DISCLAIMER: Neither DBZ or Sailor Moon are owned by me. Any characters in this story are the property of their original creators. (Example... Akira Toriyama owns Trunks, Naoko Takeuchi owns Ami, and I own Rosemary, Angelica, or Chamomile, though I'd be willing to trade. XD)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a sequel to Love In A Ruined World, my Mirai Trunks/Ami romance fic from last year. (The Trunks in this fanfic is Mirai Trunks, and the Bulma in this fic is from Mirai Trunks' future timeline.) If you haven't read Love In A Ruined World, you can still read this, but you might be confused, so if you want to read the first fic in the series, it's in my profile. In the continuity of both series, this fic takes place after Mirai Trunks goes back to the future after the Cell Saga, and after the SuperS season in the Sailor Moon continuum.
Reviewer Thanks-
NickeyWhite2: Glad you enjoyed this chapter... and thanks for reading it! I'm hoping to have a lot more cute Trunks/Ami moments in this story... probably not so much this chapter, but later on.
Zyppora: Yes, sometimes even I'm a bit jealous of Trunks, especially since I like Ami and all. And the room is supposed to automatically return to normal whenever the door is opened... I shoulda made that more clear though, you're right.
GracedAngel1854: With all these long chapters, it's sometimes taking me two whole days to get one done... that's a long time considering I usually try to finish in one sitting! Thanks for reading!
MWD: Actually, I'm NOT planning to make the Senshi that strong... or am I? Nah, probably not... I just want to get them a BIT stronger so they'll be in Nikashi and Pandemonium's league, heh...
---
It was nearly midnight when Ami, her body still a bit weary from her intense training in Trunks' world, walked into the living room of her apartment, as quietly as she could. She knew that her mother usually went to bed at eleven, and didn't want to wake her. However, as soon as she saw her mother, sitting wide awake on the couch, she knew that that wouldn't be a problem.
"Ami, thank goodness you're alright!" said Marika, standing up and walking over to Ami. "Your school called and told me that-"
"I didn't come to school today, I know," Ami said tiredly. "I can explain, mom..."
"This... has something to do with the Senshi, doesn't it?" asked Marika, sitting down on the couch. Ami took a seat next to her and nodded.
"Bulma was kidnapped from Trunks' world, and the people that had taken her wanted all of the Senshi to fight them," said Ami. "So... we had to go. They were keeping Trunks from leaving his home... the people that had Bulma wanted to lure us into a trap."
"Oh my gosh, Ami, is that what happened?" said Marika, slightly startled. She leaned over and stroked her hand across her daughter's cheek, which was slightly paler than its usual color, indicating Ami's worn-out condition. "Is that why... you look so tired and pale?"
Ami shook her head.
"After the battle, all of us went to Trunks' world and stayed for a little while... then I stayed a few hours later to train with Trunks... it was really intense, that's why I'm so tired... mom, I know I should have come home sooner, and I'm sorry not to tell you..."
"It's... it's alright, Ami, I understand," said Marika, her head slightly bowed. She tried to conceal her sadness from Ami, but Ami could read her mother like a book, noticing the lines of worry all over her face. "You... you've stayed with Trunks before, I know how you feel about him, and... you probably do need to train, if these enemies are as strong as Trunks says they are..."
"Mom, no... I still feel bad about leaving you here," Ami said, turning away from Marika. "You could've been kidnapped, just like Bulma was! That's how Bulma was kidnapped the last time... it was while Trunks was staying the night over here, and-"
"That reminds me, Ami... is Bulma okay?" Marika asked. Ami nodded.
"She was struck once across the face, but... except for a slight bruise, she's fine... and she's taking it really well, too. She even cracked a few jokes about the whole thing," Ami said.
"Then you shouldn't be so worried about me," Marika said. "Ami, you and the Senshi were able to rescue Bulma, and I know that if something happened to me, you'd save me too, Ami... it's you I'm worried about, you know that. Every time you go out to fight, I wonder if you'll ever come back..."
Ami leaned over and kissed her mother on the cheek, then slowly stood up from the couch.
"Mom, you should remember... I'm strong too," said Ami, a smile appearing on her face. "I got that from you, mother."
Ami began to walk out of the room, but was stopped one last time by her mother's voice.
"Going to bed?" Marika asked.
"Yes... I told you, Trunks put me through some extremely intense training today... I need to go change and then get to sleep as soon as possible. I know it's not a school night, but... I'm still really tired. Night, mom..."
As Ami left the room, Marika couldn't help but smile, witnessing just one more step along Ami's journey toward becoming a strong, independent young woman. She had been willing to sacrifice her life to protect a dear friend... though the issue of missing school for Senshi missions would have to be dealt with somewhere down the road. Still, the importance of protecting the world and its people came first, and until the day that Ami, Trunks, and their friends could defeat the new evil and restore peace to the world, Marika would just have to write excuses for Ami until that day was realized. She was a doctor, after all.
"I just wonder what kind of training those two are getting involved in..."
---
"Thanks for the breakfast, mom," Trunks said, placing two plates and a glass cup in the kitchen sink. Bulma, who was still sitting at the table, finishing the last of her own meal, began to scold Trunks as he exited the room, seemingly in a big hurry.
"What's the rush?" Bulma asked, annoyed. "Son, you never want to talk to me anymore..."
"Yes I do, mom," Trunks said casually, turning around and glancing down at his mother. "It's just... I'm teaching Ami and the other girls to fly today, and-"
"Oh, I see what it is," said Bulma, her anger becoming more playful than real. "Well, maybe I'll just go and get myself kidnapped again. Maybe then you'll appreciate me!"
"You do that, mom," replied Trunks, turning back toward the door. "And next time, maybe you should have them tape your mouth, too."
"Hmph!"
Trunks walked out the door and took a few steps out to the front porch, transportation wand in hand. The plan was simple. While Bulma added the finishing touches to the second transformation wand, Trunks would teleport to Ami's world, pick up Ami, the other Senshi, plus the newly-empowered Rose, Angela, and Cammy, teleport back to this world, and teach them to fly. It wouldn't be that difficult of a plan, except for one hitch. Someone wasn't about to let Trunks leave.
