Chapter Three: One month after the Satellite Scouts have received their
powers
Princess Lita trotted down the hallway towards the garden. She wanted to climb the large oak tree before dinnertime. She hiked up her skirts and easily scaled the large trunk. She nodded her approval and made her way toward the sturdier branches.
" 'ey there, Kiddo! I didn't realize that ya were a climba!" a voice chuckled.
Lita blinked her green eyes and looked up. A tall figure waved to her from the treetop. "H-how'd you get all the way up there? That's not easy!"
"Simple, I'm just an old pro at climbin'!" The figure quickly climbed down to the Princess' level.
"Oh! Trudy! I should have known it was you!" Lita blushed. She admired Trudy's strength and athleticism. She hoped that she could be at least half as strong as her protector.
"O' course, Li-Li!" Trudy said, winking.
"Are you guys done with training for today?" Lita asked, noting that Trudy was dressed in her training uniform.
"Yep, we sure are. I'm ready fer dinner, personally," Trudy said. "Whaddya say? Ya wanna race me down?"
Lita shook her head. "No way!"
"Wha-Princess! Did ya turn chicken?"
Lita laughed. "No. I just know that you'd beat me!" Lita turned her green eyes to Trudy and smiled. "I wanna be as tough as you when I get bigger, Trudy!"
Trudy slapped a hand on the Princess' shoulder. "An' that ya will be! I have a feelin' you'll be the strongest scout around.afta me, o' course! I promise!" Trudy winked. Lita giggled. "Now, let's get going ta dinner." As they reached the ground, a loud boom sounded, shaking them. Trudy quickly covered Lita's body with her own.
"Wha-what's going on, Trudy?" Lita whispered.
"I dunno, but I don't like it." Trudy said. When the shaking stopped, Trudy carefully rose to her feet. "That was no normal earthquake."
"That's right, GIRL," a voice cackled. Trudy snapped her head to the right. A man, slightly taller than she, stared her down. His hair was an inky black, and his eyes a cold gray.
"Oi! An' who are ya?"
"A faithful servant of the NegaVerse." His thin lips curled into a snarl. "My name is Hades, and I've come to take your Princess away."
The NegaVerse ... just like Gabby said ... Trudy thought. She crossed her arms and returned the stare. "Hades, eh? Well, I bet you've neva had tha pleasure o' bein' whupped by a girl!"
"Trudy!" Lita whispered.
"It's okay, Li-Li. Just stay back. I'm your protector, rememba?" Trudy turned back to Hades. "Time fer ya ta leave, buddy." Trudy thrust her transformation stick into the air. "Ganymede Satellite Protection Power!" A red light encompassed Trudy, changing her into Sailor Ganymede. Lita gasped. She forgot how awesome Trudy looked in this form. "Now yer in big trouble."
Hades broke into a grin. "Ah, so now you are finally ready for combat. Good. I like a little light exercise." "Light exercise? Try this on!" Sailor Ganymede frowned. "Ganymede Ozone Beam!" A burst of hot white light zoomed towards Ganymede's enemy. Hades stood his ground and thrust his palm in front of the pure energy. He easily absorbed it and tossed it over his shoulder, causing a few of the prize- winning plants in the garden to be blown to bits. "Tch! That's no good!" Ganymede grumbled. She looked back to see Lita still standing there in shock. "I told ya ta scoot, lil' Li-Li!" Lita blinked and nodded at her protector. "R-right!" Lita scrambled to her feet and headed towards the palace. "Oh, now that's not fair." Hades sighed. "I was simply going to take your Princess on a trip. Why don't you just give her to me? I'd rather not dirty my hands over this." "Trip my arse. No one gets ta Li-Li unless they get through me first!" Ganymede growled. "Spear of Zeus! I call you forth!" A beautiful spear, taller than Ganymede herself, crafted out of oak, fell into her gloved hands. "Well! It looks like you do have some tricks up your sleeve. I, of course, have some of my own." Hades snapped his fingers, and four gruesome beasts materialized in front of Ganymede. They resembled wolves ... if they were eight foot in height and if they had knife like arms and walked on their hind legs. They were almost pure black in color. Two small beads of yellow stared at her from each beast. "Dirty!-" she spat. A beam of light crashed in front of the beasts. They hissed and receded a bit. "Now that's no fair at all!" A voice said. Ganymede and Hades looked to the large oak tree. "Sailor Callisto!" Ganymede smiled.
