**********
Sailor Moon: World Rebirth -Part 1, The Gathering
Episode 6 'City Escape'
Rei knew the forests well so she, Minako, Ami, and Haiku didn't have much
trouble finding their way to the Command City of the region. "So what do you
plan on doing once you reach the city?" Rei asked Haiku.
Haiku pushed a branch away from the side of the trail and brushed her long
pink hair back, out of her face. "We're going to have to find out which
regions ships go to from here and then pick one."
Rei grinned. "Not until we visit Tomoe Labs."
"Tomoe? ....as in Hotaru's father?"
"Until I regained my memory the name meant nothing to me. Seems he oversees
and has a say in just about anything to do with the production of anything
and the creation of new technology. What exactly he does I'm not sure."
"And he's been doing this for how long?"
"Just about ever since the end of the darkness."
"And if Hotaru is with him I can only imagine how her powers have evolved."
"But," Ami reminded her. "Sailor Saturn died on that day. Yes, she said she
would be reborn, but she also said that Sailor Saturn wouldn't return until
she was needed. We have no idea whether she is there or how old she is. She
might not have even returned to her father."
"We can only hope."
It would have taken about two days to reach the city, following the main
paths. They had more of a chance of being attacked on the path so they
travelled through the thick brush. It took them double the time. They
encountered the blood hounds a couple of times but it was just hit and run,
as they didn't want another run-in with the Nega-Essence. They could find a
way to defeat it another time.
Rei led them right up to the main entrance. "So how are we going to get
passed the guards?" Minako asked.
Rei was puzzled. "What do you mean? There aren't any guards. Should there
be?"
"Yeah. In Kaipo there was. And we almost got caught!"
"Well here there isn't."
"You mean we can walk right into the place?" asked Minako.
"Minako," Haiku explained, "Kaipo Command City is the most technologically
advanced city. Also it was right after Ami's little light show that we
entered the city. That's probably why there were guards."
They entered the city without any trouble. On each side of the street there
were various stores. Ami stopped to look at an announcement board. "Oh no!"
she cried. "We're in trouble now. We have to get out of here. Look." Ami
pointed to a certain posting. It was a wanted sign for killer assassins,
only it showed a picture of Haiku, Ami, and Minako.
"Oh my, it's them!" a woman cried. "Help, HELP!" People were starting to
stop and look at them.
"We have to hide." Haiku exclaimed. She pushed everyone else ahead. "Hurry,
run." They started down the street. Most of the people they passed didn't
see why they were running. Then the enforcer droids began to gain on them
from behind. Rei led them through an alley and onto another street. Then,
before the droids came through the alley after them she went through another
alley back on to another street. Here she slowed to a walk.
"Try not to draw any attention." Rei warned. She led them down the street
farther to a clothing store and went in. "You guys need a new outfit."
They spent the next couple of hours trying on clothes. Rei said that she was
happy with the clothes she was wearing. Ami bought some navy blue overalls
and a light blue coat that went down passed her thighs. Minako bought a red
skirt, a yellow t-shirt and an orange sweater. Haiku bought some purple
pants, a red long sleeved shirt, and a pink jacket that went to her waist.
Rei got a green and red pack as she didn't have one. They also bought
waterproof suits for when they were going to be aboard a ship. Haiku paid
for all of this with a card Resistance had given to her. Now, all people
living in the cities used cards to deal their money instead of paper and
coins. The cards they used were called tabasts. The card that Haiku had
owned belonged to an almost endless amount of money, plus it alerted
Resistance to where she was.
"All right!" exclaimed Minako. "Now we look like everybody else." Amy bought
a pair of glasses and Haiku got some sunglasses, just to make it so there
was an even less chance of being recognized.
"Do you know where Tomoe labs are Rei?"
"Yes. Follow me." Tomoe Lab's wasn't far from where they were. After they
had gone through the sliding glass doors they found themselves in a small
office. Haiku walked up to the secretary who didn't even look up.
"Excuse me miss, could we see Professor Tomoe please."
