Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman . . . blah blah blah . . . but the Sentinals are my own! Got it? Ok!
Chapter Two:
In which Lan's training begins, and another discovery is made
Lance Knight relaxed in a chair at the table of his rented apartment, contemplating the events of the night before. Who would have thought that the boy he ran into only two days ago could be one of the new, younger generation of Sentienals? It was sheer luck, he thought. Or, well . . . maybe not. Maybe it was more than luck . . . He smiled and took a sip of the tea in front of him. Well . . . this was going to be interesting . . . he just hoped he was up for the job.
In the middle of these thoughts, he was interrupted by the doorbell of his apartment ringing. He stood up and walked to the door, and opened it to find Lan Hikari standing on the doorstep. Lance grinned. "Hey, Lan," he remarked. "Ready to begin your first real day of training?"
Lan nodded. "I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be." The two stood there in the doorway for a minute, before Lance gave a nervous chuckle.
"Sorry, I'm forgetting my manners again. Come on in. I have some tea on the stove if you want some!" Lance opened the door wider, and allowed Lan to enter, then led the way to the small kitchen. He pulled out a chair at the the table for Lan, then set about some tea. "I'm supposing you have some questions about your new powers, is that right?"
Lan glanced up at him. "Yeah, I do have some questions . . . like where does Megaman go when I transform?"
Lance put the tea cup down in front of Lan, then sat down in the chair across the table. "Well, I wondered that too. I asked Aureole about it last night. Do you remember that . . . symbol, that appeared on your chest?" Lan nodded. "Well, for Elementals who have a net navi, yourself included, the navi's conciousness is stored in that raised symbol on the Elemental's chest."
"Kinda like cross-fusion?" Lan asked. Lance nodded.
"Very much like cross-fusion, only several times more powerful. Oh, and you can still contact Megaman any time you want during battle, via mental link."
Lan nodded and began to drink his tea. Lance frowned, thinking. "What have I forgotten?" he murmured. Then a light seemed to shine in the back of his mind and he snapped his fingers. "Right! I haven't told you your name as a Guardian, have I?" Lan shook his head.
"No, what is it?" he asked curiously.
"According to Aureole, you are Guardian Radiance," Lance explained. For the first time since Lan had arrived, Megaman spoke.
"Who is this 'Aureole' that you keep mentioning?" he asked.
"Aureole is our leader, the Senior Keeper of Light. You," he said, pointing to Lan, "are the Junior Keeper of Light. Not as powerful as Aureole, but strong nonetheless. You'll meet him one day, after you have more training." Lan finished his tea, and Lance stood up. "All right. Time to begin. You need to transform."
Lan nodded, stood up, and backed away from the table. "LIGHT POWER TRANSFORMATION!" he shouted, pulling the pin out of his vest. The golden light surrounded him, and then he was wearing his costume. "What now?" he asked.
"Hang on a sec," Lance said, then pulled his medallion off his neck, and held it over his head. "AQUA STYLE TRANSFORM!" In just a few seconds, the Keeper of Water stood there, shaking a few drops of water out of his bright blue hair. "Ok, now, just follow me," Tsunami said, heading out of the apartment. Lan (or Radiance as he shall be refered to from now on when he is transformed) followed him up a flight of steps.
"Where are we going?" Radiance asked.
"The roof. That's where we're going to be training from now on," Tsunami explained, then opened a door that led out onto the roof of the building. Radiance followed him, and gave a small gasp at the sight that he saw. The roof was covered with mats, wooden targets and practice dummies.
After blinking several times, Radiance looked at his 'tutor.' "So, where do I start?"
"Start with thirty push-ups," Tsunami said off-handedly, sitting cross-legged on one of the mats, and pulling one over for Radiance to practice on.
"What?" Radiance cried, his voice cracking. "Why push-ups?"
