Sailor Moon; Avalon Part 4 - Beautiful Day by Justin Anderson Monday, March 1st. 10:22 AM "It took them long enough to get the new glass in," Jacob stated. "Yes, but they had to order it and then cut it. Still, we lost business," Motoki replied. Aside from a few people, the place was empty, usual for a Monday morning. Motoki spotted the box, wrapped in pink, under the counter. "I see she's making you lunches now." "Yes," Jacob replied. Motoki said, "Reika sent me a letter. The time can't pass fast enough." "That's the thing about time," Jacob replied. "Sometimes it doesn't pass fast enough, other times it goes too fast. And there just aren't enough hours in the day." 5:14 PM "Usagi's late..." Rei muttered. "I'd think you'd have grown used to it by now," Luna remarked. "No, Luna," Rei said, "I was hoping Usagi would have learned by now... and where is Jacob-san?" "I'm right here," he said, entering the small temple room. "Maybe we should start the meeting," Makoto suggested. "Yes. we can fill Usagi-chan in later," Ami replied. "So, what do we know about this new enemy?" Mina asked. "Well, they seem to know who we are, this isn't a random targeting. And they want to draw us out," Rei said. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm late, I saw the new Sailor V game at the arcade..." The others were staring at Usagi. "Anyway," Jacob said, "they seem to be teleporting in. We've seen no method otherwise. What about those tendrils they use?" "I think they extract energy from their victims," Ami said. "There was that one that changed its shape," Mamoru explained. "How so?" Jacob asked. He replied, "I don't know. It drained the energy from a young woman, and changed into a snake creature." "Female snake?" Jacob asked. "Yes." "It'd be nice if we could find where they were hiding," Minako said. Ami replied, "I've been able to gather very little data about them so far... but I don't believe they're from this planet." "What about past enemies?" Jacob asked. "Anyone still alive with a grudge?" "No," Usagi replied. "And these creatures all look alike, too... maybe they're clones?" "Possible," Jacob replied. "Ami-san, how long would it take to scan one of the creatures?" he asked. "Not very long, but I'd need to do it uninterrupted," she replied. "Okay. When the next one attacks, we'll have to keep it busy. Wait... Luna, could you read their minds?" he asked. "No," she said. "My psychic abilities are limited. I've been working on them, but I can only enter a person's mind if they let me." 5:32 PM "Stop giving me excuses, and give me solid answers!" Asmodeus shouted. "Well, sir, I do have a theory." "Yes?" "Well," he said, "assuming this new individual did pass through that dimensional gateway, it's possible they are from an alternate reality where Earth evolved differently." Asmodeus asked, "So, why would he be here?" "I don't know. An explorer, perhaps? However, until I can study a better scan, I can't even be sure the genetic readings are correct." "Bah! This is taking far too long already. We NEED that stupid crystal. The life energies we've drained from this society will barely supplement our food supplies, nor will they power our machines. We need the Ginzuishou for the power it holds. Our world will stop functioning without it," Asmodeus explained. "Sir? Is it ethical to attack another society in this manner?" "Of course," Asmodeus replied. "This is a primitive world. Limited technology, they haven't even achieved interstellar travel, let alone flown one of their manned craft past their own neighboring worlds. Societies such as this serve no purpose but to aid our own. They may either join us, or perish. I doubt these humans have the good sense to join us, they're too proud. And I want nothing to do with an organic world such as this. Too many green life forms, when machines are more efficient! A world such as this does not belong in our domain! "Prepare three battle units for departure within one moon cycle of this planet. Make sure they have a full energy charge." 6:04 PM Jacob took the cup from Mamoru. "Let me see your text book," Jacob said. "What course are you in?" "Advanced Sciences, Genome research," Mamoru replied. "You graduated Harvard, right?" Mamoru answered, "yes." "Okay, so you know a little on the subject, probably nowhere near what I do. You know the basic process, I assume?" Jacob asked. Mamoru nodded. "Good. I'll make this short, Mako-chan's cooking dinner for us. But, you should find this useful. I've undergone gene therapy, so... basically, the idea is to replace an inferior gene with a superior gene. However, it does not always work." "How come?" Mamoru asked. "It varies," Jacob replied. "Partial genetic incompatibility, too little genetic material, or a gene mutation. And even if it works in the initial phases, it may not hold. Mine seems to have regressed. Plus, it could take years to notice any changes." "What happens if it doesn't work?" Mamoru asked. "Usually, nothing. The body simply rejects the altered cells. In a worst case scenario, death. It depends on the new genes and how they react to the body. Unfortunately, even with advanced techniques and experience in the field, there's little chance it will work. Which means," Jacob said, "that there is little reason to undergo the process when all the factors are weighed in." "But why did you undergo the process?" he asked. "Desperation," Jacob answered. "And what little good the process did probably saved a few lives when the time came." "I see. You took a chance, the good aspects weighing out the bad." "Yes, but..." "It felt like an empty victory?" Mamoru asked. "If I were in your place, I'd have probably left, too." "I think we all did," Jacob said. "Only some of them won't quit until they're dead, and as long as they'll fight to the death, how can they lose as long as they're alive?" 