The secretary looked up at them over her glasses and gave them a look that
asked if they were stupid or something. "The Professor is a very busy man.
Do you have an appointment?" Haiku was about to say something when Rei
pushed in front of her.
"Of course we do! Dr. Tomoe has been waiting for us for weeks." The
secretary opened a book and started flipping through the pages, but Rei just
knocked it aside. "I don't like to wait!" she exclaimed. "If you don't hurry
up and get us in a meeting with Professor Tomoe we'll have to leave. We have
a very busy schedule and the next time we can come is so far away you'll
probably get fired for letting us go!"
"Well, I, uh," the woman was clearly very confused.
Rei turned around and started walking towards the exit. "Come on guys, she
obviously doesn't like her job."
Very quickly the woman leaped her desk and grabbed Rei's arm. "Please come
this way."
"Well that's better." The secretary led them into a hallway, and them into a
meeting room.
"The professor must have forgotten. I'll go get him now." The woman hurried
out of the room. Rei sat down at the head of the table and put her feet on
the table. She kissed her fingers.
"Still got it."
Minako sat down beside her. "You go girl."
"Just had to pretend she was Usagi." Ami and Haiku sat down. A few minutes
later Prof. Tomoe came in and sat down at the table.
"This had better be good. I'm in the middle of a very important experiment."
He didn't recognize them.
"How is Hotaru?" Haiku asked. "Was she reborn?"
"You ...you're some of the sailor senshi?"
"That's right. We were just passing through and we were wondering how Hotaru
is, if she was here."
"Yes well, she is quite the kid. After the darkness ended I just found her
with me. She was about a year old. But even now her aging is screwed up and
now she's a little over three years old. Not much help to you now. Is there
anything else I can do for you? I'm very busy."
Ami spoke up. "Why are you working in so close relation with the Creator?"
He smiled. "Easy, the closer I get to the creator the more trust I earn and
the more secrets on their technology I learn. When my luck runs out I'll
just go join Resistance. Now, what do you plan on doing now?"
"Can you direct us to were we can get on a ship?"
"Well, headquarters is just down the street. Tickets should be available
there."
"Well, thanks for your time." They left the room and walked out of the
building. There were a few droids coming down the street. They quickly faded
into the rest of the crowd and separately made their way to their
destination. It was a very expensive building with most of the walls made of
glass. Haiku arrived last and led them into the building. It was gigantic.
All trades were managed there. There were people everywhere. They followed
the signs to a booth that said 'passenger transport'.
The clerk was an elderly man who looked overworked. "What do you want?"
Haiku was in line while the others were all waiting in some chairs against a
wall. "What are the soonest departures?"
The clerk gave her a tired look. "Can't you read the infoscreens? I don't
have time for this."
"Oh, ah, I'm sorry I'm not from around here."
"Our only passenger ship that hasn't left is going to Kaipo in an hour. And
unless you leave right now by train you won't be able to reach it before it
leaves. How many people will that be for the boat and the train?"
"No. Not Kaipo. Isn't there any going to Akfzo?"
"The ship for Akfzo left a couple of days ago. If you're not going to Kaipo
please move on."
"What about freighter ships. Are there any ships going there?"
"Sorry. Only passenger ships can take passengers."
"I'll deal with that. Are there any?"
The man gave a grunt. "Hope you can pay the price." He checked a table
console in front of him. "The last freighter going to Akfzo in the next two
weeks will be leaving Sheary harbour in half an hour. Unless you're very
important I can't see them waiting for you."
Haiku pulled out her tabast and slid it through a track on the wall. The
clerk gasped at the amount of money Haiku typed in. "I think I can see them
waiting. How about you?"
"Well, there's some really important luggage that needs to go there so I
think I can hold them for an hour on top of that. How many will that be?"
"Four please."
"Only four! I mean of course; here you are." He handed her four tickets.
"I'm not sure you'll be able to make it to the next train in time though."
