Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Saber Marionette Fan Fiction ❯ Terrible Things to Waste ❯ Thousand ( Chapter 12 )

I'm not dead… yet. This one is long but it was a year in the making. Enjoy!

 

You have got to have Soul. But if you don't have Soul, Halibut will do.

 

-The Muppets

 

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Terrible Things to Waste

Part 12: Thousand

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The insects of the Sea of Corruption were furious, that much was certain. The low rumble of the forest floor and the swaying of several of the gnarled trunks were indication enough to Nausicaa's trained eyes.

 

The old woman sensed terrible anger from the creatures within the Sea of Corruption, was this work of one of those `Travellers' the young girl and her friends spoke of? Nausicaa glanced at the girl's two strange friends clinging onto the wings of her mehve. Then she turned her gaze downward at the dark-haired young girl, herself, who stared intently at their destination.

 

All three wore the same odd clothing that didn't appear to offer them much protection and they didn't interested in the thickly padded pants and blouses she had offered. The green-haired one, Michelle, had curtly told her what they had would be more than sufficient. How such revealing clothing could be enough, Nausicaa remained dubious but she decided to let the manner go. Did Master Yupa or her other elders have such problems with her when she was that young and stubborn?

 

At least the blue-haired one, Amy, had convinced the others the need for the masks to fend off the poisonous spores in the Sea of Corruption. It relieved her to know these girls didn't believe they were immortal.

 

Another rumble shook Nausicaa from her reverie as large plume of spores ballooned just below. Quickly, she maneuvered the mehve around the scattering flocks of royal yanmas jittery from the explosion. Above the hollowing wind and buzzing of the large insects wings, the old woman could hear both girls exclaim and curse. Fortunately they had a good grip on the wing otherwise she didn't know if she had the same dexterity as her youth to catch them.

 

`I'm sorry everyone.' She apologized mentally to the three girls as she stared at the large misma cloud. Is this what damage these `Travellers' could cause? She shuddered at the thought of what awaited them below.

 

She circled the dust cloud and approached the epicenter of the explosion. As they got closer, Nausicaa could hear the high pitched screams of the angry insects. Every once in a while an insect or a part of an insect would fly right by them. Thankfully Nausicaa spotted an opening in the dense vegetation and quick dove into the decrepit forest.

 

When the branches and trunks thinned out, Nausicaa got her first glimpse of the all out war occurring right in the middle of the Sea of Corruption. Ohmu of all shapes and sizes stampeded towards a whirlwind of insects, plants, and trees. Large trunks were flung with deadly precision at a herd of landgrubs. Ohmu were tossed aside like pebbles. Nausicaa stood transfixed with horror. She now knew she bore witness to something so awesome yet so very, very terrible.

 

`We must stop this madness!' She mentally conveyed to the other girls.

 

`We plan to.' To Nausciaa's dismay, the fool hardy Michelle hopped off the glider allowing its momentum to give her a running start.

 

`Wait!' She called out, but the green-haired girl was well on her way towards the chaos.

 

Quickly landing the mehve, Nausicaa saw the blue-haired girl rush after her friend.

 

`Sorry, Ms. Nausicaa.' She apologized and with a tap of her temple a blue visor blipped into existence over her eyes. `Please allow us to take care of this and keep Victoria and yourself safe, okay?'

 

Over the howling and screeching of insects, Nausicaa distinctly heard someone chanting in a foreign tongue. Amy's eyes shot open alarmed and ran towards Michelle who had her hands raised. Spouts of water burst from the forest floor and coalesced above the chanting girl. The ball grew larger until Michelle aimed it at the center of the chaos. Nausicaa could only stand and watch amazed. Just before she launched her attack, Amy rattled off an incantation of her own.

 

At Amy's command the ball froze solid and dropped to the ground with a pathetic thud. Immediately, the green-haired girl began rounding into her team mate who retorted just as vocally while waving her hands adamantly. Nausicaa couldn't understand a word of their gibberish but it didn't sound like a pleasant conversation.

 

So engrossed their argument, Nausicaa nearly missed Victoria striding past her towards the rampaging insects.

 

`Stop, Victoria!' The lithe girl spun around, the large curved blades of her glaive standing tall next to her. The stark contrast of the girl's pale face and dark, dark violet pools of her eyes struck the old woman. The intensity of the gaze aimed at her made Nausicaa stop in her tracks.