"Well, I was a pretty good student when Gohan taught me to fly," said Trunks, briefly remembering his beloved friend. "Let's see if I can be a good teacher, too..."
But as Trunks prepared to press the button that would transport him to Ami's world, the unthinkable happened. A small, concentrated blast of ki barreled toward Trunks from out of nowhere. It hit the tip of the transportation wand, destroying it instantly and creating a nasty burn on Trunks' palm. As he cursed and angrily shook his hand back and forth, a loud, sharp laugh sounded from several hundred feet away. Trunks turned his head and gazed out into the distance. There, standing in the middle of the vast emptiness surrounding the Briefs' house, with a large field of magical energy pulsating around him, was the man whom Trunks had wanted to get his hands on for the last few days, the man who had engineered the kidnapping of his mother, and then taunted him nearly to tears...
"You," Trunks said, gazing out at Pandemonium.
"It's judgment day," Pandemonium replied, shouting across the vast expanse. "We're all alone now, none of those Senshi to interfere... it's just you and me!"
---
Ami walked down the narrow path leading to Rei's shrine, where Trunks would presumably meet the Senshi to take them back to his world that day. She didn't yet know that Pandemonium had just destroyed his only way to get there, and as she met with Serena, Rei, Lita, and Mina inside the shrine, she could only happily anticipate the day ahead.
"Hello!" Ami said cheerfully as she entered the room, wearing a blue flannel jacket over a white tanktop, with light blue denim jeans covering her legs. She knew she would be in her Sailor Mercury outfit for most of the day, but for right now, she wanted to look nice for Trunks when he arrived. The other girls were already seated in a circle in the middle of the room, and she quickly sat down and joined them.
"Rose, Cammy, and Angela are late..." said Serena, checking her watch. "We told them to be here at seven o'clock, sharp..."
"It's alright," Rei said. "It's only a couple of minutes... and besides, seven is really early! They probably overslept."
"I'm a bit late too, you guys..." Ami said meekly.
"Yeah, but you KNOW Trunks wouldn't leave without you," Mina remarked. "Training the rest of us is probably a burden to him anyway..."
"I wouldn't say that," Lita said. "I'm sure Trunks wants all of us to learn skills at the same rate... if Ami learned to fly, he'd want the rest of us to learn too."
"Besides, it would really be kind of silly having to carry to all!" Ami said, giggling. "I mean, I could probably do it if I used my energy, but-"
Suddenly, a loud explosion from outside immediately caught the girls' attention. They all ran out at the same time to see Nikashi, Flarinsa, Patrick, Elbarzad, and Grenate next to a large, smoking crater, just in front of the shrine. A few of Rei's cherry blossoms had been obliterated in the explosion, and Rei wasn't very happy about it.
"How DARE you come in here and disturb the sanctity of this sacred shrine!" Rei shouted angrily, her finger pointed directly at Nikashi. "You have committed a sin against the gods!"
"Oooh, I'm so scared..." Nikashi said mockingly. "Hmm, looks like we're missing a few... where are your friends, those stupid flower girls?"
"We'll go look for them, Mistress Nikashi..." Flarinsa said, with a bow. "You already said you could beat the Senshi by yourself..."
"Damn right I can!" Nikashi shouted. "Go, and destroy those three interfering wenches! I'll fight the Senshi alone..."
The four warriors accompanying Nikashi ran from the shrine, their bodies becoming nothing more than blurs as they dashed down the streets with incredible speed.
"We need to warn them!" Serena shouted. "Rose and the others are in serious danger!"
"You girls won't be warning anyone!" Nikashi yelled. "I'll destroy all of you first!"
"My grandpa's still asleep," Rei said, looking around. "I don't know how..."
"Quick, before anyone sees us... transform!" Serena ordered. The five girls quickly took out their henshin sticks and transformed into Sailor Senshi, to Nikashi's dismay.
"Awww, and I thought this was gonna be easy..." Nikashi whined.
"Well, it won't be!" Sailor Moon shouted. "We're the Sailor Senshi, and we fight for love and justice! And in the name of the Moon... we'll punish you!"
"Trunks... where are you?" thought Sailor Mercury as the five Senshi prepared to face Nikashi alone.
---
"Rose, I can't believe you didn't reset the alarm clock!" Cammy shouted, frantically tearing off her pajamas and rummaging through her dresser for an outfit to wear. "Should we wear our magical girl clothes, or just some regular ones?"
"You know, now that I think about it," Angela said, slipping on a t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts, "it's kinda hard for me to fight in that dress... it's pretty and all, but-"
"I know what you mean," said Rose, putting on a wide-brimmed pink hat, a red tanktop, and a pair of denim jeans. "Let's just wear our regular stuff today..."
"Maybe we should wear our school outfits!" said Cammy, pulling one of her red, white, and blue sailor fuku uniforms out of her dresser. "We'll be just like the Sailor Senshi!"
"But we're not the Sailor Senshi," Rose said, taking the uniform from Cammy and putting in back in the dresser. "Put something else on."
"I'll just wear this," Cammy said, removing her familiar green jumpsuit from her dresser and quickly slipping it on. "Casual and stylish!"
"I guess it's pretty easy for you to fight in that thing," said Rose. "And it'll probably be just as easy to fly..."
"Oh, I can't believe it!" Cammy squealed gleefully. "Today, we're actually going to learn how to fly! I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!"
"Cammy, take a chill pill... or better yet, two of them," said Angela, walking toward the door of her room and opening it up. "Besides, you shouldn't be so loud... our parents aren't home yet, and we don't want to wake them up."
"Right, right..." Cammy said, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Well... let's get going!"
The three girls tiptoed out of the house and walked out the door. As soon as they got out to the front porch, however, they were confronted by four familiar foes.
"Girls, it's lovely to see you this morning..." said Flarinsa, a broad smile on her face.
"Cammy, I must say you're looking absolutely ravishing this morning..." said Patrick, licking his lips. "And I can't wait to ravish you tonight!"
"Oh, eww!" Cammy shouted, a chill running down her spine. "Rose, Angela, did you just hear what he-"
"We heard it," said Rose, her fists beginning to glow pink with magical energy. "What do you pricks want?"