Haiku was about to slide her card along the track again when she was pulled
away from the line. She almost dropped the tickets. It was Professor Tomoe.
"You have to hurry," he said to her and the other three girls. "The droids
are coming for you. Follow me. He led them through an 'employees only' door
past a couple of confused security guards. He led them down a hallway and
through another door which led out on to the street.
"But we have to go to Sheary Harbour," Haiku told him.
"And you will. But first we have to get away from those droids." Prof. Tomoe
led them back and forth through alleys and the street back to Tomoe labs and
through a side door. He led them deep into the building until they reached
an elevator. They went down five levels to a tunnel. In front of them was a
cart. "This is what we use to transport equipment to and from the harbours."
He made them all get into the cart. Then he went over and pressed a few
buttons and switches on a computer terminal. "I have it set to send you to
Sheary."
"But what about you? Won't you get in trouble?"
"I'll cover your escape. I'm too important to the city for anything to
happen to me. Now go!" He hit a switch and the cart sped off down the
tunnel. The girls grabbed on to whatever they could get a hold of. The cart
turned so many times that there was no way they could have found their way
back. Then they entered a straight path. They would continue that way until
the end. After about a minute a giant robot appeared where the straightaway
part had started and was gaining on them fast.
Rei noticed it first. "Hey there's something following us!"
Haiku took a quick look. "It's a gerdroid. Can you transform?"
"No. We're moving too fast."
"Then, ...Ami, come help me weave a spell. Haiku gathered strands of magic
around herself as did Ami. Haiku used Ami's help to weave together a
powerful blast. "We need to send it into the roof of the tunnel," Haiku
explained. Ami nodded. The gerdroid was almost upon them. Together they
released the magic straight up into the tunnel and at that point the tunnel
colasped right on top of the gerdroid. The explosion shook the ground.
"There we go. No one can follow us now."
In about half an hour they reached the end of the tunnel. The cart stopped
right in front of the dock. It was pretty big, but there was only one ship
there. They jumped out of the cart and walked over to the ship.
One of the sailors was on the dock. He placed a hand to his brow to keep the
sun from his eyes. "Have you pretty ladies come to bid us a good journey?"
"Yes, and to join you."
"Ha! Yah right."
"Here's our tickets." Haiku held it out for him to see as she passed him and
led the others across a plank to the deck of the ship. She threw the tickets
overboard. They passed quite a few wide-mouthed sailors who were surprised
to see them on the ship. She knocked on the door of the captain's cabin.
A gruff voice sounded from the inside of the cabin. "Yes who is it. Please
come in." He was facing away from them looking out a window, across the
ocean. As he turned around he said, "Yes, what can I do for you- huh? Who
are you?"
"Hello captain. We need passage to Akfzo, so we would like to request to
join your crew. Ami can cook, Rei can help with the sails, and Minako and I
will help keep the ship relatively clean and tend to other matters that need
to be done."
The captain leaned forward in his chair. "And if I say no?"
"Then you'll have to use force to get us out of here," she smiled at him.
"And by the time you've removed us from your ship your crew will be so small
that you'll have to ask us to be on your crew to get your ship out of here.
I assure you, at the end of our journey you will be paid very, very well. I
know some very rich people."
"Well... I can see that you're very determined. I never could say no to a
lady. If you're prepared for a three week trip then welcome aboard!" He held
his hand out to her and she took it. "I take it you're the ones responsible
for keeping us here this late." The captain stepped out on to the deck with
them. "ALL ABOARD! HOIST THE ANCHOR! GET US OUT OF HERE!" he yelled. He
pointed to a door for the women. "You can sleep in the my first mate's
quarters since we won't be picking him up until Akfzo, and there's no one
else among my crew qualified for the job. It's the first door on the right."
"Thank you," Haiku replied. They went to the room and Minako, Haiku, and Rei
put on their waterproof clothes. Ami headed towards the kitchens.
"What am I supposed to do?" Rei asked.
