Chapter 18 - Hell Breaks Loose
"Trista," Michelle looked to her companion.
"Yes, Michelle," Trista replied.
"Why are we stopping here?"
"There is a strong, sinister force resonanting from this area," Trista explained. "I feel it is our duty to try and supress it."
"I hope you're not in over your head," Michelle sighed.
"Don't worry," Trista said. "I have a good feeling about this."
The two women got out of the silver 1996 Camaro SS (I LOVE that car!) and made their way to the center of the dark field. There, they were met by the five younger women. All the girls were set to transform, which they of course did.
"Venus Crystal Power!"
"Mercury Crystal Power!"
"Mars Crystal Power!"
"Jupiter Crystal Power!"
"Moon Eternal Power!"
"Neptune Crystal Power!"
"Pluto Crystal Power!"
The flashes of different colored light strobed into the dark area surrounding the field. The Sailor Scouts stood there and then two more figures joined the group. It was Sailor Uranus and Sailor Saturn. The two Scouts were smiling.
"What are you so happy about, Amara?" Neptune asked coyly.
"I was just watching your escapade at the mall," Uranus replied. "Hotaru came too."
"Mama, I saw you and that guy," Saturn said. "I think you looked really happy with him."
Pluto blushed at the thought of Pyrone, but she smiled none the less. The silence was broken by a strangled yell of a feminine voice. Luna and Artemis came bounding to the Scouts. Huffing and puffing, the two cats managed to choke out the news.
"We've just received word from Queen Serenity that there is a disturbing evil here," Luna panted. The black cat sat on her haunches and rested while Artemis began the rest of the news.
"Sailor Universe will join us tonight and so shall our allies."
"What allies?" Mercury asked.
"The six new allies we had been expecting along with Universe," Luna replied.
"Oh," Sailor Moon replied.
Suddenly, a deep cackle erupted from the night air, scaring the Scouts. A man with white skin and blue hair flowing to his shoulders came out of the shadows. He was wearing a black cloak and black boots, but his yellow eyes shone like the moon. He approached the Scouts slowly and silently. The Scouts cringed from his presence and huddled together. But the four Outers stood stoic and determined.
"Greeting, Sailor Scouts," the man said. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Lord Sven Cadgrade of the Dark Sect, the strongest force in all the Universe. You may call me Sven."
"You might want to think that statement over, pal," another male voice penetrated the shadows.
"Who's there?" Sven said, suspicious.
Seeming to materialize from out of nowhere, a figure emerged from the darkness. His long trench coat billowed in the cool breeze. The sword and scythe staff strapped to his back swayed to and fro very lightly, clanking together. The black lenses of his glasses covered his eyes but his dreaded hair flew in his face and back again. Sven was most surprised. He hadn't felt a power this huge in eons. Luna and Artemis both gasped,
"That's Sailor Universe!"
"That's Sailor Universe?" the Inners chorused.
"Yes," Sailor Pluto said. "That is the strongest of all the Sailor Scouts: Sailor Universe. Sailor Moon, this is the heir to the throne of the Universe and he watches over all of us and protects us with a power beyond our comprehension."
"So he could easily have killed Chaos?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Yes," Pluto answered. "His power could have taken out Chaos in an instant."
"Then why didn't he show up earlier?" Sailor Moon screamed.
"Time has some bumpy traffic," Sailor Universe replied. Sailor Pluto stifled a laugh.
'I knew I recognized this power from somewhere,' Sven thought.
"You think you have the strongest power in all the Universe?" Sailor Universe asked.
"Yes," Sven sneered.
"Don't you want to take that back?" Universe said.
No answer from Sven except a smile.
"Better check your memory," Universe said. "I think I asked you a question."
"No," Sven said. "You merely made a statement saying I should recant mine."
"Don't you challenge me, dammit," Universe said, pointing a threatening finger. "I'm itching to destroy something tonight and I'm feelin' kinda lucky right here."
"One moment," Sven raised a finger. "I haven't fully prepared for the Scouts."
As he finished his sentance, a flurry of green energy swirled about his body. His hair was flying everywhere and his mouth twisted into a snarl. Long, pointed fangs protruded from his maw, appearing dangerously sharp and menacing. Then, his body seemed to bulge against his clothing, beefing up for the battle he was about to begin. Soon the flurry stopped and everything sort of returned to normal.
The Scouts gasped at his menacing appearance and huddled even closer. But the four Outers remained strong. Sailor Moon eventually came to realize this and stopped being afraid. She'd been through worse, so why be afraid?
"Scouts," she said. "Let's take a stand."
"Sailor Moon," Sailor Mars said shakily. "Can't you feel his power?"
"Yes," Moon replied confidently. "However, we can at least take a stand against this overwhelming evil. When the scales of war hang in the balance, good will always prevail over evil, no matter the cost."
"That's right," Sailor Universe said.
He drew his sword and held it in front of him in defense. Sven looked at Sailor Universe and smiled.
"You are the Scout of Shadow and Universal Knowledge, are you not?" he asked.
"Huh? Yeah, I am," Sailor Universe said.
"Then this should be a good fight. However, you must allow me to do one thing..."
He opened his palm toward the Scouts and several glowing yellow cords shot out of it. They twisted their way around the group of Scouts, tying them all together. Then the surprised gasps of the Scouts were replaced with painful screams of agony as the cords shocked the Scouts with bright, jagged bolts of energy. The group fell to the ground, unconscious. Sailor Universe stood there in shock, then quickly regained his composure by taking a fighting stance.
"I get it," Universe growled. "Take out my cheer squad."
"I want this to be a fair fight," Sven said.
"Fine," Universe said. "Then revive them."
"What?"
"You heard me."
"Why should I do that?"
"There aren't going to be any witnesses if one of us wins the fight, right?"
"I see your point. It shall be done."
Sven turned his palm to the unconscious Scouts and they all groaned and awoke. Sailor Universe was relieved that they were okay then turned to Sven.
"Let's get this party started," he said.
"Gladly," was the reply.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The squeal of tires echoed off the tall buildings of Tokyo. A black car slid around a corner followed closely by a black jetbike. Roaring down the street at over three hundred miles per hour, both vehicles were headed to the park once again.
"Duo," Heero said calmly from the passenger seat.
"What is it Heero?" Duo snarled, shifting into seventh gear.
"What are you rushing for?"
"In case you haven't noticed Heero," Duo started, shifting into eighth gear, "our friend is in trouble and we need to help him."
"How? We are just humans without this so called 'magic' power. How in the name of Kami-sama are we going to help him?"
"That's easy," a voice said over the radio.
"Care to elaborate, Pyrone?" Trowa said from the back.
"We distract whoever it is that Tre is fighting long enough for Tre to do some damage," Pyrone said. "Then, we high tail it the fuck out of there with Tre and the Scouts so we aren't killed in the midst of this battle."