"They obviously want to get their butts kicked again," said Angela, her entire body taking on a warm, light blue glow. "I can't believe they found us..."
"Oh, it wasn't that hard," Elbarzad said, pointing at Patrick. "He led the way."
"I must say, Cammy... even when you're sleeping, you look so incredibly beautiful..." Patrick said, causing Cammy to gasp. A horrified look appeared on her face.
"He watched me... while I was sleeping?" Cammy thought, her shivering now severe enough to become visible. "What kind of a sick pervert would do something like that?"
With a loud yell, Cammy rushed at Patrick, but was immediately stopped by Rose's outstretched arm, blocking her sister's path.
"We're not fighting here," said Rose, looking around at all of the houses lining the streets, and quickly realizing that someone could very easily get hurt unless the fight could be moved away from a residential area. "We'll go somewhere else."
"I agree," said Flarinsa. Patrick, Elbarzad, and Grenate turned to her in shock. "Beating you fools won't be satisfying at all unless you're fighting at your best, and you're obviously too weak-minded to risk hurting any... innocent people, so.... we'll go somewhere where you won't be distracted. Any ideas?"
"How about the docks just outside Juuban?" Angela whispered to Rose and Cammy. "The workers don't arrive on their shifts until about noon... we'll have hours to fight there..."
"Alright then," said Rose, turning back to Flarinsa. "Follow us."
As the three girls dashed down the streets of Juuban toward the dock area, the four elemental warriors followed them. Patrick, Elbarzad, and Grenate reluctantly accepted the terms of the fight, still wondering why honor should play any role in their fight.
"Flarinsa, this is dumb," yelled Elbarzad. "Why don't we just blow up their neighborhood, and-"
"We'll do that once we've beaten them, and force them to watch their friends and family be destroyed!" Flarinsa shouted back. "I'm far too pissed off to let these girls die a slow, painless death..."
"And after that, I'll have Cammy all to myself..." Patrick thought.
---
"What are you waiting for, Trunks? Aren't you going to attack me?"
With a loud yell, Trunks flared up his ki, his energy aura quickly switching from a passive blue to a blazing yellow. His muscles flared up and his hair spiked, changing its color from purple to gold. Trunks had transformed into a first-level Super Saiyan, which he figured was more than enough to take Pandemonium down. Then, he attacked, flying at Pandemonium and throwing a powerful punch directly at his head. Pandemonium easily swooped out of the way, leaping back several feet to escape Trunks' powerful blow. Trunks countered with a series of punches and kicks, directed at all parts of Pandemonium's body. With seemingly unreal speed, Pandemonium dodged each and every blow, and then leapt away from Trunks again.
"Damn, he's fast!" Trunks thought, looking up at Pandemonium from below. "You'll wear out eventually!"
"It's taking absolutely no energy for me to dodge, just a bit of magic... like those girly Sailor Senshi use," said Pandemonium. "I've fine-tuned my body to take full advantage of the incredible magical energy I possess, meaning that I barely have to move a finger to destroy an entire planet... or in this case, a headstrong half-breed Saiyan monkey."
Pandemonium's remark instantly brought back memories of Frieza into Trunks' psyche, quickly filling him with rage.
"Don't you... EVER call me that!" Trunks shouted, his muscles flaring up yet again. "I'll tear you into pieces!"
But before Trunks could attack again, Pandemonium had disappeared. As Trunks began looking around, a bright flame appeared in front of Trunks. Then, another flame appeared behind him. Soon, Trunks was surrounded with a ring of fire, and it was spinning at an unbelievable speed.
"What kind of attack IS this?" Trunks asked, puzzled. He pointed his arms at the ring and fired hundreds of energy blasts into it, but they simply disappeared as they hit the flames, as if they had been absorbed into it. Then, the flames vanished. In their place were twenty beings that looked exactly like Pandemonium.
"He's copied himself..." Trunks muttered. "That's the oldest trick in the book..."
Trunks pointed his arms at one of the Pandemonium copies and fired a ki blast at it. When the blast made contact with the copy, both it and the copy faded into thin air. Trunks tried again, attacking another copy with a second energy blast. Again, his attack was unsuccessful. Trunks fired another energy blast at a third copy. This time, as the blast struck the copy, it detonated with a large explosion, and Trunks could hear a loud cry of pain coming from the center of the blast. The other copies disappeared. In a rage, Trunks flew into the cloud and began pummeling Pandemonium, repeatedly striking his head, arms, legs, and chest with hundreds of powerful blows, followed by more loud cries of pain.
"What... did I tell you..." Trunks gasped, slightly panting for breath with a bit of sweat coming down his face. "Oldest trick... in the book..."
Suddenly, the seemingly battered and bruised Pandemonium crumbled into dust before Trunks' very eyes. As Trunks gasped in shock, the real Pandemonium dove upon Trunks and struck him with a powerful kick to the head, knocking him all the way down to the ground. Trunks slammed into the earth with tremendous force, generating a huge explosion that kicked up a large cloud of dust into the air. As the dust sifted past Pandemonium, the vicious warrior began to laugh, watching Trunks slowly pick himself up from the ground.
"Oh, but you must know, Trunks... I don't go by the book," Pandemonium said.
"I just noticed," Trunks replied, his ki aura flaring back up to its normal level. He quickly flew up to meet Pandemonium in the air, as the dust from his impact drifted away into the wind. "Then I guess I'll have to throw the book out the window as well."
---
Nikashi's powerful whip lashed out at the five Senshi, its glowing strap becoming a blur as it swished past. Four of the Senshi were able to dodge, but one of them, Sailor Jupiter, stumbled out of the way a little too late. The whip smacked across her chest and then flew back toward Nikashi, tossing the unfortunate Senshi of lightning back toward her friends, into the arms of Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus. As the Senshi gasped and looked over to check on their friend, Sailor Jupiter's arm went across her chest, covering up a large gash that went all the way across her abdomen, just below her breasts. The cut was dripping a large amount of blood, and it was quickly apparent to Sailor Jupiter that the only thing that kept her from being sliced in half was her powerful magical energy aura, glowing about her entire body.
