chapter 4- progress
The next morning, Makoto found herself begrudgingly being fitted in trousers and leathers for her journey to the Golden Kingdom. They were to go in two groups, she and Rei with the first group who would scout ahead and clear the way for the larger, second group, accompanied by the king. There was a chance they may encounter more dinosaurs like they had back in the woods, and apparently these ones might not be so "docile". So it was determined that Rei and Makoto should be outfitted for combat.
The only problem was, in addition to the protective traveling gear, the two Senshi were also being equipped with impressive metal bracers that, in addition to providing added forearm protection, prevented them from using their powers.
"Cheer up, Jupiter," Nephrite chided, noticing her dismay. "It's not like we're leaving you totally defenseless. We're just taking precautions. Wouldn't want you zapping us in the back and making a run for it."
He was to lead the scouting party and Makoto was sick of him already. She couldn't fathom how she was going to stand his company for who knows how many days. Of all the Earth lords, he was the most arrogant and forward. And, if Makoto had to guess, stubborn. He seemed incapable of keeping his mouth shut about anything having to do with battle prowess. While she and Rei were being outfitted for travel, he'd done nothing but ramble on about the dangerous monsters they might encounter in their journey, and how he had bested them all before and lived for the challenge. He'd probably been more specific than that, but Makoto couldn't be bothered to listen.
They were to leave within the hour, the girls having been roused at dawn to be prepared for travel. They would travel northwest, along the well traveled, man-made path through the forest, passing almost directly through the place where they'd had the iguanodon encounter. Once they got through the forest, it would be up a mountain, to the caves of some flying monsters Makoto couldn't remember the name of, though she guessed it ended in "don" or "saurus" as all these Earth monsters' names seemed to. These were tamed monsters though, in the care of Flightmasters, and they would fly on from there to the Golden Kingdom entry point.
Having been satisfactorily outfitted, the two Senshi were lead to join the rest of the scouting party who were just completing their own final travel preparations. There were only a handful of people, a few guards, some male servants, and a soldier or two among the ranks. The majority of the household remained permanently at Rias, and most of the other nobles, and even soldiers who would be making the progress to the Golden Kingdom would go with the king. Makoto thought that either they must be awfully confident in the abilities of the two princes leading the party to handle any dangers they may encounter, or the journey was not nearly as perilous as Nephrite made it out to be.
"Come," Nephrite commanded while Makoto and Rei stood forlorn amongst the bustle of servants packing supplies onto a modestly sized wooden carriage. He beckoned for them to follow him. "We must see the Beastmaster and find you a suitable mount."
He lead them away from the kitchen door and off towards what must have been the stables, though they looked unlike any Makoto had ever seen. The were a considerable distance from the castle with walls that appeared to be no structure of man but of nature, as if the entire town had been built around this already extant cave. Inside it still looked like it was a natural cave, with only a few rudimentary manmade stables inside.
They were greeted by a middle-aged, lean, and hard-looking fellow, garbed in leathers quite similar to those they had recently been fitted with, though his were soiled and faded with wear. His hair had all gone grey, and his face was weathered and gnarled. Everything about him seemed stern and commanding and when Makoto caught a glimpse of the kind of beasts he was keeper of, she could understand why.
These were not the ethereal pegasi or griffins that the Moon people called their steeds. They were unlike anything else in the Moon's domain, except for the small sampling of Earth creatures she had seen. Their forelegs were short, like the arms of a human, while the rear-legs were long and massive. They carried themselves upright, but their backs remained horizontal and curved up to a long neck, ending in a relatively small head. Their faces were bird-like, but scaly, and they must have been at least ten feet in length.
"I've come to fit these girls to ride," Nephrite declared. "One should do for the two of them."
"These are your prisoners then," the Beastmaster observed. "They're clearly not of Earth-stock. Much too soft." He chuckled. "Well, let's hope the two of them together can handle one of our nags."
Makoto was dying to ask exactly what this "nag" was that she was being helped onto the back of, but she refrained. She wasn't going to allow anyone the pleasure of jeering at her ignorance again. She bit her tongue and held fast to the leather strap fastened about the abdomen of the creature that seemed to be there in lieu of a saddle. Rei was lifted up, seated in front of her and given the reins to the creatures bridle.
"Now Nessie here is pretty docile, and she knows the route you're taking well," the Beastmaster said. "She won't take much handling. The bridle is just a strap around the top part of her snout, no bit like you Moonies use on your flying pegasi. But same idea, you pull back on it, she feels the tug on her mouth and knows to slow down or flat out stop. You shouldn't need to though, unless you suffer an expected attack."
