Hi! Petal-chan here again! Sorry it took me so long to update. I'd planned on updating much earlier, but my computer was on the fritz, and I couldn't axcess anything on my computer. So, I'm finally able to update. And now, for all my alert readers, here's the first official chapter (the other one was a prologue)
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Megaman, but the Elemental Sentinals are all mine. Mine, mine, mine! And you can't have them!
Chapter One: In which there is a rescue and a revelation
Lan Hikari breathed a huge sigh of dispair. I swear, Ms. Mari really loves loading us down wtih homework, he thought bitterly. An essay due tomorrow, (because he forgot to do it earlier: he'd had the assignment for a week) plus ten math problems and he needed to study for a big science test (which he'd probably flunk anyway.)
"I am so DOOMED!" he wailed loudly, evoking a few stares from the people on the street.
"Well, you should have worked harder," a slightly deeper and more mature voice said. Lan pulled the PET from its holster.
"Oh, be quiet, Megaman," he snapped. "You just don't understand."
"Maybe not, but I do know that you could have done your essay instead of playing video games the past few days." Lan pouted, and shot a glare at the blue-clad navi.
"If you're just gonna' lecture me, then I don't want to talk to you," Lan said grumpily, then forcefully jammed the PET into its holster.
"Touchy. . ." Megaman murmured.
Lan started walking faster, headed for the park. Megaman sighed. At this rate, Lan was never goning to pass fifth grade. Just as Lan entered the park, he heard the rustle of leaves nearby. He turned to look, and saw a creature resmbling a wolf and a hyena mixed into one foul creature. The creature sniffed the air a few times, then paused, listening. it turned its head, and stared at Lan. A strange bark-growl issued from its mouth and it opened its mouth, and Lan watched in horror as a globe of glowing red energy formed in the creature's mouth.
"What the. . ." was all Lan managed, before the creature hurled the ball of flaming red energy at him. By sheer instinct, (and a little luck) he dodged the ball, then turned to look at the huge scorch mark it had made when it struck the asphalt behind him. Lan gulped and tried to stop shaking. One more inch and that thing probably would have incinerated his head! That's when he noticed the wolf/heyena preparing for another attack. "Oh crud. . ." he whispered, when a loud voice made him and the monster turn.
"Don't even think about it, Shadow Fiend!" shouted a boy's voice. A boy stood on top to the jungle gym. He wore all blue, from his wrap shirt to his pants, even his shoes were blue. He tossed his blue hair, then leaped down onto the ground. He touched the fingers on his right hand to the large, circular, sapphire colored gem on his headband.
"Aquarius!" he shouted, then thrust his hands forwards and down, towards the monster. "Roaring Tide!" A huge wave of water spread out from the boy's hands and splashed into the monster. The monster roared, and aimed another fireball at the boy's head. He dodged by leaping out of the way, and landing near Lan. The monster shot a third fireball at the boys. The strange boy grabbed Lan's vest and pulled him out of the way just in time, but a horrible smell like rotten eggs, singed hair and burnt flesh assulted his nose. He shut his eyes for a moment, and exhaled sharply to clear the smell out of his nostrils. He opened his eyes in time, however, to see the boy glare at the monster.
"I'm sick of you!" he shouted, and created a triangle with his index fingers and thumbs, and held it out, palms outwards, towards the monster. "Bermuda Triangle Trap!" he shouted, and a triangle of water shot out and created a dome around the creature. Then the boy clenched his fists, and the dome shrunk until there was a muted explosion, and the dome dissipated like . . . well, like water. The boy suddenly laughed. "Well, I guess that cooled him off!" he quippped, and then turned to Lan.
"Are you all right?" the boy asked. Lan nodded.
"Yeah, I'm all right. I just . . . wasn't expecting that to be there."
"Yeah, but it didn't expect me to be there either," the boy replied. Then he gave a nervous grimace and flushed slightly, obviously embarrased, and put his hand behind his head. "Sorry. I should have introduced myself. I'm Guardian Tsunami, the Keeper of Water. I keep forgetting that not everyone knows that."