"Sailor Jupiter, are you alright?" Sailor Moon asked.
"I'll be.... just fine..." Sailor Jupiter groaned, staggering to her feet. "That was the last one you'll get!"
Sailor Jupiter pointed her arms at Nikashi and fired several large blasts of lightning energy, all of them aimed straight at Nikashi's head. With one crack of her whip, Nikashi dissipated all of the energy blasts, the powerful strand of energy passing through every single one of Jupiter's deadly lightning spheres.
"Unbelievable..." Sailor Mercury stammered. Quickly remembering her VR Visor, she turned toward Nikashi and pressed the small button on the side, quickly scanning the deadly warrior for any weaknesses. She'd been too caught up in any of the previous battles to bother with her scanner, but now she was desperate for a way to stop Nikashi's attacks. Meanwhile, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Venus were launching a retaliatory attack of their own.
"Take this!" Sailor Moon shouted, running up to Nikashi and pointing her henshin stick right in Nikashi's face. "Moon Blessed-"
Nikashi simply blasted Sailor Moon back with a glowing, red energy blast, knocking her flat on her back. Sailor Mars saw her chance, leaping up and kicking at Nikashi's head, her leg blazing with a powerful magical flame. The kick made a direct hit, striking Nikashi in the forehead and sending her tumbling back, right into one of Sailor Venus' new attacks.
"Crescent Rampage!" Sailor Venus yelled, pointing her arms at Nikashi and concentrating her energy into the form of dozens of deadly crescent beams. They slammed into Nikashi's back, creating a large explosion and knocking her to the ground, next to Sailor Moon.
"Alright!" Sailor Jupiter yelled, running over to Nikashi and pointing her arms at the downed warrior. "Jupiter Ultimate Storm!"
As Nikashi began to stand up, a loud clap of thunder could be heard in the sky, just above Nikashi's head. The clouds in the sky parted, and Sailor Moon, who was herself just getting up from Nikashi's earlier attack, was barely able to scramble out of the way as a group of lightning bolts crashed down from the sky onto Nikashi, creating a large, bright flash of light and another powerful explosion, tossing Nikashi up into the air and then back down onto the ground.
"Alright!" Sailor Moon cheered, running over to Nikashi and pointing her henshin stick at her once more. She didn't see Nikashi's eyes, which were now wide-open with rage. Nikashi leapt to her feet, startling Sailor Moon and causing the other Senshi to leap back. Sailor Mercury watched from the front of the shrine, still scanning Nikashi for weaknesses while keeping a watchful eye toward the battle.
"Just about got it..." Sailor Mercury thought. "Hang in there, girls..."
Nikashi had been slightly damaged by the Senshi's attacks, but her power remained potent, and as her own magical energy aura began to flare up, the Senshi prepared for the worst.
"Look out!" shouted Sailor Moon.
Nikashi rose up into the air and pointed her arms outward, sending out a wave of energy that went in all directions, hitting Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus with a huge amount of magical energy. As Sailor Mercury finished her scan, the attack hit her as well, sending her to her knees. The powerful energy scorched the Senshi as it hit them, searing their skin and sending waves of pain coursing through their bodies. The powerful blast disintegrated all the trees in the area, its blast radius stopping just before it would have hit the shrine. The badly injured Senshi slowly rose to their feet, groaning as they became painfully aware of their wounds. Nikashi gave the Senshi little rest. She ran right at Sailor Moon and elbowed her in the stomach, sending the powerful leader of the Sailor Senshi to her knees once more. Then, she lifted up Sailor Moon by the collar of her senshi outfit and slowly lifted her up into the air. Sailor Moon's henshin stick was on the ground, hopelessly out of reach of the trembling Senshi.
"What's the matter, Sailor Moon?" Nikashi spat. "Your pathetic little Senshi can't gang up on me anymore?"
"They'll destroy you, Nikashi..." Sailor Moon replied, her voice unwavering. "We'll all destroy you... the Sailor Senshi never lose..."
"That's right!" shouted Sailor Mercury, causing Nikashi to turn around and face the Senshi of Water.
"And what are you going to do about it?" Nikashi asked. "Trunks is going to be so surprised when I hand him your dead body!"
"I don't think so," Sailor Mercury said, curling her fists.
As the memories of yesterday's training session began flooding back, and Sailor Mercury concentrated her energy, her energy aura slowly began to grow. Her visor flashed all the information it had collected about Nikashi directly into her eyes, including Nikashi's power level, which Mercury hadn't yet ventured to look at. She ran at Nikashi and kicked at her head, an unusual attack for Sailor Mercury, but one that she thought would be effective. It wasn't. Nikashi easily moved her head out of the way, then blasted Sailor Mercury back with an energy blast, sending her flying back several feet.
"I have to remember what Trunks taught me..." Sailor Mercury whispered to herself. "I have... to focus!"
Sailor Mercury began to concentrate, and was able to steady herself, much to Nikashi's surprise. She rudely tossed Sailor Moon to the ground and ran at Sailor Mercury, but before she could reach her, a huge wall of ice seemed to rise up out of the ground, blocking her path. Nikashi stopped up in front of it and looked up as the wall of ice seemed to reach a hundred feet into the air.
"Pssh, that's pathetic," Nikashi said. "I could jump that in a heartbeat."
"That's what you think!" shouted Sailor Moon. While Sailor Mercury had her distracted, Sailor Moon had picked up her henshin stick and was pointing it directly at Nikashi. Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus were facing her as well, focused and poised to launch an attack. They all fired off their attacks at once, sending four deadly energy beams barreling toward Nikashi. They collided into her and sent her crashing through the ice wall, shattering it in an instant. Nikashi emerged on the other side, frozen into a block of ice that skidded across the ground, landing right at Sailor Mercury's feet. Sailor Mercury looked down at the frozen Nikashi, before finally taking the time to glance at Nikashi's power level.
"Based on magical energy, it's.... it's two million," Sailor Mercury whispered. "That's twice as strong as Trunks said Sailor Moon was at her most powerful..."
"But it wasn't just me," said Sailor Moon. "We all defeated Nikashi together!"