 

`A soul is calling for the Silence.' The absolution in that voice chilled Nausicaa. That voice didn't belong to a child. `As the Messiah of Silence, I am the arbitrator of death and I am obligated to mete it out to those who request of me. If you have the same wish to end your existence this day, I invite you to stay.'

 

Nausicaa's mouth went dry and her hands shook. Ohma, a powerful God Warrior who adopted her as its mother, once proclaimed itself as an arbitrator, warrior, and judge for justice much in the same way Victoria proclaimed herself the Messiah of Silence. The similarities between the two right now terrified Nausicaa. Ohma had been a huge gangly creature that incinerated the Crypts of Shuwa and whose ancestors laid waste to an entire civilization; did this little girl, a self professed Messiah of Silence, possess the same terrible power?

 

Meanwhile, Victoria swiftly resumed her march towards her appointment with the poor soul who wanted to be `Silenced'. Nausicaa gathered her resolve and ran in pursuit, calling to the girl's friends.

 

Hopefully, they could reason with her.

 

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“What in the world is wrong with you!?” Amy flinched; she'd never seen Michelle this incensed.

 

“Think Michelle!” Amy tried to put on the bravest face she could. She wouldn't crumble, not when she had facts on her side. “Halebit is the only way we can make it back home. We can't outright attack him.”

 

Michelle glared at Amy from above her gas mask. “Are there any other Travellers here?”

 

Amy shook her head. “I already checked on my computer and I couldn't find any sign of another Traveller within five-hundred miles of here. I'm willing to bet even if we scour the rest of the planet we'd find another one. He's our only choice.”

 

“I doubt he will be more than inclined to honor our request, Mercury.” Michelle replied sharply. “We have only one advantage and we must press it!”

 

A dull pain of pressure blossomed in Amy's forehead. They didn't have time to have this argument! Judging by the ferocity of the creatures converging on Halebit, Amy estimated it wouldn't be long before the Traveller or the entire forest broke.

 

“Attacking him isn't the answer!” Amy implored over the roar of the insects swarming Halebit. “We have to find another way!”

 

“We don't have a lot of options, Mercury!” Michelle shouted back, her fists clenched. “If you have any suggestions, now would be the apt time!”

 

Amy tried to reply when she realized her mind had drawn a blank. All of a sudden, her heart went cold like she had stabbed it with a spike of ice and the shock of panic left her numb. However, her analytical mind went into an automatic frenzy and she furiously began scanning her computer desperately hoping something on it would inspire her. Her breathing quickened and she felt beads of her perspiration collect around the edges of her mask. She was going to fail wasn't she? Her intelligence, the only thing that gave her any advantage wasn't going to be enough.

 

A soft squeeze on her shoulder distracted her from her distressing thoughts and noticed a concerned Michelle shaking her gently. “Amy, don't shutdown on me. Calm your mind and soul. I need you to remain focused. We can do this, okay?”

 

Amy blinked, confused. Wasn't Michelle angry at her a moment ago? Where did this concern for her well-being come from? It seemed genuine enough, oddly. Was Michelle testing her resolve or something? With an unexpected weariness, Amy nodded and gathered her resolve.

 

`Amy! Michelle!' The unmistakable voice of Nausicaa shouted in Amy's head. Judging by Michelle's frown, she could also tell the green-haired girl did as well. `Something is wrong with Victoria! You must stop her!'

 

Both girls blinked and wildly scanned the area, spotting the lithe girl as she readied her glaive.

 

“She isn't going to-“Amy started when several glowing ribbons burst from the base of the glaive's curved blade. To her horror, she could see Victoria had closed her eyes chanting something to her staff. Amy set her computer to analyze the girl hoping it didn't confirm her fears.

 

“This isn't good.” Michelle paled. “We have to stop her before it's too late.”

 

Striking with surprising speed, Amy grabbed Michelle's arm, stopping her in her tracks. Twisting towards her, Amy could see Michelle glaring at her while her visor displayed the results of its analysis of Victoria.

 

“It's already too late, I fear.” Amy shook her head grimly. “The power she's emitting is nearly off the charts on my scale.” She explained. “She already over nine-thousand! Any higher and she's libel to obliterate several kilometers of the forest!”