"Oh. Well, hey, my name's Lan Hikari! Pleased to meet you!" Lan said cheerfully. A loud 'ahem!' from beside him made him turn.
"Forgetting me again, Lan?" Megaman asked.
"Sorry," Lan said, getting a bit red himself. "This is Megaman, my Net Navi."
"Pleased to meet you," Megaman said, with a little bow.
"Pleased to meet you too," Tsunami answered, bowing himself.
"Megaman and I are great Net Battlers . . ." Lan began, but was forced to stop by a fit of coughing. It slowly got worse and worse, until it sounded really painful. Tsunami looked worried.
"Are you all right?" he asked again. Lan tried to answer, but the coughing continued. Tsunami did what any normal teenager would do when he sees someone whom he just met nearly coughing his lungs out. He panicked. Calm down, he told himself. Panicking will get you nowhere. Except in BIG trouble as always. It worked. Until Lan passed out. "OH CRUD!" Tsunami exclaimed, catching Lan before he could fall to the ground. "NOW what am I going to do?" He tried frantically to remember the name of anyone who could help.
"Aureole . . ." he murmured. Now to get HIM there . . . he thought, glancing at Lan, whom he was forced to hold to keep from cracking his skull on the concrete. He noticed that Lan's face seemed a bit flushed. He touched his hand to Lan's forehead to test for a fever, when something caused him to pause, and the world seemed to freeze. A bright blue light surrounded him, and he realized that his 'water symbol' ; the identifying symbol that proved that he was an Elemental Sentinel. was glowing. That only happened if they touched another, un-woken Elemental . . .
His mouth formed a straight line, and he raced off down the street. Just hang on . . . he thought to Lan. Hang on . . .
"Well?" Tsunami asked eagerly as the tall, white-haired young man stepped out of the room that Lan Hikari was in. "How bad is it?"
The young man's face was grave. "Very bad I'm afraid. Physically he's fine: no cuts or scrapes or illness, but . . ."
"But WHAT?" Tsunami cried. "What's wrong with him, Aureole?" The young man, Aureole, murmured something in a language unfamiliar to Tsunami. "What does that mean?" Tsunami asked, baffled.
"It's from the ancient language that we used to speak back during the Silver Millennium. Literally translated, it means 'Breath of the Shadows.' And I'm not surprised that you don't remember that language. You have the memory span of a fish." Tsunami folded his arms across his chest and did his best to look offended. "But there's one thing I don't understand," Aureole continued, purposely ignoring his immature teammate. "Breath of the Shadows only affects those with elemental powers. And as far as I can tell, he's not a Guardian . . ."
Tsunami's face got serious. "I was meaning to talk to you about that. Earlier, I touched his forehead to test for a fever, and my symbol glowed. Just like it did when I first met Ivy. Could he possibly be one of the ones that we are looking for?"
Aureole looked thoughtful. "Possible. . . I'll have to do a few tests. As it is, if he's left alone, he's going to die. Breath of the Shadows is a quick and easy way to kill Elementals." He rose, and walked into the room, Tsunami on his heels. Aureole positioned himself at the foot of the bed, with the Keeper of Water standing a foot behind him. Aureole raised his hands over his head. "Halo of Life!" he called out, and then he was surrounded by light, which rushed out of him and illuminated the still form of Lan, lying on the bed. There was a brilliant flash, and suddenly Lan looked worlds better. It was quite the opposite for the Keeper of Light. He staggered, and Tsunami reached out to steady him.
"I'll be all right," Aureole said weakly, and shakily walked over to a desk chair in one corner of the room. "This young man should be fine now. I just need to do a test to determine if he's one of us. Then I'll take him back to the park."
"THEN you'll get some sleep. You can't expect to use a high energy healing power and not have some, shall we say, unpleasant repercussions," Tsunami said, looking all the world like a mom giving her child a reprimand. Aureole gave a sheepish grin.
"Guilty," he said, and stood to walk his young friend to the door. "I'll tell you tomorrow when I have news."
"All right, and thanks!" Tsunami shouted, and he walked out the door and headed off. Aureolw shook his head, and turned back into the apartment.
"Lan, you've got mail!" Megaman told his operator. Lan pulled out the PET.