"Uh, Sailor Moon..." Sailor Mars said, pointing at the frozen block. "I don't think she's-"
"Quick! Use a Planet Power attack before she gets the chance to-"
But before Sailor Moon could finish, the block rose up into the air and shattered into a thousand pieces, revealing a now very livid Nikashi, her arms across her chest.
"You think you've seen my true power?" Nikashi shouted. "You think THIS is the Nikashi that went toe-to-toe with Super Saiyan Trunks? No.... THIS is!"
Nikashi lifted her arms and gathered an enormous amount of magical energy, forming a large black sphere around herself. As the Senshi looked up in shock, they could hear a faint noise that sounded like air being pulled into a vacuum. It grew louder and louder, and then, for a split second, all was silent. After that, a gigantic sonic boom exploded forth from Nikashi, and a large red energy wave shot out from the sphere around her body, sending the Senshi crashing to their knees. When they looked up, Nikashi was surrounded in a large field of glowing red energy, which was pulsating all around her. Slowly, she floated down to face the Senshi, who stood up and immediately stepped back, all of them feeling the immense energy radiating from Nikashi's body. Sailor Mercury's VR visor had now produced a different reading, and as she glanced up at it, she gasped in shock.
"It's.... it's over fifty million," Sailor Mercury said grimly, pressing down on her earring and causing her visor to disappear. "Trunks at his maximum in his regular Super Saiyan form is only about thirty-six million, but... this is magical energy we're talking about here..."
"Oooh, little Miss Numbers and her fancy calculator seem to have figured me out completely," said Nikashi maliciously, walking toward Sailor Mercury. "Tell me this, Sailor Mercury... where is your precious Trunks now?"
---
Meanwhile, the docks outside of Juuban had been the scene of an ongoing battle between Rose, Angela, and Cammy, who were intensely fighting the four elemental warriors who had come to get revenge for their earlier embarrassment. Though crowded with crates, small boats, and heavy metal equipment, the docks were completely deserted, and their large, open expanse facing the Pacific Ocean made them the perfect spot for a magical free-for-all. The battle had been raging for some time now, with neither group making much ground, despite a few close calls.
"Cammy, look out!"
A large boulder flew at Cammy, who had to dive behind a stack of large crates to avoid being smashed. The boulder hit the crates and smashed them instead, leaving Cammy unharmed.
"We're taking her alive, remember?" Patrick shouted angrily to his comrade.
"Maybe you are, but I'm going to destroy these pathetic girls!" Grenate shouted, diving at Cammy. She pointed her arms at him and blasted him away with a cloud of pink energy that sent him skidding across the hard, cemented surface of the boatyard.
"Way to go, Cammy!" shouted Angela. "Now if we can just-"
Angela was interrupted by a large column of flames that zoomed toward her, engulfing her and crumpling her to the ground, her body and her t-shirt covered in burns.
"Crap," said Rose, who had already abandoned her pink hat early in the fight and was trying to keep her own clothes from being damaged. "Our old clothes might not have been good for flying, but at least they didn't get ripped to shreds..."
"I told you I had the right idea!" Cammy shouted back at her sister, while blocking Patrick's ice shards with a glowing green energy shield. "You hear that, perv? These clothes don't come off!"
"No, but the gloves are about to!" Flarinsa shouted, gesturing toward Elbarzad and Grenate to begin a triple-team attack on Rose and Angela.
"They're more powerful when they attack as a unit!" Angela yelled. "Rose, look out!"
"Already way ahead of you!" Rose shouted, pointing her arms at Elbarzad and Grenate and sending powerful, thorny vines in their direction. As the vines flew at Elbarzad, he pointed his arms at them and formed two large, swirling wind vortexes in front of his hands, sucking in the vines and drawing Rose closer and closer toward him. "Oh no, I'm trapped!"
"That's the same weakness Sailor Mercury exploited back when we fought her," Angela thought. "I'm coming, Rose-chan!"
Angela pointed her arms at the vines and fired a large burst of energy, hoping to break the vines and prevent her sister from being sucked in. However, at the last second, Grenate leapt in front of the energy burst and swirled a large cloud of dirt in front of it. The dirt surrounded the energy and swirled all around it, suffocating the energy's flow of heat and causing it to disappear. Then, Flarinsa leapt behind Angela and hit her with another blast of fire, knocking her flat onto her face.
"Angie-chan!" Rose yelled, furiously struggling to get out of the grip of Elbarzad's powerful wind vortexes, which were still using her own vines to pull her towards him.
"That's it," Elbarzad said, a large smile on his face. "Come to papa..."
"NOT TODAY!" Cammy shouted, leaping behind Elbarzad. "F5 Windstorm!"
A huge tornado engulfed Elbarzad, sucking him up into the air and whirling him around and around, the wind whipping his body with incredible force.
"Fight fire with fire!" Cammy shouted. "Or wind with wind... or whatever."
"Cammy, behind you!" Rose shouted. As soon as Cammy turned around, a large blast of ice slammed into her, tossing her backward and freezing her arms and legs to a large stack of metal crates. Patrick slowly walked toward her, smiling maliciously as she struggled against the ice.
"Let... let me go!" Cammy screamed, horrified by Patrick as he slowly sauntered up to her. He reached up and roughly stroked her face, a smile curling his lips.
"You should get used to this, my dear..." Patrick said. "Because-"
Rose leapt up and swung one of her vines, smacking Patrick hard across the face. The thorns on the vines cut a large gash that went from just below his eye all the way down to his chin. He stumbled away from Cammy and began to wince in pain. Meanwhile, Angela ran up to Cammy and blasted the ice away, freeing her from its cold and deadly grip.
"Whew, thanks..." Cammy breathed, hugging her sister tightly as Flarinsa, Patrick, Elbarzad, and Grenate regrouped for a second attack.
"We're not out of the woods yet," Rose said, the thorny vines retracting back into her hands. "Get ready, girls..."
---
Trunks clenched his fists and curled his arms into his chest. Then, with a loud yell, he released his energy. His hair spiked up further, his muscles flared, and his energy aura exploded outward. Electricity coursed all around his body, sparkling, arcing, and crackling all around him. Pandemonium immediately recognized Trunks' incredible transformation.
