Prologue
The Guardsman Chronicles
by Rick Federle
The woman in the Negaverse general's uniform frowned at
the bleeding form suspended before her. He'd been stubborn,
wouldn't say anything. He'd been captured during the assault on the
Moon, and they'd sprinted him to the Negaverse to see what they
could learn from him. He hadn't given them a thing. She'd tried
every trick she knew, from mental interrogation to raw, physical
beatings.
Amazed by his stubbornness, she'd actually offered him a
place in the Negaverse, but his only response was to weakly spit at
her. That's why she'd just beaten him nearly to unconsciousness
just now.
"Maybe an extended stay in our temporal cell will make you
change your mind." She said, turning on one heel to face the two
Negawarriors who were waiting several feet behind her. "Take him
away." She commanded as she brushed past the two.
Grimly, the two Negawarriors yanked the figure from the
air and dragged him through a nearby doorway, and tossed him
inside to land with a clatter.
"Let's see if a thousand years of isolation has changed his
mind any." The Negageneral told the two Negawarriors who stood
guard over the temporal cell.
With a nod, one of the two guards unlocked and opened the
door for her and she stepped inside the cell, pausing just inside the
doorway. The figure within paused at her approach, turning
toward her, but the Negageneral raised her hand and invisible
restraints locked the figure's limbs.
"Well, ready to switch sides?" She asked as she lowered her
hand.
"Not a chance." The occupant replied, struggling against
the restraints.
"Well, in that case, I'm going to have to change your mind."
She raised her hand and an energy bolt slammed into the armored
form. He gave a cry of agony. "Well?"
"Never." He maintained. "I'll never work with scum like
you."
"Then you will die." The Negageneral stated. "Eventually."
She raised her hand and another energy bolt slammed into him.
* * *
Mina sat upright on her bed, breathing hard from the vision
or some such that she'd just seen. She pulled her knees to her chest
and buried her face in the bed sheets to absorb her tears, trying not
to sob too loud. She's seen him, she knew. She'd seen her true
love and he was being beaten by a Negageneral. She could feel the
echoes of his pain and she could feel his love for her still. After all
these years of looking, she'd finally had a glimpse of him, and the
glimpse she got was one from a nightmare. But it was no dream,
she knew. Just as surely as she knew it was him and that he still
loved her. And she knew she still loved him.
They'd hidden their love from everyone on the Moon for
years, and to her knowledge, no one, not the other Scouts, not even
Luna and Artemis knew about it. She knew now that he'd survived
the destruction of the Moon Kingdom after all, and that he was still
alive. Somewhere.
"Mina?" A sleepy Artemis asked, looking up at her in the
darkened room.
Mina took a ragged breath to control the sobbing for a
moment, then lifted her head, pointing her face in the direction the
voice had come from. "I'm okay, Artemis. Just a bad dream."
Artemis murmured a sleepy reply, which Mina didn't catch
because she laid back down and buried her face in her pillow to
continue crying.
* * *
The Negageneral turned her head away from the suspended
figure as she heard the Negaforce calling her. With a frown, she
turned away toward the door and stepped through it. "Watch him."
She thumbed over her shoulder as she walked past the two guards.
She didn't hear the acknowledgment of the two guards as she
disappeared out of cell block and down the hallway.
He raised a weary head to watch the Negageneral leave only
to be replaced by a pair of Negawarriors. "I've got to get out of
here." He thought.
"Rainbow Beam Blaze!" He commanded, and a beam of
radiant rainbow light leaped from his palm, tearing through the
restraint, and slamming into the cell wall. He dropped to the cell
floor as the restraints gave out.
The two guards drew their swords as he rose from his
crouch, watching him warily. "Can't stay and play today." He said
as he leaped forward, arms extended. His tackle carried the two
guards into the opposite sides of the doorway and he released them
as he started to move through. He rolled to his feet and looked
back to see the doorway and his former cell wink out into oblivion,
the agonized shrieks of the guards fading into nothingness.