"Just climb up to the top of the sails and help the men there in any way you
can." Rei was up the sail ropes and relaxing before any of the crew got up
there. Haiku and Minako set off to find some jobs that needed to be done.
Once the crew accepted the women into their ranks things got along well. The
first week ran quite smoothly. During the eighth night Rei woke up to the
sound of yelling and the smell of smoke. She jumped out of bed and woke up
the others. They quickly threw on some clothes and hurried out on to the
deck. It was bright enough to see what was happening because of a full moon.
Various parts of the ship were on fire and there were sailors running all
about trying to put the fire out. The captain was calling out orders. The
girls ran up to the captain. "What's going on?" Haiku asked him.
"Pirates," he said, "with flaming arrows." If they keep it up we won't be
able to handle the fire anymore. It just keeps on coming and spreading."
"Don't worry," she yelled out to him over all of the noise. "We'll handle
it." She turned around and nodded to Ami and Rei who already had their power
sticks out.
"What-"
"Mercury Eternal, Unite!"
"Mars Eternal, Unite!" Even though the transformation only lasted a few
seconds anyone who saw it stopped and stared. In Rei's transformation after
she was surrounded by rings of fire a wave of fire moved down her body and
the changes to her uniform appeared.
Sailor Mercury prepared a water attack. "Mercury, Aqua Rhapsody." She shot
all kinds of streams of water all over the ship and put the fire out.
Meanwhile Sailor Mars turned her focus to the pirate ship that was still
firing flaming arrows at them. "Ha! If you call that fire .... Mars, Flaming
Inferno, BLAZE!" Fire leapt from Sailor Mars' hands to the enemy ship,
setting a large portion of the ship on fire. Haiku grabbed Sailor Mars and
Minako around their waists and used strands of magic to slingshot themselves
to the pirate ship. They were immediately attacked. Minako stayed in between
Haiku and Sailor Mars and fired arrows. Haiku used her sword and Sailor Mars
just had to say 'blaze' to launch fire from a finger. Very quickly only the
captain remained. He was facing them from the end of the bow.
"You may have beaten my crew, but the victory will be mine!" He threw his
hands into the air "Death Serpent ARISE!" Behind the captain, in front of
the ship a giant serpent arose. It towered over the ship. The captain
laughed and faded away. Haiku slingshoted themselves back to their own ship
just before the serpent crashed into the pirate ship. Both sank into the
water. Haiku grabbed Sailor Mercury and rushed her and the others into their
room. Sailor Mercury and Mars powered down.
"Hurry, pack all of your things." Haiku said. "We're in extreme danger."
They all stared at her and then started packing.
"Why are we doing this? Everything sunk down to the bottom of the ocean."
"The serpent will return to take care of this ship after it has devoured the
souls of all of the pirates. It is a spirit demon so none of our attacks
will have any effect on it." With this new motivation they were all packed
in a few minutes. "Tie everything tight," Haiku instructed, "It's going to
get wet."
Back on deck sailors were cleaning up the mess on deck, checking for serious
damage and trying to repair their sails. The captain was surprised to see
the senshi with their packs on. Haiku spoke urgently. "We have to abandon
ship sir. The sea serpent that attacked the other ship is going to come
after us."
"Nonsense. The pirates are gone now and we are safe go back to bed and you
can explain whatever you did tomorrow. I don't think my heart can take it
right now."
"But-" Suddenly the Death Serpent emerged from the center of the deck. Black
mist started swirling around the sailors as they began screaming.
"What's happening?" Ami screamed. "And why isn't it affecting us?"
Haiku pulled them towards the edge of the ship. "It's taking their souls.
Senshi are protected." They climbed into a lifeboat but the boat hit a piece
of the ship sticking out and it broke in half. The senshi swam to one half
and drifted away from the sinking ship. Ami and Rei were exhausted from
using their powers so much. Haiku and Minako held on to them as they drifted
off to sleep. Haiku tied themselves to the piece of wood so they wouldn't
fall away and she and Minako fell asleep also. Drifting off into the
nothingness of the vast ocean ......