"Finally, the Ascended Super Saiyan has come back to the multiverse...." Pandemonium remarked. "Incredible."
"You forced me to do this, Pandemonium..." Trunks said coldly. "As time goes by, evil gets stronger... I never thought I'd have to go to level two again, but... I guess I was wrong."
"I guess you were," replied Pandemonium.
"You're not afraid," said Trunks. "Why are you not afraid?"
Pandemonium smirked.
"Death... is no deterrent for me," Pandemonium said. "I have no doubt that I will complete my mission... you don't even understand why we're here, do you? You're our target, Trunks, and I know you've known that all along."
"Then why did you go after my mom?" Trunks shouted. "Why did you go after Ami and her friends?"
"We need to get rid of the Senshi to take over the Earth there.... after you're gone, of course," said Pandemonium. "We don't just take people, Trunks, we're a growing armada, we need land, resources, people... Earth is a beautiful, large planet, probably full of potentially powerful forces that can easily be assimilated into our system, just like you... however, you'll be assimilated in a much different way. Lord Exeter will see to that. In fact... we're attacking your pathetic Senshi friends right now."
Trunks' eyes grew wide with horror.
"Nikashi is tearing them to pieces... you do remember Nikashi, don't you? And since you don't have your fancy toy anymore, you won't be able to save them... what do you say to that, Trunks? Hmm? Hmm? What do you say to-"
Trunks flew at Pandemonium and struck him in the side of the face with a powerful punch, knocking him backwards through the air and causing blood to trickle from his nose and mouth. Pandemonium steadied himself, then flew back at Trunks and replied with a similarly powerful punch, knocking Trunks' head to the side, but not budging the half-Saiyan an inch. As Trunks' head slowly moved back into place, he lifted up his hand and rubbed the spot on his cheek where Pandemonium's fist had made contact.
"Unbelievable..." Trunks thought, stunned. "That punch hurt... a lot.... more than anything since I... since I fought Frieza! I'm feeling the same kind of power from this guy... is it possible? It's only magical energy, but it's so incredible, I... I can sense it!"
"What's wrong, Trunks? Surprised?" Pandemonium asked. "Surprised that you, the mighty Ascended Super Saiyan, can be hurt so much by a being using magical energy? It is quite remarkable, when you think about it. But there are more like me, Trunks... much more like me. In fact-"
"Shut up!" Trunks shouted, quickly firing a small blast of ki at Pandemonium's chest. As quickly as Trunks had fired it, Pandemonium moved his hand in front of the blast and caught it in his hand. As he did, Trunks could see a field of magical energy, slithering in wisps around Pandemonium's hand as he squeezed inward, disintegrating the ball easily.
"Poof," said Pandemonium. "It's almost like.... magic."
Trunks' fist flew at Pandemonium's face, but Pandemonium simply caught it and began to squeeze down. Trunks gritted his teeth in pain as Pandemonium's powerful grip began pressing against the bones in his fingers, putting them under incredible stress.
"Bastard..." Trunks growled. "I won't.... I won't let you intimidate me!"
Trunks lifted his other hand again and fired another, larger blast at Pandemonium's face. This time, the blast hit, slamming into his head and detonating, creating a small explosion that gave Trunks time to leap above Pandemonium and kick him in the back, knocking him toward the ground with incredible speed. Pandemonium couldn't stop himself, slamming into the ground and creating a large, brilliant explosion that shook everything for miles around. As Trunks glanced down toward Pandemonium, he noticed something else... his house, including his mother, had been less than one hundred feet away.
"No!" Trunks thought, horrified. "How could I be so reckless? I got so caught up in the fight, that I almost... I almost... I can't let this guy take me out of my game! I have to fight back!"
As Pandemonium rose to his feet, Trunks fired several large energy blasts downward at him, being careful to avoid getting any of the blasts near his house. The blasts came down on Pandemonium and littered the ground around him, creating another large, column-shaped explosion of energy. As Trunks flew down to inspect the damage, he noticed one of the blasts heading off in a different direction... straight toward his house.
"The bastard must have knocked it off-course.... NO!" Trunks shouted, flying at the beam as quickly as he could. As he raced toward the head of the beam, the beam in turn raced toward his house, drawing closer and closer by the second. Flaring up his energy, Trunks desperately built up his speed, flying in front of the beam just as it would have reached the front porch of the house. With all the strength he could muster, he pulled back his arm and smacked the blast as hard as he could, harmlessly up and out into space. Then, he collapsed onto one knee, gasping for breath. It had taken Trunks a great deal of energy to catch up to and deflect his own energy beam, and it would take him a few seconds to regain his composure and rise back up again. Now, Trunks was both furious and fearful. He had come just inches from destroying his own home, along with his mother, who was working diligently inside to create the only device that could possibly return him to Ami's world. As Trunks shook his head, trying to get back into focus, Pandemonium, whose body had sustained moderate damage from Trunks' blasts, was staggering toward the powerful Ascended Saiyan, still smiling viciously.
---
Inside the house, down in the basement, Bulma had heard the loud noises from outside as she continued to work on the teleportation wand. As she was attaching the last few screws to the bottom of the device, she stopped to listen to the continuing noise.
"What in the WORLD is going on up there?" Bulma asked herself. "Flying was never this noisy... those girls aren't fighting each other already, are they? I should probably go see what's going on...."
Taking the completed teleportation wand with her, Bulma slowly ventured up the stairs, unaware of the fight taking place above.
---
"This worked last time," Angela said, leaping up into the air as Flarinsa, Patrick, Elbarzad, and Grenate prepared to strike again. "I hope this works as well as it did last time.... yaaaaaah!"
With a wave of Angela's hands, hundreds of flower petals came slashing down toward the four elemental warriors. Flarinsa pointed her arms up at the flower petals, shrieking a loud war cry.
"What's she doing?" Angela shouted, just before a huge burst of flame burst upward from Flarinsa's hands. Angela fell out of the flames' path, but the petals were engulfed by the huge blaze, all of them completely disintegrated.
"No!" Rose shouted in dismay.
