Chapter Sixteen
The following Monday, Sylvia encountered the band's lead singer that she and others had fought to protect. This girl was with a mostly white cat and a woman almost completely matching the storekeeper's description that Tatiana had told Sylvia of earlier. Sylvia was wearing her spare school uniform at present from DBJHS, in fact.
After a while, Sylvia introduced herself to them. The girl said, "My name is Andrea Kelly, and this woman here is Irene Shekovinski, if I remember her name well enough here."
"What's your cat's name, if I may ask?" asked Sylvia.
"Artemis. I just got him the other day as an early Christmas present, Miss Wakefield."
"How do you know this woman, Miss Kelly?"
"She moved into the area a few months ago, it seems. But I only met her after my most recent birthday in October, once my parents let me and my band begin performing in big stadiums and things. She, in fact, is my manager, in terms of things for this part of the world, at least. If not any other parts of it as well."
Irene was in her early to middle forties, with buns at the back of her head where necessary. She was currently wearing crescent moon and pearl drop pierced-ear earrings in her ears. Her hair was white, as described earlier, and two long ponytails that fell to about her knees were present. She also had on a light purple sweater, matching belt and slacks, and white tennis shoes. A pearl and diamond necklace with a crescent moon-shaped pendant of some sort was around her neck.
At the current time, Andrea and Irene were shopping for clothes that Andrea might be able to wear to a dance scheduled for Christmas Eve at one of the local schools. Andrea did not have the usual red bow in her hair yet, but she would eventually come to start to wear it whenever possible. Not likely until she awakened as a Scout would she come to do that in the future, probably. But she would do it, just the same.
Andrea was currently wearing a considerable amount of blue and yellow casual wear. She was doing this as she shopped with Irene at the same mall that Sylvia, as Skyhorse, had kept from being bombed by suicide bombers on a bus, when Sylvia encountered her and Irene there, in fact. Sylvia looked her over a bit, and then said, "You two seem at least a little familiar to me here, for some reason. Almost like I've seen you both at least once, if not more than once, somewhere before, at considerable enough length."
"As far as I know, I've never seen you before today, Miss Wakefield," said Andrea. Her thoughts were almost immediately echoed by Irene here. At least for the most part, if not entirely, anyway.
"Then why do you think I might be having this feeling that I've seen you both somewhere before at least once, Miss Kelly?"
"I really don't know," answered Andrea, as she began showing Irene a few ideas for possible dresses that she could wear to the already-mentioned dance.
After watching Andrea and Irene discuss several of those dresses in a dress shop for that mall they were now in, Sylvia said, "Blue and yellow dresses don't really seem to suit you well, for some reason. You should look for things primarily in orange and yellow, perhaps, Miss Kelly. I don't know why I'm thinking this, but I'm still thinking it."
"I don't like orange very much," stated Andrea.
"I have a feeling that will change for you in the future, for some yet-unknown reason. You should also consider looking for red ribbons to wear in your hair, Miss Kelly."
"What makes you say that, Miss Wakefield?" asked Irene, beginning to pay more attention to Sylvia as she watched Andrea and Irene debate the advantages and disadvantages of certain dresses then available in the store for potential purchase.
Artemis suddenly leapt off Andrea's left shoulder, where he'd eventually perched after Sylvia had encountered him and the two ladies with him now. He leapt to the floor, and began chasing a mouse he just spotted in the store somewhere. He didn't return to the ladies' presence here for at least the next five or ten minutes, in fact.
"I don't know that for sure yet here, if I ever will, in my life, Miss Shekovinski?"
"It's Mrs. Shekovinski, in fact, Miss Wakefield."
"Very well, Mrs. Shekovinski. I really don't know why I'm saying that for sure here, but I am. Whether or not I'll ever learn why in my life, I'm still saying that here."
"Understood, Miss Wakefield," said Irene. She studied Sylvia here at some length, as Sylvia wore her spare school uniform at the current time. After looking her over at some length, Irene then said, "Miss Wakefield, meet me at PPP by Sunday night, if at all possible, by 9 pm local time. I'd like to talk to you, if I may, in private." She said that in a voice so low that nobody else who was currently in the store with them could hear her well enough, by the way.
"Why, Mrs. Shekovinski?" Sylvia answered just as quietly.
"I can't tell you here and now. But trust me, you'll be glad you did, I think."
"I'll see what I can do. But I won't make any promises to do more than that."