**********
Sailor Moon: World Rebirth -Part 1, The Gathering
Episode 6 'City Escape'
Rei knew the forests well so she, Minako, Ami, and Haiku didn't have much
trouble finding their way to the Command City of the region. "So what do you
plan on doing once you reach the city?" Rei asked Haiku.
Haiku pushed a branch away from the side of the trail and brushed her long
pink hair back, out of her face. "We're going to have to find out which
regions ships go to from here and then pick one."
Rei grinned. "Not until we visit Tomoe Labs."
"Tomoe? ....as in Hotaru's father?"
"Until I regained my memory the name meant nothing to me. Seems he oversees
and has a say in just about anything to do with the production of anything
and the creation of new technology. What exactly he does I'm not sure."
"And he's been doing this for how long?"
"Just about ever since the end of the darkness."
"And if Hotaru is with him I can only imagine how her powers have evolved."
"But," Ami reminded her. "Sailor Saturn died on that day. Yes, she said she
would be reborn, but she also said that Sailor Saturn wouldn't return until
she was needed. We have no idea whether she is there or how old she is. She
might not have even returned to her father."
"We can only hope."
It would have taken about two days to reach the city, following the main
paths. They had more of a chance of being attacked on the path so they
travelled through the thick brush. It took them double the time. They
encountered the blood hounds a couple of times but it was just hit and run,
as they didn't want another run-in with the Nega-Essence. They could find a
way to defeat it another time.
Rei led them right up to the main entrance. "So how are we going to get
passed the guards?" Minako asked.
Rei was puzzled. "What do you mean? There aren't any guards. Should there
be?"
"Yeah. In Kaipo there was. And we almost got caught!"
"Well here there isn't."
"You mean we can walk right into the place?" asked Minako.
"Minako," Haiku explained, "Kaipo Command City is the most technologically
advanced city. Also it was right after Ami's little light show that we
entered the city. That's probably why there were guards."
They entered the city without any trouble. On each side of the street there
were various stores. Ami stopped to look at an announcement board. "Oh no!"
she cried. "We're in trouble now. We have to get out of here. Look." Ami
pointed to a certain posting. It was a wanted sign for killer assassins,
only it showed a picture of Haiku, Ami, and Minako.
"Oh my, it's them!" a woman cried. "Help, HELP!" People were starting to
stop and look at them.
"We have to hide." Haiku exclaimed. She pushed everyone else ahead. "Hurry,
run." They started down the street. Most of the people they passed didn't
see why they were running. Then the enforcer droids began to gain on them
from behind. Rei led them through an alley and onto another street. Then,
before the droids came through the alley after them she went through another
alley back on to another street. Here she slowed to a walk.
"Try not to draw any attention." Rei warned. She led them down the street
farther to a clothing store and went in. "You guys need a new outfit."
They spent the next couple of hours trying on clothes. Rei said that she was
happy with the clothes she was wearing. Ami bought some navy blue overalls
and a light blue coat that went down passed her thighs. Minako bought a red
skirt, a yellow t-shirt and an orange sweater. Haiku bought some purple
pants, a red long sleeved shirt, and a pink jacket that went to her waist.
Rei got a green and red pack as she didn't have one. They also bought
waterproof suits for when they were going to be aboard a ship. Haiku paid
for all of this with a card Resistance had given to her. Now, all people
living in the cities used cards to deal their money instead of paper and
coins. The cards they used were called tabasts. The card that Haiku had
owned belonged to an almost endless amount of money, plus it alerted
Resistance to where she was.
"All right!" exclaimed Minako. "Now we look like everybody else." Amy bought
a pair of glasses and Haiku got some sunglasses, just to make it so there
was an even less chance of being recognized.
"Do you know where Tomoe labs are Rei?"
"Yes. Follow me." Tomoe Lab's wasn't far from where they were. After they
had gone through the sliding glass doors they found themselves in a small
office. Haiku walked up to the secretary who didn't even look up.
"Excuse me miss, could we see Professor Tomoe please."