"Hey, we couldn't let you have all the fun now, could we?" she asked as she hopped down from the tree. Sailors Io and Europa followed her.
"Especially when the odds are against you. Someone doesn't believe in the code of war, hm?" Europa asked, folding her arms across her chest.
"I'll say," Io nodded. "Let's even the score, shall we?" Sailor Io pointed her outstretched palm towards Hades and shouted, "Io Tidal Energy!"
Hades easily dodged the orange blast and chuckled. "You are so pathetic! I thought the defenders of Jupiter would at least give me some sort of a challenge!"
"How's this for a challenge?" Callisto asked. "Callisto Electric Arch!" Callisto made a beautiful arch with her right arm, spun around and threw the bent beam of electricity towards their foe.
Hades didn't bother to even deflect this attack. He simply stood there, letting the beam bounce off his chest. "Ladies, ladies, ladies!" he clucked his tongue. "Now this is just embarrassing. At least you're all attractive. I'll be so sorry to rearrange those faces of yours."
"What do we do?" Europa whispered to the others.
"If we get rid of Hades, we might be able to get rid of his minions without wasting all our energy. I suggest combining our attacks. Singularly they seem to have absolutely no effect on him." Io noted.
" ... except on his ego!" Callisto huffed. "It grows with every second."
"I'm with ya, Io. Everybody! Let's use our best attacks, eh?" Ganymede said, readying her spear. The others nodded and called upon their weapons.
Io: "Sword of Zeus, come forth!"
Europa: "Staff of Zeus, appear before me!"
Callisto: "Bow of Diana, Arrow of Zeus, I implore thee! Lend me your power!"
The sacred weapons appeared before their wielders and floated down to them.
"Now why couldn't you four have done that earlier? I wouldn't have felt so let down if I had seen that sooner." Hades chuckled.
"We need to shut this ego maniac up!" Callisto fumed. "Ready everyone?"
They nodded. "Ready!"
Callisto... Electric ... Charge!
Europa ... Deluge!
Io Volcanic ... Slash!
Ganymede Whirling Particles ... Rain-Down!
A wave of magma, a rush of icy water, a beam of electricity and sharp invisible shards fell upon Hades. He smirked and crossed his arms in front of him. The energy bounced off his arms and shot towards the Satellite Soldiers. Europa reacted quickly and cast her protection spell, "Europa Arctic Wall!" The energy crashed upon the smooth icy surface, causing it to pop and crack.
"He's more powerful than we thought!" Europa gasped, focusing her strength on keeping the wall intact.
"Yeah, and the funny thing is, he hasn't really ATTACKED us yet!" Callisto said, shaking her head.
"Oi! Yer right! I don't think we have whut it takes t' whup this guy quite yet." Ganymede admitted.
"I'm so glad that you finally came to that conclusion," Hades chuckled. He yawned and thrust his hand in the air. A ball of dark matter formed in the air, growing brighter and bigger by the second. "So, anyway, as I was saying, I didn't want to dirty my hands over this, but since you insist on annoying me." He smirked and shook his head. "Let's get rid of your pesky little shield, shall we? DARK HORIZON!!!" The ball of energy shot through the air, breaking the wall of ice into shards. The Satellite Soldiers ducked for cover, the shards piercing their skin.
"Everyone all right?" Io choked out.
"Y-yeah!!" Europa nodded.
The beasts began to lumber towards them. They bared their fangs as they began to swing their heavy, sword-tipped arms.
"Ladies, it's been--well, not a pleasure. Maybe entertaining," Hades smiled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find that princess of yours. Enjoy the company I'm leaving you with. They haven't eaten in a good week, so they'd love to have you for dinner. Ta ta!" After blowing them a kiss, Hades jumped into a spinning vortex and disappeared.
"Man I HATE that guy!" Callisto growled. "I mean, even that parting jab was corny!"
"We can't let him get to the Princess!" Io shouted.