"How cowardly can humans be?" Quatre yelled over the roar of the car's engine. "What Pyrone is suggesting is the most cowardly tactic of all: sneaking up behind the enemy with a cheap shot."
"Then what do you suggest, Quatre?" Wufei spat.
"Let me think for a minute," Quatre said, worried.
"Too late," Duo announced, "we're here."
Both car and bike stopped rather quickly and came close to hitting the silver Camaro. The deep purr of the car engine and the hollow whine of the jet were cut off as both machines were shut down. The car's doors opened and the five young pilots exited while the older pilot dismounted the bike and removed the helmet. They all stared at each other when suddenly a chorus of screams broke the silent night.
They turned their heads in the direction from where the screams originated and saw a bright glow illuminating the pained expressions of the Scouts' faces. Further in the distance, they saw Sailor Universe talking to some weird looking guy with pale skin.
The six pilots were about to barrel in their without any thought of what to do when they were stopped by two cats.
"What th-?" Heero was cut off.
"Are you the Gundam pilots who have accompanied Sailor Universe?" the black cat spoke in a female voice.
"Who wants to know?" Trowa asked suspiciously.
"Yeah," Pyrone said.
"We are the Royal Advisers to Neo Queen Serenity," the white cat said in a male voice.
"I am Luna and this is Artemis," the black cat said.
"Great, but you'll have to convince us better than that," Heero said, pulling a gun.
"Heero, don't be a fucking close-minded soldier," Duo yelled. "Isn't two talking cats enough evidence for you?"
"No," Heero said, cocking the hammer.
The clicks of a shotgun being pumped were heard, then Pyrone leveled the weapon at Heero's temple, saying this, "Heero, now is not the time to be a prick. We can worry about the British spies in our time. But it is clear that there are no British spies here. So for Christ's sake, put-the-gun-down."
Heero hesitated, then he carefully released the hammer to its safe position. Pyrone safetied his shotgun then replaced the weapon on the jetbike.
"Thank you, Pyrone," Luna breathed.
"No problem, Luna," Pyrone smiled.
"Well, we have to get you six ready," Artemis said.
"Ready for what?" Duo asked.
"The fight, of course," Luna said. "There will be a woman appearing in front of you in a minute. That is Queen Serenity and she will instruct you on what you need to do. She will also supply you with your transformation tools."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Duo said, walking around and waving his arms like he were flagging somebody down. "We aren't going to be Sailor Scouts, are we?"
"No, you used to be the Royal Guard during the Silver Millennium and you will be now," Luna said.
"But, we didn't have powers, did we?" Pyrone asked.
"You're going to transform into the Gundams that you pilot," Artemis said.
"But miniaturized," Luna smiled.
Just then, a heavenly figure with angel wings and all appeared in front of the pilots. The silver-haired woman was glowing brightly however she was still transparent. She smiled at the pilots and at the cats.
"Your Highness," the two cats said at the same time.
"Rise," the woman said.
The cats did so, then the woman turned her focus to the pilots again.
"It is good to see you all again."
"Who are you?" Trowa said.
"I am Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom," the woman answered. "Always the cautious type, Trowa."
"Well, I didn't expect to see you in the flesh, Highness," Pyrone smirked.
"Pyrone, always brash and sarcastic," Queen Serenity observed. "Very pleased to see you haven't lost that. However, I didn't come here to make small talk with you all. I came to give you your newest weapons in this war across time."
In front of each pilot, a shimmer began to form. Then, they grew to the size of softballs. Within each globe of energy, a small, flat computer (much like a Palm Pilot) materialized. Pyrone touched his first. As soon as his hand made contact with the small device, the globe disappeared. He turned it sideways, upside-down, even shook it like a Christmas present still wrapped. Then he saw bright green letters type their way across the black screen, and as they appeared he read what it said.
"Zero-seven?"
Suddenly, several green lines snaked their way out of the screen and wrapped themselves around Pyrone's body like a design grid. Pyrone's face held a petrified look of fear before metal started to materialize around the lines. After about a ten second span, the transformation was over. A six-foot-six version of Backlash stood before the group. Then, the suit seemed to scream.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!? GET IT OFF ME!!"
"Pyrone," Queen Serenity said. "Calm down, you aren't hurt and you won't be while armored by this suit. You must understand this."
"Yeah, but..." Pyrone trailed off. "I get it, come on guys, it's okay!"
The rest of the pilots took their small computers and read off what was written across the screens.
"Zero!" Heero said.
"Zero-two!" Duo smiled.
"Zero-three!" Trowa said.
"Zero-four!" Quatre exclaimed.
"Zero-five!" Wufei bellowed.
The five remaining young men were soon surrounded by their own patterns of green lines, then the metallic shells started to surround their bodies. Each emerged as a miniaturized version of their Gundam. The transformed pilots took a quick look at themselves, examining every side of their new...
"Halloween costumes!" Backlash said.
The others laughed, however seeing these serious-faced Gundam suits bobbing like they were laughing looked quite weird. Queen Serenity calmed down long enough to say,
"No, Pyrone but that was just what I needed to brighten my day. Now listen carefully. Each of you has the power of your Gundams despite your size varies from the enormous machines you pilot."
"So you're saying that we have the same power of our Gundams?" Deathscythe asked.
"Absolutely," Queen Serenity answered.
"Unreal," Heavyarms said.
"Let's get going you guys," Sandrock said.
"Right!" the rest chorused.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sailor Universe and Sven were locked in a ferocious battle. Sven sent energy blasts hurtling toward Universe every chance he got and Universe answered those attacks with his own. It did seem that Universe was losing this battle.
Sven launched a barrage of green energy orbs hurtling toward Universe. Universe only had time to raise a black energy shield, which absorbed the offensive barrage. Universe crossed his free arm in front of his body in defense and a large, transparent shield appeared in front of his body. The energy from the offensive was flowing into his arm and through his body, mounting for a furious counter-offensive. He flexed his body with the absorbed energy, focusing it into a dense orb forming in the interlaced fingers of his hands. Then, he let it loose. The orb flew at sub-light speed, almost catching its target. However, it continued to fly past its intended target and curved into the air, where it detonated. The sky was alight with the intensity of an atom bomb explosion.
"Scared?" Sailor Universe smirked.
"Hardly," Sven replied. "However, I must commend your ability of energy absorption."
"Thanks."
"Welcome."
Universe took flight while swinging his sword, grunting, throwing a disc of dark energy whizzing at Sven. The latter dodged the attack and performed several backsprings onto a lightpole. Universe leveled with Sven some thirty yards away. Then, Universe started to spiral in mid-air. Sparkling black lines traced the path the sword took through its spiral, then Universe shouted,
"Universe Dark Vortex ANNIHILATION!!"