7:32 PM They stood on the balcony, watching the sun go down over the city. "I'd like to find out what these things are..." Jacob said. "We will. It's too bad though, they had to show up just as I'd found someone," Makoto replied. "Yes, but-" "What is it?" she asked. "It's just that... I don't think I could have told you the truth otherwise." "I know," she said. "You, umm... you have a bit of cherry pie on your face," he said. "I do?" "Yes, let me just..." She could see through his excuse. "You should wipe it off then," she said. "Be gentle, take your time." They embraced under the setting sun. Tuesday, March 2nd. 5:14 PM Minako quickly looked through the clothing racks. "So many nice clothes, so little time to buy them..." Taking one off the rack, she held it up to her, inspecting it in the mirror. However, before she could decide on whether or not to purchase it, she heard the noise. Somewhere outside, she guessed. Running to the window, she could see three of the monsters. Opening her watch, she waited until someone answered. "Minako-chan, what's wrong?" Ami asked. "Three of those monsters! Hurry!" The watch closed. Running outside, she ducked in an alley. "Venus Crystal Power, Make-Up!" Quickly, she confronted them. "A beautiful day such as this should not be ruined by creatures as disgusting as you! I am the Pretty Suited Sailor Soldier, Sailor Venus! In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!" she shouted. It got their attention. "In the time spent giving this speech, this target could have blindly attacked us," the first said. "Indeed, this species is wasteful," the second replied. "Wasteful?" she shouted. "Venus Crescent Beam!" The blast sent the third backwards. before the others could react, the shout of "Mars Flame Sniper!" sent a flaming arrow, which knocked the second creature backwards. The first inspected its two allies. "We have to keep them busy. Mercury, we should take out two of them before you try to scan one, it may be too dangerous otherwise," Venus ordered. Sailor Moon joined the group, Jupiter following. "Where's Jacob-san?" Mars asked. "He's coming. He's still learning how to use his new abilities," Jupiter explained. They could see something in the air. It landed behind the first. "I see he's learning quickly," Mars said. Avalon jumped over the creature's head, joining the Senshi. "This will take some getting used to," he said. "I'll take the one in the middle." "Right. Mercury, you hide and scan the creatures, we'll keep the others busy," Sailor Moon ordered. Mercury ducked in an alley while the others fought the creatures. Mars and Venus attacked one, Moon and Jupiter the other. Avalon, instead of attacking, merely provoked the creature, carefully dodging the monster's attempts to fight him. A tendril flew out, missing him as he did a back flip. "This unit has advanced combat skills, must compensate." Jupiter kicked the third, sending it flying into the second. "Sailor Moon! Now!" she shouted. Sailor Moon wasted no time destroying both of the creatures. "I'm done," Mercury shouted. Avalon ran towards a wall, the creature following close behind. Stepping onto the wall, he kicked as he ran, sending himself backwards over the creature. Quickly rising, he ran the other way. "Keep it occupied!" he shouted. He ran towards Mercury's location. "I don't know if this is right or not, but... it appears as if these creatures are machines," she explained. "Machines? As in, robots? No organic components?" "That's correct," Mercury said. "... wait here," he replied. He stepped out. The creature was attacking the other four. A rose splintered the pavement in front of it. Looking up, the creature saw Tuxedo Mask. "Attacking innocent people for personal gain. I have a feeling you're going to get what's coming to you," he said. The creature turned. Avalon was standing in front of it. "Energetic Pulse!" A blast of blue energy hit the creature. It fell, unconscious. They gathered around it. "What happened to it?" Mars asked. "I hit it with an ionic pulse which drained the power out of it. It's a machine. Let's get it out of here," Avalon said. They lifted it, carrying it away. Once they were free to inspect it, they set it down. "Why didn't this crumble like the others?" he asked. "Perhaps it didn't take enough damage," Venus said. "We didn't even hit it once." Mercury scanned it again. "No... I believe there is a self-destruct mechanism built in, possibly to prevent them from being captured. Only it was drained of energy." "Not for long," Avalon said. They watched as the creature came back to life, and immediately crumbled before them. "At least we know what we're fighting," Jupiter said. "But why?" Mars asked. "Someone is building these things and sending them," Tuxedo Mask said. "We need to find out who." 5:45 PM Asmodeus slammed the arm of his throne. "Why? WHY? Why can our battle units not exterminate mere humans?" "These are not mere humans, Lord Asmodeus," his science officer said. "We can't even scan these Warriors, let alone this new individual moved too fast to scan. Our studies indicate humans are not capable of such acts." "We don't have the resources for this. We came here to retrieve the Ginzuishou, not to fight a battle we can't win!" Asmodeus shouted. "And have you had any luck locating THAT beyond this small patch of land on his worthless planet?" "None, sir," he replied. "It's energy seems to be too great to pinpoint the epicenter. And it is slowly spreading. We must determine the owner." "It's quite possible this Sailor Moon may know... after all, if one held that crystal, it could provide a great amount of biological energy to the user, the same as it could provide enough mechanical energy to keep our planet going for thousands of years, if not longer," Asmodeus said. "I will begin devising a plan to capture this woman. Meanwhile, begin work on a method to convert life energy into mechanical, or, at the very least, a way to run the battle units on life energy, we may very well need it at this rate." 6:12 PM Ami returned the book to the shelf. She was searching for another. "Oh, no, I can't find it..." "What's wrong, Mizuno-san?" She jumped. "Oh, Hiro-san! I was looking for one of the advanced textbooks on disease, but I can't find it," she explained. "I see... I'm afraid I already borrowed it. But if you want, we can study together." "O-okay." "What's wrong?" he asked. "N-nothing." Hiro was in several of her classes. One of the smarter students, and one she had begun to take a mild interest in recently. Copyrights: Sailor, Tuxedo Mask, other Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon characters, and settings are copyright Naoko Takeuchi/Toei/Kodansha, and are used without permission. Jacob Arden is my sole copyright. This site is not for profit and not intended to infringe on existing copyrights.