"Right, but 'ow do we do that with these.things in our way?" Ganymede asked.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Well, Hades was right. You did make a nice showing, but absolutely no form. I guess that comes from being newbies and all." a voice scolded them.
The Soldiers blinked and turned their eyes to the water fountain in the middle of the garden. Four figures stared back at them. All they could tell was that they looked like knights.
"Shut yer mouth or I'll shut it fer ya!" Ganymede shouted, pointing her finger at the figures. "Who d' ya think ya are, tellin' us we've got no form?!"
"No form and not very lady like either. What a combo!" the same voice laughed.
"Peace, Orion," one of the other figures said. "If you want to help your Princess, you'll need our assistance."
"Listen, you! I don't think that we-" Europa covered Ganymede's mouth with her gloved hand.
Io cleared her throat. "What our boisterous friend is trying to say is, 'Yes, thank you. Let's work together.'"
"Sorry, Trudy." Europa whispered as she released her hand. Ganymede stuck her tongue out at Europa.
"Great! So, let's deal with these guys first, right?" Callisto said, aiming her bow and arrow at one of the beasts.
"Ah, now this I excel at." Another one of the figures said as he stepped forward. He had to be the tallest of the four, standing over six feet in height. His dark green cape fluttered in the wind. His long silver hair flowed around him as he drew out his sword. "Please, allow me. Ares Silver Slice!" He boomed as he slashed his sword horizontally in the air. A crescent beam of silver light raced towards the beasts, slicing them in half. A blood-curdling scream escaped their jaws right before they turned into piles of ash.
Europa, Io and Callisto could not help but stare in amazement. Ganymede rolled her eyes, but she was also impressed.
"Just who are you guys?" Callisto finally asked. The remaining three knights stepped forward. They were all taller than the Satellite Scouts, the shortest still inches taller than the statuesque Ganymede. They all wore black armor, but the color of their capes differed. The shortest had chestnut brown hair and green eyes and wore a deep blue cape. "Sailor Perseus at your service," he said as he bowed.
The scout that decimated the beasts, Ares, rolled his eyes.
"I'm Sailor Orion," said the scout with the red cape said. His long black hair was silky and his dark blue eyes looked the four Satellite Soldiers over.
"I'm Sailor Apollo." The last scout said. His dark blond hair fell into his violet eyes. He wore a golden cape. He seemed to be the leader. "We're Sailor Scouts of another galaxy. The Andromeda Galaxy."
"Huh? Guy scouts? 'ow weird!" Ganymede nodded at the four men.
"Yes, well, female scouts are weird to us," Sailor Orion huffed.
"I don't think that we need to be offending our new friends, Trudy," Europa said.
"Right! Forgive our friend. She's a little. vocal, but she means well." Io said. "But what of our Princess? Has Hades kidnapped her?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Apollo said, hanging his head. "We couldn't get there in time."
"Damn it!" Ganymede shouted, punching her fist into her palm. "If only I were quicker! Stronger!"
"Don't feel bad, Ganymede," Apollo said. "You couldn't have known how strong Hades was. You did your best."
"It's just that your best wasn't good enough," Orion said.
Ganymede stomped over to Sailor Orion. "Ya know, I'm about to give ya a taste of my best in a second! All you've done since ya got here is razz me!" Ganymede said, rising on her toes to stare Orion in the eye.
Orion chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? I'd like to see you try."
"Man, you two are nuts!" Ares mumbled. "We don't have time for this."
"Yeah, Ares has a point there." Perseus nodded. "We need to help you guys and fast. But to do that, we need to go to our Galaxy."
"Andromeda?" Europa asked. "But why?"
"Our guardian would like to talk to you. She thinks she knows of a source to strengthen the four of you." Apollo said. He raised his right hand and made a sweeping circle in the air. A vortex appeared. "Follow me." He said before jumping in. Ares and Perseus followed directly after Apollo. Orion hung back and grinned at Ganymede.
".That is, if you're not scared!" Orion winked at Ganymede before he jumped in. Her cheeks pinked.
"Notta chance!" she cried as she dove in.
"Well. I guess Ganymede made the decision for us!" Europa mumbled.