"And that attack was so cool last time..." Cammy whined. "There was blood everywhere!"
Flarinsa landed just behind Cammy, blasting her in the back with a large wave of fire that sent her crashing into a large stack of crates. Before Angela and Rose could reply, they were blasted by a group attack of ice blocks and boulders, blown at them at incredible speeds by Elbarzad's powerful wind magic. They crossed their arms and hunkered down as the attacks buffeted them, covering their arms and chests in large bruises and knocking them all the way back to the edge of the dock.
"What are we going to do?" Angela shouted, having to scream to be heard over the roaring wind.
"Duh, Angie-chan..." Rose yelled. "We fight back!"
Rose uncrossed her arms and was immediately smacked in the face by a large chunk of ice. She wasn't discouraged. She fired a huge blast of energy at all three of the attackers, immediately cutting off all the attacks and knocking all three of them flat on their backs. Then, Angela sent another stream of petals flying at the downed warriors. The petals cut across Patrick, Elbarzad, and Grenate's bodies, opening up large gashes that had only recently healed. As the three were slashed by the petal cloud, they all fell to the metallic floor of the dock, just as Flarinsa stepped out from behind one of the crates. When she saw what had been done to her subordinates, she gasped, and was immediately blasted back into and through the crates by Rose and Angela, both of them hitting her with a coordinated pink and blue energy blast. The two girls turned to one another and exchanged high-fives.
"That was awesome!" Rose shouted. "Now, let's finish them-"
Suddenly, the three downed warriors disappeared, as if they had been teleported away. Rose and Angela turned toward the crates, but they couldn't see Flarinsa, as their view was obscured by a large, metal crane. All they could see was a bright flame, and then nothing, signaling that Flarinsa had joined the other three elemental warriors in their escape.
"Dammit!" Rose cursed, spitting onto the ground. "Those cowards! We beat them!"
"Don't worry, Rosie-chan..." Angela said, patting Rose on the back.
"Ow!" Rose shouted, grimacing and rubbing her back where Angela had just touched it. "Not so hard... I think I'm sore there.... crap, that fight was a lot harder then I thought it'd be..."
"I'll say," said Angela, looking down at the tattered remains of her t-shirt. "But... we'll get those jerks next time."
---
"This isn't over, Trunks," said Pandemonium, walking right up to the front porch of the Briefs' home. "Are you running back to mommy, Trunks?"
"Shut it," Trunks said. "We're not fighting anywhere near here!"
"On the contrary," said Pandemonium, pointing his arm toward Trunks. "You should've gotten away when you had the chance."
Trunks stretched out his arms, extending them outward as far as he could. He wasn't about to let Pandemonium destroy his home, or cause any harm to Bulma, who had already been through more than enough because of Trunks... at least that's what he thought. But just before Pandemonium could attack, the door creaked open, plunging Trunks' heart all the way down to the pit of his stomach.
"Trunks?" Bulma said, opening the front door. Trunks turned around, desperately trying to warn his mother of the danger she was in.
"Mom, you have to get out of-"
Out of the corner of his eye, Trunks saw the teleportation wand in his mother's hand. He didn't know if it worked yet, but he had to try... it was the only way to save his mother, and maybe the only way to save Ami as well.
"Mom, the wand, is it-"
"It works, Trunks, but I don't see-"
Trunks snatched the wand from Bulma's hand and dove upon Pandemonium, holding the wand up in the air.
"Trunks!" Pandemonium shouted, struggling to push Trunks off of him. "Let me up right-"
"Ami, I'm coming!" Trunks shouted, pushing the button on the wand. A large, swirling vortex suddenly appeared, and Trunks flew up into it, taking Pandemonium and the wand with him. As the vortex closed, Bulma ran up to the edge of the porch and gazed at the spot where it had once been, her hand over her mouth, an expression of shock on her face.
"My God..." Bulma gasped, though she didn't fully realize what Trunks had just done, or why he had done it. "Please... come back safe, Trunks..."
---
Nikashi's fist flew toward Sailor Mercury's face, but at the last second, she formed a small shield of ice and leapt back. Nikashi easily punched through the ice, but by the time her fist was through it, Sailor Mercury had been able to escape the blow. As Nikashi began raining down more punches, Sailor Mercury formed more and more energy shields, each one successfully blocking one of Nikashi's blows. As Mercury stepped back toward the shrine, the Senshi watched and wondered how long her stubborn resistance could keep up.
"We can't let Sailor Mercury fight alone like this!" Sailor Moon shouted. "We've gotta help her! If one of those punches connects, she'll-"
Finally, one of Nikashi's punches did connect, breaking through the ice and smashing into Sailor Mercury's face with incredible force. Immediately, the Senshi fell to the ground with a loud scream of pain as the cartilage in her nose shattered under the force of Nikashi's blow. She hit the ground hard, knocked unconscious in one punch, as a large stream of blood poured from her nostrils.
"And she's down!" shouted Nikashi victoriously, pointing her arm at the downed Sailor Mercury and charging up a finishing energy blast. "Say goodnight!"
"NO!" shouted all of the Senshi at once, running at Nikashi, their magical energy flaring up like it never had before. But as the Senshi drew close to Nikashi, she turned around and blasted them all with a wave of energy, knocking them all away. They hit the ground at the same time, barely able to stand, and too far away from Nikashi to stop her from blasting Sailor Mercury into oblivion. She pointed her arm at Sailor Mercury again, whose eyes slowly fluttered open just as Nikashi gathered up her energy for the attack that would inevitably spell her doom. Sailor Mercury gasped, too weak to scream, or to even look away.
"No.... don't.... let it end like this..." Mercury whispered, looking up into Nikashi's eyes. "Trunks... I'm... I'm sorry..."
The vortex opened right above Nikashi's head, and Trunks came tumbling out, spinning around and kicking Nikashi in the side of the head. Nikashi hit the ground and skidded across all the way to the sidewalk, where she came to a stop, tossing up chunks of concrete as she stopped inches away from the street. As Trunks landed on his feet, just next to Sailor Mercury, Pandemonium flew up into the air and surveyed the shrine, and then looked over to Nikashi, who had been knocked unconscious by Trunks' powerful kick. Then, he looked back over to Trunks, who was not paying attention to Pandemonium, but was on his knees next to his fallen lover, gently lifting up her head to allow all the blood to drain from her shattered nose. He stroked his hand across her cheek and kissed her forehead, tightly clenching her head and whispering over and over again into her ear.