"Ookay." He said after a few seconds of staring at the now
empty space. "I don't think I want to know where they went." He
got back to his feet and automatically adjusted his sheathed sword
back to a more comfortable position. With that, he turned to the
exit to the cell block and hurried out. He'd find an exit from the
Negaverse, eventually.
* * *
Pluto looked up in alarm as she realized something was
shifting in the Time Gate. With a frown, she walked over for a
closer look. She'd only come up because she wanted to check
something, but this could be a disaster. She watched as the
temporal disturbance shifted, settled to a fixed point, then smoothed
out. With a start, she realized that it was today that the disturbance
was centered around. Something important was going to happen
today. She examined the shift and her frowned deepened.
The Negaverse was back, all right, and this time, there was
something strange going on. She would have to hurry and get the
others if they were going to have any effect on it. With a flicker, she
disappeared from the Time Gate.
She blurred back to her human form as she raised a hand to
knock on a door. A ten year old opened the door. "Hi, aunt
Susan." The ten year old said.
"Hi, Christine. Where are Alexandra and Michelle?" Susan
stepped through the doorway as Christine made room for her.
Christine closed the door behind her "aunt." "Poppa and
Momma are in the bedroom." Christine offered.
Susan flashed her a smile of thanks, then walked over to the
bedroom door and pounded on it. It was yanked open. "What? I
was taking a nap." Michelle complained.
"Get dressed. There's work to be done." Susan told them.
"The Negaverse is back." She closed the door and walked over to
the couch to settle down to wait. She didn't have to wait more than
a minute before the two emerged.
"The Negaverse?" Alexandra asked as they entered the
room.
"Yes." Susan turned to them. "They're back and if we don't
hurry, they'll tear the others up before they're ready."
"All right, let's go." Michelle agreed.
"Pluto Crystal Power, Make Up!"
"Neptune Crystal Power, Make Up!"
"Uranus Crystal Power, Make Up!"
"Saturn Crystal Power, Make Up!"
Sailor Pluto nodded confidently as the other three formed a
circle with her. "Time Teleport!" She commanded and the four
disappeared.
The Guardsman Chronicles
by Rick Federle
The woman in the Negaverse general's uniform frowned at
the bleeding form suspended before her. He'd been stubborn,
wouldn't say anything. He'd been captured during the assault on the
Moon, and they'd sprinted him to the Negaverse to see what they
could learn from him. He hadn't given them a thing. She'd tried
every trick she knew, from mental interrogation to raw, physical
beatings.
Amazed by his stubbornness, she'd actually offered him a
place in the Negaverse, but his only response was to weakly spit at
her. That's why she'd just beaten him nearly to unconsciousness
just now.
"Maybe an extended stay in our temporal cell will make you
change your mind." She said, turning on one heel to face the two
Negawarriors who were waiting several feet behind her. "Take him
away." She commanded as she brushed past the two.
Grimly, the two Negawarriors yanked the figure from the
air and dragged him through a nearby doorway, and tossed him
inside to land with a clatter.
"Let's see if a thousand years of isolation has changed his
mind any." The Negageneral told the two Negawarriors who stood
guard over the temporal cell.
With a nod, one of the two guards unlocked and opened the
door for her and she stepped inside the cell, pausing just inside the
doorway. The figure within paused at her approach, turning
toward her, but the Negageneral raised her hand and invisible
restraints locked the figure's limbs.
"Well, ready to switch sides?" She asked as she lowered her
hand.
"Not a chance." The occupant replied, struggling against
the restraints.
"Well, in that case, I'm going to have to change your mind."
She raised her hand and an energy bolt slammed into the armored
form. He gave a cry of agony. "Well?"
"Never." He maintained. "I'll never work with scum like
you."
"Then you will die." The Negageneral stated. "Eventually."
She raised her hand and another energy bolt slammed into him.
