A/N: And you thought I had abandoned this story, you should know me by now. Well 2016 is finally over and we can all agree that it was a horrible year and it deserves to be forgotten. But it a new year and all we can do is hope its a better one. (Cause we all know we deserve it)
Anyway after a long hiatus I am back with a new chapter and I hope it was worth the wait. So without further ado...
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{ Cat Scratch... }
The rain was still falling heavily, as both the Senshi and the SGC team regrouped at the Hikawa Jinja. Usagi had not spoken much since Tin Nyanko's attack at the school and had largely remained silent, as she and her friends made their way back to the Shrine in the Starlights mini-van. Rei and the other girls would ask their friend if she was alright and she would say yes, but Usagi's face told everyone who saw her, that Tin Nyanko's attack that she was not. Nor was it the only thing on her mind.
As the evening progressed the rain had eased up, both Morrison and McKenzie were now outside of the shrine with their P90s hidden under their jackets so as to not alarm anyone who may have seen them. Both men had radioed in to General O'Neill about their encounter with Tin Nyanko and had now taken up sentry duty just in case the evil senshi decided to attack again. Both battlecruisers in orbit were now attempting to locate aforementioned senshi with their advanced sensors while the airmen stood guard outside the shrine. But Morrison and McKenzie were not alone in their task, as the Starlights (Now in their male form) had also joined both men outside and were now helping to secure the grounds.
Seiya him/herself had joined Morrison near the rear of the buildings and had struck up a small conversation with the airman to pass the time. Taki was with McKenzie near the temple entrance which over looked the street below, while Yeten was inside with the rest of the senshi and Kakyuu.
Seiya was thankful for Morrison's actions at the school, as the lead Starlight knew that the one thinh which may have saved both her and Usagi's from Tin Nyanko, was Morrison directing her attention towards him. Something which gave Usagi time to transform and attack the evil senshi as well. But Tin Nyanko was still on the loose and there was still a strong possibility that the dark senshi could attack once again.
"How things on your end?" McKenzie's voice crackled over the Airman's ear piece.
"All clear." Morrison replied. "You?"
"Same." the other airman replied. "Have any of the girls come out?"
"Negative, they're still inside. Think they're still shaken up by what happened to their friend."
"Wouldn't doubt it." Morrison agreed. "I'll check in in 20 minutes."
"So when is your General supposed to return?" Seiya suddenly asked, as the American ended his conversation with his team mate.
"I dont know." Morrison replied. "He's still on board the Prometheus."
"Doing what?" the Starlight asked, sounding confused. "Shouldn't he be down here?"
"Knowing the General, he's more than likely talking with the rest of his senior staff." the airman explained. "Trying to figure how to locate that senshi that attacked us earlier. I thought all you senshi were good guys... er, girls?"
"Not all of us are." the Starlight said with a somber tone to his/her voice. "Those who serve Galaxia are not true senshi, no senshi would ever serve a demon like Galaxia willingly."
"And now one of them is still out there waiting for her chance to strike again." Morrison commented. "So all we can do for now is sit and wait."
"Excuse me, but are you busy?" a new voice spoke up and upon investigation, the airman saw one of the young women who he and Seiya were protecting.
"Um... no... uh, Hino-san right?" Morrison asked the teen.
"Correct." the Miko replied, before glanced at the Starlight and asked. "Can we speak alone?"
"Um, sure. Would you excuse us?" Morrison asked his companion for the day, to which Seiya agreed and went to another part of the Temple grounds. "So, what do you want to talk to me about?"
"Actually... it is more of a request." Rei stated, before she asked "I... we, I mean the rest of the team, want to know if it would be possible to locate someone in America?"
"Excuse me?" the airman replied, not sure just where the young woman was going with this. "Who do you guys want us to find?"
The miko just sighed heavily before she said, "Usagi... she has a boyfriend who went off to your country to study, but he has not returned any of her calls since he left."
"And I guess she really missing him right now and after all that has happened, finding out if he is alright might change her mood a bit?" Morrison asked with an arched eye brow. The miko for her part just nodded and replied, "It would mean a lot to her... and me. I just want to her happy."
"I guess you love that girl like a sister, huh?"
"Very much so." Rei replied, feeling a bit embarrassed for asking the American this favor.
