Renée silently made her way up the many steps of Hikawa shrine, at last reunited with her partner in crime who now trailed behind her. His name was Lien, and he also came from her native country, good old, big and cold Canada. It was really strange for him to be here, almost surreal; she had separated her current life from her old one back home, and he existed solely in the old life. Her real life, as far as she was concerned, that she'd return to soon from this dream.
The night was dead, with no wind to make it uncomfortably cold. Noticing that every light was off, Renée became as still as the air.
"We can't go in," she whispered, as if she'd wake a beast if she talked any louder, "we'll have to go back to your hotel."
"But I just check out, stupid," he whispered back, "don't you think we'd look a bit dumb coming back in?"
"Well you can't sleep here!" She, now hoarsely, whispered back, "what am I supposed to tell Rei when both you and I appear from my room in the morning? 'Hey, Rei! This is just my friend from Canada I found last night! Now shake hands and be friends – 'cause he's staying here!'"
"Heh, well I wouldn't do that with you, but the blonde girl you were with is another story..."
Renée slowly caught on, her eyes narrowing at him. She wasn't sure weather to kill him now, or wait until she planned on where to dump the body.
"What's your problem?" He asked, shrugging awkwardly with the bag slung over his shoulder.
"Now's not the time for witty responses, Lien!" She barely whispered. "Not the best of times to be joking around at all!"
"Well, I didn't know it was that time of the month,"
"I'm dead serious, Lien!"
"So are we!" A voice called from above, as a shot of fire hit the ground in between the two; barely missing Renée's flailing arm.
"What the fuck?!" Lien cried out in alarm, jolting back from where the attack had landed and completely forgetting the whispering rule.
Both looked up to where the attack had come from.
In the trees proudly stood four Sailor Soldiers, all clad in their own colours of war.
The one responsible for the flames leaped down to her prey, moving in for the kill ever so slowly.
"Well, I was expecting Godzilla, but this is much better," Lien perked up, trying to relieve the tension between them and the murderess; he was only trying to relate to her sense of humour in hopes of being spared.
Renée didn't take her eyes off the advancing warrior for one second, not even to scold Lien, for she knew there was no joking with Rei – something was terribly wrong. Rei looked as if she was readying to kill, but Renée stood her ground, confused and worried nonetheless.
Rei stopped three feet away from Renée, although her stance said to Renée that she'd pounce any minute. Renée's own body language suggested she was ready for flight at any given moment.
The other three followed the signal and leaped down in unison to join their present leader.
"Ummm..." Renée broke the silence with a very misplaced response and tone, "So, what's up?"
Rei just kept her eyes locked on Renée's in fury.
"Ok, so you aren't really in a good mood tonight. I guess we'll just be going in now-"Renée pivoted on her heel, but Rei caught her wrist; clenching it to the point of pain.
"Ok, what the hell is going on?!" Renée yelped, frustration and pain leaking into her voice as she wrenched her wrist from Rei's grasp, stumbling back.
Lien slowly moved behind her, not wanting to make any sudden movements among the gorgeous sorceresses. That one before his friend had shot fire, but she didn't even have a flamethrower.
Clearly Renée knew what was up, and he wanted to be responsible for nothing that went wrong.
"How dare you show your face back here," Rei finally spoke through her teeth, quietly, but her intent was clear. To strike fear in the heart of the being before her, for the pain that had turned to anger within her.
"Well, I was kinda living... here... please, Rei, what is going on? Why are you guys looking at me like that!" Renée demanded for answers. What had just happened? Why were they all angry? Was this a test? Was it a sick joke?
She had gone from a fun day of goofing off with Usagi to a horror-filled night of un-dead friends and angry allies.
What was going on?!
"What is going on?!" She demanded again. "Is this a joke? A dream?"
"You little bitch," Rei seethed, getting ruffled further by the way this traitor before her tried to deny everything. "You think you could have gotten away with it? Admit it now, so at least your conscience is clean when you die."
Renée's eyes widened for a quick moment; she was taken aback by the word 'die'. Sure, Rei had attacked and intimidated her, but actually hearing the word brought reality home.
"What did I do!!" Renée pleaded, going on the offence herself with such threats.
"How dare you deny it!!"
"I'm denying nothing!!"
"So you did do it, you are one of them!"
"I did nothing, I don't know what you are talking about! So tell be so I can deny!"
"Liar! You think I'm going to believe you over my friends!!"
Renée's stomach began to turn... had Rei found out she had lied about how she got to Japan? It made no sense! It didn't fit in with how Rei was accusing her, and it certainly wasn't a reason to die! However, the thought of her own guilt of something so simple was enough to cause a reaction Rei picked up on.
"How could you," Rei barely breathed the rhetorical question out. Renée's stare of confusion was once again misread as the silence of a guilty soul, signalling Rei to get her dirty work over with.
"Fire Soul!" Rei powered the attack up fast, giving both Renée and Lien little time to trip out of the way.