"No need to frighten the girls with your jabber of dinosaur attacks, Jogen," Nephrite said, and Makoto sneered at his suggestion that she might be frightened at the prospect of battle. After all, she was a capable warrior.
"Yes Lord Nephrite," the Beastmaster obeyed. "Safe journey to you."
Nephrite mounted his own monstrous stride and rode out of the stables to rejoin the group. Rei started as their monster moved to follow and Makoto guessed that she had not willed it to move. Never the less, they followed and joined the party of other, already mounted scouts near the clearing where the girls had first teleported into the city just a day before.
Though the king was not joining them, he was there to see them off. An unwilling pair, Minako and Ami, were retained by soldiers at his side, both of them still clad in women's clothes, though they now wore ankle-length day dresses, rather than long, full skirted gowns. They too wore metal bracers about their forearms to prevent the use of their powers. Young Lord Zoisite was there as well, his eyes vacant as they passively observed the commotion of the scouts making ready to leave.
Satisfied with extent of their preparations, Nephrite approached the king. "We are ready to take our leave Kunzite. We will send word as soon as we have reached the base of the mountain path."
"May you have a swift and uneventful journey. My own party shall depart as soon as we have the word that you have safely arrived," Kunzite said, reaching up to grasp the hand of his comrade.
"Venus," he continued, "Do you not wish to bid farewell to your friends?"
"Goodbye Mars, Goodbye Jupiter," she said formally, coldly, though her eyes betrayed her love for them. "I hope that in the face of danger these men will be wise enough to unbind you and let you aid them in battle. May we meet again soon." She bowed her head and curtsied deeply.
Nephrite led the party of ten, including Jadeite and the two senshi to the central platform in the clearing. Zoisite moved to touch the stone pillar to the west. Teleporting out of the city proved to be not nearly as complicated as getting in. One touch of the metal orb atop the pillar and the castle-town was disappearing around them and quickly being replaced with a thick deciduous forest. Makoto never would have imagined it possible to transport eight mounted riders, plus an additional beast hauling a small cartload of supplies, out of the castle walls all at once, had she not witnessed it for herself.
"Impressed are we?" Jadeite asked. Both senshi must have looked as stunned as Makoto felt.
"Yes," Mako admitted. "It's obvious where you Earth people focus all of your technology."
"We haven't got a choice," Jadeite said. "The safety of the people comes before all else."
They started off along the path, Nephrite leading the group, Jadeite taking up the rear. Both of them were more heavily armed than any of the other scouts, so they were best suited to protect the group in the event of a dinosaur encounter. Not to mention they were better trained, being of nobility, and outfitted with more sophisticated weaponry. The two senshi rode behind Nephrite, followed by four of the six guards riding two by two. The supplies cart, followed by another set of guards made up the end of the train, excepting Jadeite.
Makoto was fidgety and restless as they rode that morning. Everything looked the same, just trees, trees, and more trees, with the occasional sapling or jungle of underbrush, and she had no sense of progress. She'd hoped that they might begin to see signs of the forest letting up and yielding way to a clearing, or that the land might begin to slope upward suggesting they were nearing the mountain. Unfortunately, every time the land began to rise, it soon fell again, sometimes seemingly lower than it was before they began their ascent. And she was surprised to find that the Beastmaster's description of a dinosaur attack being "unexpected" was correct. They had neither seen nor heard any hint of the beasts.
"Lord Nephrite," she said finally. "How much further until we reach our destination?"
"With any luck, we should arrive by nightfall. Then we shall be able to sleep in the beds in the inn there and recuperate for our journey up to the caverns of the Flightmaster," he replied.
Surely we are going to rest before then! Makoto thought, but kept it to herself to keep from seeming a pampered princess. Though she had to admit, life on the Moon had never featured such a long and grueling journey as she was taking right now. The only time she ever rode was for pleasure, not travel. She rarely ventured beyond the Mare Serenitatis, and when she did, it was never to other locations on the moon, but rather trips home to Jupiter, which were of course made by spacecraft.
By some miracle, within the next few minutes, they reached a clearing with a swift, broad stream, and they stopped to water and feed the monsters. Makoto was happy to be off the back of the thing and ventured down by the water to get a drink herself. The break was short lived though, and soon a guard was helping both senshi back onto the back of their dinosaur and they were once again, on their way.