"When General O'Niell returns, you can talk to him about who you want us to find, okay?" Morrison told the young woman, hoping that it would please her. Rei smiled a bit with a nod before she replied, "Thank you."
"Speaking of which, how's your friend doing now? Still shaken up after the attack?"
"She'll be fine." Rei replied, "Usagi-chan is a lot strong than she looks."
"Well, that's good to hear." Morrison commented, as he proceeded to look over the grounds. "I'm also guessing that you girls would be heading home soon?"
"Well the rest of them will be, I actually live here." the Miko replied. "I guess I better head back to see hoe everyone is doing."
"Yea, you do that." the airman replied, just as the miko made her way back inside and entered her house.
"You know, you can stop pretending like you were not listening in." the Airman called out to one of the near by trees. Sure enough a large mass that was Seiya himself, fell out of the brush rather ungracefully and landed hard on his/her rear end.
"Ho... how did you know I was up there?" the Starlight exclaimed, as he/she picked herself off the ground.
"That's for me to know, and for you to never know." Morrison replied. "and besides if you are gonna hide, you may want to make sure that your pony tail ain't sticking out like a sore thumb."
"Oh... yea." Seiya said sheepishly, as she/he fixed their hair. "So... Usagi-chan has a boyfriend?"
"Look like you heard right." the airman replied. "and I am guessing that upsets you?"
"Maybe a little bit." Seiya replied, feeling a bit dejected.
"You liked her, didn't you?" Morrison asked accusingly, as he eyed the young man/woman before him. Completely defeated, Seiya had no choice but to reply. "Is it that obvious?"
"Kid, you're not the first one to be blinded by love, you certainly won't be the last." Morrison replied. "And you certainly not the first one to fall for another man's girlfriend."
"So what should I do?"
"Honestly, I can't really tell you." the older male informed the Starlight. "You just got to do what you think is the best course of action, now that you know what is going on in her personal life."
"What would you do if you were in that situation?" the Starlight pressed on, hoping beyond hope that this man could give him some advice.
"Honestly, if I would interested in a woman who I later found out she already had a boyfriend, I would just back off and move on." Morrison answered truthfully. "But that's just me."
"Thanks..." the Starlight replied flatly, feeling more dejected than before. Obviously Morrison's words did little to quell his/her's feeling of disappointment. The rest of that evening was thankfully uneventful and soon it was time for the rest of the girls to head home. Seeing that there was still an evil senshi loose in the city, General O'Niell had both McKenzie and Morrison drop each senshi home with their armored up SUV.
But while the two airmen were now providing escort for the Sailor Senshi, the two Battlecruisers in orbit were busily scanning the Japanese home islands for signs of Sailor Tin Nyanko. As this was going oni, O'Neill was using his position witnin the U.S. Military to locate a certain individual. Not to long after the girls had been returned home, Morrison told the General about the request placed forward by one of the Senshi.
Not wanting to disappoint, O'Neill made a few calls and was able to get into contact with the very same university he had been told about. The General knew just how hard University life could be and believed that this boy has been swampt with school work, hense the reason for him not being able to resopnd to his girlfriend. But from what he was told, the Student known as Mamoru Chiba did not arrive before classes even began. As a matter a fact, their was no record of a Mamoru Chiba even entering the United States. Just what had happened to this individual? It was as if he vanished into thin air as soon as he entered the aircraft. Something which was not out of the relm of possibility considering what the StarGate program had delt with in the past.
The question now was just how he was going to break the news to the Sailor Senshi, even more so, just how would they would take the news.
"General, you're needed on the bridge." a voice suddenly spoke through the com system.
"O'Neill here," the General replied. "Do you have something?"
"Sir, the Daedalus is reporting that they have picked up an odd energy reading in the Tokyo metropolitan area." the airman on the other end replied. "We've triangulated the location where the signal was strongest."
"Understood, I'm on my way." O'Niell replied, before he got up from his desk and made his way towards the bridge.
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It was just after 1:00 am as a black Toyota Land Cruiser pulled up in what looked like an old industrial complex and switched off its engine. Moments later General O'Neill and his party for that night exited the armored SUV with their P90s now fitted with supperssors, so as to not alert anyone if they were used. The Japanese government may have known about the SGC, but it would not be good if the locals were suddenly heard weapons fire. But the P90s were not the only weapons the General and his mean had at there disposal.
