Snake Eyes opened his mouth to reply, but decided against it while shaking his head. After a few moments he spoke up. "You've got to learn to control your hard headedness and your anger. Now that we know that they're here at this planet, we can take a step back and think how we are going to get them. We also have to consider that other tiger there. If there's that one talking tiger, who knows what other defenses this planet has?"
Bull's Eye only grumbled some more obscenities at that, which only caused Snake Eyes to again shake his head full of white hair in exasperation. A thought then crossed Snake Eyes' mind as he summoned a yajuu and whispered instructions to it. In an instant, the yajuu nodded, bowed and left as quickly as it came.
"What in the hell was that all about?" Bull's Eye inquired to his partner.
"I was just thinking. We have two forms, both human and animal. Including the Trio."
"Duh. I know that." Bull's Eye retorted.
"Be quiet you dolt. That tiger seemed to know of the Trio having two forms. What if that tiger has a human form? If so, then that tiger, in human form, might be at some hospital, getting treatment for the wound inflicted by your knife. I just sent a yajuu to do some work for us, is all."
"So, what's the prognosis doctor?" Ami inquired as she stood up in the waiting room.
"Abenti's going to be fine, but she will need some rest at home and to not use her arm for the next few days." the doctor replied.
"When do you think she'll wake up?"
"Actually, she's awake now, but earlier she was muttering in her sleep. Something about tigers, reviving people and shattering the peace. Any clue as to what she was muttering about? I wouldn't want one of my best nurses to be going crazy now, would I?"
Ami's face drained of all color as she heard that. She shook the feeling off and smiled slightly. "Just some wild dreams. I'm sure that with time off and someone to talk with, Abenti will be good as new in no time flat. Is she allowed visitors right now?"
"Yes. In fact, as soon as she feels ready, she can be released to go home."
"Thank you." Ami said with a faint grin of relief then headed to the room Abenti was resting in.
As Ami peered into the room, she saw that Abenti was looking out the window towards the now gray cloud covered sky. Ami stepped into the room and cleared her throat in attempt to catch her friend's attention. Abenti didn't turn her head from the window.
"Who...no, what am I?" Abenti asked herself just barely over a whisper. "Something in my mind says that I'm not entirely human, but that's impossible. The dreams I had of myself becoming a tiger were all a dream. Weren't they?"
With concern sprawled on her face, Ami who for the most part stayed silent as her friend attempted to logically think things out, practically jumped out of her skin as a hand landed on her shoulder. Ami turned and sighed with relief as she saw that the hand belonged to Mamoru.
"Mamoru-san. You scared me."
"Sorry..." Mamoru replied before looking over at Abenti. "There's something different about her."
"Yes. It's very confusing to say the least. Mamoru-san, she's one of us!" Ami said in a hushed whisper as it just dawned on her what the tiger said. She then pulled out the circular brooch with the paw print on it. "Only different at the same time. I'm suppose to give this to her, but it might be a bit difficult for her to understand. Could you help me explain it to her?"
"Sure." Mamoru said with a nod.
They both walked over to the other end and stopped a few feet away from the window. Ami then took a few steps closer and once again attempted to get Abenti's attention.
"Abenti, we need to talk." Ami said as she looked into the confused brown eyes of her friend. Ami then gently grasped Abenti's right wrist and put the brooch into her hand. "You are more than all you appear to be, my friend. And I believe those dreams weren't entirely dreams either. That tiger you mentioned... It's not just a figment of your imagination, it's a part of you..."
"No." Abenti interrupted as she shook her head in denial. "That can't be. That tiger is only in my dreams."
"Abenti, listen to me!" Ami said in an unusually strong tone. "That tiger is real, just as you and I are real. That tiger told me to give you that brooch. You see... You are different than most others. You are a senshi."
"Senshi?! No, that can't be right. I'm a nurse...my job is to heal others. I'm not a fighter..." Abenti's voice trailed off as Mamoru cleared his throat.
Ami nodded and backed up, giving Mamoru enough space to stand in front of Abenti. With a look that could not be mistaken for anything but seriousness, Mamoru took a deep breath and knelt down so that his eyes were level with Abenti's.
"Abenti, I know this seems something that came out of a fantasy novel, but what Ami is telling you is the truth. Now, please listen and don't interrupt. We..."
Unfortunately it was something out side of the room that interrupted Mamoru's explanation. A surgeon had crashed past a few nurses and an orderly and was pinning a visitor against the wall.
"What the hell?" Abenti wondered to herself as she followed Ami and Mamoru towards the doorway.
"You have feline fur on you, you must be the one my masters told me to find!" screeched the so-called surgeon right before he reverted into his yajuu state. The yajuu's left hand held up the trembling victim as his right arm, which ended in an overly large scalpel inched nearer to the victim's throat. Every inch of the yajuu was stainless steal gray in color.
Panic spread through the hall way as the nurses, doctors and orderlies rushed to get all patients away from the scene. Mamoru stuck his head out of the doorway and saw that the hallway was now nearly empty, though he could tell that in a very short time, security would try to take control of the yajuu.