This time, Makoto had the reins, and she found herself slightly more entertained than she was simply riding passenger. Though not much, for the Beastmaster again was right, and Nessie did run more or less on autopilot. There was certainly no chance of making a break for it on the back of this rigidly trained beast.
Not that I would want to, Mako thought. Just because we don't see them, doesn't mean there aren't dinosaurs around.
Suddenly Makoto felt Rei's body tense up behind her and Nessie's steps became more hesitant. "Rei?" she asked, "What's wrong?"
"Something isn't right," Rei replied
"Are you sure?" Makoto asked. Martian women were widely known to be able to sense negative energy, and the trait was said to be particularly strong in the royal family. Of course the galaxy had been at peace since Rei was a baby and she never had a chance to learn whether or not the gift existed in her.
"I don't know," Rei admitted. "But I think there is something or someone who wants to hurt us. It isn't far off."
Overhearing them, Nephrite laughed. "Oh calm yourself Mars. We are far away from any herbivores territory and the carnivores tend to gravitate towards those areas where their own food sources find food."
"Lord Nephrite!" one of the soldiers from near the back of the train cried. He raced forward beside him. "Lord Nephrite it's…I think it's a Tyrant!"
"What?" Nephrite asked, his tone shocked and, Makoto thought, fearful.
"Yes, my gallimimus lost it's footing back there, and well, the ground was uneven because…"
"A Tyrant's footprint?" Nehprite asked.
"You'd better come see Sir," the guard half stammered. Instantly, Nephrite's monster darted towards the back of the party.
"What's a Tyrant?" Makoto asked uneasily, knowing that something that could shake the ever-boastful Nephrite must be terrifying indeed.
She needn't have asked. Almost immediately a monstrous, scaly figure appeared out of the shadows of the trees to their right. It was massive; the size of a moderate two story building, with a face like the all the dragons of legend. Except the head was enormous in ratio to the body. Its eyes were a malignant amber, and even with its mouth shut it displayed two rows of jagged, hideous teeth. It walked upright, like the creatures they road, and its arms were miserably short, but it's back legs appeared frightfully strong, and each one scads larger than the tallest human.
"Don't move," a guard whispered harshly, and Makoto realized that the impulse to run had not even set in yet, she was so overcome with shock.
"What?" Rei questioned incredulously, though Makoto could still feel her grip, stiff and rigid behind her.
"It doesn't see well," the guard explained. "Dismount slowly. Your gallimimus is going to sense its presence and try to run soon. If you're still on it when it does, you'll be chased and eaten too."
"Uh huh," Makoto managed, taking care not to nod her head in agreement. She watched the creature like a hawk. Everyone in the party had come to a terrified halt, and the Tyrant she realized was not as close as she first imagined. It had apparently not yet seen them, but moved its head around as if searching for something. For them, for food most likely.
Suddenly one of the guard's beasts spooked and made as if to flee. The Tyrant descended upon it before it could even really make an attempt to escape. It captured the creature directly around the throat in its terrible jaws and with a shake of its head un-horsed the rider, sending him careening to the ground.
Makoto didn't see what happened next for being pulled forcefully from the back of her mount and thrown in the direction of a thicket of bushes.
"Hide here and lie still!" Nephrite commanded, pressing her body downward. "We've been found out."
"The guard fought back Nephrite!" Jadeite's still only mildly panicked voice called. "We're going to have to try and take it down."
"Damn!" Nephrite cursed, rising to his feet.
"I'll try and wrangle my gallimimus and wound it. If the smell of blood can get the Tyrant's attention on it and it runs, the beast might just pursue it and leave us alone," Jadeite said, un-holstering one of his blasters and preparing for combat.
"Alright," Nephrite agreed. "I'll fight in the meanwhile. Be ready to assist in the kill should your plan fail."
Jadeite nodded and ran back in the direction of his terrified gallimimus. The poor beast was skittishly pacing in debilitating panic as it cowered in the presence of the hulking monster. Nephrite charged in the opposite direction, blaster at the ready. He was too late to save the fallen guard; the beast turned its head towards them, it's mouth now saturated with the blood of both the dead gallimimus and its unfortunate rider.
For a moment, Makoto watched dumbfounded as Nephrite fired blast after blast, first at the feet of the creature, then gradually aiming upwards towards the chest. Then she came to her senses. She was no helpless civilian in need of protection by those more powerful and capable than herself. No, she was Sailor Jupiter, the senshi of Jupiter, with the power of lightning at her command. She'd done damage to one dinosaur before, what was another?