* * *
Mina sat upright on her bed, breathing hard from the vision
or some such that she'd just seen. She pulled her knees to her chest
and buried her face in the bed sheets to absorb her tears, trying not
to sob too loud. She's seen him, she knew. She'd seen her true
love and he was being beaten by a Negageneral. She could feel the
echoes of his pain and she could feel his love for her still. After all
these years of looking, she'd finally had a glimpse of him, and the
glimpse she got was one from a nightmare. But it was no dream,
she knew. Just as surely as she knew it was him and that he still
loved her. And she knew she still loved him.
They'd hidden their love from everyone on the Moon for
years, and to her knowledge, no one, not the other Scouts, not even
Luna and Artemis knew about it. She knew now that he'd survived
the destruction of the Moon Kingdom after all, and that he was still
alive. Somewhere.
"Mina?" A sleepy Artemis asked, looking up at her in the
darkened room.
Mina took a ragged breath to control the sobbing for a
moment, then lifted her head, pointing her face in the direction the
voice had come from. "I'm okay, Artemis. Just a bad dream."
Artemis murmured a sleepy reply, which Mina didn't catch
because she laid back down and buried her face in her pillow to
continue crying.
* * *
The Negageneral turned her head away from the suspended
figure as she heard the Negaforce calling her. With a frown, she
turned away toward the door and stepped through it. "Watch him."
She thumbed over her shoulder as she walked past the two guards.
She didn't hear the acknowledgment of the two guards as she
disappeared out of cell block and down the hallway.
He raised a weary head to watch the Negageneral leave only
to be replaced by a pair of Negawarriors. "I've got to get out of
here." He thought.
"Rainbow Beam Blaze!" He commanded, and a beam of
radiant rainbow light leaped from his palm, tearing through the
restraint, and slamming into the cell wall. He dropped to the cell
floor as the restraints gave out.
The two guards drew their swords as he rose from his
crouch, watching him warily. "Can't stay and play today." He said
as he leaped forward, arms extended. His tackle carried the two
guards into the opposite sides of the doorway and he released them
as he started to move through. He rolled to his feet and looked
back to see the doorway and his former cell wink out into oblivion,
the agonized shrieks of the guards fading into nothingness.
"Ookay." He said after a few seconds of staring at the now
empty space. "I don't think I want to know where they went." He
got back to his feet and automatically adjusted his sheathed sword
back to a more comfortable position. With that, he turned to the
exit to the cell block and hurried out. He'd find an exit from the
Negaverse, eventually.
* * *
Pluto looked up in alarm as she realized something was
shifting in the Time Gate. With a frown, she walked over for a
closer look. She'd only come up because she wanted to check
something, but this could be a disaster. She watched as the
temporal disturbance shifted, settled to a fixed point, then smoothed
out. With a start, she realized that it was today that the disturbance
was centered around. Something important was going to happen
today. She examined the shift and her frowned deepened.
The Negaverse was back, all right, and this time, there was
something strange going on. She would have to hurry and get the
others if they were going to have any effect on it. With a flicker, she
disappeared from the Time Gate.
She blurred back to her human form as she raised a hand to
knock on a door. A ten year old opened the door. "Hi, aunt
Susan." The ten year old said.
"Hi, Christine. Where are Alexandra and Michelle?" Susan
stepped through the doorway as Christine made room for her.
Christine closed the door behind her "aunt." "Poppa and
Momma are in the bedroom." Christine offered.
Susan flashed her a smile of thanks, then walked over to the
bedroom door and pounded on it. It was yanked open. "What? I
was taking a nap." Michelle complained.
"Get dressed. There's work to be done." Susan told them.
"The Negaverse is back." She closed the door and walked over to
the couch to settle down to wait. She didn't have to wait more than
a minute before the two emerged.
"The Negaverse?" Alexandra asked as they entered the
room.
"Yes." Susan turned to them. "They're back and if we don't
hurry, they'll tear the others up before they're ready."
"All right, let's go." Michelle agreed.
"Pluto Crystal Power, Make Up!"
"Neptune Crystal Power, Make Up!"
"Uranus Crystal Power, Make Up!"
"Saturn Crystal Power, Make Up!"
Sailor Pluto nodded confidently as the other three formed a
circle with her. "Time Teleport!" She commanded and the four
disappeared.