"In the off-chance that you might have to carry someone. You can't rely on your powers for everything. You have to work hard so that your body is strong enough to handle all the challenges you face, and all the energy that you possess. Now, no more stalling. We need to get these push-ups done. We don't have much time." Grumbling slightly, Radiance set to work. It took a bit of time, but he had soon finished with his push-ups. "Ok, now for the FUN stuff," Tsunami said. "I want you to attack those dummies over there with your powers," he said, pointing to the dummies lined up against one wall.
Finally, something more interesting than PUSH-UPS, Radiance thought. "No problem!" he said out loud, preparing to attack.
"I'm not done," Tsunami said with a small glare. "I want all of the dummies destroyed in one minute." Radiance opened his mouth to protest, but Tsunami glared so fiercly that he changed his mind and proceeded to attack, using his "Radiant Sunbeam Shock!" attack. He succeeded in destroying the dummies with a few minutes to spare.
/Not bad/ Megaman's voice said in his head, and Radiance could sense the smile in his voice.
Thanks! He replied over the mental link, then looked at Tsunami for the next instructions.
"Not bad at all," Tsunami said. "Now, I suspect that you're pretty worn out. We'll head back to the apartment and you can change back there." Tsunami opened the door and Radiance slowly trudged downstairs. When they were back in the apartment, Radiance de-transformed, as did Tsunami.
"That wasn't bad for a first lesson," Lance explained. "As you get better, you'll learn more attacks that you can use. 'Radiant Sunbeam Shock!' won't defeat every enemy, you know. And you'll have to destroy those dummies faster." Lan nodded numbly.
"Lan, you might want to head back home, you still have some homework tonight," Megaman said. Lan nodded again, and put the roller-blades on his sneakers.
"Now, your next lesson will be one week from now, so that would make it . . . next Friday. Do you think you can manage that?" Lance asked. Lan nodded.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Ok. See you next friday. Oh," Lance added as he showed his pupil to the door, "try not to pick any fights with monsters, or if it is unavoidable, try not to get killed. Aureole will never trust me again if you pull something stupid. I've worked hard to prove that I'm not a 'fish-brained idiot Guardian,' as Blaze would put it," he finished with a smile, and watched as Lan left the building. Then he heaved a huge sigh of relief. That hadn't been too bad . . . Lan actually reminded him much of himself last year. He walked back into his apartment and poured himself another cup of tea.
Maylu frowned. Lan had certainly left school in a hurry today. Well, more so than usual. She had been planning on going to Higsby's with him after school, but then when school had let out, Lan had mumbled some lame excuse about having to do homework and dashed away. Maylu frowned and pulled out her PET.
"Is it just me, or did his excuse seem . . . suspicious?" Maylu asked.
"It's not just you. Lan is NEVER in a hurry to do his homework. I wonder what got into him?" Maylu's pink net navi, Roll, rested her chin on her fist thoughtfully.
"Well, maybe he's starting to mature . . ." Maylu suggested. Roll laughed.
"As if, Maylu. A person doesn't just change over night, just like that," Roll said snapping her fingers. Then she looked puzzled. "Do they?" she asked. Maylu screwed up her mouth into a disgusted expression.
"Oh well. I guess I'll just have to go to Higsby's without him," Maylu sniffed, striding off in a huff. Then she stopped and her shoulders sagged into a defeated pose. "Who am I fooling?" It's just not fun to go there without Lan . . ." Maylu complained with a sigh.
"Or Megaman . . . " Roll said mournfully. Maylu turned around and started heading towards her home. She kicked a pebble in front of her, letting out a bit of the frustration that came from being 'stood up.' She didn't pay any attention to what the pebble had hit, that is, until a slightly 'watery' roar came from an ally that she had just passed. She froze, terrified.
"W-what was that?" she asked.