"Just be there. Meet me there by then, if at all possible. If something comes up, call me at this number." Irene quickly wrote some numbers down, and slipped her a piece of paper with those numbers on it, before Andrea rejoined them both where they were now standing in the store here. Then Sylvia secretly pocketed it in her purse without anyone else seeing her do so here well enough, in fact.
Some time later, then, at about 5:45 pm local time, Sylvia parted from both Irene and Andrea in very short order. And she soon began patrolling in the local area. First as Sylvia, and then as Skyhorse, once Moonlight Serenade showed up near her well enough. She patrolled for a few hours in the area, being joined later on her rounds by Renaissance and Trinity. Eventually, before they finished their nightly patrols, Isaiah joined them as well.
As they patrolled in the area, they eventually came within twenty yards of Tatiana near their school's main building. Tatiana was just about to leave the school's grounds after having just watched a girls' basketball game there between the Junior Varsity teams of DBJHS and another school in the local area. As Tatiana was about to unlock her car door, several people in apparent civilian dress came upon her, and tried to abduct her. She fought back against them at least a little bit, but still took a few hits from them. As she fought to get away from them, there was a sudden flash of bright light, and three words escaped her lips as that light began to shroud her from her assailants' views. Those words were, of course, "Mir Crystal Power."
The bright light that began to shroud her forced her assailants to let her go so that they could shield their eyes from its brightness. They began to cower, as soon as they let her go, and tried to get away from her at least a little bit. But their escapes were blocked by the now-present Scouts Skyhorse, Renaissance, and Trinity, and by their currently-around animal allies. Which, in fact, didn't yet include Vladephrad, if it actually would.
When Tatiana was fully Mir here, she soon shouted, "Attempting to steal the peace of an innocent, and attempting to abduct an innocent, is most certainly not right! So say I, Sailor Mir, Sailor of Peace! For that, you all shall die, God willing! Prepare to meet the vengeance of Sailor Mir and her fellow Scouts! Feel free to introduce yourselves to these unfortunate people, if you wish, Sailor Scouts."
"Sailor Skyhorse, Sailor of Celestial Protection!"
"Sailor Renaissance, Sailor of Spirit and Soul's Rebirth!"
"Sailor Trinity, Sailor of Inspiration!"
After the Scouts then introduced themselves, the would-be abductors tried to fight the Scouts and their animal allies with whatever things they could use against them. And they did that here as they also tried to get to their vehicle parked a little ways away from the school's main building. They soon were able to grab some pipes and assorted guns to try to use at the present time against the Scouts and their allies. But their attempts to fight against their current opponents well enough generally proved useless, before too much longer here. Especially after several of the Scouts sliced their guns and pipes into quite worthless weapons to them here.
The would-be abductors, however, did somehow manage to inflict at least a few injuries on the Scouts and/or their allies before their guns and pipes were rendered quite useless to them here. But they all still lost against the Scouts and their allies here. Most especially after Vladephrad and Isaiah began tearing into them full-bore with their talons, claws, beaks, and teeth, in fact. By the time that they were all either killed or incapacitated, then, at least a dozen Arab males were lying on the ground within about a hundred or so yards from where Tatiana's car had been parked earlier. If not even more than that, in actual reality. And by the time that the police and several emergency medical personnel eventually showed up in the area of the battle, all but two of them were dead, due to injuries inflicted on them in the battle by their opponents. Those two were soon taken into police custody, after a short time at a hospital for them, if necessary, before they were taken to jail, for that matter.
The police and the emergency people attended to all the injured and dead near enough to Tatiana's car. Including, of course, the just-injured Scouts and their animal allies. Trinity and Renaissance had been hit by some bullets from the Arabs' guns. But those bullets hadn't hit in areas that were particularly life-threatening for either of them, in fact. Trinity had taken eight bullets of various sizes and makes in her left arm and left upper leg, all of which were removed fairly easily, in time. While Renaissance had actually been hit two times in and near her left shoulder. One bullet lodged just under Ren's left collar bone, from the front, somewhat deep in one of the muscles there in front of the scapula. And the other lodged near the base of the left side of Ren's neck, somewhat near an artery, but not too near to one, after entering from that side of her. Both of the bullets that hit and wounded Ren were at least a little harder for the doctors to remove from where they'd hit her than the bullets that'd hit Trinity earlier. But not impossible at all to remove for any of them, in fact.