The vortex Universe had conjured flew at Sven, sucking the target into its gaping top. The screams of agony were heard as Sven was squeezed by the high-pressure of the rotating winds and the ultra high voltage shocks he was receiving; this was one of Sailor Universe's more lethal attacks, but not his strongest. Universe flew headlong into it, knocking Sven out of its grip and attempting to slice him like sushi.
Somehow, Sven managed to defend against every one of Universe's attacks. Sven, worried and exhausted, conjured a huge mallet to smash Universe. Sven put all his remaining might into swinging the huge mallet, which met its target. Universe was sent flying into a brick wall, knocking the barrier down. Getting up from the wreckage of bricks and cement, he muttered,
"Okay, now I'm pissed!"
He flew as fast as he could at Sven, dodging the arc of the mallet's path. He tackled the agent of darkness in the air and slammed him into the lightpole. Sven was obviously very hurt, because as soon as he dropped to the ground he could barely crawl. Purple blood seeped out of the corner of his mouth and from his bruised left eye. One of his fangs was knocked loose and deep cuts criss-crossed his beefed muscles. Universe was getting beaten up, too. His energy was being drained from all the attacks he had sent in offensive. He was standing though so he was still winning this battle. No apparent damage was seen on Universe, but he did have a trickle of blood seeping out the corner of his mouth.
"You haven't won yet, Sailor Universe," Sven said groggily.
"Wrong!" Universe said. "I've won this! You're hurt and barely able to move."
"How disappointing!" Sven tutted. "I had thought you were more clairvoyent than this. Sadly, it seems you are not. Good-bye!"
In a puff of white smoke, Sven disappeared.
"Oh, Universe," Sven's voice cut throught the darkness.
"What?" Universe snarled.
"I will kill you now," Sven hissed. "You don't know where I am."
"Fat chance," Universe said.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"The Scout of Shadow isn't stupid. This is a cheap trick you're pulling off to conceal yourself. I know exactly where you are and what you are about to do."
"And we can see you in our scopes, too, asswipe!" Pyrone's voice cut through the air.
"I have a lock," Heero's voice was heard. "Commence destruction!"
"NO! WAIT!!" Sven's voice cracked with fear.
"Too late for that!" Wufei's voice was heard as a miniature Neo Altron flew out of the trees, energy trident ablaze.
The small Gundam swung at thin air it seemed, however, the weapon met its target and left a deep, bleeding purple wound open across Sven's chest. A golden beam lanced its way from the trees to Sven's beaten body; no doubt a mini-Zero had fired its weapon. Several other small Gundams appeared from the foliage to have their chance at the agent of darkness. Universe saw the small Heavyarms barreling ahead with its Gatlings blazing away; Deathscythe came out with its scythes swinging; Sandrock just slung its red-bladed sickles; finally, the Backlash fired both its shotguns in tandem. It was all out Hell on Earth; the sake of the Earth depended on one side's triumph over the forces of darkness.
The scouts, still half-dazed, watched these armored suits battling Sven with triumphant intensity. Lancing their way through the air with blinding speed, they struck one at a time at rapid intervals. They showed no sign of letting up or fatigue, whereas the 'Dark Lord' was shaowing an expression of worry. He was outnumbered and outmatched, or so it seemed. He curled into a ball, then unleashed a blast of green energy that knocked the six suits askew.
Sailor Universe was about to jump into the fight again, but he heard a voice summoning him in his mind. He recognized the voice as that of Queen Serenity's.
'Sailor Universe, can you hear me?' the voice said.
'Yes, your Highness,' Universe replied.
'Disappear immediately and meet me at the entrance to the park.'
'Why?'
'No time for questions, just do as I say.'
Sailor Universe seemed to fade into a shadow-like form and disappear altogether.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reappearing at the specified point, Sailor Universe saw the ghostly queen of the Silver Millennium. Universe bowed to one knee in respect of the queen.
"Rise," Serenity said.
"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Universe asked, rising.
"Obviously, you have witnessed the battle taking place with Sven and the small Gundams."
"Yeah, what is that all about?"
"Those are your friends. As the reincarnations of the Royal Guard, their duty is to defend the princesses of the Moon Kingdom...and you were the commander of the Royal Guard, meaning-"
"Since I am a Gundam pilot like them, I will also be receiving the same sort of device to transform me into a smaller version of my Gundam, no doubt."
"Precisely," Queen Serenity said, nodding.
"One question: how is it they are doing any damage at all to a magical being while using physical weapons?" Universe asked.
"Their weapons may resemble those of the physical world, however, they used magic to transform therefore their weapons use magic power to destroy their target."
"Well, suit me up!" Universe said.
The same shimmer appeared in front of Sailor Universe as his "Palm Pilot" formed inside. Universe touched it and held it above him, instinctively reciting the incantation,
"Zero-six!"
The green network of lines took their shape around Sailor Universe, formed into metal, then into the small suit of DreadScythe. But...
"The golden tiara across the forehead of your suit signifies that you are still using your Sailor Scout powers in tandem with your suit powers."
"So I am twice as lethal as I am in Scout mode?" Universe asked.
"Yes," Queen Serenity said. "Good luck, Sailor Universe, and take good care of the Scouts in the future."
With that, Queen Serenity disappeared and left the small DreadScythe to fly back to the battlefield.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh shit!" Deathscythe said, dodging another attack by Sven.
Ever since Sailor Universe left the fight, Sven has been taking care of the suits. They were all so inexperienced at this magical fighting, so they weren't very proficient at it yet. Backlash and Heavyarms were sitting behind a fallen tree popping off their rounds at Sven. The latter was hit by several of Heavyarms's bullets and Backlash's blasts. But, it didn't stop him from sending a counter-offensive which took out half the tree's trunk.
"You think we stand a chance, Quatre?" Backlash transmitted.
"Not if we don't coordinate our attacks and make a plan," Sandrock answered, from his position, over halfway across the field.
"Oh yeah! Great! Thanks for NOTHING!!" Backlash yelled, sarcastically.
"How about this," Heavyarms said, firing some rounds. "We have a distraction from opposite sides of the field so he doesn't know which way to look and then the rest of us take him out."
"Or we could do this," Tre's voice was heard.
"Where are you, Tre?" Pyrone said, looking around through the eyes of his helmet.
"Just look up," Tre said.
Silouhetted against the moon was a dark figure, hovering above the battlefield. It drew an elongated shape from its right leg and pointed it toward Sven. A bright golden glow started to emit from the opening and the spirals at two points were dispersing the rest. Sven looked up just in time to see a bright beam headed right for him. Unfortunately, he dodged it at the last moment, letting his place become a crater.
"Shit!" Tre exclaimed.
The figure drew a staff and ignited the black energy of the blade. Then, it rocketed toward the earth, scythe held at ready to strike. Sven flew up to the figure, which came out of the moon's light to reveal...
"Jesus, it's a small DreadScythe," Deathscythe said.