Lien hardly hit the ground before bounding back up and trying to make his escape into the woods. Unfortunately for him, there were three soldiers left with nothing to do, knowing it was best to leave their peer be to gain the vengeance she sought after. They soon picked up on what the mysterious newcomer was up to, not needing to give much chase before he was surrounded.
"Hello ladies," he smiled casually, his knuckles white while he wondered how to talk himself out of this one.
"Fire SOUL!" Rei drained herself a bit longer for the attack, wanting to get the evil creature killed as fast as possible. She was being fuelled by anger and pain, and had strength to spare.
That extra piece of time was essential for Renée's survival, since she had stumbled back up; only to be right in the path of the fire. It gave her a chance to roll out of the way – the flames missed her by inches. Her skin burned with the rush of singeing air brought by the searing pillar of flames Rei shot out at her.
Coming to a stop on one knee, Renée decided that being defensive had grown tiresome. Rei may never believe her innocent if she fought back, but she wasn't going to be beat around for a false accusation.
"Phoenix power, Make-up!" Renée shouted, gripping the stone bird around her neck. In a flash of cold silver, she was transformed once again into Sailor Kitty; someone she had thought would be a peer to the girl before her.
Rei's piercing gaze didn't waver.
Renée jumped into the air with a cry of effort; her powers, whatever they may be, allowed her to jump much higher and easier than usual. With a firm grip on her staff she brought it down directly onto Rei.
Rei easily dodged sideways, leaving the staff's heavy end to hit the ground with a clang.
Renée ducked the kick Rei swung at her, and blocked the following arm blow, locking their forearms against each other for a brief second.
Renée reacted by swinging her staff at Rei, trying to fend her off. It worked; Rei jumped backward, ducked, and step sideways a few times to avoid a thrust.
While retreating, Rei had managed to take out a scroll, and as if she were taunting Renée, she held it before her face after her last duck.
"Burning Mandela!" She shouted, whipping the fiery scroll at her opponent.
Renée jumped backwards instinctively, flipping in mid air naturally to be barely missed by the razor like paper and upward explosion of flames.
Renée had to shield her face right after landing the heat of the fire was so intense. Shaken up, she didn't move until the flames died in a burst of embers. She was too unprepared for all of this, there were too many close calls, her 'friend' was the one causing them, and she had just done an acrobatic feat she knew she shouldn't be able to perform.
Rei took her hesitation as an opening; she kicked Renée across the face while in mid air, whipping her around to the ground.
Renée hit the dirt hard with a thump, her senses lost in action. She tried blinking rapidly, trying to regain her bearings – that's when she saw her staff had flown from her hand. On her stomach, she tried to reach it; just a few more inches were all she needed... but Rei's cries grabbed her attention first.
Rei had gracefully landed and twirled to face the one she had knocked down; victory was so close... this was almost over with...
"Fire!" Rei powered up for one last time. She stood at Renée's feet, daring Renée to reach for her staff with a flame at her fingertips.
This is it, I'm done, literally done, Renée thought, looking into the tiny flame before Rei. Having nothing to lose, she suddenly rolled to the side her staff was on. All she heard was "SOUL!" as she grabbed her staff, just in time to see a breath of fire run right through where she used to be.
Renée hopped up even as the flames were still pouring from Rei, and while they died she rammed her to-be assassin.
The fire soldier was tough, but nowhere near in size to the beast she fought. Rei was thrown hard onto her back, sliding across the ground even. Not wanting to give up that easily, she scrambled up; but only to be stopped dead in her tracks. Rei's charge ended abruptly before it began for the business end of Renée's staff. The 7-inch long dagger silently trembled dangerously close to Rei's neck.
It was Rei's turn to ponder her own mortality. Rei didn't dare move for what seemed like an eternity, knowing the steel could be plunged into her throat faster than anyone could evade the attack. The way it shivered was an enigma to Rei; did it mean Renée was silently chuckling, enjoying he warrior's last moments in fear? Or did it mean...
Rei didn't have time to think, for the eternity she experienced was really the mere milliseconds it took for Minako to realize the peril her friend was in.
"Venus Love Me Chain!" she rushed out quickly, whipping out a gold chain to Renée's staff. Minako yanked the threat from Renée's hands violently, barely missing the person she was trying to protect as the staff nearly flew back to her.
Renée held her right hand tenderly, the last act stirring up the old wound. Her expression remained the same, but now it was directed at Minako.
They broke her arm, they threatened her, they took her staff; it had been quite enough.
Rei jumped up from her crouched position, pouncing at Renée during her moment of silence, swinging her fist into Renée's face.
Renée may have been silent, but not unaware. Finally ripping her glare of hatred from Minako, she caught Rei's fist by the wrist and fell over backwards, planting her feet into Rei's abdomen in the mean time. Using the soldier's momentum against her, Renée kicked Rei hard off of her, flipping her over backwards into a tree.
Rei thwacked into the wood, dazed as she slid down to the ground, head first, along with the leaves shaken from the tree.