The Scouts all somehow held their transformations active, at least until they were alone with each other in a hospital elsewhere in the area. That then happened sometime around local midnight, after Skyhorse had called her parents to let them know that a few of her friends had been attacked by would-be abductors. Where needed, she also called Kiena and Mary's relatives, of course. She told them only what they each needed to know, for the obvious reasons. Kiena and Mary's relatives generally said that they'd trust her to look after her friends for as long as she needed to, if and whenever possible.
With that said, she soon hung up on them all here. When it was safe enough for her and her fellow Scouts to power down completely, then, Skyhorse had her fellow Scouts do so along with her. But only when it was safe enough for them all to do that here, for the obvious reasons. After they all powered down, Sylvia, Kiena, and Mary finally learned that Tatiana was actually also Sailor Mir.
"You're Sailor Mir, Tatiana? How long were you going to keep that information secret from us?" asked Sylvia, when it was safe enough for her to do so at the current time.
"As long as I didn't know exactly who you each were in your both your Scout and your civilian states, and as long as I thought it wasn't safe enough to reveal my civilian state to you, at least, I believe, Sylvia. I'm sorry if my not telling you I was a Scout bothers you," answered Tatiana, as she brought a cup of water over to Kiena as she lay in her current hospital bed.
"You could have told us earlier, I think, that you were also a Sailor Scout, Tatiana," said Kiena, as she reached for the cup of water that Tatiana then held here.
"And potentially risk other people's safety, without cause? I don't think that would've been a very logical thing to do, Kiena. Especially since I only learned I was a Scout the first day I fought alongside you in battle, thanks to my new dog."
"I see. Well, I suppose you're right, then, Tatiana. No sense in risking people's safety at all if you can possibly avoid it at all. But it would have been nice to know that you were a Scout when we had that slumber party at Sylvia's."
"I didn't have my dog then, Kiena. And I had no idea I was actually going to become one then, or that I would get a dog for myself, for that matter."
Kiena thought about that, and then asked, "Sylvia, when did Tatiana get her dog, as far as you know?"
"About a week after our battle at the pet store, I believe."
"So sometime around the end of last month, Sylvia?" asked Mary. Mary began fingering the eight bullets that the doctors had removed from her arm and leg earlier, which were now on a necklace of some sort that'd been made after their removal. Trinity had asked one of the nurses who'd helped doctors with her operation to try to make a necklace of some sort incorporating those bullets as parts of it. And she did that almost immediately after coming out of her operation to remove them from her body. Of course, before they could be put on a necklace of some sort, the bullets had to be cleaned of anything that might remain which could possibly pose problems for her in the future, for the obvious reasons.
"Yes, Mary, about that time, as far as I know."
Kiena asked Sylvia to bring her the two bullets that doctors had removed from her earlier. They were then sitting next to a television elsewhere in Kiena and Mary's hospital room. Both girls had been brought to the same hospital room after their operations, even while still in their respective Scout states.
As for any or all of the Scouts' animal allies, they'd somehow all not suffered any injuries sufficient enough to require them to spend any time at an animal hospital. Which was quite fortunate enough for them all at the current time. They were soon left to their own devices, and they all made their ways back to any of their respective lodgings, wherever they might happen to be, elsewhere in the Jerusalem area of Israel. Serenade, for instance, went back to Sweet Musicalisti's grounds, while Isaiah went to the cavern, and Vladephrad to Tatiana's lodgings.
Sylvia retrieved the requested bullets, and handed them to Kiena, who then looked them over briefly. After a while, Kiena asked, "Sylvia, do you think that I could have these bullets incorporated into a pair of earrings or something somehow?"
"Why, Kiena?"
"As a permanent reminder of this battle, as I'm sure that Mary wants to do with her newest necklace, Sylvia."
"I don't know if I'd want to keep such things around me if I didn't have to, Kiena," commented Sylvia. "I just think it at least a little bit weird for someone to keep such things for themselves after having them removed from their bodies. Do you understand where I'm coming from here well enough, by any chance at all?"
"Sure I do, Sylvia. But if we have such reminders near us whenever possible, it might remind us that our enemies generally are playing for keeps, and not just for fun. Whether or not they're simple humans, in fact, I think that's often proven to be the case for them since we each became Scouts, at least. If not even longer than that. So I believe that's why Mary and I want to keep permanent reminders of this battle around us, if and whenever possible, in the future."