Sven roared as he flew right in the DreadScythe's scythe. The lifeblood was draining from Sven's deepest wound and the fatal blow. Gagging up the purple fluid, the lord of darkness was fading fast, losing his very life. That's when the Scouts came to the ready shouting,
"Get out of the way, or we might hurt you!"
"Right!" DreadScythe screamed back. "All right, Gundams! Help the Scouts out with this bag of shit!"
"Right!" the Gundams shouted back.
All six of them took their place, while DreadScythe landed a knee blow to Sven's gut to keep the latter from getting up. The DreadScythe flew back to the group, drew its gun, and shouted,
"NOW!"
"Sailor Planet ATTACK!!" the Scouts shouted altogether.
"Universe-DreadScythe Dimensional DEMOLITION!!" DreadScythe screamed, firing a twisted black-gold beam.
The rest of the pilots also fired off their rounds: Zero fired the strongest beam from its beam rifle; Deathscythe gave it all the machine guns had; Heavyarms completely emptied its ammunition; Sandrock fired every last bullet from its machine guns; Altron used every beam it had from its tail stinger; and Backlash used all its shells in the shotguns. Sven's body was bombarded by the different attacks, breaking apart and vaporizing into thin air.
The Scouts and the pilots had won. The battle was over...
"But the war has just begun," Sailor Pluto said.
"BULLSHIT!" Backlash roared. "We beat that fucker, plain and simple!"
"Him, yes," Sailor Pluto responded calmly to the hotheaded Backlash. "But there are
others that we must battle across time."
"No," Deathscythe argued. "If we beat that sack of trash, then the rest of them won't try it."
"Not so," Sailor Moon said. "We've had very persistent enemies that sent multiple enemies even after we beat the strongest."
"THIS IS FUCKED!!" Backlash screamed, throwing its arms wildly into the air.
"Backlash," DreadScythe said, seeming to glare his counterpart down, "haven't you and I fought many waves of enemies at one time?"
"That was different, DreadScythe" Backlash huffed. "They were drunken humans, not magical fairies like that guy."
"Well, you'll just have to get used to it," DreadScythe half-growled, "because we're going to be stuck here for a long time, it seems."
"Why don't we get our thumbs out our asses, then," Backlash snarled.
"Because we don't have what it takes to go home, yet," DreadScythe pointed out.
"Oh, so your saying we aren't good enough, that it?" Backlash said, getting in DreadScythe's face with a thick, black metallic finger.
"Don't you challenge me," DreadScythe threatened.
"Please, you two, stop fighting!" Sailor Mars pleaded.
"FUCK YOU!" Backlash yelled, back-handing her.
As Sailor Mars fell to the ground, a silence fell over the group. DreadScythe looked from Backlash to Sailor Mars, unbelieving what had happened. The raven-haired Scout contacted the ground, in a world of hurt, while Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury came to her side. DreadScythe, with its long gun, swung the weapon like a baseball bat into Backlash's face. It contacted and the latter went into a twist in the air, faliing to the ground. Sailor Mars, near enough to do something, kicked the faceplate of Backlash.
"YOU ASSHOLE!" Mars screamed, tears and blood running down her bruised cheek.
At that same moment, Altron leaped on top of Backlash and started to punch the living daylights out of him. With wide crosses, Altron was having a serious effect. Backlash's faceplate was beginning to dent up and crumple. But, it didn't mean the 'parasite' was weakened by the barrage, for Backlash lanced out and knocked Altron off of him. Rising to its feet, Backlash charged the rest of the Gundams only to be charged back and tackled into a huge pile of metal suits. The Scouts were all begging for the fighting to stop, pleading and yelling at the Gundams to quit their childish fighting.
It came down to this: Backlash pulled its scythe staff and beat Deathscythe up with it while using it to fend off the others. Then, Backlash shot Heavyarms (no, he didn't kill Trowa) sending the blue Gundam flying head over heels. After that, Altron got a taste of the scythe (again, no deaths) when his legs went out from under him. Sandrock and Backlash both grappled for a while until Zero thought he could some help by tackling the two only to have Backlash pin the two underneath Sandrocks sickles. Finally, DreadScythe and Backlash went head-to-head.
"You aren't going to calm down, are you?" Dreadscythe asked.
"FUCK NO!!" Backlash roared.
"Fine," DreadScythe growled.
DreadScythe fired its rockets to tackle Backlash, successful. But Backlash rolled the other over, then sprang both back onto their feet. The Gundams and Scouts encircled the two remaining fighters, one to make sure that they don't bring attention to what was taking place, and two to try and stop them from killing each other.
Backlash, held back by three other Gundams and four Scouts, tried to throw a left cross but his arm was restrained by two of the Scouts (namely, Pluto and Neptune). DreadScythe tried to resist being held back by the remaining two Gundams and five Scouts, however, even he had trouble. The pleads of the pair's comrades was nearly deafening in the tight circle. Somehow, they both managed to pry themselves loose to try and choke the other. The grips on each's neck was somewhat like a gator locking its jaws on its prey. In order for the two to break apart, Uranus set off her World Shaking attack.
It did accomplish the task, however, it was a bit too much. The rest of the group flew backwards from the intense blast. But did it keep the two from going back to killing each other? No...
They both flew straight at each other, in a sort of mid-air tackle. There, they grappled until they hit the ground and were holding the other at gunpoint, yelling curses at each other. Then, DreadScythe let loose a volley of black orbs at Backlash from its hand. The latter rolled backwards a few yards with every orb that it contacted. DreadScythe stopped only until it was standing over Backlash with the gun aimed at the latter's face, and ready to fire.
Breathing heavily, all sixteen soldiers just stopped. Dread and 'Lash looked straight at each other, not breaking that green glare. The golden tiara across Dread's forehead disappeared as it replaced the gun in its holster.
"Our own worst enemy is ourselves," DreadScythe announced to the group.
"Hmm," Sailor Pluto acknowledged. "The enemies within our own souls are the worst indeed."
"Our pride gets in the way of our judgement and clouds our thinking," Sailor Mercury
piped.
"What have we become?" Zero sighed.
"One things for sure," Deathscythe said.
"What's that?" Sandrock asked.
"We need to leave."
"Let's go then," Altron said.
"Fine with me," Backlash spat, standing.
The seven suits flew off, blazing white trails of rockets shone brightly against their metallic armor. The Scouts had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time these suits would show up. Sailor Mars knew that for sure, and boy did she loathe that thought.
"Until they unite amongst themselves," Queen Serenity said to no one in particular, "they won't be able to aid the Scouts in any way."
So, how do you like that? It hurt me to put something like a back-hand slap to a Sailor Soldier, but I had to do something. Pyrone is the worst when it comes to losing his temper, ne? Anyway, tell me how well I'm doing and I'll start on some new stuff.