The secretary looked up at them over her glasses and gave them a look that
asked if they were stupid or something. "The Professor is a very busy man.
Do you have an appointment?" Haiku was about to say something when Rei
pushed in front of her.
"Of course we do! Dr. Tomoe has been waiting for us for weeks." The
secretary opened a book and started flipping through the pages, but Rei just
knocked it aside. "I don't like to wait!" she exclaimed. "If you don't hurry
up and get us in a meeting with Professor Tomoe we'll have to leave. We have
a very busy schedule and the next time we can come is so far away you'll
probably get fired for letting us go!"
"Well, I, uh," the woman was clearly very confused.
Rei turned around and started walking towards the exit. "Come on guys, she
obviously doesn't like her job."
Very quickly the woman leaped her desk and grabbed Rei's arm. "Please come
this way."
"Well that's better." The secretary led them into a hallway, and them into a
meeting room.
"The professor must have forgotten. I'll go get him now." The woman hurried
out of the room. Rei sat down at the head of the table and put her feet on
the table. She kissed her fingers.
"Still got it."
Minako sat down beside her. "You go girl."
"Just had to pretend she was Usagi." Ami and Haiku sat down. A few minutes
later Prof. Tomoe came in and sat down at the table.
"This had better be good. I'm in the middle of a very important experiment."
He didn't recognize them.
"How is Hotaru?" Haiku asked. "Was she reborn?"
"You ...you're some of the sailor senshi?"
"That's right. We were just passing through and we were wondering how Hotaru
is, if she was here."
"Yes well, she is quite the kid. After the darkness ended I just found her
with me. She was about a year old. But even now her aging is screwed up and
now she's a little over three years old. Not much help to you now. Is there
anything else I can do for you? I'm very busy."
Ami spoke up. "Why are you working in so close relation with the Creator?"
He smiled. "Easy, the closer I get to the creator the more trust I earn and
the more secrets on their technology I learn. When my luck runs out I'll
just go join Resistance. Now, what do you plan on doing now?"
"Can you direct us to were we can get on a ship?"
"Well, headquarters is just down the street. Tickets should be available
there."
"Well, thanks for your time." They left the room and walked out of the
building. There were a few droids coming down the street. They quickly faded
into the rest of the crowd and separately made their way to their
destination. It was a very expensive building with most of the walls made of
glass. Haiku arrived last and led them into the building. It was gigantic.
All trades were managed there. There were people everywhere. They followed
the signs to a booth that said 'passenger transport'.
The clerk was an elderly man who looked overworked. "What do you want?"
Haiku was in line while the others were all waiting in some chairs against a
wall. "What are the soonest departures?"
The clerk gave her a tired look. "Can't you read the infoscreens? I don't
have time for this."
"Oh, ah, I'm sorry I'm not from around here."
"Our only passenger ship that hasn't left is going to Kaipo in an hour. And
unless you leave right now by train you won't be able to reach it before it
leaves. How many people will that be for the boat and the train?"
"No. Not Kaipo. Isn't there any going to Akfzo?"
"The ship for Akfzo left a couple of days ago. If you're not going to Kaipo
please move on."
"What about freighter ships. Are there any ships going there?"
"Sorry. Only passenger ships can take passengers."
"I'll deal with that. Are there any?"
The man gave a grunt. "Hope you can pay the price." He checked a table
console in front of him. "The last freighter going to Akfzo in the next two
weeks will be leaving Sheary harbour in half an hour. Unless you're very
important I can't see them waiting for you."
Haiku pulled out her tabast and slid it through a track on the wall. The
clerk gasped at the amount of money Haiku typed in. "I think I can see them
waiting. How about you?"
"Well, there's some really important luggage that needs to go there so I
think I can hold them for an hour on top of that. How many will that be?"
"Four please."
"Only four! I mean of course; here you are." He handed her four tickets.
"I'm not sure you'll be able to make it to the next train in time though."