"Do as you wish, then, Kiena. But please be careful, as well, if and whenever you might actually wear such reminders in your lives, just the same. That's if you both can be, of course."
The four young women conversed a little while longer with each other as needed, before Tatiana and Sylvia said they had other things to do at the current time. They said that they'd be back to visit Kiena and Mary later, if and whenever they got the chance to do so then. Both Kiena and Mary wished them both good nights, before Tatiana and Sylvia left them alone again.
Sylvia gave Tatiana a ride back to her car, and Tatiana soon parted from Sylvia again. But not before Sylvia said, "We have much to discuss among ourselves now, as I'm sure you might reasonably expect, of course, Tatiana."
"I'll look forward to it, if and when we get the chance to discuss all the necessary things with each other, Sylvia."
"Remember, you must not reveal our civilian identities to anyone else now, of course."
"Obviously, Sylvia. Obviously. Well, I'll see you later, then."
Without another word being exchanged between them both here, the two of them parted, just as soon it was sufficiently safe for them both to do that here. Tatiana left Sylvia's van, and returned directly back to her own current residence. After Tatiana was far enough away from Sylvia's van, Sylvia started up her van again, and returned to Wakefield Castle for the rest of the night, stopping only once on the way back there. And she only stopped at a gas station long enough to put some gas in her van and pick up some rolls for herself and the rest of her family.
She arrived home sometime around 1:50 in the morning, more or less, and went almost immediately to her bed for the rest of the night. After changing into some appropriate sleepwear, she then spent about ten or so minutes making an entry in her personal journal about things that'd happened to her and others close enough to her since the last time she'd made an entry in it. After she felt she'd put enough into her personal journal at the present time, she returned it to its usual hiding place, and turned out all her lights. Two minutes after doing that, at most, she was quite soundly asleep again in her bed. And she was again unknowingly dreaming more about her time in the Silver Millennium, in fact. She actually dreamed for most of the night about her long-ago time in the Silver Millennium without even realizing it, by the way. And she did just that in her bed before she eventually woke up again in it sometime around 7:15 in the morning of Tuesday, December 18, 1990.
Two days later, on Thursday, Sylvia met up with Rolando, and was able to give him whatever information he'd need to go with her to at least one dance in the local area. He took that information, and thanked her for it. Rolando said that he'd take her to the dance or dances in question then. When he did so, Sylvia asked him, "Have you been able to line up enough other males to go with friends or acquaintances of mine yet, by any chance, Mr. Volois?" She asked him that while they were still on the school grounds of DBJHS, in fact.
"I have been able to do that. Who still needs dates for the dance, Miss Wakefield?"
"It seems that Sonja Darram, Ashley Cornale, Mary Josephus, Naomi Abraham, Joelle Abraham, Etana Warren, Selena Moon, Amy Meredith, and Andrea Kelly, at least, need dates for the dance."
"And what about Misses McCall and Kisbell?"
"It seems that Miss McCall is going to be going with her boyfriend, but she doesn't know that yet. As for Miss Kisbell, they agreed to go with your friend James, don't you remember?"
"Oh, I forgot that was going to be the case for Miss Kisbell and Mr. Selannis. How do you know that Miss McCall's boyfriend is going with her to at least one dance?"
"He called me just before I left for school today. He told me not to tell Miss McCall that he'd be showing up around her very soon. Of course, I promised not to tell her, and spoil the surprise. She's not expecting anyone to take her to the dance as a date, in fact."
"I see. And why did you do that?"
"Because I want it to be a total surprise, just as he does. She hasn't seen him for some time, and they need to be with each other."
"I see. And what do you think her reaction will be when she sees him?"
"If past experience is any indication, Miss McCall will be quite ecstatic, if I remember things well enough, at least as they pertain to them both. As they usually are after they're separated from each other for a significant enough amount of time, I think."
"So how long have they evidently been a couple, so to speak?"
"About three years, more or less, if my memory serves me well enough here and now, Mr. Volois. They started seeing each other romantically, I believe, shortly after he protected her from a bully in a Bristol-area mall. I don't know if their relationship will eventually lead to marriage, but I fully expect that it very well might do so in the future, someday."
The two of them conversed just a little while longer with each other, and eventually parted from each other when necessary. They didn't see each other the rest of the school day, generally, if and whenever they didn't have to. When the school day ended, they eventually went back to their respective residences for at least a little while. If not for the rest of the time between then and when their next school day would begin. Especially Sylvia, in fact. Sylvia went straight back to Wakefield Castle, and worked on her homework for a while in her room.