Callisto laughed. "Just like her, huh? Let's go."
Princess Lita trotted down the hallway towards the garden. She wanted to climb the large oak tree before dinnertime. She hiked up her skirts and easily scaled the large trunk. She nodded her approval and made her way toward the sturdier branches.
" 'ey there, Kiddo! I didn't realize that ya were a climba!" a voice chuckled.
Lita blinked her green eyes and looked up. A tall figure waved to her from the treetop. "H-how'd you get all the way up there? That's not easy!"
"Simple, I'm just an old pro at climbin'!" The figure quickly climbed down to the Princess' level.
"Oh! Trudy! I should have known it was you!" Lita blushed. She admired Trudy's strength and athleticism. She hoped that she could be at least half as strong as her protector.
"O' course, Li-Li!" Trudy said, winking.
"Are you guys done with training for today?" Lita asked, noting that Trudy was dressed in her training uniform.
"Yep, we sure are. I'm ready fer dinner, personally," Trudy said. "Whaddya say? Ya wanna race me down?"
Lita shook her head. "No way!"
"Wha-Princess! Did ya turn chicken?"
Lita laughed. "No. I just know that you'd beat me!" Lita turned her green eyes to Trudy and smiled. "I wanna be as tough as you when I get bigger, Trudy!"
Trudy slapped a hand on the Princess' shoulder. "An' that ya will be! I have a feelin' you'll be the strongest scout around.afta me, o' course! I promise!" Trudy winked. Lita giggled. "Now, let's get going ta dinner." As they reached the ground, a loud boom sounded, shaking them. Trudy quickly covered Lita's body with her own.
"Wha-what's going on, Trudy?" Lita whispered.
"I dunno, but I don't like it." Trudy said. When the shaking stopped, Trudy carefully rose to her feet. "That was no normal earthquake."
"That's right, GIRL," a voice cackled. Trudy snapped her head to the right. A man, slightly taller than she, stared her down. His hair was an inky black, and his eyes a cold gray.
"Oi! An' who are ya?"
"A faithful servant of the NegaVerse." His thin lips curled into a snarl. "My name is Hades, and I've come to take your Princess away."
The NegaVerse ... just like Gabby said ... Trudy thought. She crossed her arms and returned the stare. "Hades, eh? Well, I bet you've neva had tha pleasure o' bein' whupped by a girl!"
"Trudy!" Lita whispered.
"It's okay, Li-Li. Just stay back. I'm your protector, rememba?" Trudy turned back to Hades. "Time fer ya ta leave, buddy." Trudy thrust her transformation stick into the air. "Ganymede Satellite Protection Power!" A red light encompassed Trudy, changing her into Sailor Ganymede. Lita gasped. She forgot how awesome Trudy looked in this form. "Now yer in big trouble."
Hades broke into a grin. "Ah, so now you are finally ready for combat. Good. I like a little light exercise." "Light exercise? Try this on!" Sailor Ganymede frowned. "Ganymede Ozone Beam!" A burst of hot white light zoomed towards Ganymede's enemy. Hades stood his ground and thrust his palm in front of the pure energy. He easily absorbed it and tossed it over his shoulder, causing a few of the prize- winning plants in the garden to be blown to bits. "Tch! That's no good!" Ganymede grumbled. She looked back to see Lita still standing there in shock. "I told ya ta scoot, lil' Li-Li!" Lita blinked and nodded at her protector. "R-right!" Lita scrambled to her feet and headed towards the palace. "Oh, now that's not fair." Hades sighed. "I was simply going to take your Princess on a trip. Why don't you just give her to me? I'd rather not dirty my hands over this." "Trip my arse. No one gets ta Li-Li unless they get through me first!" Ganymede growled. "Spear of Zeus! I call you forth!" A beautiful spear, taller than Ganymede herself, crafted out of oak, fell into her gloved hands. "Well! It looks like you do have some tricks up your sleeve. I, of course, have some of my own." Hades snapped his fingers, and four gruesome beasts materialized in front of Ganymede. They resembled wolves ... if they were eight foot in height and if they had knife like arms and walked on their hind legs. They were almost pure black in color. Two small beads of yellow stared at her from each beast. "Dirty!-" she spat. A beam of light crashed in front of the beasts. They hissed and receded a bit. "Now that's no fair at all!" A voice said. Ganymede and Hades looked to the large oak tree. "Sailor Callisto!" Ganymede smiled.