-Static Scythe
"Trista," Michelle looked to her companion.
"Yes, Michelle," Trista replied.
"Why are we stopping here?"
"There is a strong, sinister force resonanting from this area," Trista explained. "I feel it is our duty to try and supress it."
"I hope you're not in over your head," Michelle sighed.
"Don't worry," Trista said. "I have a good feeling about this."
The two women got out of the silver 1996 Camaro SS (I LOVE that car!) and made their way to the center of the dark field. There, they were met by the five younger women. All the girls were set to transform, which they of course did.
"Venus Crystal Power!"
"Mercury Crystal Power!"
"Mars Crystal Power!"
"Jupiter Crystal Power!"
"Moon Eternal Power!"
"Neptune Crystal Power!"
"Pluto Crystal Power!"
The flashes of different colored light strobed into the dark area surrounding the field. The Sailor Scouts stood there and then two more figures joined the group. It was Sailor Uranus and Sailor Saturn. The two Scouts were smiling.
"What are you so happy about, Amara?" Neptune asked coyly.
"I was just watching your escapade at the mall," Uranus replied. "Hotaru came too."
"Mama, I saw you and that guy," Saturn said. "I think you looked really happy with him."
Pluto blushed at the thought of Pyrone, but she smiled none the less. The silence was broken by a strangled yell of a feminine voice. Luna and Artemis came bounding to the Scouts. Huffing and puffing, the two cats managed to choke out the news.
"We've just received word from Queen Serenity that there is a disturbing evil here," Luna panted. The black cat sat on her haunches and rested while Artemis began the rest of the news.
"Sailor Universe will join us tonight and so shall our allies."
"What allies?" Mercury asked.
"The six new allies we had been expecting along with Universe," Luna replied.
"Oh," Sailor Moon replied.
Suddenly, a deep cackle erupted from the night air, scaring the Scouts. A man with white skin and blue hair flowing to his shoulders came out of the shadows. He was wearing a black cloak and black boots, but his yellow eyes shone like the moon. He approached the Scouts slowly and silently. The Scouts cringed from his presence and huddled together. But the four Outers stood stoic and determined.
"Greeting, Sailor Scouts," the man said. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Lord Sven Cadgrade of the Dark Sect, the strongest force in all the Universe. You may call me Sven."
"You might want to think that statement over, pal," another male voice penetrated the shadows.
"Who's there?" Sven said, suspicious.
Seeming to materialize from out of nowhere, a figure emerged from the darkness. His long trench coat billowed in the cool breeze. The sword and scythe staff strapped to his back swayed to and fro very lightly, clanking together. The black lenses of his glasses covered his eyes but his dreaded hair flew in his face and back again. Sven was most surprised. He hadn't felt a power this huge in eons. Luna and Artemis both gasped,
"That's Sailor Universe!"
"That's Sailor Universe?" the Inners chorused.
"Yes," Sailor Pluto said. "That is the strongest of all the Sailor Scouts: Sailor Universe. Sailor Moon, this is the heir to the throne of the Universe and he watches over all of us and protects us with a power beyond our comprehension."
"So he could easily have killed Chaos?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Yes," Pluto answered. "His power could have taken out Chaos in an instant."
"Then why didn't he show up earlier?" Sailor Moon screamed.
"Time has some bumpy traffic," Sailor Universe replied. Sailor Pluto stifled a laugh.
'I knew I recognized this power from somewhere,' Sven thought.
"You think you have the strongest power in all the Universe?" Sailor Universe asked.
"Yes," Sven sneered.
"Don't you want to take that back?" Universe said.
No answer from Sven except a smile.
"Better check your memory," Universe said. "I think I asked you a question."
"No," Sven said. "You merely made a statement saying I should recant mine."
"Don't you challenge me, dammit," Universe said, pointing a threatening finger. "I'm itching to destroy something tonight and I'm feelin' kinda lucky right here."
"One moment," Sven raised a finger. "I haven't fully prepared for the Scouts."
As he finished his sentance, a flurry of green energy swirled about his body. His hair was flying everywhere and his mouth twisted into a snarl. Long, pointed fangs protruded from his maw, appearing dangerously sharp and menacing. Then, his body seemed to bulge against his clothing, beefing up for the battle he was about to begin. Soon the flurry stopped and everything sort of returned to normal.
The Scouts gasped at his menacing appearance and huddled even closer. But the four Outers remained strong. Sailor Moon eventually came to realize this and stopped being afraid. She'd been through worse, so why be afraid?
"Scouts," she said. "Let's take a stand."
"Sailor Moon," Sailor Mars said shakily. "Can't you feel his power?"
"Yes," Moon replied confidently. "However, we can at least take a stand against this overwhelming evil. When the scales of war hang in the balance, good will always prevail over evil, no matter the cost."
"That's right," Sailor Universe said.
He drew his sword and held it in front of him in defense. Sven looked at Sailor Universe and smiled.
"You are the Scout of Shadow and Universal Knowledge, are you not?" he asked.
"Huh? Yeah, I am," Sailor Universe said.
"Then this should be a good fight. However, you must allow me to do one thing..."
He opened his palm toward the Scouts and several glowing yellow cords shot out of it. They twisted their way around the group of Scouts, tying them all together. Then the surprised gasps of the Scouts were replaced with painful screams of agony as the cords shocked the Scouts with bright, jagged bolts of energy. The group fell to the ground, unconscious. Sailor Universe stood there in shock, then quickly regained his composure by taking a fighting stance.
"I get it," Universe growled. "Take out my cheer squad."
"I want this to be a fair fight," Sven said.
"Fine," Universe said. "Then revive them."
"What?"
"You heard me."
"Why should I do that?"
"There aren't going to be any witnesses if one of us wins the fight, right?"
"I see your point. It shall be done."
Sven turned his palm to the unconscious Scouts and they all groaned and awoke. Sailor Universe was relieved that they were okay then turned to Sven.
"Let's get this party started," he said.
"Gladly," was the reply.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The squeal of tires echoed off the tall buildings of Tokyo. A black car slid around a corner followed closely by a black jetbike. Roaring down the street at over three hundred miles per hour, both vehicles were headed to the park once again.
"Duo," Heero said calmly from the passenger seat.
"What is it Heero?" Duo snarled, shifting into seventh gear.
"What are you rushing for?"
"In case you haven't noticed Heero," Duo started, shifting into eighth gear, "our friend is in trouble and we need to help him."
"How? We are just humans without this so called 'magic' power. How in the name of Kami-sama are we going to help him?"
"That's easy," a voice said over the radio.
"Care to elaborate, Pyrone?" Trowa said from the back.
"We distract whoever it is that Tre is fighting long enough for Tre to do some damage," Pyrone said. "Then, we high tail it the fuck out of there with Tre and the Scouts so we aren't killed in the midst of this battle."