She was still in her room working on her homework when Becky came into it and brought her some lemonade and rolls. Becky asked, as soon as she sat down on Sylvia's bed, with Sylvia's permission, "How are you, Sylvia?"
"Fine. Why do you ask?"
"Just wondering. Did you hear that two of the Sailor Scouts were wounded a couple of nights ago near your school, by any chance?"
"Not really. There was some buzz about it in school the past day or two, but nothing major, if I remember correctly." Of course, Sylvia knew the whole story about the woundings, but she couldn't tell Becky that, for the obvious reasons.
"The Scouts and their allies defeated a bunch of would-be Arab abductors, and sent a few of them at least indirectly to jail, from what I heard earlier in school through some of my friends, Sylvia."
"Did they? Even while still hurt in the battle?"
"Yes, even while they were. Mir and Skyhorse, for instance, were quite lethal to them, it seems. Also it seems that an eagle and a dog were too. I don't really know whose eagle and dog were actually part of the fight, but they both got at least some licks in on those would-be Arab abductors, if not a lot of them. I heard that Renaissance and Trinity were wounded in the battle by at least one or two bullets each, for that matter. For some reason, the Pilgrim never showed during the battle, and I'm wondering why."
"Perhaps the Pilgrim was too far away to help at that time. And besides, for all we know, the last battle that he'd helped the Scouts in could very well have kept him from helping well enough in this battle that you're speaking of here, Becky. Only God knows for sure why the Pilgrim never showed during the battle, in fact. I'm sure that there was a good enough reason why he didn't appear to help the Scouts during that battle. Though I'm not sure what it might be yet, if I ever will know that well enough in my life, somehow."
Sometime around 5, after at least half an hour of spending time with Becky in her room, Sylvia's phone rang. It was Tatiana. Sylvia conversed briefly with Tatiana here, saying very little in response to whatever she was hearing from Tatiana, before hanging up her phone again. Moments later, Sylvia said, "That was Tatiana. Seems she needs my help with a dress she or at least one other girl would like to wear to at least one holiday party, if not more than one, at least. I'll have to continue this conversation with you another time. I wish I didn't have to go right now, for there's still quite a bit of homework to do here now, before tomorrow, but I do."
"Be careful. I've started seeing reports that the Negaverse might be getting close to finding out at least one of the Scouts' civilian identities, and you seem to look at least a little bit like one of their current targets. As well as at least one of the targets of assorted Arab terrorist groups, for that matter. I don't want to have to attend a funeral for you at all in my life, if I never have to, Sylvia."
"I understand. Is there anything you want or need me to pick up, then, while I'm out elsewhere in the local area, Becky?"
"Not that I can think of at the current time. Just be careful, please. I don't want to have to hear about you on the news or read about something that's happened to you or your friends, if I don't have to, of course."
"I'm always as careful as I can be, whenever I'm out there in the local area, and away from home here, Becky. God will protect me and others with me, I'm sure. Besides, if something does happen to me, at least, I happen to know where I'll be spending forever, I think."
"Well, I don't want you to go there before your time, if you must eventually go there before Jesus comes to the Earth again."
"Understood. But what's going to happen is going to happen. Whether we want it to or not, things will happen as they might, Becky."
Moments later, then, without another word being exchanged between them both, Sylvia vacated her room, followed shortly by Becky. As Sylvia set off for Tatiana's dorm, Becky went elsewhere in Wakefield Castle, as the need or desire then struck her here.
Sylvia arrived at Tatiana's dorm, and soon entered her friend's rooms there. At the time that she did that, Tatiana was with one or two of her friends, and a younger cousin of one of them. This younger cousin, in fact, was Rachel Aaron. This Rachel Aaron was about Selena's age, more or less, and she was to be the Jerusalem Zone's version of Sailor Mars in the future. Though nobody yet knew that in their lives at all. Not even Tatiana, for that matter.
Rachel Aaron was currently in a good deal of red and purple, and Tatiana and others were trying to help her get ready for at least one dance in the very near future. Tatiana eventually introduced her to Sylvia. And when they first touched each other's hands here, Sylvia got the strange feeling that she'd once known this same girl by another name long before. Though she didn't know why just yet, of course.