"Hey, we couldn't let you have all the fun now, could we?" she asked as she hopped down from the tree. Sailors Io and Europa followed her.
"Especially when the odds are against you. Someone doesn't believe in the code of war, hm?" Europa asked, folding her arms across her chest.
"I'll say," Io nodded. "Let's even the score, shall we?" Sailor Io pointed her outstretched palm towards Hades and shouted, "Io Tidal Energy!"
Hades easily dodged the orange blast and chuckled. "You are so pathetic! I thought the defenders of Jupiter would at least give me some sort of a challenge!"
"How's this for a challenge?" Callisto asked. "Callisto Electric Arch!" Callisto made a beautiful arch with her right arm, spun around and threw the bent beam of electricity towards their foe.
Hades didn't bother to even deflect this attack. He simply stood there, letting the beam bounce off his chest. "Ladies, ladies, ladies!" he clucked his tongue. "Now this is just embarrassing. At least you're all attractive. I'll be so sorry to rearrange those faces of yours."
"What do we do?" Europa whispered to the others.
"If we get rid of Hades, we might be able to get rid of his minions without wasting all our energy. I suggest combining our attacks. Singularly they seem to have absolutely no effect on him." Io noted.
" ... except on his ego!" Callisto huffed. "It grows with every second."
"I'm with ya, Io. Everybody! Let's use our best attacks, eh?" Ganymede said, readying her spear. The others nodded and called upon their weapons.
Io: "Sword of Zeus, come forth!"
Europa: "Staff of Zeus, appear before me!"
Callisto: "Bow of Diana, Arrow of Zeus, I implore thee! Lend me your power!"
The sacred weapons appeared before their wielders and floated down to them.
"Now why couldn't you four have done that earlier? I wouldn't have felt so let down if I had seen that sooner." Hades chuckled.
"We need to shut this ego maniac up!" Callisto fumed. "Ready everyone?"
They nodded. "Ready!"
Callisto... Electric ... Charge!
Europa ... Deluge!
Io Volcanic ... Slash!
Ganymede Whirling Particles ... Rain-Down!
A wave of magma, a rush of icy water, a beam of electricity and sharp invisible shards fell upon Hades. He smirked and crossed his arms in front of him. The energy bounced off his arms and shot towards the Satellite Soldiers. Europa reacted quickly and cast her protection spell, "Europa Arctic Wall!" The energy crashed upon the smooth icy surface, causing it to pop and crack.
"He's more powerful than we thought!" Europa gasped, focusing her strength on keeping the wall intact.
"Yeah, and the funny thing is, he hasn't really ATTACKED us yet!" Callisto said, shaking her head.
"Oi! Yer right! I don't think we have whut it takes t' whup this guy quite yet." Ganymede admitted.
"I'm so glad that you finally came to that conclusion," Hades chuckled. He yawned and thrust his hand in the air. A ball of dark matter formed in the air, growing brighter and bigger by the second. "So, anyway, as I was saying, I didn't want to dirty my hands over this, but since you insist on annoying me." He smirked and shook his head. "Let's get rid of your pesky little shield, shall we? DARK HORIZON!!!" The ball of energy shot through the air, breaking the wall of ice into shards. The Satellite Soldiers ducked for cover, the shards piercing their skin.
"Everyone all right?" Io choked out.
"Y-yeah!!" Europa nodded.
The beasts began to lumber towards them. They bared their fangs as they began to swing their heavy, sword-tipped arms.
"Ladies, it's been--well, not a pleasure. Maybe entertaining," Hades smiled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find that princess of yours. Enjoy the company I'm leaving you with. They haven't eaten in a good week, so they'd love to have you for dinner. Ta ta!" After blowing them a kiss, Hades jumped into a spinning vortex and disappeared.
"Man I HATE that guy!" Callisto growled. "I mean, even that parting jab was corny!"
"We can't let him get to the Princess!" Io shouted.