Haiku was about to slide her card along the track again when she was pulled
away from the line. She almost dropped the tickets. It was Professor Tomoe.
"You have to hurry," he said to her and the other three girls. "The droids
are coming for you. Follow me. He led them through an 'employees only' door
past a couple of confused security guards. He led them down a hallway and
through another door which led out on to the street.
"But we have to go to Sheary Harbour," Haiku told him.
"And you will. But first we have to get away from those droids." Prof. Tomoe
led them back and forth through alleys and the street back to Tomoe labs and
through a side door. He led them deep into the building until they reached
an elevator. They went down five levels to a tunnel. In front of them was a
cart. "This is what we use to transport equipment to and from the harbours."
He made them all get into the cart. Then he went over and pressed a few
buttons and switches on a computer terminal. "I have it set to send you to
Sheary."
"But what about you? Won't you get in trouble?"
"I'll cover your escape. I'm too important to the city for anything to
happen to me. Now go!" He hit a switch and the cart sped off down the
tunnel. The girls grabbed on to whatever they could get a hold of. The cart
turned so many times that there was no way they could have found their way
back. Then they entered a straight path. They would continue that way until
the end. After about a minute a giant robot appeared where the straightaway
part had started and was gaining on them fast.
Rei noticed it first. "Hey there's something following us!"
Haiku took a quick look. "It's a gerdroid. Can you transform?"
"No. We're moving too fast."
"Then, ...Ami, come help me weave a spell. Haiku gathered strands of magic
around herself as did Ami. Haiku used Ami's help to weave together a
powerful blast. "We need to send it into the roof of the tunnel," Haiku
explained. Ami nodded. The gerdroid was almost upon them. Together they
released the magic straight up into the tunnel and at that point the tunnel
colasped right on top of the gerdroid. The explosion shook the ground.
"There we go. No one can follow us now."
In about half an hour they reached the end of the tunnel. The cart stopped
right in front of the dock. It was pretty big, but there was only one ship
there. They jumped out of the cart and walked over to the ship.
One of the sailors was on the dock. He placed a hand to his brow to keep the
sun from his eyes. "Have you pretty ladies come to bid us a good journey?"
"Yes, and to join you."
"Ha! Yah right."
"Here's our tickets." Haiku held it out for him to see as she passed him and
led the others across a plank to the deck of the ship. She threw the tickets
overboard. They passed quite a few wide-mouthed sailors who were surprised
to see them on the ship. She knocked on the door of the captain's cabin.
A gruff voice sounded from the inside of the cabin. "Yes who is it. Please
come in." He was facing away from them looking out a window, across the
ocean. As he turned around he said, "Yes, what can I do for you- huh? Who
are you?"
"Hello captain. We need passage to Akfzo, so we would like to request to
join your crew. Ami can cook, Rei can help with the sails, and Minako and I
will help keep the ship relatively clean and tend to other matters that need
to be done."
The captain leaned forward in his chair. "And if I say no?"
"Then you'll have to use force to get us out of here," she smiled at him.
"And by the time you've removed us from your ship your crew will be so small
that you'll have to ask us to be on your crew to get your ship out of here.
I assure you, at the end of our journey you will be paid very, very well. I
know some very rich people."
"Well... I can see that you're very determined. I never could say no to a
lady. If you're prepared for a three week trip then welcome aboard!" He held
his hand out to her and she took it. "I take it you're the ones responsible
for keeping us here this late." The captain stepped out on to the deck with
them. "ALL ABOARD! HOIST THE ANCHOR! GET US OUT OF HERE!" he yelled. He
pointed to a door for the women. "You can sleep in the my first mate's
quarters since we won't be picking him up until Akfzo, and there's no one
else among my crew qualified for the job. It's the first door on the right."
"Thank you," Haiku replied. They went to the room and Minako, Haiku, and Rei
put on their waterproof clothes. Ami headed towards the kitchens.
"What am I supposed to do?" Rei asked.