 

“Then we must get as far away as we can!” Michelle wrestled herself free of Amy's grip and rushed towards the old woman and the glider.

 

`What's going on?' Nausicaa sounded bewildered watching the green-haired girl bristly brush past her. `Why aren't you stopping-' the old woman's eyes widened in horror. `My goodness, what is he doing to the insects!?'

 

Just then, Amy's visor lit up like a Christmas tree as several sensors flashed warnings of the raw energy in their proximity had reached critical levels. Unable to keep from turning around, Amy witnessed as the wall of insects parted revealing the old man in his torn uniform his arms spread wide. His stern hard-lined face tensed with concentration while his intense cold gaze fixed on them. It awed Amy to watch Halebit wrap the entire army of the forest's insects around him like a cocoon.

 

There was no denying it; the Traveller had a plan for Sailor Saturn. Each one gathered their reserves preparing to finish each other off in one blow. Amy wondered who would have the strongest punch. No matter the outcome, Amy knew it would not end well.

 

Looking more closely, Amy realized that not only did Halebit gather the insects to shield him from Victoria's attack but he also reached out with his telekinesis towards Victoria. It appeared Halebit's strategy was to use the insects to take the burden of the blow and then try to use his telekinesis to contain the rest. She had to grudgingly admit the brilliance of his tactic.

 

More ribbons danced around Victoria and Halebit pressed harder to contain them. The shear forces the two drew upon kicked up a stiff breeze that quickly became a full gale. How did Halebit find access to so much raw power to rival Sailor Saturn? It was incredible.

 

`Amy!' Nausicaa voice rattled her head and she turned her attention to their guide. `What are you doing standing there!? Get to the mehve!' .

 

“Amy!” Michelle shouted over the howling wind, she already taken her place on the glider and waved at her. “There isn't much time!”

 

Shaking the stiffness from her legs, Amy leapt towards Nausicaa and Michelle hoping to reach them before-

 

“Death Ribbon Revolution!” Amy's heart stopped when she heard Saturn's destructive spell and her whole world exploded.

 

The floor of the forest shuddered and cracked like glass. Ribbons from Saturn's attack danced about wildly, tearing everything asunder. As Amy's foot touched the unstable ground, she felt it shift and give. As she'd fear, the entire forest was about to collapse and she could see the fright in Michelle's eyes.

 

Then Amy plunged into the abysm as she watched chunks of the forest floor follow her below.

 

* * *

 

Things weren't looking good, if Darien had any say in the matter. Two of the Counsule's massive android soldiers loomed over them as they marched to parts unknown. The Counsule at least allowed them some dignity by not bothering to put any kind of restraint on them after they had confiscated Mina and Erica's transformation pens. Now untransformed, the girls wore the clothes they had on before their daring rescue of Reenie. Was that only a night ago? Seemed more like a million years.

 

Meanwhile, he kept Serena close since out of all of them, she had no way to transform and if they ever figured a way out of here, protecting her would be the highest priority.

 

“I'm sorry, Darien.” Serena whispered as the guards lead them into a large well-lit room.

 

The dark-haired young man wanted to sigh. The poor girl had become rather rescinding and apologetic after their capture.

 

“Don't beat yourself up, Serena.” He answered, taking in the layout of the room they just entered.

 

Serena looked up to him, tears shimmering in her blue eyes. “But it was my plan. If I hadn't been so insistent about it we wouldn't be in this jam.”

 

Erica snorted at that and Darien shot the tomboy a glare before he returned his attention to Serena. “That might be true, but we were going to run into trouble if we wanted to get out of here. So stop beating yourself up about it, okay? We'll get out of this somehow.”

 

Darien quickly took stock of the room now and realized its immense size and circular shape. The only source of light came from flat round luminescent occupying the apex of the domed ceiling. From that source several creases ran down towards the floor. However each crease disappeared behind a rich red colored tapestry which hung all the way to the ground. The tapestries made him wary, they seemed out of place in the sterile white room and he wondered what lurked behind them.

 

A set of five white podiums sat near the back of the massive space on a high dais. Rich crimson cloth etched with elaborate gold patterns draped over each podium. For now that was the only thing occupying the dais and for that Darien was thankful. It gave them time to strategize without the Counsule in audience.

 

“Those wristbands are so cool!” He heard Mina gush. “Do you think they'll give us a few as a parting gift?”