"What does it say, Megaman?" he asked. Megaman brought up a text document on screen.
"Umm. . . . it's an anonymous e-mail. It reads, 'Lan, meet me at the Lunar Cafe on High street at 4:30. You'll recognize me. I'll be wearing a navy-blue shirt.' Not much to go on . . . It could be a trap."
"Could be. . ." Lan mused. "Maybe we should just go and see what it's all about. But we'll be ready, just in case."
"Yeah. . . wait a sec. . . did that say 4:30?" Megaman asked. "We have five minutes to get there!"
"GAAAHHH!" Lan screamed, and raced out of his room. "Gotta go. Bye, Mom!" he shouted as he raced out the door and began rollerblading off down the street.
"Lan, what about your homework?" Haruka Hikari called, then sighed when the only reply was the door banging shut behind her son.
Six minutes, (and several strained muscles from running too fast) later, Lan rolled to a stop in front of a small Cafe. There were a few tables outside, but they seemed unoccupied, except for one at the back at which was seated a young man wearing a navy-blue t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and was currently running his fingers through his touseled mop of brown hair in a lazy way. Lan skated over.
"Did you send me the e-mail?" Lan asked. The young man turned his head and his sea-green eyes looked up at Lan. Then a broad grin spread across his face and he motioned at a seat across the table."
"Yeah, I did. I wanted to talk to you." Lan took a seat ant stared intently at his mysterious host.
"About what?" he asked. The young man looked slightly awkward, and traced the lattice of the metal table with his finger.
"Um . . . yesterday, you were rescued by a guy in blue, right?" he asked slowly. Lan nodded. "Well. . . um. . .he had. . . um. . . special powers, right?" Lan rolled his eyes. This guy sure had a strange way of getting to his point. Lan nodded again. "Uh . . . well . . .I'm not sure how to say this but. . .you have powers like that."
"What!" Lan asked.
The young man looked even more awkward. "Like I said, you are an Elemental Warrior. At least, Aureole believes so."
Lan began breathing in the 'just-a-few-more-seconds-and-I'm-going-to-hyperventilate' mode, and began shaking his head. "No. I'm not. I'm not like that. I'M NOT A FREAK LIKE THAT!" he said, his voice escalating until he was literally shouting those last words. He stood up so fast the chair went flying. "I'M NOT A FREAK!" he repeated, and without another word, he took off at top speed on his rollerblades, trying to get away.
"I blew it again!" the young man moaned, and was about to hit his head on the table when something nagged at the back of his mind. "Crap! I forgot to give him Aureole's gift. . ." He leaped up and raced after Lan.
Lan at this point was running without any destination in mind. He began talking out loud, trying to convince himself that the young man had been lying. "I'm not a freak! I'm just a normal twelve-year-old! (Here Megaman gave a small, unnoticable snort.) I don't have . . .powers! I'm just a normal kid. . ." He paused for a moment, and realized that he had no clue as to where he was. As he stood there trying to figure out where he was, he saw something in one of the alley ways (that he thought was a shadow) move. He watched as a strange yellow and black creature that resembled a bear and (strangely enough) a 'bunny' virus. It lumbered/hopped over to Lan, and a large bolt of electricity shot from its fur, missing Lan by scant inches, and nearly frying a nearby tree.
The young man had caught up with Lan at this point. "Oh man, this day just keeps getting better and better," the strange boy snarled bitterly. He pulled a blue and gold medallion out from under his shirt and held it out in front of him with both hands.
"AQUA STYLE TRANSFORMATION!" he shouted, and an opaque bubble of water surrounded him, and after a few seconds, burst to reveal the young man who had saved Lan the day before. He began to use his "Bermuda Triangle Trap" attack, but the bear/bunny caught him around the chest with one of it's massive paws. It growled, and lightning bolts from its fur ripppled down its arm and began crackling around Tsunami. Tsunami screamed in pain, and after about thirty seconds, (although it seemed ten times that long to Tsunami and Lan) the creature dropped him. Tsunami fell to the concrete, electrical shocks running all over his body and flowing to the small water puddles that formed whenever the Keeper of Water stood still for more than a few minutes.