Rei finished with for the mean time, Renée rolled back up and wasted no time in charging Minako. Minako braced herself for the impact long before the monster hit her, charging up an attack for a nasty surprise; if that thing thought she could knock her over after making it so obvious, she had another thing coming.
The impact never came, though, as Renée flawlessly hopped over Minako, landing on the ground hands first, as a panther might. Snatching up her staff, she practically head butted Ami out of the way, clearing room for herself and Lien with her shoulder to get the hell out of there.
Just to be sure they left her friend be, though, Renée took a sharp turn for the temple, jumping onto the roof as Lien escaped into the forest. Doing as she hoped they might, they started attacking her. Makoto made her way onto the temple as well, while Ami sent another well-aimed wave of water. Renée was washed away with the water before she could do anything, rolling violently down the rest of the roof until she hit the ground with a thud.
Renée tried stumbling away, but Makoto took her own revenge by zapping her.
"Sparkling wide pressure!" she cried, nailing Renée with the projectile. Renée wailed in pain as she was thrown into the forest herself. She struggled to get up, but her entire body was aching and shaky. She managed to get up onto her knees, huffing as she looked behind her. There was Rei; giving her the coldest stare she'd ever seen. That's it, Renée gave up after a shiver went down her spine. She tried to shake off the eerie feeling Rei seemed to be giving off as she got up with great effort. Finally, Renée took off into the night, never looking back.
Renée had been running, non stop, for the past ten minutes. She ripped through the vegetation, crushing plants and barrelling through branches, only slowing her pace to stumbled over a dead log. She was sore, torn, bleeding and out of breath, her heart was pounding in her chest and soon her legs would give up as well. She kept running, though, since she was unable to think straight all she knew she could do was run.
A shadow suddenly jumped into her path, and unable to stop she slammed right into it.
"OOOWW!"
Renée staggered back up, holding out her hand for Lien, who had given the moan. When he was at last to his feet, he took a tantrum quite like Renée's earlier that night.
"What the hell is this?!"
"Pardon?"
"You! Them! But you! You're-"
"Yes, I have issues, I thought you'd already know that by now."
"No, stop messing with me, tell me what's going on!"
Renée snorted in satisfaction, "now you know what it feels like!"
"What? Oh, ok, fine! Just..." Lien heaved a sigh, unsure where to go from there.
"I'm suppose you are wondering why I look like the way I do?"
"Yes! Thank you!" Lien exclaimed with a toss of his hand, glad to be getting somewhere.
"Well, I don't know why."
Lien nearly fell over.
"I'll tell you how, calm down... I like, transformed a while back by using this crest thing I found. I don't have it now because it changes into this staff whenever I use it."
"It changes?"
"Yeah, I don't know where these powers are coming from or what, but it's like the twilight zone or something. It gives me this uniform, and as you can see, changes the way I look too. That part's kinda disturbing, I'm sure you've already found that out..."
"Oh, no, it's just surprising," Lien turned his head away from her, lying.
"Heh, that's the same kind of tone Ami spoke to me with the first time she saw me..." Renée looked away herself now, feeling cold all of a sudden.
"Alright, what about les femmes fatale? Why are those girls trying to kill you?" Lien tried to get his friend back, afraid that if she stopped talking, she'd have a nervous breakdown.
Renée snorted again. "I am one of them, ...or used to be," she mumbled, rubbing her nose. It was getting really cold; her nose was probably red by then.
"When I found that thing," she mentioned the crest as a detestable object, "I found out my... friends... that I met here... they could change, too. They've been changing to use powers against, like, monsters, long before I got here. When I changed, it was different, so I was never really one of them when they were fighting. I felt like a fake. I had no powers to fight with, my uniform, if you can call it that," she tugged at the fabric of her bodice, "was different. Like this silver part? It's supposed to be white and sleek, but unlike the others, mine's all stiff, like it was made of friggin' steel wool. Kinda scratchy," she forced a chuckle, but Lien didn't buy it.
"Anyway, worst of all, my hair changed, and I got... cat parts. Even though I look like them, they have no idea who, or what, I am. They all have a long history together, and an explanation for why they have powers and can change. I... I don't. I just look like them."
Renée bowed her head, seemingly exsausted. Lien dared another question, but not without a long pause, deciding whether or not it was right to bother her any more.
"Why are they... why are they after you? Is it because you are different?"
Renée closed her eyes for a moment, trying to keep what little control she had left under power. Finally, without lifting her head, she gave her anticipated response.
"I don't know. This wasn't supposed to happen. I though they were my friends, that I was fighting along with them. But... well, this is all new. I've never seen them act like that toward me."
Renée was about to sit down, but Lien grabbed her hand before she could.
"If you can, undo the change thing. We're getting the hell out of here."
"What? Now? But, all my stuff..." Renée looked back, answering her own question about her few possessions. It was hopeless.
Lien scanned the dark woods a bit, finding something close in the sticks. He didn't have to pick his way through much shrubbery to reclaim what he was looking for.
