Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Saber Marionette Fan Fiction ❯ Terrible Things to Waste ❯ Allegiances ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Dear Lord, it's like these chapters just keep getting longer. I wonder
if that's why the comments have been slow in coming. At least I hope
that's why... -sweatdrop- Anyway, this part has some action to sedate
your animal lust for violence. Hehehe, lust.

Hey, show me some love and review me. Nothing makes me feel smexier than
getting a review. Ohh, yeah.

This part dedicated to DB Sommer because he has no idea how much I
studied his action scenes to get mine to look right.

Boo ya!

-
Terrible Things to Waste
Part 4: Allegiances
-

A brilliance of flames danced beneath him feasting upon
wood, metal, and clothing. Malance smiled. Vibrant orange
and red flares bloomed in the fire rolling into black smoke
billowing forth towards the sky. Ashes and embers rained
down upon the metallic armor of Malance's suit.

"This should get her attention," he murmured.

Another explosion erupted from within the building and
shook its foundation. Unable to tolerate the strain any
longer the building finally collapsed upon the ground.
Screaming people scattered everywhere like ants flushed out
of their nest.

'My General, this is all for you,' Malance thought.
'My mind, body, and soul belongs to you. Forget the blonde,
I am your only servant. Please enjoy what I have made for
you.'

The blue mechanical suit zipped around the structure.
Malance punched his fist and watched the output display on
the interior of his visor. The guidance system flickered
slightly as it tried to lock on the base of the remaining
wall.

'Damn cloaking device is draining my power.' Malance
turned off his display and lowered his arm. 'I'll have to
recharge when I return.'

"Malance, report." A grainy voice rung in Malance's
ear.

"Phase Two complete, General."

"Good."

'I knew I wouldn't disappoint you.' Elation filled
Malance, but he replied with cool formality. "How may I
serve you?"

"Report back. We will make our next move tomorrow
night."

"Yes, sir."

Malance cut the feed. 'So calm, so calculated.
General, you deserve so much more. You are so strong; you
should not be bothered with rodents like that Timelord.
I'll make sure to deal with that problem personally. But
that can wait for later.'

'Soon, though,' Malance thought as charged his
thrusters, 'the General's plan will come to fruition, and
once we're done here; there will be no more need for that
blonde wench.'

Flying away, Malance spun around and punched his arm.
A small cannon popped up from his forearm, firing a blast at
the building. The remnants of the structure tumbled,
leaving nothing but rumble and flames in its wake.

'Soon very soon. I'll have him all to myself.'


------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
Cindy brushed her fingertips along the smooth surface
of the pond. The warmth of the sun helped offset the chill
of the water. She kept her eyes closed as she lay on the
grass, letting the gentle breeze wash over carrying the
sounds of Victoria playing and romping about.
'Today's a good day.' The blonde woman thought.
'Actually any day away from the old man is a good day so
it's been a good few days.'

Cindy couldn't remember ever relaxing like this since
she joined the Society. She opened her eyes and watched the
white puffs of clouds rolling overhead.

'Heh, that one looks like a horse.' She mused. 'Hmmm,
I can't believe the last time I did this was in my mother's
garden.'

Cindy closed her eyes. She had almost forgotten what
that garden looked like. Vibrancy of reds, yellows, and
violets would explode when the flowers bloomed. A few wiry
trees provided some shade for the garden near a small
reflection pool at the end of a winding dirt path.

At the edge of the path, a statue of Serenity stood on
the watery banks. Its ivory surface would glow in the
midday sun. Cindy remembered running out into garden as a
child to sit there, dazzled by its glow.

Cindy giggled to herself. 'Mother always scolded me
for ditching my studies like that.'

"What's so funny Traveller?"

"Huh!" Cindy shot upright. "Oh it's you, Pluto. Um,
you look different."

The Time Guardian straightened her blazer and pursed
her lips. "Please address me as Susan when we're in
public."

"I'm, uh, sorry. I'm not accustomed to seeing you in
anything other than that sailor suit and short skirt." The
blonde Traveller observed, rising to her feet.