"Right, but 'ow do we do that with these.things in our way?" Ganymede asked.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Well, Hades was right. You did make a nice showing, but absolutely no form. I guess that comes from being newbies and all." a voice scolded them.
The Soldiers blinked and turned their eyes to the water fountain in the middle of the garden. Four figures stared back at them. All they could tell was that they looked like knights.
"Shut yer mouth or I'll shut it fer ya!" Ganymede shouted, pointing her finger at the figures. "Who d' ya think ya are, tellin' us we've got no form?!"
"No form and not very lady like either. What a combo!" the same voice laughed.
"Peace, Orion," one of the other figures said. "If you want to help your Princess, you'll need our assistance."
"Listen, you! I don't think that we-" Europa covered Ganymede's mouth with her gloved hand.
Io cleared her throat. "What our boisterous friend is trying to say is, 'Yes, thank you. Let's work together.'"
"Sorry, Trudy." Europa whispered as she released her hand. Ganymede stuck her tongue out at Europa.
"Great! So, let's deal with these guys first, right?" Callisto said, aiming her bow and arrow at one of the beasts.
"Ah, now this I excel at." Another one of the figures said as he stepped forward. He had to be the tallest of the four, standing over six feet in height. His dark green cape fluttered in the wind. His long silver hair flowed around him as he drew out his sword. "Please, allow me. Ares Silver Slice!" He boomed as he slashed his sword horizontally in the air. A crescent beam of silver light raced towards the beasts, slicing them in half. A blood-curdling scream escaped their jaws right before they turned into piles of ash.
Europa, Io and Callisto could not help but stare in amazement. Ganymede rolled her eyes, but she was also impressed.
"Just who are you guys?" Callisto finally asked. The remaining three knights stepped forward. They were all taller than the Satellite Scouts, the shortest still inches taller than the statuesque Ganymede. They all wore black armor, but the color of their capes differed. The shortest had chestnut brown hair and green eyes and wore a deep blue cape. "Sailor Perseus at your service," he said as he bowed.
The scout that decimated the beasts, Ares, rolled his eyes.
"I'm Sailor Orion," said the scout with the red cape said. His long black hair was silky and his dark blue eyes looked the four Satellite Soldiers over.
"I'm Sailor Apollo." The last scout said. His dark blond hair fell into his violet eyes. He wore a golden cape. He seemed to be the leader. "We're Sailor Scouts of another galaxy. The Andromeda Galaxy."
"Huh? Guy scouts? 'ow weird!" Ganymede nodded at the four men.
"Yes, well, female scouts are weird to us," Sailor Orion huffed.
"I don't think that we need to be offending our new friends, Trudy," Europa said.
"Right! Forgive our friend. She's a little. vocal, but she means well." Io said. "But what of our Princess? Has Hades kidnapped her?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Apollo said, hanging his head. "We couldn't get there in time."
"Damn it!" Ganymede shouted, punching her fist into her palm. "If only I were quicker! Stronger!"
"Don't feel bad, Ganymede," Apollo said. "You couldn't have known how strong Hades was. You did your best."
"It's just that your best wasn't good enough," Orion said.
Ganymede stomped over to Sailor Orion. "Ya know, I'm about to give ya a taste of my best in a second! All you've done since ya got here is razz me!" Ganymede said, rising on her toes to stare Orion in the eye.
Orion chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? I'd like to see you try."
"Man, you two are nuts!" Ares mumbled. "We don't have time for this."
"Yeah, Ares has a point there." Perseus nodded. "We need to help you guys and fast. But to do that, we need to go to our Galaxy."
"Andromeda?" Europa asked. "But why?"
"Our guardian would like to talk to you. She thinks she knows of a source to strengthen the four of you." Apollo said. He raised his right hand and made a sweeping circle in the air. A vortex appeared. "Follow me." He said before jumping in. Ares and Perseus followed directly after Apollo. Orion hung back and grinned at Ganymede.
".That is, if you're not scared!" Orion winked at Ganymede before he jumped in. Her cheeks pinked.
"Notta chance!" she cried as she dove in.
"Well. I guess Ganymede made the decision for us!" Europa mumbled.
Callisto laughed. "Just like her, huh? Let's go."