"All we need is money, and I have that," he tried to reassure her as he retrieved his bag, not realizing she had already given up. It must have flown from his grasp when she had run into him.
"We're getting the hell out of here," he repeated, grabbing her arm and dragging her onward into the forest.
"What? Do you even know where you are going?" she resisted his tug slightly; slowing him down enough to scoop up her staff from the grass.
"I can swear I saw a skyscraper a while back in this direction. We're finding the nearest road, then going back to the airport."
"The airport?"
Lien would have given her a hard time for her being clueless, but he remained silent – he was sure his teasing was the last thing she needed now. Neither of them needed it.
Renée rested her head against the glass during the dreary bus ride. Lien seemed to know where he was going, or at least acted like it; his ego was always getting them into trouble. He had pulled her onto the bus, trying to retrace his steps. Renée hadn't been forced on, but she hadn't given total cooperation, either. She didn't even care that Lien was doing all the thinking, talking, and even moving for the two of them; she was in no state to do any of those herself.
A heavy heart hung in her chest, although she wasn't totally sure why. Shouldn't she be happy, or at least relieved, to be leaving the foreign country? To have regained her best friend? To be getting away from the people after her? Something just wasn't right, though, but she didn't know what. She decided it must be because of what the people she had met here had done to her. Even though it was quite a disturbing fact to have them totally turn on her for no reason, she knew that wasn't the only factor... she just couldn't put her finger on it.
Was it the fact that the questions about the mysterious powers she had received, the voice she heard and even the monsters that had been appearing would never be answered? Maybe it was the thought of the monsters running loose around the Japanese town with her able to do nothing to stop it that was unsettling. Or maybe it was that she had no home; even though she missed her country, bad things had happened there, too, and it appeared she belonged nowhere. No one wanted her except the fellow rat next to her.
She remained motionless against the glass, physically and emotionally drained. All she seemed to have the energy for was breathing, and even Lien wasn't sure she'd be able to keep that up.
Watching the people roll by, she spotted a familiar head of hair coming up. As they got closer, Renée saw it was Usagi, wandering down the streets all alone. Before Renée could react, they had already passed her.
"Ding, ding ding, din-din-din-ding;" the bus signal went as Renée yanked on the rope desperately, not letting up until the bus driver stopped completely.
"Whats going on?" Lien asked, surprised his friend was up on her feet and jumpy as ever. Renée turned the tables, as now she dragged him around. The bus driver let them off right there, but not without a dirty look.
"Usagi! Usagi!" Renée cried after her, nearly desperate, as if Usagi was her only hope.
"USAGI!"
At last the bunny girl heard someone calling and turned around.
"Renée! What are you doing here? Oh, who's this?" she titled her head innocently with the question, noticing the poor boy who was in Renée's clutches.
"Oh, this is Lien. Lien, Usagi," she breathlessly introduced the two, trying to be polite but not really succeeding. "Usagi, what's going on?!"
"What? What's the matter?"
"You... you don't know?" Renée said lightly, a huge weight removed off her heart.
"What? Something wrong? I wouldn't know, I lost my communicator yesterday and I was actually just looking for Luna-"Usagi realized the subject matter may not be appropriate for the stranger and stopped abruptly.
"Oh, if you're worried about him, don't worry, he knows everything. He got caught up in the action..."
"What happened?" Usagi pleaded for an answer as she grabbed Renée by the arm, pulling the two into the nearest ally.
"They attacked us, Usagi-chan. I don't know what's going on, but they're out to kill me. Especially Rei!"
"Oh my goodness, they think you're the enemy! This is all just a huge misunderstanding! I wonder why Rei changed her mind?"
"Well I figured out the hard way they think I'm the enemy, what I want to know is why!"
"It's hard to explain, Renée-chan, but we better go back to the temple and fix things right away!"
The unusually silent Lien couldn't take it anymore.
"Oh no! Hell no! I'm not going back there!" he spoke in Usagi's native tongue, much better than Renée had.
"But we have to! The sooner we fix things the better! Besides, you're with me, and they have to trust me!"
With the last word, Usagi led the way out of the dark alley and back to the nearest bus stop, determined to put an end to this ridiculous battle.
Renée stood behind Usagi, towering over her. She felt like she was using Usagi as a human shield, which was weird since she was only half her height, and besides, wasn't she supposed to be the one protecting Usagi? However, it felt great to have Usagi on her side – she was so relieved that Usagi wasn't against her. Of all the soldiers Renée would want rooting for her, it had to be Usagi.
The bus they rode on back to the temple was the same one they had rode there; Renée recognized the bus driver, and he recognized them with a nasty look. However, the atmosphere was totally different; now Renée was jumpy: anxious and jittery about trying to face the others again. She prayed that things would go smoother, since despite the bad guys, she was actually having a good time with Rei and her friends. Or, she had been...
The silent trio sat on a seat parallel with the bus, facing the aisle and empty seat across from them while getting a good view of the night scenery.