"Just climb up to the top of the sails and help the men there in any way you
can." Rei was up the sail ropes and relaxing before any of the crew got up
there. Haiku and Minako set off to find some jobs that needed to be done.
Once the crew accepted the women into their ranks things got along well. The
first week ran quite smoothly. During the eighth night Rei woke up to the
sound of yelling and the smell of smoke. She jumped out of bed and woke up
the others. They quickly threw on some clothes and hurried out on to the
deck. It was bright enough to see what was happening because of a full moon.
Various parts of the ship were on fire and there were sailors running all
about trying to put the fire out. The captain was calling out orders. The
girls ran up to the captain. "What's going on?" Haiku asked him.
"Pirates," he said, "with flaming arrows." If they keep it up we won't be
able to handle the fire anymore. It just keeps on coming and spreading."
"Don't worry," she yelled out to him over all of the noise. "We'll handle
it." She turned around and nodded to Ami and Rei who already had their power
sticks out.
"What-"
"Mercury Eternal, Unite!"
"Mars Eternal, Unite!" Even though the transformation only lasted a few
seconds anyone who saw it stopped and stared. In Rei's transformation after
she was surrounded by rings of fire a wave of fire moved down her body and
the changes to her uniform appeared.
Sailor Mercury prepared a water attack. "Mercury, Aqua Rhapsody." She shot
all kinds of streams of water all over the ship and put the fire out.
Meanwhile Sailor Mars turned her focus to the pirate ship that was still
firing flaming arrows at them. "Ha! If you call that fire .... Mars, Flaming
Inferno, BLAZE!" Fire leapt from Sailor Mars' hands to the enemy ship,
setting a large portion of the ship on fire. Haiku grabbed Sailor Mars and
Minako around their waists and used strands of magic to slingshot themselves
to the pirate ship. They were immediately attacked. Minako stayed in between
Haiku and Sailor Mars and fired arrows. Haiku used her sword and Sailor Mars
just had to say 'blaze' to launch fire from a finger. Very quickly only the
captain remained. He was facing them from the end of the bow.
"You may have beaten my crew, but the victory will be mine!" He threw his
hands into the air "Death Serpent ARISE!" Behind the captain, in front of
the ship a giant serpent arose. It towered over the ship. The captain
laughed and faded away. Haiku slingshoted themselves back to their own ship
just before the serpent crashed into the pirate ship. Both sank into the
water. Haiku grabbed Sailor Mercury and rushed her and the others into their
room. Sailor Mercury and Mars powered down.
"Hurry, pack all of your things." Haiku said. "We're in extreme danger."
They all stared at her and then started packing.
"Why are we doing this? Everything sunk down to the bottom of the ocean."
"The serpent will return to take care of this ship after it has devoured the
souls of all of the pirates. It is a spirit demon so none of our attacks
will have any effect on it." With this new motivation they were all packed
in a few minutes. "Tie everything tight," Haiku instructed, "It's going to
get wet."
Back on deck sailors were cleaning up the mess on deck, checking for serious
damage and trying to repair their sails. The captain was surprised to see
the senshi with their packs on. Haiku spoke urgently. "We have to abandon
ship sir. The sea serpent that attacked the other ship is going to come
after us."
"Nonsense. The pirates are gone now and we are safe go back to bed and you
can explain whatever you did tomorrow. I don't think my heart can take it
right now."
"But-" Suddenly the Death Serpent emerged from the center of the deck. Black
mist started swirling around the sailors as they began screaming.
"What's happening?" Ami screamed. "And why isn't it affecting us?"
Haiku pulled them towards the edge of the ship. "It's taking their souls.
Senshi are protected." They climbed into a lifeboat but the boat hit a piece
of the ship sticking out and it broke in half. The senshi swam to one half
and drifted away from the sinking ship. Ami and Rei were exhausted from
using their powers so much. Haiku and Minako held on to them as they drifted
off to sleep. Haiku tied themselves to the piece of wood so they wouldn't
fall away and she and Minako fell asleep also. Drifting off into the
nothingness of the vast ocean ......
**********