Despite the blazer's soft pastel blue, Cindy felt it
did nothing to dispel the mysterious shadow that hung around
the woman like a fog. She imagined at any moment the Time
Guardian would wrap herself in her long dark mane and fade
into the shade of the surrounding trees.

"I see Erica and Michelle have grown quite fond of
you."

Cindy watched the woman with wavy green hair and her
sandy-haired partner run about the pond's shore trying to
stay a step ahead of their small child.

"Yeah. On the surface they appear rough around the
edges, but they have a good heart. That's why I always
admired them as a girl."

"I see." Susan replied flatly. "I take it you know
why I'm here."

"The attacks on the homeless shelters." Cindy rubbed
her elbow. "They're looking for places I can hide.
Unfortunately, there aren't too many left."

"There's one left."

Cindy idly toyed with her ruby bracelet. "And there's
no telling what they'll start attacking next. Hospitals,
shops, or schools are all a possibility. These Timelords
are tenacious and they won't stop until they find me.
You've got to listen to me and let me help you fight them.
Together we can destroy them."

"I don't think so. You present far too great of a risk
to us all and it would be foolish to engage the Timelords
until we have found out more about them on our own." The
Time Guardian stared at the blonde woman. "I will make this
promise to you, Traveller. If any of the Scouts, especially
the Queen, comes to harm because of the Timelords, you will
be held responsible. I will personally ensure your
reciprocation is swift."

"Hey Cindy! Susan!" Michelle called. "Are you guys
going to join our picnic or what?"

Cindy took a few steps before pausing.

"You have my word, Time Guardian; I will do everything
in my power to prevent that from happening."

"Time will tell, Traveller."


------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
"How did you convince the teacher to let us do this?"
Mina's eyes widened.
Serena beamed as she took a big sip from her drink. "I
just said those poor homeless people needed help after all
those attacks on the other shelters, and that's how I got us
out of cleaning duties at school."

"So, instead of scrubbing the floor, you have managed
to put us in one of the most dangerous places in Tokyo!"
Raye exclaimed.

'I wonder if Raye gets a headache whenever she twitches
her eyebrows like that.' Serena wondered.

"It's probably one of those demons left behind from one
of our previous fights." Mina whispered.

"Um, Mina what about the Timelords Cindy was talking
about?" Serena asked.

Serena gagged as her blonde friend tugged on the collar
of her school uniform. "Shhh! You don't know who is
listening."

"Mina we're in a video arcade, I don't think anyone's
going to be paying much attention to us." Raye replied.
"Much a less hear us over all the beeping and the noises."

Mina frowned. "You can never be too careful. Now, um,
I lost my train of thought."

"Monsters, Timelords, and Serena's great idea to get us
all killed."

"Oh yeah."

"Hey now." Serena huffed. "We're scouts and it's our
duty to prevent whoever is doing this from harming any more
people."

"I'd feel a lot better if Lita and Amy could join us."

"Lita's out on a date with a guy." Mina rang in sing-
song. "It seems Lita finally has gotten over that old
boyfriend of hers."

Serena lowered her eyes. "And Amy is still following
leads on Greg's disappearance."

Raye crossed her arms. "I'd still feel better if they
were with us."

"Then, Raye, you can go scrub the floor in the safety
of the school room."

Serena grinned mischievously; suppressing a chuckle as
Raye's face grew red.

"Oh fine! I'll come with you two, just to make sure
you don't get yourselves hurt." The raven-haired girl
growled.


------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
"Hey Mr. Zen-"
"Listen kid, for the last time call me Tracer. This
Mr. Zen jazz is beginning to get on my nerves." The taller
man snapped.

Greg sighed. "Okay, do you think you could pass some
of that pocky my way?"

"Sure."

Greg took his time to savory the few sticks of the
chocolate covered cookie sticks. Meals had been meager the
last few days since they began running low on cash. As he
ate, Greg observed the tall, lanky Timelord leaning against
the wall and keeping a watchful eye on the girls in the
arcade across the street.

'I hope this ends soon.' Greg examined his hands.
'I'm getting tired of cleaning myself in public restrooms
and sleeping under bridges. I don't know how he does it.'

A river of people rushed along the sidewalk. In the
small gaps between the jumble of arms and legs Greg could
see cars zip by on the street. In the shadow of the
building, he felt like he was sitting on his couch at home
watching the bright and variant world before him.