"So, Usagi's your name? That's very pretty," Lien began the small talk with the blonde on the other side of Renée, speaking over Renée's back like a table, as she was using her knees as arm rests, her chin firmly held between her hands. Renée picked up on the familiar tone and gave him a well-deserved hoof in the ankle, causing Lien to back off accordingly after Usagi thanked him with a smile.
Once the threat was over with, Renée turned Lien with a glare that could prevent him from ever talking to a girl again.
"She has a boyfriend," she pronounced the words hard in English, quietly but clear, and fast enough that Renée was sure Usagi didn't pick up what she said.
Lien sunk into his seat, embarrassed and a little annoyed that Renée had assumed so quickly that his intentions were anything but innocent.
"I've known you way too long," he muttered.
"That's your own problem," she said emotionlessly, her eyes glazed over in thought with her mind somewhere else as she stared at the empty seat opposite to her.
"You're damn right it is," he continued, "I should end it all by throwing you at the back, right now."
"Is that a threat?" she finally reacted, but barely so.
"No, of course not," Lien sarcastically denied. "I could easily leave this country without you, ya know," Lien snuffed his nose at her, but she just rolled her eyes and went back to her useless worrying.
Lien sighed and turned slightly away, deciding that he may as well abandon the idea of trying to joke with the bundle of nerves next to him. She had changed since he had last seen her; he hoped it wasn't permanent.
Usagi herself was thinking deeply about what to say to the girls, or else she would have been the one to start the conversation with Lien. She looked down at Renée, who seemed to be in a trance. Poor Renée, she thought, must feel awful to have your friends attack you like that.
She considered trying to cheer her up, but it seemed best to let the zombie be. Usagi sighed and went back to thinking about what may happen and how to handle it.
Renée's silent concentration was abruptly shattered when two fairly short, unnatural creatures burst through the windows. Renée smashed her head against the side as the bus mimicked the driver's terrified reaction, careening dangerously to the left while glass flew everywhere.
The bus came to a screeching halt, bumping a few parked cars before lurching back and giving everyone but one of the monsters whip lash.
Thunderbird was thrown back hard, landing on the dirty bus floor with her butt.
"Oh, c'mon, learn to DRIVE buddy!" she moaned, looking to Windfish for some help getting up. Windfish just turned away, scanning their territory.
Receiving no recognition whatsoever, Thunderbird got up with a grunt and a scowl.
Usagi had two heavy people pinned against her, since Renée had rammed into her, and Lien rammed into Renée. Although in pain and with a bad reputation of being a ditz behind her, even she was able to realize who was standing before them.
Windfish rolled her main weapon between her hands for a few moments, deciding what to do next. As an answer to her own question, she whipped the ball into the driver, who had gotten up and was frozen in fear at what he had found. He went through the windshield, landing on a car hood below before sliding to the pavement.
With a smile, Windfish went to hijack the bus, but Thunderbird had jumped over the driver's seat, or more accurately, tripped, and was there before Windfish could say a word.
"What are you doing?!"
"I'm driving!"
"Oh no you don't," Windfish threatened.
"Well, I hate the plan. I wanna drive. You can check all the passengers for the key, I wanna drive! Besides, if we are trying to get the Sailor's attention, wouldn't a bad driver be better than a careful one? I know that you'd be going like a turtle through the streets-"
"Alright alright! Drive already!" Windfish gave in, crossing her arms and preparing to make a fool out of Thunderbird. The idiot was bound to mess something up, and Windfish would be there to laugh in her face before pushing her out of the way.
Surprisingly enough, Thunderbird gracefully handled the controls; first reversing the bus, then shifting it back into drive without missing a beat. Windfish just stood in awe, until Thunderbird purposely jerked it into high gear, taking off down the road as if it were oblivious to everything it hit.
Windfish was tossed back like a ragdoll, unprepared for Thunderbird's actions. She regained her balance during the high-speed ride, turning to her victims to search for the key. But the bus was empty!
"What the-!"
Moments earlier, Usagi had elbowed Renée off of her as the bus driver got his just deserts; or so Renée thought at least. Usagi was horrified, but in whispers Renée reminded Usagi that she could do nothing for him at that point. As quietly as they could, they made their way out the emergency door in the back. Another passenger had opened it, right after the bus had crashed, with enough care that it hadn't made a sound louder than a mouse. As the two deformities bickered at the front, all the passengers were ushered out save Renée, who in the nick of time had remembered to grab the dumbstruck Lien, frozen in his seat.
As soon as everyone hit the pavement they ran in separate directions, scattering like bugs. Then the bus took off into the night, leaving destruction in its wake.
The trio just stood there in the exhaust fumes.
"What was..." Lien trailed off, blinking in disbelief.
"You've got to learn how to move faster, there, Li," Renée criticized, folding her arms.
"C'mon, we have to stop them!" Usagi cried, bolting after the bus. There was no way she was letting those things hurt anymore people!