 

“Mina,” Erica snapped, “just, please stop. Ugh. You're hurting my brain. I don't want to hear anymore from you unless you have a plan.”

 

“Aw, but those wristbands would go well my outfit.”

 

Erica groaned and brooded in silence.

 

Curious, Darien quickly examined their automated guards and found that peculiar wristband. The device had a silver band that widened to an illuminated window at the top of the wrist. The window swirled with a deep rich blue display. The colorful item appeared out of place against the dull white skin of the robotic guards. However considering some of the other weapons that hung from the guard, it probably served some kind of lethal purpose.

 

The loud, heavy thumping of another guard's boots signaled that a third automaton had joined their party. Coming through the mouth of the large room emerged the much maligned Tracer with a white stocky guard right on his heels.

 

The Traveller didn't look all that please, which didn't surprise Darien but the lack of bruises and cuts on Tracer's face and body was unexpected. How could he have healed so quickly? It couldn't have been more than three or four hours since he fought the dark brute and he looked like he'd been beaten to hell. It was impossible, Darien swallowed, unless Tracer had some incredible recovering abilities. That possibility bothered him greatly. Darien had speed to his advantage, but his aching jaw could attest that it would only take him so far against someone who could recover from injuries in a small amount of time.

 

Pushing aside the unpleasant thought, Darien noticed the strange limp in Tracer's stride. He appeared to be shuffling even though it didn't appear like anything impeded his movement. Tracer's black greasy locks dangled around his face, but Darien could see the Traveller giving them a quick glare before fixing his fiery eyes on the empty dais.

 

The man suddenly came to stop beside him as if he'd stepped into an invisible wall. Tracer growled and scowled at the hulking android behind him. Darien carefully studied the machine and noticed it thumbing a small slender device. Then looking more closely at Tracer, the light around the Traveller shimmered like he was wrapped in a thin cocoon of steam.

 

It didn't take a genius to figure out the connection between the device in the soldier's hands and the field around Tracer. It only gave Darien a means to set the asshole free. But would freeing Tracer compound their problem? At this point, Darien didn't have much of a choice; this was the only possibility he had at his disposal.

 

Rolling the stem of the rose in his fingers, he determined that they still had options since the Counsule fortunately (or was that unfortunately?) didn't take into consideration that his abilities weren't tied to a magical object like Mina or Erica. Only Amy and Serena knew he never stopped being Tuxedo Mask and so when they demanded he hand over his transformation pen, he made a show of changing his outward appearance (with all the glitter and flash of the others) and gave the guards a rose. Of course he could still produce an endless supply of magically fortified roses but he didn't feel incline to share that little secret.

 

But now he had to figure how to get everyone out of here in one piece and without having to kill Tracer in the process. He mulled on that when five shafts of light burst from the floor behind the podiums. From the bright beams each Counsule member emerged, their white robes making them look very immaculate. Tracer fixed the Counsule with a heated glare just then and for once Darien empathized.

 

As each member took their assigned podium, the shafts of light disappeared. Immediately, one of the men, just right of the old man in the middle, Nairb, he believed, had the transformation pens and the sword. A spark of hope ignited in his heart that made things a little easier for them. Finally, when each one settled into their assigned posts, Nairb addressed them.

 

“We hereby call this emergency Counsule session into order.” He announced, making quick eye contact with each of them. “There are serious charges being leveled against all of you. First, Serenity and her court have been charged with aiding in the escape of a prisoner. Second, Tracer, you have been charged with illegally accessing the Counsule's Restricted Archives, evading arrest, and spying on behalf of the Society.”

 

“What?!” Serena exclaimed, appalled. “But it's obvious he wasn't involved with the Society! *You* told me he wasn't!”

 

Nairb looked away, sadly. “New evidence has shown to the contrary I'm afraid.”

 

“Serenity, though Tracer cannot escape his punishment for his crimes,” the man next to Nairb added, “we on the Counsule are willing to ignore the charges leveled against you and your friends if you are willing to assist us.”

 

Darien really didn't like the way the old man grinned when he said that.

 

“Wh-what do you want?” Serena stammered.

 

The old man shrugged. “My brother, Counsule Elder Nairb, has already explained our situation with the Church of Serenity. If you will allay their fears about our efforts to snuff out the Society we will drop the charges.”