For each of them were armed with a Zat'nik'tel, or "Zat" as it was more commonly called by SGC off world personnel. For countless centuries this weapon was used by one of the Galaxy's deadliest empires to subjugate and murder billions. But in the hands of the Tau'ri, it had been an efffective tool to stun an enemy rather than kill them. Making them the perfect weapon for what O'Neill had planned for tonight, as the SGC's objective was to capture the individual known as Tin Nyanko.
The hope was that is O'Neill and his men could capture the rouge senshi, then mabey they would be able to get more information about Galaxia. A task easier said than done, as the General had no illusions that this operation would go as plan or that this senshi would be willing to just give up and surrender. To make the situation even more complicated, O'Neill had decided that this mission would strictly an Air Force affair. The General didn't want to aske too much from his new allies and decided that it would be best to keep the Senshi out of unnecessary harm, not to mention that it WAS a school night after all and her doubted that these girls would want to be waken up at such an ungodly hour.
"Do you have anything?" O'Neill asked Col. Carter, who for tonight had joined the General's group in Japan and was now in posession of a small scanner.
"I do, but its faint." the officer replied, as she looked on at the screen. "It's possible that who ever it is we are looking for may either be resting or..."
"Setting us up for an ambush." the General finished, knowing very well that it was a strong possibility. "Morrison, you go with Carter, Jackson and McKenzie you're with me. Remember we want this individual alive, so I advise you switch to P90 as a last resort."
"Yes sir." the rest of the group replied, before they went their seperate ways to search for their target. Completely unaware that their actions were being watch by four sets of eyes.
"These Americans are a curious bunch." Uranus commented, as she and the rest of the Outer Senshi stood on a near by roof top and looked down at the SGC team. "They ask for an alliance with us, now they go off on their own to do what ever."
"Now Uranus, now is not the time to judge." Pluto commented. "Need I remind you that it was not so long ago that we operated in the same way."
"But at least we know the danger involved with who we were up against." Neptune replied. "If this Galaxia is as dangerous as we were told, then they should not have come here alone."
"I don't know, they were able to capture both you and Uranus." Saturn said with a giggle, causing Pluto to smile. While the two lovers blushed in embarrassment at the memory. "So what do we do know?"
"Lets just keep an eye on them for now, sooner or later they will need our help." Uranus replied, as the group continued to watch from their vantage point.
Meanwhile back in the warehouse, the group by this point had split up and had begun to search the building. The air was cold thick with the sent of rust and urban decay, as the building itself had not been used in years. The only light which illuminated the darkened space came from both the streetlamps which shown through the dirty windows and the small LED flashlights which were mounted on the P90s. The only things which could be heard at the moment were faint sounds of traffic which came from the near by elevated roadway which passed over the structure, as well as the sound of heavy breathing.
"Sorry sir, sinuses." McKenzie apoligized. "Dust is not my friend right now."
"Don't forget to pop a cold tablet when we return to the hotel."
"Yes sir." the embarrassed airman replied, as the group continued to scan the building for their target. Long minutes passed as the Air Force contingent continued their sweep of the structure, the sensors on the warships in orbit may have been able to locate Nyanko, but for some reason the scanner which Carter had brought with her was not working as it should. But it still was able to detect the same energy readings both the Prometheus and Daedalus had picked up just hours earlier.
By 2:45 am, the two teams had regrouped and were now getting ready to search the final section of the building which was located in the lower levels. With Morrison and McKenzie taking point, the group slowly entered the lower levels with weapons in hand. Just like above the air was thick with dust and urban decay, as the beams of light penetrated the darkness in search of the evil Senshi. Suddenly, the silence was broken with the sounds of voices coming from the other end of the level. They sounded like as if they were arguing with one another, but the strange thing was, it sould as if the voices came from the same person.
Immediately, O'Neill motioned to the airmen to kill their lights and switch to the Zats, as their goal was to capture the Senshi. Silently the group moved towards the room where the voices were coming from and as they did, they began to hear the most peculiar coversation going on.
"I have to stop, I have to warn them!"
"NO!I will get that star seed for Galaxia-sama, if its the last thig I do!"
"N... NO! I can't do this anymore! I don't want to hurt anyone anymore!"