Suddenly, Usagi was brought to a halt, with a hand gripped to her wrist for dear life. With a questioning look on her face, Usagi turned to face Renée, butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
"Usagi, we shouldn't right now," Renée almost whispered, unsure herself as to why she was so aggressive in stopping the princess. She knew she couldn't allow Usagi to go after those deadly things, though; she just couldn't.
"But they will hurt others! Come on!"
Renée looked around to justify her action, not loosening her vice grip one bit.
"We can't 'change' here..." the lame excuse was barely audible under her breath.
Usagi sensed Renée's uncertainty, but whatever she was up to she was dead serious about.
"Ok..." Usagi decided, trusting her – she would have answered the same thing anyway even if Renée hadn't had a ferocious hold on her arm.
Their minds made up, the three dashed in the opposite direction.
Thunderbird tore through the streets, screaming in delight as she ploughed things out of her way. A mailbox, some cars, and almost a person or 3; they were a lot harder to hit than anything else.
Stupid humans, they were no fun.
Windfish, on the other hand, had never held on to something as tightly as she did now. Her hands and arms were burning as she gripped the seat in front of her, but she didn't dare move. Terrified and pinned to the spot by Thunderbird's reckless driving, she was afraid she'd fly out the open emergency exit if she dared try to sit.
After an eternity, Thunderbird let out one last whoop before slamming the brakes, causing the ground to come up and smack Windfish in the face.
"Found them!" Thunderbird cried, her arms thrown up. Windfish stumbled to a stand and then to her co-worker, peering into the headlights where four colourfully dressed girls stood. The blonde in the middle had her hand outstretched, as if she had been the one to command the bus to a halt.
"You big fat idiot, why didn't you just run them over!!"
"What?"
"Your joyride's over jerks!" The blonde commanded.
"Oh?" Windfish grimaced, elegantly leaping out the broken windshield to meet her adversaries. Thunderbird soon followed, lacking the grace her predecessor had.
"You don't stand a chance," Makoto gloated, "Four against two. You guys may as well give up now!"
"Ah, but that's where you are wrong," Windfish smirked, "there may only be two of us, but-"
"We're the real deal!" Thunderbird enthusiastically shouted, causing Windfish to roll her eyes.
The Sailor Senshi took fighting poses, preparing to attack with a most ferocious force, expecting to take the loons in front of them out with one hit. Windfish could only chuckle.
"You don't get it, do you? We aren't those weak clones you faced before. Do not underestimate us," Windfish paused to relish in the thought of her enemies giving in, caving in fear to her awesome powers. "Surrender now to us, and we may spare you lives."
"Yeah right," Makoto snapped, waiting for her cue to devastate the little monkey. It was the yellow one that had caught them off guard in the beginning and had brutalized herself and her friends, so it was she that would be torn apart.
"You asked for it," Windfish sighed, raising her ball over her head. The outer layer began to glow a weak blue.
"I'm sure you remember this trick. But now that I'm here in the flesh, I can do much more."
"Venus Love-Me Chain!" Minako bellowed, snapping out her golden chain with incredible force. Windfish had to abandon her weapon, completely taken off guard, as she jumped to the side.
Thunderbird retaliated, becoming a lot more useful than Windfish would have guessed. She slammed her own ball into the ground, causing a wave of electricity to hurtle from the ground towards the girls. All of them smacked into the ground, their legs knocked out from underneath them.
Given the opportunity, Windfish reclaimed her ball, causing the glow to come back. The messenger of ice called upon the wind she commanded to deliver her blow by volleying the ball into the air. The blue glow became more defined as a rumble reached their ears. Minako could have sworn the ground was shaking when the blue glow ceased, the ball calmly dropping back into the monster's hands.
Suddenly an icy wind ripped through the street, preventing anyone from getting back up. Bits of hail tore into their skin as they were blinded by a flurry of snow, and their uniforms weren't helping much. Minako had had enough.
"Girls! Come follow me!" She shouted, disappearing into the oblivion. The three remaining followed her, running into the wind.
"She had better have a good idea," Rei groaned, trying to go as fast as she could.
"Trust her!" Ami tried to say, but her voice was lost in the wind.
Without warning a loud thud followed by a blow had Ami on her back with a cry of pain. All she could see was a dark figure holding a glowing red ball over her, and all she could do was shut her eyes as she prepared for the end.
"Oh no you don't!" cried another, larger figure as it rammed into the first one.
"Ami, are you all right?" asked the taller one, standing over the unconscious body of the first.
"Makoto! I thought you we in front of me!" Ami shouted over the wind as she got up.
"No, I was following you!"
"This is so confusing! Look out!" Ami cried out too late, and Makoto was kicked hard right in the side of the knee.
"Makoto!!" Ami gasped and darted behind the monster as she called out her spell, her friend bellowing in pain from the hit.
"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!" she whipped her arms out towards her enemy, now that her back was to the wind. Just as she had planned her massive wave of water, fuelled by her disgust hit Thunderbird and froze nearly on contact, leaving the little orange monster on the ground with her arms in an unnatural position.
"Nice shot Mercury," Makoto weakly spoke into the wind, her voice being carried away, "she's not getting back up again."