'It's a busy day.' Greg curled his knees up to his
chin. 'Perhaps if I lie still long enough I'll merge with
the wall. It's not like any one would notice. Well, with
the exception of Amy. At least I hope so.'

Curious, Greg turned to the dark-haired man. "Hey
Tracer."

"What now?"

"Do you have someone back home?"

Tracer flexed his hand. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you have family waiting for you at home? Or
even a girlfriend of some type?"

The man eyed the boy. "Nooo. Why do you ask?"

"It's just that," Greg reached into one of his pockets,
"You dropped this picture of a blonde girl when we were
leaving the Cherry Hill Temple. And I thought maybe she was
your girlfriend or something."

"Gimme that." The Timelord snatched the picture. "Why
didn't you give me this earlier?"

"Uh, you were in a hurry and I had forgotten about in
our rush to keep up with the girls."

"Uh-huh."

"So, um, who is she?"

"No one important."

"Why are you carrying a picture of her with you?"

Tracer's cheeks burned red. "None of your damn
business!"

"Ah, okay."

Tracer stuffed the picture in one of his pockets. "Now
I suggest you sit there and shut up before I smack you."

Spinning around, Tracer once again took his spot
against the wall. Greg peered around Tracer's shoulder and
noticed the three girls already making their way down the
street.

"Um, Tracer-" SMACK! "Owwww."

Tracer's head bobbed and weaved about trying to locate
the girls. Finally, Greg tugged on Tracer's trench coat and
became immediately aquatinted with the Timelord's bloodshot
eyes.

"WHAT?"

"The girls." Greg pointed down the street.

"Crap!"

Tracer grabbed the boy and shot off into the crowd.
Greg struggled to get some footing as the Timelord carried
him through the mass of people. Looking ahead, he could see
Serena's fluttering blonde ponytails heading towards the bus
station. The man shoved ahead through the crowd battering
Greg with various shoulders and elbows.

"Ack!" Greg tucked in his chin and raised his arms.

The loose flaps of the trenchcoat tickled Greg's nose.
As Greg avoided the burlap ends of the coat, he caught a
glimpse of the Timelord's sword flaring with light amid the
dark folds.

'What the? Why is his sword glowing so brightly?'

"Damn it!" Tracer spat, dropping Greg.

"What?" Greg steadied himself on his feet and watched
a bus drive away.

"We didn't make it." Tracer scanned the station and
found a map. "Quick, which route did they take?"

"Which was it, Route 5?" Greg murmured, studying the
colored vines criss-crossing the map. "There."

"Good."

"The next bus will be here in about 20 minutes."

Tracer broke into a full stride. "I don't have that
much time."

Greg snaked through the crowd, trying to keep up. "So
what are we going to do?"

Tracer didn't answer and continued on. Once Greg
cleared the mass of bodies, he could see Tracer make his way
to a group of kids near a collection of large motorcycles.
The boy's were about Greg's age. Emblem of flames and
Japanese flags decorated each of the boy's oil smudged and
worn black and white jumpsuits. The jumpsuits carpeted
their bodies, stuffing into weathered and scraped black
leather boots. An all too familiar feeling of anxiety
filled Greg.

'It's a bosozoku gang.' Greg gulped. 'I hope he knows
what he's doing.'

"Heh, look it's a dirty American pig!" One of the boys
screamed as Tracer approached.

"Here piggy, piggy, piggy!" Another howled.

"Americans can suck it! Suck it good!"

"Hey, hey! whoah, whoah!" One of the boys stepped
between Tracer and his motorcycle. "What do you want
American?"

"Your bike."

The bosozoku gang member scratched the sparse hairs on
his chin. "You're pretty stupid even for an American. Sure
you can have my bike, but I don't think it would be very
safe driving with two broken legs and swollen eyes."

Tracer stared intently at the boy and then turned his
head. "Are ya gonna give it to me or not?"

Greg watched as the group of boys began to encircle the
Timelord. 'What is he doing?'

