been rescued."
Rubbeus blinked too. "But we haven't found the other three."
The Ancient One smiled a bit and Bertie and Sailormoon turned to Jupiter in sudden understanding.
"Mako-chan," Sailormoon said softly, smiling a bit as well. "You're pregnant."
"No wonder…" Anubis said softly. "Mars read five people trapped. And there were. And we rescued four of them at once without even realising it."
"So I guess that means you're having triplets," Bertie said, smiling a bit.
"Don't celebrate yet," Mercury said, deactivating her visor and putting her computer away. "We need to get Avery back home, and quickly."
"A teleport?" Benjamin suggested. Naaza frowned.
"Not this deep, we might get stuck."
"Then there's nothing for it," Jupiter said, gearing up her Oak Evolution. "Than to blast our way out while they're still under Mars' influence. Senshi! Together!"
"But Ma-ko-"
"Shi-chan, are you in this or not?"
Shin frowned. He had learned not to cross Jupiter when she was in Battle mode-most of the time-but now she was carrying his children. Did he really want to risk it?
Then again, as his wife had so aptly put it, there was nothing else for it.
"Right. I'm in."
"Good," Sailormoon said, summoning her Moon Kaleidoscope. "We're going to need everyone's help. Rubbeus, you get Avery. Ready!" She said, gritting her teeth. The soldiers before her were beginning to stir.
"Moon Gorgeous Meditation!"
"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"
"Burning Mandala!"
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"
"Crescent Beam!"
Ryo looked around at everyone and they all nodded. It was time for Hariel. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the familiar merging sensation, and a few moments later, Hariel in the Armour of Inferno stood before them. He raised his katana.
"Rage of Inferno!"
Between the six attacks, they managed to clear enough of the soldiers to burst out past them. Rajura cast a sidelong look at the Ancient One.
"Well?"
The Ancient One almost stopped to look at him.
"What?"
"Aren't you going to magically save us or something?"
The Ancient One shook his head, though still running. "There is nothing I can do, this is not my fight. I am powerless."
"Bull," Naaza said, running on the other side of the Ancient. "All those times you interfered on the Trooper's and Senshi's behalf and now when it comes to us, you can't help?"
"This is bigger than I," The Ancient One said. "I am not the one who is going to win. But you all will not win without my help."
"Big surprise," Rajura said.
"Quiet!" Rubeus snapped. Rajura looked up. Seiji and Mars were straining to listen. Mars' eyes opened first, and she was frustrated.
"I don't know which way to go," she said worriedly. "Rubbeus, which way is the way out?"
"West."
Mars nodded. "Right." She took out her wand and held it in her palm. Shou frowned.
"Now isn't the time to-"
"Shut up!" the Senshi yelled at him. Shou blinked as Mars whispered to her wand. It spun around in her hand and pointed straight.
"We have to go left," she said, taking off running. Shou looked at Mars in amazement.
"What did you do?"
"Used a simple spell," she panted. " 'Point me'. Shows me which way is North."
"How-"
"Harry taught it to me," she said, grinding to a halt. She looked back at the group, which was now beginning to straggle quite a bit. She bit her lip and frowned.
"We'll never make it out at this rate. We've got to rest, but if we do…"Anubis frowned and squared his shoulders.
"You all rest. I'll use a darkness for our cover."
"Will that work?" Naaza asked. Anubis shrugged.
"It may, It may, it may not. We'll simply have to wait and see."
Rubbeus
nodded and set Avery down on the ground. Jupiter also sat on the ground,
trying-and not succeeding-to hide the fact that she was having another bout of
morning sickness. As Anubis brought down the darkness, Shou sighed and looked
around them.
The Ancient One had said that they may not all come out of this alive.
At this rate, no one was going to be alive.