"Are you alright?" Ami asked as she rushed to her friend's side.
"Yeah," Makoto said with aggressiveness back in her voice, "I'm perfectly fine. Now how are we going to find the other two?!"
It felt like they were alone in the arctic desert, as it seemed to stretch on forever. The wind stung, and with all they had on it wouldn't be long before they were in deeper trouble. Although Ami knew they were only on a street, she felt lost in an abyss.
"Give me a second, I'll have this figured out in no time!"
"How can we attack if we can't find the others?!" Rei asked after she had found out Minako's plan. They were both going to attack at the same time into the wind, sweeping the street by using the monster's own attack against them.
"I thought they followed us!"
"Lost?!" Widnfish yelled with a sneer, cutting through the wind effortlessly. She hoped over the girls so the wind was at her back, ensuring her safety. "It's a bit cold today, isn't it?"
The monster twirled and turned her ball completely into a blue orb of energy. "Remember this attack?! No, you wouldn't because you two were too unconscious to remember! I never got to finish it then, but now that I'm more powerful, it's a breeze!"
She thrust her arms out, sending a jet of snow into her two targets. They slid across the ground, coated in a dense layer of the white stuff. They broke through the icy barrier and struggled back to their feet, but Windfish only powered up again during the wait. They slammed into the ground and slid even further this time, allowing her to smirk at the fact that her predictions had come true. The fools had underestimated her, and would soon be begging for mercy she would not give.
Ami surveyed the area, her computer and visor working over time. They beeped and hummed louder than usual, possibly struggling against the cold just like her. Her fingers were numb as they ran across the keys, sometimes missing their intended targets.
"We won't last much longer like this," she worried as she did another sweep of her surroundings.
And there they were.
Two bright humanistic forms appeared on the tiny screen, staggering to their feet. Ami had no doubt that the heat signatures she was picking up belonged to Rei and Minako, but where was the monsters?
Ami shifted to her right, where she found something very peculiar. There was a smaller form, but it was coming up as cold. Freezing cold, colder than all it's surroundings; this creature had no warmth in it at all.
"But...
how does it survive?"
"Found something?"
"Yeah, they are in that direction, but careful!" Ami had to warn her eager friend, "the monster's right there, it'll attack you too."
"Then let's just get behind it-"
Makoto couldn't help but stop mid-sentence, as the wind had just quit itself halfway through a strong burst. Everything had just seemed to die, leaving a bright, silent street where everything was covered in snow. Several inches of ice crystals glimmered under the streetlights, giving them an almost peaceful look. It'd be pretty, if it weren't for the circumstances.
Windfish stood before them, breathless but ready for more. She laughed when she saw how blue they all looked.
Ami's computer and visor were already gone, her hands clenched into fists. It appeared as if her three friends also had the same idea, as they were all beginning to tense their muscles even more than before.
Four different voices filled the air with different shouts, causing Windfish's smug look to wash away quickly. Simply attacking all this time tired her; she was expecting they'd be exhausted after all that.
She jerked her ball out in front of her as a defence, powering up to try and soften the blow, but it was no use. She had nowhere to dodge and nothing between her and the bright colours that seem to fly at her all at once. She felt her footing slip away, the sharp pain of the individual attacks, and she was gone.
"Well that was easy," Makoto panted, raising herself to her full height once again.
"Where's the other one?" Rei asked.
"We took care of her," Makoto winked.
As if on cue, the cracking of ice rang through the deserted street, followed by a soft popping noise as a hand punched through the snow. What was once a short hill in the street became a frozen looking Thunderbird, who was facing away from them and had not noticed their presence.
"Stupid Windfish," she muttered as she shook the snow off like a dog. "Why don't you just abandon me at the north pole?!" Idiot – OW!" She tenderly grabbed for her shoulder. It was radiating pain, and may have been dislocated for all she knew.
"Alright creep," Makoto snarled as she grabbed Thunderbird's collar from behind, lifting her out of the snow and off the ground. Thunderbird was small, but not that small. Makoto nearly dropped her due to the surprising weight, but instead threw her to the side, trying not to show weakness. Makoto's plan worked out quite well, as the Thunderbird landed dangerously near a car, slid the last foot too quickly to control herself and smacked her head off the side.
"Owwww," Thunderbird groaned, and Makoto caught herself feeling sorry for what she had done, but only for a very short second.
Thunderbird finally figured out that something important was missing, as her head wavered side to side on her shoulders.
"Windfish?!" she spurted in panic, rising to her knees. "Windfish!?"
"That's far enough, missy," Venus said, brandishing her golden whip with a threat. Thunderbird shrunk back to the ground, making no attempt to hide her fear.
"You killed her, didn't you," she said rather than asked, speaking in little more than a whisper.
The four girls were silent, unsure of what to say. They were dumbstruck at the way she was acting, and were worried she'd catch them off guard.