The two girls soon got to talking with each other, and often with Tatiana, as they tried to make sure that Rachel was sufficiently ready for at least one dance in the near future. Sylvia said, all of a sudden, as if out of nowhere, "Miss Aaron, you should wear a lot of red and/or purple in the future, if and whenever possible. Those colors often will look rather good on you, I think. Especially red, for that matter."
"How do you know this for sure?"
"I'm not sure. I just know somehow that those colors might quite often look great on you, Miss Aaron."
"I see. What else can you tell me about myself, then, if you know this here well enough?"
"You happen to actually attend another school in the area. The name of which currently escapes me here. And in your spare time, you often sing in a church choir with several nearby churches and things. You live with your grandfather in a house near Christ Church, if I'm not mistaken. Your mother died when you were young. Your father is rarely around you."
"All true. But how do you know all this stuff about me, Miss Wakefield?"
"I don't know for sure. Maybe the Holy Spirit has something to do with it. I can't possibly explain it any other way than that, I think, well enough."
"Are you sure you never read about me before in the papers, for instance?"
"I've never heard about you before today, as far as I know, Miss Aaron. If that's so, then only God could have told me this information through His Holy Spirit."
"I see. And can you tell me if we'll often see each other in the future yet?"
"I can't, for sure. But I still suspect that we will, for some reason or another."
Eventually, Rachel was sufficiently outfitted for at least one dance, if not more than one dance, in the very near future. After that was established, everyone started helping Tatiana do the same, if and wherever necessary. This get-together at Tatiana's lasted until about 7:30 in the evening, in fact. It was interrupted, in time, by some beeping from Tatiana and Sylvia's lockets while they were alone in Tatiana's kitchen with each other. The beeping came from Serenade and Isaiah trying to get in contact with Tatiana and Sylvia now, by the way.
As soon as it was safe enough for them both to talk to their animal allies, Sylvia and Tatiana did so very quietly, of course. They conversed briefly with them, and then signed off as needed through their lockets. They soon told their friends and other acquaintances that they just remembered they'd forgotten some things back at their schools, for instance. Even if that wasn't actually the case for them both, they still did that, for the obvious reasons, of course.
When they were far enough away from Tatiana's dorm, and in a safe enough place to power up, they both did so. After powering up, they then went to the library, where six Negaverse monsters were beginning to drain energy from assorted library personnel and patrons. As soon as they arrived, they saw that they might have some quite difficult work to do in order to deal with those monsters. For Nephlyte had obviously taken notes about previous Arab and Negaverse battles against the Scouts, and had begun to try to come up with a suitable enough defense to work against Mir's Bear Claw Phasing Strike attack of late. And at least as of the current time, neither Renaissance nor Trinity was sufficiently recovered from their most recent Scouting battle to fight, for that matter. So unless the Scouts had enough suitably good help from many others, it wasn't likely going to be very easy for them to deal with this current disturbance, of course.
The Scouts eventually showed themselves to the monsters, and engaged them. The first two monsters were much easier to deal with than the other monsters were for them both. Nephlyte used them as test subjects for an idea he was then working on here. They gave Skyhorse and Mir a little trouble, but not too much, before they were dealt with as needed here. However, the other four monsters soon became at least 200, if not more, thanks to some original ideas that Nephlyte had recently come up with. It then took the Scouts at least a good hour, if not longer than that, to get the numbers of their opponents back down to about fifty or so. And by that time, they were finally reinforced sufficiently well by their animal allies, the Pilgrim, several civilians, and a mysterious woman in a mask and a long nearly ground-length formal dress. This woman wore a light purple mask that covered her upper face, except for her eyes, which were round blue ones, for that matter. And her dress appeared somewhat lavender or white from about fifty yards away as she stood on a statue outside the library's main entrance/exit. Most of the activity in the battle was still taking place inside the library, but it was starting to move outside of it. That was because the Scouts were now fighting their way out of the library with the help of several people and animals that'd just begun to aid them there. The monsters didn't really want to be forced out of the library, of course. But they were being forced out of it, just the same.
The police and IDF people weren't yet available for battle in the area, if they would eventually be. For they were currently attending to some terrorist-related trouble that had arisen just after Skyhorse and Mir began fighting in and around the library, in fact. The Scouts and their unlikely allies soon killed a few more of the monsters trying to wreak havoc in and around the library. The masked woman in purple and/or white helped as well, once she could join the battle well enough somehow, by using assorted martial arts and improvised weapons, against those monsters. Eventually, the monsters could no longer increase their numbers, and began diminishing in them as they were killed in the battle.