She climbed to her feet and ran into the fray, unsheathing the short sword that was the only weapon the armorers in Rias has seen fit to equip her with. Makoto had no intention of engaging in melee with the monster, but she thought she could maybe do some damage by hurling her sword at it. She stopped in her tracks and took aim. Not certain of where the creatures heart was, she opted to go for an eye. She cocked her arm back over her shoulder and flung the sword with all of her might, sending it spiraling in the direction of the Tryant's face.
The blade missed, but the hilt of the sword did hit the eye, causing the creature to rear back in discomfort for a moment before locking on her direction.
"Makoto! What are you doing?" Nephrite demanded before firing another blast to turn the creature's attention back to him.
"What does it look like?" she replied. "I am trying to help you!"
"Stop it! You'll get yourself killed!" he retorted.
"Release my bracers!" she cried back. "If you do, I can help you! I can kill this thing."
"We both can!" It was Rei who spoke. She now stood confidently at Makoto's side, short sword in hand.
"Unnecessary," Nephrite said, dismissing them. "I have the situation under control!" He fired another blast and closed the gap between himself and the monster. He drove his long sword into the scaly body and pulled himself up onto its back, clinging fervently to his sword as the creature reared in attempt to shake him off.
"Nephrite stop being stubborn! We can help you!" Rei called, but he ignored her.
Once the creature had stopped raging, Nephrite clambered further up its back, piercing the skin just below the arm with his dagger, and drawing his sword, now dripping with blood, out of the previous injury. He fought to steady himself where he clung to the tyrant's back, and lifted his sword with his free hand, fumbling to get to get a clear shot at its throat. He swung blindly and came toppling down.
Rei flew to where he had fallen and slashed at the monsters knees. Nephrite managed to pull himself to his feet and stumble out of danger, just as Rei hit the ground and rolled away to avoid being trampled. Makoto caught sight of her own fallen weapon and rushed into the melee to retrieve it.
Another hit from a blaster made the creature stagger backwards and Makoto retreated to see Jadeite standing not two yards away, his blaster still aimed.
"Jadeite please!" she implored him. "Get these bracers off us!"
Without a word he switched his aim and Makoto was again paralyzed with shock as she realized he was aiming directly at her. She raised her arms to shield herself from the blow. An instant later, one of her bracers lay shattered on the ground. "No time for keys," Jadeite declared and made short work of the other.
"Thank you Jadeite!" Makoto exclaimed, her voice still shaky. She turned on her heels and faced her assailant, calling for her comrade to get out of her way. Rei obeyed, helping Nephrite to clear out as well. Makoto crossed her arms in front of her, her hands up by her face and concentrated. Sparks of brilliant blue lightning gathered around her outstretched fingers, crackling as it increased in intensity. With a cry of "Supreme Thunder!" she sent the sparks flying towards the beast.
With the rest of the damage the beast had already sustained, the blow from her attack was enough to visibly weaken the creature and delay its assault. Makoto prepared herself to launch another attack, but Rei beat her to it. A wave of swirling fire washed over the creature and singed out whatever life remained in it. Jadeite had obviously released Rei too.
"Rei!" Makoto gasped, turning and running towards her friend. She threw her arms around her in relief. "You've done it!"
"We've done it," Rei corrected. "My attack wouldn't have killed it without the damage done from yours."
The two princes approached them, Nephrite leaning on Jadeite for support. The taller man observed them coolly, his eyes conveying no thanks for the girls' heroism. "Well," he began, "we shall have to make haste to the first forest post and seek more supplies."
"You need to rest and recover from that attack," Makoto declared.
"Me?" Nephrite asked, putting up a front of incredulity. "I need nothing. It's you Moon people who could barely stand to ride the whole day long, let alone go for a day without ample food and water."
Makoto felt her temper flare at Nephrite's ungrateful remark, but she suppressed it and let it subside. There was no need to argue with him. After all, he had already suggested they take shelter and whether he'd admit it or not, that would allow him time to recuperate.
"We shall have to continue on foot," Jadeite declared. "All of our gallimimus have fled. There's a chance they'll return to this spot, but we're asking for trouble sitting here with this dead tyrant. The scavengers will be here soon and some of them have been known to opt for fresh meat as well."
NOTES:
Waaahsorry it took me so long to update. This chapter has been done for a long time actually, only I've been on vacation and didn't get around to editing it.