The boy scoffed. "Like you can do anything about-"

Greg cringed as the Timelord slammed his forehead into
the boy's face. Immediately, the young man's body went limp
and fell to the ground, blood pouring from his crushed nose.

The other boys converged on Tracer, but quickly stopped
in their tracks. Greg rushed over only to stop when he
noticed Tracer waving his gun.

"Now listen up you little bastards," Tracer growled,
"While normally, I'd love to beat the living snot out of you
all, I'm in a hurry."

The bosozoku gang glanced at each other and
collectively took a step back.

Tracer smirked. "Good boys. Hey Greg!"

Greg snapped to attention. "Uh, yes!"

Tracer swung his leg over one of the bikes. "Let's
go."

Greg bowed quickly to the bosozoku gang and stepped
over their dazed friend. He could hear Tracer grumbling to
himself as his foot toyed with the pedals.

"Um, Tracer, you know how to operate one of these
things, right?" Greg whispered.

"Of course, it's just like driving a hovercycle. Now
where's the ignition switch?"

"Um, can we hurry up because I don't like the way the
bosozoku gang is looking at us."

"Heh, wuss."

Without warning, the motorcycle roared to life and shot
off down the street. Greg hung on tight as the engine's
vibrations rattled his teeth and the mufflers loud wails
rang in his ears. He eased his head above Tracer's shoulder
and noticed the wall of traffic ahead.

The boy squeezed his eyes shut. 'I could really use a
premonition right about now.'

Greg felt the bike bob and weave through traffic,
choruses of car horns following them.

"Bite me!" Tracer cried cutting off a small red sedan.

"I got yours right here buddy!" The Timelord hollered
raising his fist at black sports car.

"MOVE!" He screamed as he passed a slow van.

After they cleared the pack, Greg let out a sigh of
relief and felt Tracer shake.

"Are you okay?"

Tracer twisted his head, chuckling. "Heh. So much
hostility. Hehehe."


------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
"Thank you very much for your concern," the woman bowed
to the three girls, "but we can't accept any volunteers
after the recent attacks."
"I see." Serena chewed on her lip.

Wrinkles dug into the woman's smiling face. "It's
touching really; it's not very often young people such as
yourselves volunteer their time to help the less fortunate.
Please don't let these attacks discourage you from returning
after all of this is over."

"Don't worry, we will." Mina beamed. "Now if you'll
excuse us, we must be going!"

Mina took off dragging Serena and Raye around the
corner. Once the two girls regained their footing they
turned to Mina.

"So much for Plan A. On to Plan B!" Mina exclaimed.

Raye flattened her eyebrows. "Mina, we didn't even
have a Plan A."

"Okay, play it by ear it is!" Mina snatched a small
stick from her bag.

Serena grabbed Mina's arm. "Wait Mina! We can't
transform out here, someone will see us."

"So what do you suppose we should do, oh fearless
leader?"

"Hmmm, I guess we could just wait here until the
monster shows itself-"

Mina's head peeked out from a nearby window. "Or we
could just sneak inside and look for him."

"Mina!" Serena hissed.

"What?" Mina tilted her head.

"We shouldn't be breaking in here!" Raye bristled.

"Then they shouldn't make their locks so easy to pick."

The priestess rubbed her temple. "Mina."

"What?"

"Nevermind." Raye sighed climbing through the window.

"Wait for me!"

"Geez Serena." Raye offered out her hand. "Let's just
look around and get out of here, okay?"

As Serena tumbled through the window, she saw Mina
wondering down the hallway. "What is it Mina?"

"So like this place is a homeless shelter, huh?"

"Actually it was an office building at one point before
things got tough." Raye offered in a hushed voice glancing
around a corner.

"An office building huh?"

"Yeah isn't it ironic?"

"I think it's rather depressing." Serena trailed
behind Raye and Mina gazing at the stale decor.

The hallway reminded Serena more of a dark square-
shaped tunnel than a refuge for people. Florescent lights
fought to stay on while others appeared to have long since
given up. Felt walls loosely attached to each other
struggled to stretch to the ceiling. The walls formed
crudely made 'rooms' with no doors and housed only a table
and a well beaten futon. Noticing this, Serena became
acutely aware of the relative peace and quiet on the floor.

"Sooo, no one's here?"