"How cowardly can humans be?" Quatre yelled over the roar of the car's engine. "What Pyrone is suggesting is the most cowardly tactic of all: sneaking up behind the enemy with a cheap shot."
"Then what do you suggest, Quatre?" Wufei spat.
"Let me think for a minute," Quatre said, worried.
"Too late," Duo announced, "we're here."
Both car and bike stopped rather quickly and came close to hitting the silver Camaro. The deep purr of the car engine and the hollow whine of the jet were cut off as both machines were shut down. The car's doors opened and the five young pilots exited while the older pilot dismounted the bike and removed the helmet. They all stared at each other when suddenly a chorus of screams broke the silent night.
They turned their heads in the direction from where the screams originated and saw a bright glow illuminating the pained expressions of the Scouts' faces. Further in the distance, they saw Sailor Universe talking to some weird looking guy with pale skin.
The six pilots were about to barrel in their without any thought of what to do when they were stopped by two cats.
"What th-?" Heero was cut off.
"Are you the Gundam pilots who have accompanied Sailor Universe?" the black cat spoke in a female voice.
"Who wants to know?" Trowa asked suspiciously.
"Yeah," Pyrone said.
"We are the Royal Advisers to Neo Queen Serenity," the white cat said in a male voice.
"I am Luna and this is Artemis," the black cat said.
"Great, but you'll have to convince us better than that," Heero said, pulling a gun.
"Heero, don't be a fucking close-minded soldier," Duo yelled. "Isn't two talking cats enough evidence for you?"
"No," Heero said, cocking the hammer.
The clicks of a shotgun being pumped were heard, then Pyrone leveled the weapon at Heero's temple, saying this, "Heero, now is not the time to be a prick. We can worry about the British spies in our time. But it is clear that there are no British spies here. So for Christ's sake, put-the-gun-down."
Heero hesitated, then he carefully released the hammer to its safe position. Pyrone safetied his shotgun then replaced the weapon on the jetbike.
"Thank you, Pyrone," Luna breathed.
"No problem, Luna," Pyrone smiled.
"Well, we have to get you six ready," Artemis said.
"Ready for what?" Duo asked.
"The fight, of course," Luna said. "There will be a woman appearing in front of you in a minute. That is Queen Serenity and she will instruct you on what you need to do. She will also supply you with your transformation tools."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Duo said, walking around and waving his arms like he were flagging somebody down. "We aren't going to be Sailor Scouts, are we?"
"No, you used to be the Royal Guard during the Silver Millennium and you will be now," Luna said.
"But, we didn't have powers, did we?" Pyrone asked.
"You're going to transform into the Gundams that you pilot," Artemis said.
"But miniaturized," Luna smiled.
Just then, a heavenly figure with angel wings and all appeared in front of the pilots. The silver-haired woman was glowing brightly however she was still transparent. She smiled at the pilots and at the cats.
"Your Highness," the two cats said at the same time.
"Rise," the woman said.
The cats did so, then the woman turned her focus to the pilots again.
"It is good to see you all again."
"Who are you?" Trowa said.
"I am Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom," the woman answered. "Always the cautious type, Trowa."
"Well, I didn't expect to see you in the flesh, Highness," Pyrone smirked.
"Pyrone, always brash and sarcastic," Queen Serenity observed. "Very pleased to see you haven't lost that. However, I didn't come here to make small talk with you all. I came to give you your newest weapons in this war across time."
In front of each pilot, a shimmer began to form. Then, they grew to the size of softballs. Within each globe of energy, a small, flat computer (much like a Palm Pilot) materialized. Pyrone touched his first. As soon as his hand made contact with the small device, the globe disappeared. He turned it sideways, upside-down, even shook it like a Christmas present still wrapped. Then he saw bright green letters type their way across the black screen, and as they appeared he read what it said.
"Zero-seven?"
Suddenly, several green lines snaked their way out of the screen and wrapped themselves around Pyrone's body like a design grid. Pyrone's face held a petrified look of fear before metal started to materialize around the lines. After about a ten second span, the transformation was over. A six-foot-six version of Backlash stood before the group. Then, the suit seemed to scream.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!? GET IT OFF ME!!"
"Pyrone," Queen Serenity said. "Calm down, you aren't hurt and you won't be while armored by this suit. You must understand this."
"Yeah, but..." Pyrone trailed off. "I get it, come on guys, it's okay!"
The rest of the pilots took their small computers and read off what was written across the screens.
"Zero!" Heero said.
"Zero-two!" Duo smiled.
"Zero-three!" Trowa said.
"Zero-four!" Quatre exclaimed.
"Zero-five!" Wufei bellowed.
The five remaining young men were soon surrounded by their own patterns of green lines, then the metallic shells started to surround their bodies. Each emerged as a miniaturized version of their Gundam. The transformed pilots took a quick look at themselves, examining every side of their new...
"Halloween costumes!" Backlash said.
The others laughed, however seeing these serious-faced Gundam suits bobbing like they were laughing looked quite weird. Queen Serenity calmed down long enough to say,
"No, Pyrone but that was just what I needed to brighten my day. Now listen carefully. Each of you has the power of your Gundams despite your size varies from the enormous machines you pilot."
"So you're saying that we have the same power of our Gundams?" Deathscythe asked.
"Absolutely," Queen Serenity answered.
"Unreal," Heavyarms said.
"Let's get going you guys," Sandrock said.
"Right!" the rest chorused.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sailor Universe and Sven were locked in a ferocious battle. Sven sent energy blasts hurtling toward Universe every chance he got and Universe answered those attacks with his own. It did seem that Universe was losing this battle.
Sven launched a barrage of green energy orbs hurtling toward Universe. Universe only had time to raise a black energy shield, which absorbed the offensive barrage. Universe crossed his free arm in front of his body in defense and a large, transparent shield appeared in front of his body. The energy from the offensive was flowing into his arm and through his body, mounting for a furious counter-offensive. He flexed his body with the absorbed energy, focusing it into a dense orb forming in the interlaced fingers of his hands. Then, he let it loose. The orb flew at sub-light speed, almost catching its target. However, it continued to fly past its intended target and curved into the air, where it detonated. The sky was alight with the intensity of an atom bomb explosion.
"Scared?" Sailor Universe smirked.
"Hardly," Sven replied. "However, I must commend your ability of energy absorption."
"Thanks."
"Welcome."
Universe took flight while swinging his sword, grunting, throwing a disc of dark energy whizzing at Sven. The latter dodged the attack and performed several backsprings onto a lightpole. Universe leveled with Sven some thirty yards away. Then, Universe started to spiral in mid-air. Sparkling black lines traced the path the sword took through its spiral, then Universe shouted,
"Universe Dark Vortex ANNIHILATION!!"