"I-I don't know . . . " Roll stammered nervously. "But it sounds scary . . . " Maylu chanced a look behind her, and stifled a scream. A large thing was coming out of the alley. It looked kinda like mutated, living Jell-O. It moved with a squishing, burbling noise, and it seemed to be headed at HER! She stood there, frozen in fear, when a voice shouted, "Hey! Big, Slimy and Ugly! Up here!" Maylu looked up at an awning that overhung the street behind the thing.
A girl stood there. She wore all gold and yellow, and she looked as if she had just stepped out of a drawing of Ancient Egypt. She had long, knee-length golden hair in a long braid. She struck a pose and the sunlight glinted off the topazes in her Egyptian-style collar.
"While I still draw breath, the likes of you will never harm innocent people. By the Power of Thunder, I will punish you!" The girl glared at the monster, then jumped down onto the ground. She placed her hands, palms together, in front of her chest. "Libra!" she shouted, then pulled her hands apart, creating a sphere of electricity, which she held in her hands before throwing it at the creature with a shout of "Ball Lightning!" The lightning hit the monster from behind, and the monster screamed (if you could call a high-pitched sound like squelching hand clenser screaming) and then disintigtated into a puddle of ugly bluish-grey goo. The girl gave a small laugh, then leaped over the puddle and approached Maylu.
"Are you all right?" the young woman asked, placing her hand on Maylu's shoulder. "That creature didn't hurt you, did it?"
Maylu shook her head. "No . . . " she began, but stopped when she realized that she was surrounded by a soft, pink glow. It was originating from a pink simbol (which, by the way, was identical to Roll's) that had suddenly appeared on the back of her right hand. "What is it?" Maylu squeaked. The blonde girl's eyes got wide.
"Keeper . . ." she whispered, and smiled, a nice, gentle smile. Then she looked around and frowned.
"What is going on?" Maylu asked impatiently. The girl glanced from side to side.
"I can't talk here," she explained. She took Maylu's hand (which thankfully was not glowing as brilliantly now, and seemed to be getting dimmer) and hurried off to a small house that was not too far away. The blonde girl unlocked the door with a key that she produced from under a flowerpot, and opened the door. Glancing around nervously, she led Maylu into the house and shut the door.
"Now, what's going on?" Maylu gasped, beginning to get nervous. The girl sat her down on a couch, then sat down beside her.
"My name is Sailor Thunder. I am an Elemental Sentinel. That creature back there is one of the things that I have to fight in order for average people to live peacefully. When I touched you back there, your hand glowed with a symbol. That symbol that appeared when I touched you proves that you are also an Elemental." Maylu noticed that Sailor Thunder had a lightning bolt in a circle on her right wrist.
"But why?" Maylu asked. "I'm no different thatn anyone else."
"You may not appear to be, but you are. I was just an average girl like yourself before my Elemental powers were awoken, but then through a series of events, I discovered that I had powers that most have only dreamed of. As do you." Maylu only stared at Thunder. The older girl stood up. "Look, I don't have any positive proof right at this moment, but if you can wait only a few minutes, I will have some." Then Sailor Thunder walked over to an old-fashioned audio-only telephone and punched in a few buttons. Maylu could only hear Thunder's side of the conversation, since the person on the other line spoke only through the reciever and not a speaker like most modern phones.
"Hello?" Sailor Thunder asked. "Aureole? Yes, it's me, Sita. Listen, I think I've found an Elemental. What's her symbol? It's . . . like a circle with a triangle drawn inside it, sort of like a heart . . . Great! Can you bring it? Sure, see you in a few. Ta!" Then, Sailor Thunder replaced the reciever on the stand. "He's coming," she announced to Maylu.
"Who is?" Maylu asked. Thunder gave a mysterious smile, then stood by the door, waiting for their mysterious guest. Within a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. Thunder opened it. Maylu could see someone, but she was at such an angle that the person was obscured, and she couldn't get a clear view. The only thing she could really see was that the man wore all white. Thunder accepted a small box from the man, then she moved forwards a bit, and Maylu thought that maybe she had kissed the man on the cheek. Then the man left and Thunder shut the door and opened the box.