"Ugh! You moron! Where have you been in the last
week! All the homeless shelters in Tokyo have been
attacked or destroyed. And guess where we are? A homeless
shelter in Tokyo! Geez Serena, even the homeless are
smarter than you."

"Now Raye-"

A great explosion rocked the building almost knocking
the girls to the floor. Tiles and concrete dust rained down
on them as another explosion ripped through the shelter.

Raye wiped some dust from her face. "Told you so."

A large grin formed on Mina's face as she grabbed her
golden transformation stick and raised it over her head.

"Venus Crystal Power!"

In a burst of light, orange ribbons enveloped Mina's
body. Quickly, the ribbons dissipated across her entire
body revealing a white bodice framed by an orange collar and
pleaded skirt.

"Let's go!" The girl winked while flashing a "V" sign
to her friends.

"Mina wait!" Serena shouted as Mina hopped over one of
the low walls.

Serena and Raye blinked before another blast shook the
building. Glancing at each other, the girls shrugged.

"Mars Crystal Power!" Raye raised her red
transformation stick.

"Moon Cosmic Power!" Serena held her brooch high.

Serena smiled to herself as she admired the pink
ribbons snaking around her body. Twirling around her hands
and feet, Serena watched the red ribbons fashion themselves
into white gloves and knee high red boots. The ribbons
continued on twisting into her blue collar and grew into a
red bow before extending down to form into a blue skirt.

'I can never get over how much this tickles.'

Peering over, Serena watched as the final fiery red
ribbons around Raye created her red collar and skirt of her
uniform.

"Come on slow poke." Sailor Mars dashed off after
Sailor Venus.

Serena followed her over the low walls and into a
stairwell. After hopping up several flights, Serena barely
caught the tail end of Raye's skirt disappearing through
fourth floor entrance.

"Man, am I out of practice." Serena huffed to herself
vaulting after Sailor Mars.

A blast of hot air welcomed Serena when she ran through
the floor entrance. Ash floated around the ceiling and the
stale stench of smoke prevailed. Serena could hear gun
shots from outside and rushed to Raye's side.

Serena gasped as she followed Raye's gaze toward a
large jagged hole. To Serena it seemed a giant had taken a
large bite out of the side of the building. Parts of
ceiling crumbled into opening to the floors below. Serena
found Mina standing at the edge of the crumbling floor
scanning the night sky.

"Do you see anything Venus?" Serena carefully
maneuvered over. 'I don't know how Mina can always be so
calm in situations like this.'

"Nothing." Sailor Venus stated.

Another explosion shook the building followed by an
eruption of gunfire.

"What are the police shooting at?"

"All of the attacks are coming from the sky." Venus
narrowed her eyes. "It must be hidden or something."

Sailor Mars pulled out an ofuda. "Let me handle this."

As Mars quietly chanted, the Japanese symbols along the
long sheet of rice paper burned with a red aura. She
continued her chant and once the ofuda grew rigid, Mars
threw it into the sky. The ofuda quickly collided with
something, sparking with energy.

"Got em!" Venus exclaimed.

"See, this is why you need me to come along." Mars
crossed her arms triumphantly. "If it was just the two of
you-"

"Um, guys." Sailor Moon watched as large blue robot
slowly turned to face them.

"Hey creep!" Venus hollered.

The mechanical monstrosity hovered calmly in the air
regarding them.

Serena narrowed her eyes and gulped. 'Man it has
been awhile.'

"How dare you attack the only real homes of the poor
and unfortunate citizens of this city!" Serena belted. "I
am Sailor Moon and-"

A sudden blast sent Serena flying through a few of the
flimsy walls. Dazed, Sailor Moon watched as Mars and Venus
dodged several more blasts. Eventually, Sailor Mars landed
next to her.

"Are you okay?"

Serena could feel her temple throb. "I think so."

"Next time be more careful, meatball-head."

"Uh, yeah."

Mars winked. "Alright, now, let's see what this rust
bucket is made of."

Jumping back into the fray, Serena saw Mars stretch out
her hands.

"Mars Fire Ignite!"

The mechanical suit flew about barely dodging the
streaking flame. Suddenly, Venus emerged from behind a veil
of thick smoke, her index finger extended.