"I can and I will! For Galaxia!"
"What the hell is going on?" the general muttered to himself, as the banter inside continued. But as soon as O'Neill peaked through the crack in the door, the Air Force general was greeted with a sight he did not expect. For inside the room was Sailor Tin Nyanko, the individual they were looking for but something was off.
The senshi herself looked as if she was in pain, as her hands were holding her head as if she was suffering through the mother of all head aches as she argued with herself. But the thing which stood out the most, was the fact that her "outfit" (and O'Neill used that term loosely) was diffirent. Litterally half of it was pure white, while the other half was the normal jet black. Just what was going on with her?
But it was at that point the confused senshi spotted her unwanted guest and snapped. "YOU!" the woman bellowed out, before sending out a bolt of energy. O'Neill and his men just moving out of the way just moments before said bolt demolished the door way and wall which seperated them.
"Oh no! I'm so sorry!" The senshi cried out before wincing in pain and yelling, "I won't miss this time!"
Again another bilt of energy lashed out, narrowly striking McKenzie and impacting the concrete in the area the airmen once was. In that moment, O'Neill pulled out his Zat and fired a shot at the distracted enemy, but the cat like senshi was able to jump out of the way with a back flip and shot out another beam of energy at the air force general.
By this point it had become a running battle between the SGC team and the enemy senshi, as the fight had moved to the ground level. Nyanko using the open space to her advantage, as the cat like senshi lept from point to point in an attempt to confuse her would be assailents. But every so often, O'Neill and his people would would notice that the Animamates would act as if she was willingly trying to get her self shot, only to leap out of the way at the very last minute and attack. One minute she would be cold and ruthless, only to suddenly turn heel and become regretful and almost frightful of what she was doing.
Another blast of energy struck some old barrels, sending them flying. One of which struck Morrison hard on his left side and sent him tumbling across the floor. Within moments the senshi was standing over the unconscious airman and looked as if she was about to finish him off, but what happened next gaught every one who saw off guard.
Tin Nyanko suddenly held her head in her gloved hands and screamed out in pain, as her body arched forward in an almost unnatural way.
"N... NO! I... don't want to hurt him... I..."
"NO! I... MUST..."
"NO! I will... not..."
"I..." all the while this was going on, the bracelet on her wrist began to glow brightly as the animamate fought with herself. It was during this, a blue beam of energy lashed out and struck the confused senshi in her back. The young woman instanly falling on the ground, eyes closed and unconscious.
"Morrison, you alright?" General O'Neill asked the down Airman, as he ran up to him and knelt down to help the young man up.
"I dont think anything's broken." Morrison replied. "Did we get her?"
"Yea, we did." the General replied, just has Carter, Jackson and McKenzie moved in and secured the motionless form of Tin Nyanko with plastic restraints. "I want you to go with McKenzie and Carter on board the Daedelus and get checked out."
"Yes sir." Morrison replied, before he went off to rejoin the aforementioned group.
"You know, you can come out of hiding and show yourselves now!" O'Neill called out into the darkness. "I know you're there."
As if on cue, the entire contingent of the Outer Senshi emergend from shadows with Uranus in the lead. "How did you know we were watching you?" the tall blond asked.
"I've been in contact with the Daedalus and they told me that there were four more signitures with us. Signitures which matched Usagi and her friends when we first found them." the general explained. "That and the Cherry Blossoms McKenzie found before we entered the building let us know it you were here. By the way, how come those pettals always seem to appear when the two of you two are around?"
A now stunned and slightly embarrassed Uranus and Neptune just stood there in silence, with slight shades of red appearing in their faces. Saturn just giggled a bit as Pluto asked "So what do you plan to do with her?"
"When she comes out of it, we're gonna see if we can get any information out of here that could help us against Galaxia." O'Neill replied. "Which is easier said than done."
"I think we can help in that reguard." the Time Goddess sudddenly anounced. "But it will have to be done tomorrow."
"Very well, but what time shal we meet up?"
"Don't worry, we will." and with that, the Outer Senshi melted back into the shadows. Leaving the SGC team behind to finish up task of securing and transporting their new prisoner.
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A/N: There it is, what do you think? Yes I know it had been months sincle I last updated, I just hope the wait was worth it. As always leave a review and tell me what you think. Until next time...