Nephlyte did what he could to still continue the battle against the Scouts and their current allies, whether those allies were now likely or unlikely ones. But eventually, not even he could keep enough of the monsters sufficiently able to fight here. And he then began recalling several of them as best and as quickly as he could away from the battle. He was able to save several of the monsters for potential further battles against the Scouts, but not more than about half a dozen of his strongest and best ones that he'd committed to the battle, in fact. Nephlyte soon retreated with the monsters that he could save back to his current base in the area, and left the corpses of those monsters behind that he couldn't. He didn't want to have to do that, of course. But he wanted to stay alive to fight another day, if at all possible, against the Scouts, for the obvious reasons. So he did so here, just the same.
Nephlyte realized that Queen Beryl would likely not be very happy with him for actually losing so many of his monsters to the present Scouts and their allies. But that was a chance that he still knew that he'd have to take now. He made it back to his current headquarters in the area with his surviving monsters a little while after leaving the area of the library with them all, with no more trouble from anyone or anything at all. After he got back there with them all, he soon put them all in certain places where they could each try to heal from their various hurts and things that they'd suffered during that battle they'd just participated in. After he did that, he eventually retired to his sleeping area in his headquarters for a while, for the obvious reasons, of course. And he stayed there for as long as he then felt the need or desire for him to stay there well enough.
After the current battle was sufficiently and undoubtedly over once and for all, the Scouts attended to and repaired, whenever possible, all the battle damage that'd resulted from the monsters' presence in and around the library here. There was some damage that couldn't exactly be repaired right away, in fact. But the currently-present Scouts still did what they then could to attend to, and repair, such damage here, just the same. If there actually had been at least two more Scouts in the immediate area of the battle, they might have been able to repair more of it easily enough. Or prevent more of it, for that matter. But with Renaissance and Trinity currently out of action, at least in terms of their fighting as Scouts, that meant that at least some of the related battle damage would have to be attended to and repaired later, if at all possible, of course.
After the battle was over in and around the area of the library, then, the Scouts and their animal allies left it, as did the Pilgrim, strangely enough. And they began heading toward where the police and many IDF personnel were still trying to deal with the terrorist-related situation going on elsewhere in the Jerusalem local area. Granted, they were now quite tired from having to fight the Negaverse-related monsters in and near the library, for the obvious reasons. But their night of combat activity was apparently not yet done, after they learned that the police and IDF people were still trying to deal with the terrorists now causing trouble in the local area.
The Pilgrim didn't leave the Sailor Scouts and their animal allies alone again after the battle in and around the library, as he'd often been known to do in the past, when they left that area of Jerusalem. Instead, contrary to his usual pattern of activity after a battle, he stayed with them. He still hadn't killed any other sentient enough being, but that might not always be the case for him, in fact. Only time would tell, of course, if it'd always remain the case for him in his life. Either as the civilian named Rolando Volois or as the yet-unknowing superhero "The Pilgrim," whatever the case might ever be for him in it, by the way.
After at least another ten minutes or so had passed for them all, they arrived near PPP's main entrance/exit point. When the Scouts and their allies showed up in the area, the police and several IDF people said, "There seem to be about a hundred patrons and restaurant/arcade personnel being held by about two dozen terrorists, as far as we currently can tell. That's if the terrorists aren't lying to us, of course."
"Okay. Since when have they held the hostages?" asked Skyhorse, a few moments after their arrival outside of PPP.
"About the time that you were engaging Negaverse monsters near and in the library, Skyhorse, in fact. I think they timed it so that you'd not be in the way for at least a little while due to one of the Negaverse's periodic attacks."
"I don't think they actually are working together, Captain Shaminski," said Skyhorse to a Jerusalem police captain. "I think, though, that the terrorists have learned to try to cause trouble only when we're otherwise occupied with Negaverse activity, if and whenever possible. It can't be random chance that they chose to take more hostages when we were otherwise occupied. And while two of us aren't presently able to fight, due to our recent battle against other terrorists in the area, for that matter."