"Crescent Beam Smash!"

A concentrated beam of light connected with the
midsection of the robot altering its trajectory. It flew
into the building, sending volley after volley. Serena
leaped, avoiding the random blasts as her friends returned
fire. The floor filled with an exchange of beams of light,
streaks of fire, and missiles.

Then it abruptly stopped. Smells of scorched concrete
and burning plaster mixed with the black smoke. Serena
could hear the low roar of an engine above the snapping of
the fire.

"Where did he go?" Serena coughed.

"I lost track of him in the smoke." Mars replied.
"He's gotta be somewhere in here! I can still hear his
engine."

Unable to bear the smoke any longer Serena jumped
towards her friends standing at the jagged opening. As she
arrived, she could make out the blurry outline of the
mechanical suit behind Mars and Venus.

"Look out!" She screamed, grabbing her tiara. "Moon
Tiara Magic!"

Sailor Moon's spinning tiara exploded as it collided
with the mechanical suit's volley. Both girls lowered their
arms and watched as the charred remains of Serena's tiara
and a burnt rose fell to the ground.

"A rose?" Mars whispered.

"A rose." Venus answered.

"That can only mean-"

"How dare you prey upon young girls!" A voice from
above proclaimed. "I, Tuxedo Mask, can never forgive such
travesties!"

Serena's heart skipped a beat when a man in a black
tuxedo and top hat landed next to them. Tuxedo Mask
produced a fist full of roses from his black cape, flinging
them at the battered blue robot. The mechanical suit shot
skyward, but not before several roses embedded themselves
into its armor.

"Burning Mandala!" Several streaks of fire poured from
Sailor Mar's hands.

"Crescent Beam Scatter!" Beams of light raced from
Sailor Venus' fingertips.

The night sky lit up with their attacks. The blue
robot accelerated barely outrunning the streams of light and
fire. Serena's eyes never left the sky as the flame of the
robot's engine faded into the darkness.

"Oh thank God!" Serena breathed, nuzzling Tuxedo
Mask's chest. "Thank God you made it back in time."

"Woot!" Sailor Venus celebrated. "Chalk another one
up for the Sailor Scouts!"

Sailor Mars cautiously made her way over the pile of
rumble and unsteady flooring. "I thought you were still in
Osaka, Tuxedo Mask?"

Tuxedo Mask smiled. "Luna had convinced me that you
guys needed my help."

'Note to self, buy Luna lots of catnip.' Serena mused
as she looked up at her fiance.

He returned her smile as more of the building wall
crumbled behind them.

"Um guys, I hate to ruin your moment, but I think we
better get going before the whole place falls down on us."
Raye tapped her foot a good distance away from the cracked
flooring.

Mina meanwhile peered out the hole braving the heat
from the sparse fires around its rim. Serena followed her
gaze out into the lawn where many flashlights franticly
darted around the grounds.

"And let's do it quietly." Mina added letting her
Sailor Scout costume revert back to her school uniform.

As the ribbons around Serena began to loosen, she could
hear the screams of sirens approaching. Once her clothing
materialized, she gave one last glance to the sky before
making her way to the stairwell.

"Hey Mina, do you think it was them?"

Mina paused at the door. "The Timelords? I hope so."

"Why's that?"

"Because we've defeated way tougher monsters in the
past than that robot."


------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
"We're here." Tracer growled. "You can let go now."
Greg released his breath and whispered a silent prayer.
After hopping off the motorcycle, Greg let his eyes adjust
to the darkness. 'Is it night already? Did I really have
my eyes closed for that long?'

Several ambulances and fire trucks screamed by and
disappeared around the corner.

"What was that about?"

"That."

Down the street, Greg noticed black smoke rising into
the darkening sky as it mixed with orange glowing embers.

"What happened?"

"Malance from what I can tell."

"Who's Malance?"

"That fag in the blue robot suit you saw in the alley."

"Ah."

Blitzes of blue, red, and white flashes bombarded them
as they approached. A small curious crowd gathered around a
barricade of police cars and officers a good distance away
from a ruined homeless shelter. The spectators stared on as
several powerful streams of water splashed against the side
of the smoldering building attacking the blaze a few floors
above.