Thunderbird made to dart off, but Minako was quicker with her chain. Thunderbird winced at the metal wrapped around her bad arm as she tripped to the ground. Leering with clenched teeth, she grppied the whip in her hand and sent a bolt of electricity up it. Minako reared back, holding her hand, as Thunderbird weaseled out of the chain. She tried to dash away, but she just tripped into the snow. Face first on the ground, she sighed in defeat.
"Give it up, Thunderbird," Minako said in a very superhero-like tone.
"What do we do with her now," Makoto whispered out the side of her mouth to Minako, "we've never actually caught a monster before."
"I- don't really know, I'm working on-"
"Fine," Thunderbird interrupted them, "I can't do the job I was sent for. I'm going to die either way." She sat up, backhanding her ball away. "You've got me, know what will you do?"
"Err, well, it's a surprise," Minako tried to stall. No one noticed Thunderbird's ball stealthily position itself behind Makoto.
"Fine. If I can't kill you, at least I can get another job done," Thunderbird said through clenched teeth, and in unison to her last word she slammed her fist into the ground.
Makoto gasped as the ball went right through her. She arched her back with the force of the ball, and was nearly lifted off the ground. It happened in a split second, though it felt like forever. When it had finally left her, she collapsed to the ground, feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of her.
The ball did the same to Ami and Rei, bouncing off a wall and pushing Ami back, while rebounding off the street and passing through Rei. Minako was the only one who had time to duck. The ball flew down the street, and Thunderbird was too drained to do anything about it.
"You're quick, blondie, too quick," Thunderbird growled.
"What did you just do!!" she demanded from Thunderbird, seeing her friends doubled over and struggling to breathe.
"None of them have the key." Thunderbird simply stated, slightly disappointed.
Minako was disturbed by the creature's relaxed attitude. She pooled her energy and prepared to attack one last time.
Seeing that Minako was about to blast her off the face of the planet, Thunderbird used the last of her strength and her talent for speed to leap up and bolt toward Minako. Hooking her arm at the last moment, she brought Minako and herself to the street, sending Venus' meteor shower off into the sky.
"Please," Thunderbird asked desperately in the same panicky voice as before. Knowing all her chances to escape or attack where up, she knew this was her only hope.
"Please don't kill me. I'll help you! I'll tell you anything! They don't care about me!" Thudnerbird spat quickly yet quietly, trying to get Sailor Venus to understand. Minako nodded vigorously to the babbling girl, trying to get her to slow down.
"I know where Shadowolf is and where our Master is, I'm willing to help!" she scrambled up. Sirens were wailing from every direction now, as Minako's attack in the sky had drawn the police's attention at last.
"I can barely hear you," she shouted to Thunderbird as she jumped up. She looked from side to side, trying to decide which way the police would come. Thunderbird latched onto her arm, terrified.
"Shadowolf is the last one like you?" Minako tried to speak quickly over the noise while holding Thunderbird at a distance. The faster she spoke, maybe the faster she could get this over with?
"Yeah, she's attacking your two friends, I can like, sense it," the monster, still with panic in her voice, was speaking even faster than Minako was.
"Two friends?" Minako was stumped; her brain couldn't keep up with the speed at which words bubbled from the thing's mouth.
"Yeah, the Moon and Cougar girls. They're five blocks north of here. I can help fight her, you know, I know her weaknesses-"
"Mars Fire SOUL!" Rei shot the pillar with expert aiming into the monster, snapping her away from Minako. The fire disappeared with a final flash, leaving Thunderbird sprawled across the snow with a fatal wound in her side that left a train of crimson.
Rei collapsed back into the snow. "Minako, are you alright?"
"MARS! No! She was trying to help us!"
Rei stared back at her angry friend questionly. "What?!"
"She wasn't attacking me!"
Suddenly two police cars turned sharply onto the road, and the four warriors took to the rooftops.
Usagi sat alone in the middle of the street, her legs folded under her and her head limp as if she had slumped from weariness into that position and had remained. She was crying quietly to herself, confused, upset and just overwhelmed at what had happened that day.
At last running footsteps broke the silence of the darkened city road, and Usagi stood up to meet who was there. It was Tuxedo Mask, and as soon as Usagi recognized whom it was she ran right into him, hugging him tightly as her eyes spilled over with fresh tears.
"Usagi, what's wrong? I came as soon as I could. I'm sorry I hadn't felt that something was wrong sooner. Are you ok?"
"Oh, Mamoru," was all she could say, sobbing even harder now. Mamoru just rubbed her back, knowing she couldn't speak properly at the moment.
"Sailor Moon," Minako asked, landing behind her. The four girls appeared to have come out of nowhere. "Usagi, what's the matter?"
Rei surveyed the area, deciding something big must have just happened. It seemed to Rei as if everything that could be broken had been, as there was busted glass, what seemed to be brick and even blood everywhere. A particularly large and dark stain behind Usagi and Mamoru caused her heart to sink to where her stomach was.
Usagi turned her head out to the side from where it had been buried in Mamoru's chest.
"They're gone. They're all gone."