"Nor do I, Sailor Skyhorse," said Captain Gabriel Shaminski, who was a Polish-born Jew of the Reformed variety. Reformed in the sense of the usual divisions of Jewish religious practice, for that matter. He was now about 55 years old, and had a bit of a graying beard with no moustache for himself. He and his family had all immigrated to Israel not long after Israel's refounding, while he was still a pre-teen, after having hidden out from the Nazis and their allies for at least a few years in the United States. He'd spent most, if not all, of his life in Israel ever since, and had married someone who'd been born in Austria and survived time in various death camps the Nazis had established in territory they'd held during World War II. He was now the biological father of several children in his life, and the adoptive father of twenty other children. Captain Shaminski had recently become a grandfather for the first time. He would eventually come to spend a good deal of time with the Scouts and their allies in the future, if at all possible. For just that day, he'd been assigned as a liaison to them along with several others.
Skyhorse, Mir, the Pilgrim, and several other people conversed for a little while with Captain Shaminski here, before coming up with a plan that might work here. Skyhorse didn't like the idea much, but it would require that certain people would have to potentially put themselves in quite considerable amounts of danger among the police and/or soldiers, due to the current inability of Renaissance and Trinity to fight anyone well enough. It might require a good number of those people to do that, but it was the best plan that any of them could come up with on rather short notice. About two dozen soldiers from a group of about 300 volunteered for what might be a very risky task here, more or less, once the risks were explained to them well enough. They were soon outfitted as best as they could be at the current time, given the current situation, and they soon took up certain positions all around the restaurant/arcade as they'd just been assigned to here.
When everyone else was as ready as they could currently be here, a few signals were given as needed. And everyone began doing whatever they then needed to do here. The terrorists fell for the distraction that the volunteers had been asked to provide to at least some degree, though not entirely. However, enough terrorists did so to allow other people, including Skyhorse, Mir, the Pilgrim, and many others to enter the restaurant/arcade, and begin trying to rescue the hostages from there. Bullets and other projectiles periodically shot all over the area of the restaurant, of course, in the process of people moving into and out of the place, for the obvious reasons. Several civilians were unavoidably hit, especially after things got much harder to see there, in fact. Some more seriously than others, quite naturally enough. Nobody among the civilians had been killed, at least as of yet. But several of them had still been hit by assorted things flying through the place for whatever reason or reasons that they might then be doing that here.
It took all the Scouts and their allies about twenty minutes or so, after moving toward the restaurant/arcade, to finally eliminate or sufficiently incapacitate the Arab terrorists that'd taken hostages there well enough. No fatalities had occurred among the civilians in the place, fortunately enough. Or at least not up until the place was completely secured by the necessary people, of course. However, several civilians were now not in very good shape, due to the assorted things that'd been flying through the place during the fight, in fact.
After the place was completely secured as needed, the emergency people moved in, and began to attend to the necessary people in the required ways. It was now just about 11:35 pm local time, in fact, when they did so. For about the next ten to fifteen minutes, then, the Scouts and their allies helped out if and wherever possible. But eventually, they had to leave the area again, before they'd no longer be able to maintain their respective transformations well enough, if they had any. This, of course, was for all the obvious reasons here, no doubt.
They all left the area of the restaurant/arcade again by about midnight local time, at the very latest. When they were all far enough away from the area, and in safe enough places to do so, they all powered down, if they could then do so well enough. After they did that well enough to suit themselves enough, they all eventually returned to their respective residences in the local area, wherever they might actually be at present. Supposing that they could do that in the first place, quite naturally enough.
Sylvia arrived home by 1 in the morning local time, after first checking on Kiena and Mary in their hospital room. They were both quite fine, when compared to how they'd been right after they'd been shot near Tatiana's car. Before Sylvia parted from them both, Kiena said, "Good work, Sylvia, in your latest two battles. We both wish we could have been able to fight alongside you in them, of course."
"Just get better, and perhaps you'll both be able to do that very soon. Oh, and by the way, Rolando's working on lining you up some dates for the near future, if I remember things well enough here."
"That's if we don't have any, right?" asked Mary.
"Right, Mary." Sylvia eventually parted from them, as already stated, when the need or desire for her to do that arose for her here. And she went straight home after leaving Kiena and Mary alone again in their current hospital room.
She stayed up for only about another half hour or so after arriving back at Wakefield Castle, finishing up the rest of her homework before she retired to her bed for the rest of the night. Sylvia eventually changed into some sleepwear after briefly writing in her journal again, and was quite soundly asleep again in her bed by no later than 1:40 am local time on Friday, December 21, 1990. Not long after she was quite soundly asleep there to a sufficient enough degree, she was again dreaming unknowingly about the Silver Millennium. But that'd not remain the case for her forever, if it could possibly be avoided at all, in fact.