"Wow."

Greg stood with the group observing the firemen and
police rush about for moment or two when he noticed the
Timelord walking away.

"Where are you going Tracer?" Greg joined the
Timelord's skyward gaze. "And what are you looking at?"

"I'm looking for Malance."

"You think he's still around?"

"I have no idea." Tracer frowned. "The smoke's in the
way. I can't even see which direction that bastard flew off
to."

Studying the sky, Greg tried to keep pace with Tracer.

"I guess-OOOF!"

Losing his balance, Greg snatched the arm of the girl
who nearly knocked him over. The pair danced about in a
poorly coordinated waltz before regaining their footing.

"Ack! I am so sorry!" The girl bowed.

Greg returned the bow. "No it's my fault, I wasn't
looking where I was-"

"Greg?"

The boy slowly raised his head and recognized the
blonde girl with long ponytails standing in front of him.
Another blonde and a raven-haired girl peeked above her
shoulder, curious.

Serena knitted her brow. "Greg, we've all been worried
sick about you. Where have you been?"

Both Greg and Serena slowly turned to the Timelord who
lazily brought his sights down to the group. Serena eyed
the Timelord as he flipped his long black hair from his
face. Greg gulped. Tracer narrowed his eyes and scowled.

"I see." Tracer grabbed Greg.

"No!" Serena ran after them. "I won't let you take
him!"

Spinning around, Tracer shoved his gun in the girl's
face. "I don't think so."

Greg held his breath when he noticed the other girls
reaching into their bags. 'Tracer what are you doing?
They're going to kill you for sure if you keep this up.'

Suddenly, Darien grabbed Serena and faced the Timelord,
raising his fists.

"There's no need to fight. Put the gun down and nobody
gets hurt."

"Whatever." Tracer's finger played on the trigger.

Without warning an explosion of wind flung both parties
back. A tall figure with a large staff emerged from the
dying storm of sand.

"Damn it, it's the Time Guardian." Greg heard Tracer
growl.

"Who-ack!" Greg coughed as Tracer launched down the
street.

Tracer pulled Greg through the crowd, bowling over an
officer or two on his way to the motorcycle.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" The Timelord exclaimed
and glared at Greg. "'Never met her before in my life.'
Bull crap!"


------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
"We have trouble." Erica announced as a black cloud of
ash bloomed above the skyline.
Michelle tossed the empty basket into the backseat.
"Should we check it out?"

"I'm not sure."

Cindy watched the rising smoke anxiously as Victoria
calmly climbed into the car.

"Aren't you going to sit down Cindy?"

"Yeah."

As she opened the door, a low rumble caught her
attention.

'That can't be Malance.' Cindy panicked. 'No, not
yet! He'll ruin everything!'

Searching the sky, Cindy found it difficult to tell in
which direction the noise came. Tall skyscrapers almost
tauntingly leaned over her obscuring her view. Toying with
her ruby bracelet, Cindy prepared herself as the rumble grew
closer.

Suddenly, a motorcycle zoomed by.

"Yyyyyiiiiiiyyy!" A boy on the back of the bike
screamed.

Cindy blinked and her mouth hung open.

"Follow that bike."

Startled, Cindy jumped in her seat turning toward Pluto
standing next to the car. She watched as Erica regarded
Pluto's stern visage. Her eyes never strayed from the
taller woman. They stood as still as statues making Cindy
imagine it was a contest in which whoever cracked first
lost.

'No why's or what's?' She wondered. 'Does she always
do this with Pluto?'

After a few more moments Erica nodded to Michelle.
"Alright let's go."

All three women jumped into the car and quickly sped
off.


------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
"Do you have scream while I'm driving, dammit?"
Tracer shouted to the boy.
"You took off before I could get a good grip! I nearly
fell off!" Greg shouted back.

"You're still on the bike, so shut up!"

Greg looked ahead. "Ack!"

"What!"

"Car!"

"Oh."

Greg swallowed hard as the Timelord veered back onto
the right side of the road. 'Dear God, please let me live
through this day.'

"Huh, I keep forgetting it's the left side of the
road."