The vortex Universe had conjured flew at Sven, sucking the target into its gaping top. The screams of agony were heard as Sven was squeezed by the high-pressure of the rotating winds and the ultra high voltage shocks he was receiving; this was one of Sailor Universe's more lethal attacks, but not his strongest. Universe flew headlong into it, knocking Sven out of its grip and attempting to slice him like sushi.
Somehow, Sven managed to defend against every one of Universe's attacks. Sven, worried and exhausted, conjured a huge mallet to smash Universe. Sven put all his remaining might into swinging the huge mallet, which met its target. Universe was sent flying into a brick wall, knocking the barrier down. Getting up from the wreckage of bricks and cement, he muttered,
"Okay, now I'm pissed!"
He flew as fast as he could at Sven, dodging the arc of the mallet's path. He tackled the agent of darkness in the air and slammed him into the lightpole. Sven was obviously very hurt, because as soon as he dropped to the ground he could barely crawl. Purple blood seeped out of the corner of his mouth and from his bruised left eye. One of his fangs was knocked loose and deep cuts criss-crossed his beefed muscles. Universe was getting beaten up, too. His energy was being drained from all the attacks he had sent in offensive. He was standing though so he was still winning this battle. No apparent damage was seen on Universe, but he did have a trickle of blood seeping out the corner of his mouth.
"You haven't won yet, Sailor Universe," Sven said groggily.
"Wrong!" Universe said. "I've won this! You're hurt and barely able to move."
"How disappointing!" Sven tutted. "I had thought you were more clairvoyent than this. Sadly, it seems you are not. Good-bye!"
In a puff of white smoke, Sven disappeared.
"Oh, Universe," Sven's voice cut throught the darkness.
"What?" Universe snarled.
"I will kill you now," Sven hissed. "You don't know where I am."
"Fat chance," Universe said.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"The Scout of Shadow isn't stupid. This is a cheap trick you're pulling off to conceal yourself. I know exactly where you are and what you are about to do."
"And we can see you in our scopes, too, asswipe!" Pyrone's voice cut through the air.
"I have a lock," Heero's voice was heard. "Commence destruction!"
"NO! WAIT!!" Sven's voice cracked with fear.
"Too late for that!" Wufei's voice was heard as a miniature Neo Altron flew out of the trees, energy trident ablaze.
The small Gundam swung at thin air it seemed, however, the weapon met its target and left a deep, bleeding purple wound open across Sven's chest. A golden beam lanced its way from the trees to Sven's beaten body; no doubt a mini-Zero had fired its weapon. Several other small Gundams appeared from the foliage to have their chance at the agent of darkness. Universe saw the small Heavyarms barreling ahead with its Gatlings blazing away; Deathscythe came out with its scythes swinging; Sandrock just slung its red-bladed sickles; finally, the Backlash fired both its shotguns in tandem. It was all out Hell on Earth; the sake of the Earth depended on one side's triumph over the forces of darkness.
The scouts, still half-dazed, watched these armored suits battling Sven with triumphant intensity. Lancing their way through the air with blinding speed, they struck one at a time at rapid intervals. They showed no sign of letting up or fatigue, whereas the 'Dark Lord' was shaowing an expression of worry. He was outnumbered and outmatched, or so it seemed. He curled into a ball, then unleashed a blast of green energy that knocked the six suits askew.
Sailor Universe was about to jump into the fight again, but he heard a voice summoning him in his mind. He recognized the voice as that of Queen Serenity's.
'Sailor Universe, can you hear me?' the voice said.
'Yes, your Highness,' Universe replied.
'Disappear immediately and meet me at the entrance to the park.'
'Why?'
'No time for questions, just do as I say.'
Sailor Universe seemed to fade into a shadow-like form and disappear altogether.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reappearing at the specified point, Sailor Universe saw the ghostly queen of the Silver Millennium. Universe bowed to one knee in respect of the queen.
"Rise," Serenity said.
"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Universe asked, rising.
"Obviously, you have witnessed the battle taking place with Sven and the small Gundams."
"Yeah, what is that all about?"
"Those are your friends. As the reincarnations of the Royal Guard, their duty is to defend the princesses of the Moon Kingdom...and you were the commander of the Royal Guard, meaning-"
"Since I am a Gundam pilot like them, I will also be receiving the same sort of device to transform me into a smaller version of my Gundam, no doubt."
"Precisely," Queen Serenity said, nodding.
"One question: how is it they are doing any damage at all to a magical being while using physical weapons?" Universe asked.
"Their weapons may resemble those of the physical world, however, they used magic to transform therefore their weapons use magic power to destroy their target."
"Well, suit me up!" Universe said.
The same shimmer appeared in front of Sailor Universe as his "Palm Pilot" formed inside. Universe touched it and held it above him, instinctively reciting the incantation,
"Zero-six!"
The green network of lines took their shape around Sailor Universe, formed into metal, then into the small suit of DreadScythe. But...
"The golden tiara across the forehead of your suit signifies that you are still using your Sailor Scout powers in tandem with your suit powers."
"So I am twice as lethal as I am in Scout mode?" Universe asked.
"Yes," Queen Serenity said. "Good luck, Sailor Universe, and take good care of the Scouts in the future."
With that, Queen Serenity disappeared and left the small DreadScythe to fly back to the battlefield.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh shit!" Deathscythe said, dodging another attack by Sven.
Ever since Sailor Universe left the fight, Sven has been taking care of the suits. They were all so inexperienced at this magical fighting, so they weren't very proficient at it yet. Backlash and Heavyarms were sitting behind a fallen tree popping off their rounds at Sven. The latter was hit by several of Heavyarms's bullets and Backlash's blasts. But, it didn't stop him from sending a counter-offensive which took out half the tree's trunk.
"You think we stand a chance, Quatre?" Backlash transmitted.
"Not if we don't coordinate our attacks and make a plan," Sandrock answered, from his position, over halfway across the field.
"Oh yeah! Great! Thanks for NOTHING!!" Backlash yelled, sarcastically.
"How about this," Heavyarms said, firing some rounds. "We have a distraction from opposite sides of the field so he doesn't know which way to look and then the rest of us take him out."
"Or we could do this," Tre's voice was heard.
"Where are you, Tre?" Pyrone said, looking around through the eyes of his helmet.
"Just look up," Tre said.
Silouhetted against the moon was a dark figure, hovering above the battlefield. It drew an elongated shape from its right leg and pointed it toward Sven. A bright golden glow started to emit from the opening and the spirals at two points were dispersing the rest. Sven looked up just in time to see a bright beam headed right for him. Unfortunately, he dodged it at the last moment, letting his place become a crater.
"Shit!" Tre exclaimed.
The figure drew a staff and ignited the black energy of the blade. Then, it rocketed toward the earth, scythe held at ready to strike. Sven flew up to the figure, which came out of the moon's light to reveal...
"Jesus, it's a small DreadScythe," Deathscythe said.