"Ami.... I'm so sorry I let this happen..." Trunks whispered. "I love you, Ami... just try to relax... I'm going to heal you and your friends as soon as I can..."
Ami looked back up at Trunks, but didn't say a word, her tear-filled eyes telling Trunks the entire story. She didn't even have to exert herself by speaking to him, instead using her gift of telepathy with Trunks to return his kind message.
"I'm fine, Trunks... I did everything you taught me to... we all did, Trunks. We're all so strong... and I knew you'd come to help us, Trunks... I love you too, and I promise I'll be alright."
Pandemonium, meanwhile, had scooped up Nikashi into his arms, and was now floating in the air, making the decision to retreat rather than to attack Trunks further. There was time to finish off Trunks later. Right now, Nikashi's injuries had to be treated. That kick had done a lot of damage.
"Rest assured, we will finish this, Trunks..." Pandemonium thought. "Sooner than you think, Trunks... much, much sooner than you think."
Pandemonium teleported away with Nikashi, but by now, Trunks had forgotten about both of them. The weary Senshi had made their way over to Trunks and Sailor Mercury, gathering around to give the couple their support.
"Guess we're not gonna learn to fly today, huh?" Sailor Moon joked, causing Sailor Mars to reply with an angry glare. Trunks stood up, helping Sailor Mercury to her feet. He had taken off his jacket, and handed her his black tanktop, allowing her to press it up against her nose to stem the massive flow of blood. He powered down from Ascended Super Saiyan and picked up the teleportation wand from the ground.
"I'm going to take all of you back to my world to recover... you've had quite a rough fight," said Trunks, looking around at all of the injured Senshi.
"Wait," said Sailor Moon. "Our friends... Cammy, Rose, Angela... they're in danger too, and we don't know if they managed to defeat the fiends that attacked them."
"Alright then... Ami and I will return to my world," said Trunks, turning to Sailor Mercury. "Unless... you want to stay?"
Sailor Mercury nodded, Trunks' black, blood-stained outfit still pressed up against her nose.
"Don't worry about me, Trunks... I'm worried about our friends too," said Sailor Mercury. "Besides, having you here is all that I need for now... a Senzu Bean will fix up my nose in a few seconds, and I can get one of those any time."
"Alright then, Ami," Trunks said. "Let's go look for our friends."
---
Rose and Angela were still at the docks, celebrating their victory, but unaware that their youngest sister Cammy was nowhere to be found.
"Cammy, we kicked their butts, didn't we?" Rose asked, looking around. "Cammy? Cammy, where did you go?"
"Crud, we lost Cammy!" Angela shouted, frantically searching around stacks of crates, boxes, and barrels, and looking around every piece of heavy equipment on the docks. "Cammy? Cammy!"
No reply. As Rose and Angela scoured the docks for several minutes, there was still no sign of their sister, and quickly, jubilation over their victory quickly changed into frantic worry. Their sister had vanished without a trace.
---
Back in an infirmary room aboard the space station, Patrick, Elbarzad, and Grenate were lamenting their second defeat in as many days at the hands of the powerful sisters.
"I can't believe we lost!" Elbarzad shouted. "We were so close... did you see how I had the oldest one caught in my wind vortex? Did you? Did you?"
"Yeah, I know... and we were beating two of them pretty bad toward the end... we just let it slip away," groaned Grenate.
"And I can't believe I let Cammy escape!" Patrick shouted. "I had her right where I wanted before her bitchy sisters ruined everything! If I could just get her alone..."
"Well, we'd better go report to the boss... I heard he just got back," said Elbarzad, getting up to leave the room. "I wonder if he managed to beat Trunks..."
"I bet he's the only one out of all of us that won today," said Grenate, trudging out of the room alongside Elbarzad. "He's so tough... hey Patrick, you coming?"
"No," Patrick snapped, his head in his hands. "Leave me alone."
"Whatever," Elbarzad said. After Elbarzad and Grenate left the room, Patrick flopped down on the large bed in the infirmary and pounded his fists against the pillow, in a display of rage.
"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!" Patrick shouted. "I was THIS close to making Cammy mine! She was mine, dammit! MINE!"
"I couldn't help but hearing your temper tantrum, Patrick," called Flarinsa's voice from outside the room.
"Go away," Patrick moaned. "You're just as big a failure as we are... you can't cheer me up, either. No one can."
"I wouldn't say that," Flarinsa replied, still outside the room. "If you'll stop acting like a jerk, I have a little present for you..."
"What is it, a crybaby trophy or something?" Patrick shouted. "Ha ha, very funny, what a laugh! And at my expense, too!"
Patrick rose up from the bed and began walking toward the door, in a rage.
"If you're not gone in three seconds, I'll-"
It was then that Flarinsa stepped into the doorway, carrying a limp, unconscious form in her hands. The unconscious body was slightly covered in burns, but was still mostly flawless, if a little worse for wear. As soon as Patrick saw who Flarinsa was carrying, he stopped dead in his tracks. It was Cammy. She tossed Cammy over to Patrick, who caught her with ease, protectively cradling her in his arms.
"Have fun... but not too much fun," said Flarinsa, who then turned around and walked away, leaving Patrick standing alone in the hallway with Cammy's unconscious form in his arms. Slowly, he set her down on the ground, stroking her sweat-matted hair away from her eyes and forehead, and gently stroking his hand across her warm skin.
"Oh... I will have fun, Flarinsa," said Patrick, a sick smile curving across his lips. "This day just got a whole lot better."
---
It's a victory for the good guys... or maybe just a half of a victory. Or an incomplete victory? Well, anyway, the doo-doo is about to hit the fan, and in a very big way! Can the heroes possibly figure out how to stop the bad guys in time? Or will it end up like Soviet Russia, where bad guys stop them? Eh, I dunno... please review, m'kay?