"Tsunami!" Lan shouted, terrified. The Guardian squinched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth against the pain.
"Lan . . . it's up to you . . . you . . . have to help . . ." Tsunami whispered, and threw something that glittered and glistened through the air. Lan caught it and examined the strange object. It was a small circular pin with Megaman's symbol etched in it. He gripped it tightly.
"But what do I do with it?" Lan asked.
"Just say the words etched on the back . . ." Tsunami said weakly. Lan flipped the pin over and stared at it. There were words etched into the metal, but they were not in any language that he knew. Somehow, though, he knew what they said. He raised his right hand, pin clutched tightly in it, over his head.
"LIGHT POWER TRANSFORM!" Lan shouted. Immediatly he was surrounded in a bubble of light, just like cross-fusion. His skin started glowing with a blinding light, and suddenly, in what was probably one of the most embarassing moments of his entire life, his clothing dissappeared. He could feel other clothes replacing them, but the light was so strong that he couldn't see them. Then suddenly the light burst, and he stood, blinking, back in the alley. He glanced down at himself. He was wearing a white tunic with golden edging, a gold belt, golden gloves, golden boots, a pair of pale yellow breeches, gold shoulder armour with white edging (which was actually slightly too large; it made him seem to be half his real size), and a waist-length cape. Instead of his typical bandana, he wore a golden circlet. There was a circular raised piece of metal with Megaman's symbol on it (like on Megaman's costume).
"What in the . . .?" Lan began, but the creature, no longer blinded by the light, lumbered over and aimed a thunderbolt at the place where Lan was standing. Lan jumped, and was amazed to find that he had jumped twice as high as he normally could. He back-flipped and landed further back, dropping into what he hoped was an intimidating crouch. This jumping and doging went on for a while, until Lan turned to Tsunami.
"How do I fight this thing?" he wailed.
Tsunami looked at him, (still in pain) and said simply, "Relax, and the words will come to you." Lan frowned. He closed his eyes for a second, willing himself to relax. Suddenly, a burst of inspiration flashed into his mind, and his eyes snapped open.
He held his right hand out to the side and called out "Radiant!" Then he began spinning and he brought his hand up over his head, index finger pointing up at the sky and said, "Sunbeam!" Then he pointed at the bear/bunny and shouted "SHOCK!" A burst of light shot from his finger and slammed into the creature. It roared loudly and writhed in pain, then disintigrated into a grey powder, which slowly disappeared into the pavement.
"Hoo-Hah!" Lan shouted. Tsunami got up rather painfully and walked over to him.
"Good job! That wasn't bad for your first try! The first time I fought a Shadow creature, Sailor Thunder had to come and bail me out. I really stunk. But you . . . you've got potential!" Lan smiled.
"It's kinda like cross-fusion, except . . . I don't know . . . I feel so strong!"
Tsunami nodded. "You are strong. Light is one of the most powerful Elements, because all the shadow creatures are vulnerable to it. However, this also means that you have to be very careful. If they hir or effect you with a Shadow attack, you are exceedingly vulnerable to it as well." Lan glanced around, then looked at his clothes.
"So . . . um . . . how do I change back? I can't go around like this all day!"
Tsunami gave a small chuckle. "Just say 'De-transform.' " The minute the words were out of his mouth, the water surrounded him, and then he was back in his street clothes.
"De-transform?" Lan said quietly, and the light burned forth from him and surrounded him, then he was also wearing his street clothes.
"You'll need training of course," the boy was saying. "If you can meet me at my apartment tomorrow after school, then I can help you train. That way you won't be caught off guard the next time a monster attacks." Then he gave Lan his address. He turned and started to leave the alley.
"Hey! Wait!" Lan shouted. The boy turned. "What's your name, your REAL name?"
The boy smiled. "Knight. Lance Knight."
So, what do you think about the first REAL chapter? In case any of you are wondering, Lan's element is Light. It kinda seems natural, since his last name means 'light'. Hopefully my next chapter will introduce you to yet another of my Elemental Scouts! Tune in next time to see what will happen to our new Guardian, and meet a new team member! That's all I'm saying! Kawaii Petal-chan, logging out!