Sven roared as he flew right in the DreadScythe's scythe. The lifeblood was draining from Sven's deepest wound and the fatal blow. Gagging up the purple fluid, the lord of darkness was fading fast, losing his very life. That's when the Scouts came to the ready shouting,
"Get out of the way, or we might hurt you!"
"Right!" DreadScythe screamed back. "All right, Gundams! Help the Scouts out with this bag of shit!"
"Right!" the Gundams shouted back.
All six of them took their place, while DreadScythe landed a knee blow to Sven's gut to keep the latter from getting up. The DreadScythe flew back to the group, drew its gun, and shouted,
"NOW!"
"Sailor Planet ATTACK!!" the Scouts shouted altogether.
"Universe-DreadScythe Dimensional DEMOLITION!!" DreadScythe screamed, firing a twisted black-gold beam.
The rest of the pilots also fired off their rounds: Zero fired the strongest beam from its beam rifle; Deathscythe gave it all the machine guns had; Heavyarms completely emptied its ammunition; Sandrock fired every last bullet from its machine guns; Altron used every beam it had from its tail stinger; and Backlash used all its shells in the shotguns. Sven's body was bombarded by the different attacks, breaking apart and vaporizing into thin air.
The Scouts and the pilots had won. The battle was over...
"But the war has just begun," Sailor Pluto said.
"BULLSHIT!" Backlash roared. "We beat that fucker, plain and simple!"
"Him, yes," Sailor Pluto responded calmly to the hotheaded Backlash. "But there are
others that we must battle across time."
"No," Deathscythe argued. "If we beat that sack of trash, then the rest of them won't try it."
"Not so," Sailor Moon said. "We've had very persistent enemies that sent multiple enemies even after we beat the strongest."
"THIS IS FUCKED!!" Backlash screamed, throwing its arms wildly into the air.
"Backlash," DreadScythe said, seeming to glare his counterpart down, "haven't you and I fought many waves of enemies at one time?"
"That was different, DreadScythe" Backlash huffed. "They were drunken humans, not magical fairies like that guy."
"Well, you'll just have to get used to it," DreadScythe half-growled, "because we're going to be stuck here for a long time, it seems."
"Why don't we get our thumbs out our asses, then," Backlash snarled.
"Because we don't have what it takes to go home, yet," DreadScythe pointed out.
"Oh, so your saying we aren't good enough, that it?" Backlash said, getting in DreadScythe's face with a thick, black metallic finger.
"Don't you challenge me," DreadScythe threatened.
"Please, you two, stop fighting!" Sailor Mars pleaded.
"FUCK YOU!" Backlash yelled, back-handing her.
As Sailor Mars fell to the ground, a silence fell over the group. DreadScythe looked from Backlash to Sailor Mars, unbelieving what had happened. The raven-haired Scout contacted the ground, in a world of hurt, while Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury came to her side. DreadScythe, with its long gun, swung the weapon like a baseball bat into Backlash's face. It contacted and the latter went into a twist in the air, faliing to the ground. Sailor Mars, near enough to do something, kicked the faceplate of Backlash.
"YOU ASSHOLE!" Mars screamed, tears and blood running down her bruised cheek.
At that same moment, Altron leaped on top of Backlash and started to punch the living daylights out of him. With wide crosses, Altron was having a serious effect. Backlash's faceplate was beginning to dent up and crumple. But, it didn't mean the 'parasite' was weakened by the barrage, for Backlash lanced out and knocked Altron off of him. Rising to its feet, Backlash charged the rest of the Gundams only to be charged back and tackled into a huge pile of metal suits. The Scouts were all begging for the fighting to stop, pleading and yelling at the Gundams to quit their childish fighting.
It came down to this: Backlash pulled its scythe staff and beat Deathscythe up with it while using it to fend off the others. Then, Backlash shot Heavyarms (no, he didn't kill Trowa) sending the blue Gundam flying head over heels. After that, Altron got a taste of the scythe (again, no deaths) when his legs went out from under him. Sandrock and Backlash both grappled for a while until Zero thought he could some help by tackling the two only to have Backlash pin the two underneath Sandrocks sickles. Finally, DreadScythe and Backlash went head-to-head.
"You aren't going to calm down, are you?" Dreadscythe asked.
"FUCK NO!!" Backlash roared.
"Fine," DreadScythe growled.
DreadScythe fired its rockets to tackle Backlash, successful. But Backlash rolled the other over, then sprang both back onto their feet. The Gundams and Scouts encircled the two remaining fighters, one to make sure that they don't bring attention to what was taking place, and two to try and stop them from killing each other.
Backlash, held back by three other Gundams and four Scouts, tried to throw a left cross but his arm was restrained by two of the Scouts (namely, Pluto and Neptune). DreadScythe tried to resist being held back by the remaining two Gundams and five Scouts, however, even he had trouble. The pleads of the pair's comrades was nearly deafening in the tight circle. Somehow, they both managed to pry themselves loose to try and choke the other. The grips on each's neck was somewhat like a gator locking its jaws on its prey. In order for the two to break apart, Uranus set off her World Shaking attack.
It did accomplish the task, however, it was a bit too much. The rest of the group flew backwards from the intense blast. But did it keep the two from going back to killing each other? No...
They both flew straight at each other, in a sort of mid-air tackle. There, they grappled until they hit the ground and were holding the other at gunpoint, yelling curses at each other. Then, DreadScythe let loose a volley of black orbs at Backlash from its hand. The latter rolled backwards a few yards with every orb that it contacted. DreadScythe stopped only until it was standing over Backlash with the gun aimed at the latter's face, and ready to fire.
Breathing heavily, all sixteen soldiers just stopped. Dread and 'Lash looked straight at each other, not breaking that green glare. The golden tiara across Dread's forehead disappeared as it replaced the gun in its holster.
"Our own worst enemy is ourselves," DreadScythe announced to the group.
"Hmm," Sailor Pluto acknowledged. "The enemies within our own souls are the worst indeed."
"Our pride gets in the way of our judgement and clouds our thinking," Sailor Mercury
piped.
"What have we become?" Zero sighed.
"One things for sure," Deathscythe said.
"What's that?" Sandrock asked.
"We need to leave."
"Let's go then," Altron said.
"Fine with me," Backlash spat, standing.
The seven suits flew off, blazing white trails of rockets shone brightly against their metallic armor. The Scouts had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time these suits would show up. Sailor Mars knew that for sure, and boy did she loathe that thought.
"Until they unite amongst themselves," Queen Serenity said to no one in particular, "they won't be able to aid the Scouts in any way."
So, how do you like that? It hurt me to put something like a back-hand slap to a Sailor Soldier, but I had to do something. Pyrone is the worst when it comes to losing his temper, ne? Anyway, tell me how well I'm doing and I'll start on some new stuff.
-Static Scythe