Greg sighed to himself. 'If there was ever a time to
be glad I can't see into the future, now would be about
right.'

All of the sudden Greg heard the loud squeal of tires
and snapped his head around. Not far off in the distance he
could see a red convertible speeding towards them. As it
got closer, Greg could see a sandy-haired woman behind the
wheel accompanied by three other female passengers.

'Sailor Uranus.' Greg gulped. "Ah boy."

"What?" Tracer turned his head and noticed the car.
"Crap!"

Shifting gears, Greg felt the bike shoot off like a
cannon ball from between several cars. Looking back, Greg
could see the red convertible still gaining on them.

'Wow, Amy wasn't kidding when she said Erica was a
racing prodigy.'

The bike swerved across the street, leaping onto the
sidewalk. The crowd parted and dove to one side and the
other leaving a trail of cursing and ranting people in their
wake. Greg cringed and noticed Erica's car now driving
beside them.

'Is Erica crazy, she's got Victoria in the car? Wait,
who's that sitting beside Sailor Pluto?'

As the flaps of Tracer's trenchcoat fluttered in his
face, Greg tried to get a better view of the mysterious,
albeit terrified blonde stranger.

'Why does she look familiar?' Greg continued to study
the woman. 'I've seen her somewhere, but not in person.
Ugh, where do I know her from?'

"Grrr! Damn it!"

"Huh?" Greg snapped his head forward.

The light ahead had just turned red. Greg's stomach
began to churn.

Tracer smirked. "No cop, no stop!"

"Wait! What about-"

"I don't care!"

Greg gulped. A mass of cars rushing across the
intersection welcomed them up ahead.

Holding on for dear life, Greg reflected fondly back on
the best things in life.

'I'm sorry Amy. I was hoping to see you again, but I
guess my time has run out.'

"Here we go!"

Tracer launched into the intersection. Greg shut his
eyes as several cars and trucks crammed on their brakes.
Screeching tires precluded to resounding crunches of metal
and glass. Greg braced himself when the bike jerked hard in
one direction and then another. Finally, they came to a
stop.

A massive wreckage of cars and trucks filled the road.
Beyond it, Greg could see Erica's red convertible stopped a
short distance away from the jumbled mess of metal. All of
the women stood on their seats staring at them. Now with an
unobstructed view, Greg finally had a chance to get a good
look at the blonde stranger.

'That's the girl from the photo!'

"So she's got the Time Guardian on her side does she?
That little bitch." Tracer murmured revving the engine.


------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
"It's him." She murmured.
Cindy gazed in disbelief at the lanky man on the bike.
His dark eyes stared intently at her through his long greasy
black hair. She narrowed hers in return.

'How is that Timelord still alive! There is no way he
could have escaped that explosion. Damn it, damn it, damn
it!'

With one last sideways glance, Tracer turned the bike
and accelerated, disappearing the night.

"Why did you stop? We must continue our pursuit."

Erica glared at Pluto. "I'm not going to risk Vicky's
or Cindy's life just to catch this guy."

"Are you willing to let Greg's kidnapper get away?"

"It's not worth it. If we continue now, we could get
Greg killed let alone ourselves."

"You saw how he was driving." Michelle added. "He
didn't care who got hurt."

Pluto remained silent as the screams of sirens grew
near.

"Fine." Pluto hopped off the hood. "We will discuss
this matter at a later time."

As Cindy watched Pluto walk away, a shiver ran up
Cindy's spine. 'I'm not scared of you Timelord. You may
have come for me, but I will not allow you to get in my
way.'

-End of Part 4-

Notes:

Welp, I hope you guys like this, I personally still don't like
how the action scenes came out, but oh well. For those of you
who care to know, the Tracer riding the motorcycle scenes were
inspired by two songs, feel free to google for the mp3's if you're
interested:
"Mashin' on the Motorway" by DJ Shadow
"The Best Things" by Filter

There are other songs for other scenes, but I'll keep those under
my hat for now. That's it for now, I'm out.

Disclaimer:
All original characters are owned and copyrighted by Bastion (c) 2004.
And Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi and in America by DIC
and Pioneer and ADV, etc, etc, etc...

Bastion
Rev 02/05