"This is your Transformation Pin," she explained, handing Maylu a circular pin with Roll's symbol etched on it in pink. "It proves that you are one of us."
"How?" Maylu asked, holding the pin and turning it over several times in her hands.
"There are words written on it. Do you see them?" Maylu replied that she did. "Just say the phrase that comes to mind when you see those words."
"Ok . . . " Maylu said nervously. She took a deep breath, then held the pin out at chest level in front of her. "LOVE POWER TRANSFORMATION!" She could feel her body float off the ground, and she was entirely surrounded by a globe made of pink light. To her horror, she could feel her normal, school clothing vanish, to be replaced by a white leotard with rounded, space-age like 'sleeves,' and a pink sailor-style collar that ended in a fuschia-colored bow that was pinned with a brooch with her (and Roll's) symbol on it. Then, white gloves with raised pink rings at the elbows (like the 'sleeves' of her leotard) appeared on her arms, followed by knee-high pink boots with similar rings at the knees (only these rings were the same color as her bow). Then, a pink skirt, the same color as her collar and boots, appeared and a big bow appeared around her waist at the back. Then, finally, a gem appeared on her forehead and a gold band stretched out to make a tiara. Then she landed back on the ground and the bubble dissipated.
"Oh, my . . ."Maylu murmured, as she caught a glimpse of herself in a full-length mirror. Her dark pink hair looked so . . . beautiful . . . . She had never thought of herself as all that gorgeous, but it was as if she was a whole new person. Maylu twirled in front of the mirror a few times, like a little girl who has just gotten a new dress.
"Do you like it, Sailor Amore?" Sailor Thunder asked. Maylu nodded several times, then paused.
"What did you call me?" she asked.
"Sailor Amore. From now on, when you are transformed, you will be known as Sailor Amore. Speaking of names, what's your real one?" Sailor Thunder asked.
"Maylu Sakurai," Amore said, twirling onve more. "What's yours?"
"I'm Sita Tinh." She laughed. "You sure like your costume!"
"Of course!" Maylu said happily. "It's one of the few time I've felt this pretty."
"Well, being a super-hero isn't always a pretty job. It takes discipline. You'll need lessons. Do you think that you could come here tomorrow afternoon for a lesson?" Thunder asked. Maylu thought for a moment.
"I suppose so . . . " she said. "I'll have to come up with a good excuse though . . . Oh, and by the way, how do I change into normal clothes? Not that these aren't wonderful," she added hastily, "but I can't really be seen like this at home . . . "
"Of course not," Thunder said. "Merely say de-transform . . . " she began, and with a crash of thunder, a girl stood in front of Maylu, with long, knee-length blonde hair, wearing simple school clothes, " . . . and you change back," she concluded.
"All right, de-transform," Maylu repeated. With a swirl of bright pink, she stood in the middle of the room, wearing her normal outfit.
"Wow! You looked so COOL, Maylu," Roll cried.
"Thank you, Roll," Maylu said with a smile. "Say, where were you when I transformed?"
"Inside the symbol on your brooch," Roll explained. "I saw the whole thing, sort of. I didn't see how you transformed."
Thank heavens, thought Maylu. It was embarrassing enough to transform like that without having to worry about whether or not some one saw her.
"Well, you'd better get home now," Sita said. "I'll expect you tomorrow. Will 4:00 be all right?"
"Yes, that should be fine," Maylu commented.
"Great! See you then!" Sita said as she showed Maylu to the door. And so we have found another to aid our cause, she thought. I wonder how the others are doing. I hope that they have as much luck as I.
Well, that's over. And, yes, Maylu's element is Love. It's going to be considered an Element in this story. I am really glad that I got that done. And it was so funny to have Lan doing thirty push ups! Poor Lan, I love tormenting him! Until next intallment!