"Ami, Abenti... transform now!" Mamoru exclaimed as his doctor's uniform swiftly changed into that of Tuxedo Kamen.
Ami nodded and holding up her henshin wand, she shouted, "Mercury Crystal Power, MAKE UP!"
It took all of a split second for the transformation to be complete and Super Sailor Mercury stood in a defensive mode while accessing her Mercury Computer. Abenti stared blankly for a few moments. She still didn't completely grasp the concept that the tiger was real, let alone being a senshi. Abenti took a few steps forward and gasped as she saw the yajuu in full view. She then inhaled deeply and scrunched her nose at the smell.
"Do you smell that?" Abenti said to no one in particular.
"What's going on, Abenti? Smell what?" Super Sailor Mercury inquired.
"I don't smell a thing other than the usual sanitary hospital smells." Tuxedo Kamen said.
"That smell. From that...whatever that thing is. It has the smell of..." Abenti inhaled again. "...snake oils."
A small yelp from the victim brought Abenti to her senses. Rage built up inside the normally docile nurse as the yajuu toyed with the victim.
"Oooh. I won't let you get away with that you broken piece of garbage. A hospital is meant for healing the wounded and the ill, not to terrify people senseless! Panthera Tigris Power, MAKE UP!" Abenti called out. An instant later, Sailor Tiger leapt out of the room and charged towards the yajuu.
"What's this? Someone's trying to stop me from my fun?" the yajuu asked as he turned to see Sailor Tiger followed by Super Sailor Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen getting closer. "If you want to live, I suggest you leave."
"You call that a threat? I'll give you something to quiver about! Known for stealth and ambush tactics, I am the ferocious sailor suited soldier of the genus panthera tigris, Sailor Tiger. For what you are doing, prepare to die!" Sailor Tiger exclaimed.
"Agent of Wisdom, I am the pretty sailor suited soldier, Super Sailor Mercury! You have brought shame to the title of surgeon and of the good name of this hospital. So splash yourself with cold water and repent!"
The yajuu looked at the senshi, then back to his victim.
"So, you're not who I was after anyway..." the yajuu muttered as he dropped the senseless victim to the floor and pointed his scalpel of an arm at the senshi. "I shall cut you down to size and take you back to my masters. They reward well for something like this."
The yajuu then charged at the feline senshi. Unfortunately for the yajuu, Sailor Tiger used the yajuu as a spring board and leapt over him with ease. Practically forgotten, Tuxedo Kamen lifted up the unconscious victim and left for the victims safety.
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"
"Tiger Teeth Crunch!"
The simultaneous attacks reached the yajuu from the front and back within moments of each other. As soon as the attacks dissipated, the yajuu was found in a crouching position with scrapes, scratches and a spot or two of rust. The two senshi stared in disbelief that the yajuu was still alive. The yajuu however, was dismayed.
"No! I had a lifetime warranty! My masters won't be too happy about this..."
Sailor Tiger hefted up the yajuu as if he was a rag doll and slammed him into the wall. She then carefully raised the yajuu's own scalpel to his neck. "Tell your masters to do their own dirty work. If they send any more of you out here, I'll..."
"Sailor Tiger, calm yourself! I think this yajuu gets the point. We have to get out of here. Now!"
Sailor Tiger sighed and let go of the yajuu as she knew Super Sailor Mercury was right.
"You are one lucky hunk of junk. Now go before I change my mind!" Sailor Tiger roared at the yajuu just before it disappeared into a portal.
The wounded yajuu shook from a combination of fear and pain as it entered the main control room where Bull's Eye and Snake Eyes were waiting.
"You failed." Snake Eyes said with no emotion in his voice.
"Yes master..." the yajuu said as he knelt before the duo.
"I sent you on a simple search and identify mission and you failed by going berserker. You harassed the first person you saw and were nearly destroyed. Explain yourself!"
Bull's Eye sneered at the yajuu while making a knife the size of a rapier appear out of thin air.
"I wanted to bring back the tiger creature... I thought that's what you wanted. I was surrounded by two female warriors who were accompanied by a silent male wearing a tuxedo."
"Did they say who they were?" Bull's Eye inquired.
"One of the females said she was Super Sailor Mercury. The other one...called herself Sailor Tiger. The latter one told me to tell you to..." The yajuu paused to gulp down some air. "...do your own dirty work."
Before Snake Eyes could restrain him, Bull's Eye tossed the large knife with such fierceness that it embedded itself straight through the yajuu's upper torso. The yajuu let out a whimper as he crumpled into a heap and quickly decomposed until there was nothing left but an exoskeleton, which moments later turned to dust and vanished.
"I'm disappointed. I thought they made better yajuus now than they did in the past." Bull's Eye commented while picking up the knife that was just used. He turned and looked at Snake Eyes who was shaking his head. "What?"
"We could have used him again, you know. But that's not our main concern now. We have at least two senshi in our way of preparing this planet for Master Sesmar. Most likely there are more. And if you keep killing the yajuu after every failed attempt, we'd have to take Sailor Tiger's advice and do it ourselves...and you know what that means..."
Bull's Eye nodded once as it finally dawned on him what was going on. "Damned if we do, damned if we don't, and stuck with no way out."