 

“But-“

 

“And,” the old man said, cutting off Serena, “while you do this service for us we will make sure your friends will be kept here safely away from any harm.”

 

The Counsule member smiled making Darien's blood freeze in his veins. Serena's face grew pale. He could hear a purring, throaty growl from Erica. Mina frowned. The rose in hidden in the palm of his hands felt heavy and he realized just how dire their situation had gotten.

 

“As for you Tracer,” the old man hissed, “you've disappointed us for the last time and considering the lengths we went through to save your life, you owed us big. I'd even go so far to say that you are the Counsule's property.” The Elder's voice rose in volume and indignation. “But sadly you're nothing more than a fancy malfunctioning weapon of mass destruction we've wasted valuable resources on. You're a total God damn catastrophe!” The lithe man slammed his fist on his podium, causing it to tremble.

 

Serena's eyes went wide at the venomous tirade and Tracer's nostrils flared at the barbs spewing from the old man's mouth. Darien almost felt sorry for the jerk. Meanwhile, the Counsule Elder ranted on.

 

“We've given you so many opportunities to prove to us you were worthy of the reputation of your father, the Great General, but you've only confirmed to us how much of a spoiled, immature failure we see in front of us today. Thankfully, we will mercifully end your suffering by disposing of you quickly. I can't speak for all of the members of the Counsule but between you and me I believe your nickname, Burlapen, was well deserved. You truly are a worthless sack of shit as the simpletons in the Community like to say.”

 

“Fuck you Naes!” Tracer screamed.

 

Darien had to hand it to the Elder; he'd never seen Tracer this incensed. The Timelord appeared he would take on the entire world and any other parallel worlds just for the chance to eviscerate the spry man standing among the Counsule.

 

The Elder smirked in response. Darien eyed the device in the guard's hand and readied himself. He really hoped by doing this he wasn't making things a thousand times worse.

 

As he whipped his hand around the large guard behind him reacted faster than he anticipated, shoving him. Despite being off balanced, Darien's aim remained true and his rose nailed the device with pinpoint accuracy splitting it in two.

 

As he fell, everything moved in slow motion. At first, Tracer moved subtly, crouched down and coiling his body, raising his tensed hand, silvery fluid crawling up past the tips of his fingers from his forearm. Then as fast lightning Tracer pounced, slicing the guard's head before the automaton had a chance to raise its gun. Its pearly white head rolled away as its decapitated neck rained sparks around its large shoulders.

 

Instantly, the guard that had shoved him went on the offensive. It got off two solid shots hitting Tracer in the arm and side but that did nothing to slow him down. He grabbed the underside of the weapon's large barrel with his claw crushing it like aluminum. All the while, Tracer beat an indention upon the expressionless face of the guard pushing it back as he ripped off the limb that held its ruined gun.

 

“Darien!” He heard Erica yell as she zipped past him. “Quit laying there and protect Serena!”

 

“Hiya Darien!” Mina waved as she rushed by. “Hate to be brief but we're going to get our transformation wands. See ya in a sec!”

 

Darien shook his head at his airy friend and rushed to aid Serena. Behind him he could hear some of the Counsule Elders screaming at each other.

 

“Where are the re-enforcements?!”

 

“I don't know! We've been hailing Avex but we've gotten no response!”

 

“Damn it, someone hacked the system! I thought that AI was supposed to prevent this!”

 

Tuning them out, he raced to his distraught girlfriend who appeared on the verge of tears. “Oh Darien, I never wanted it to turn out like this!”

 

“Halt!” A computerized voice commanded making her gasp in surprise.

 

Darien stopped in his tracks and readied another rose as well as preparing to materialize his cane. He needed to be careful now that Serena was much more vulnerable than the rest of the girls. He eyed the large white guard, its gun aimed at them trying to figure the right way to do this.

 

However before he could even make his first move, the torso of one of the other guards slammed into his opponent. Tracer pounced soon afterward, tackling the bulky android to the ground. Serena jumped into Darien's arms surprised by the animalistic fervor Tracer exhibited as he tore another guard into pieces wearing a sadistic blood and oil smeared grin.

 

“My God, Darien. Is this what he really is?” He heard the disappointment in Serena's voice. But even as Tracer snarled and screamed at the automaton, Serena spoke with growing determination. “It doesn't matter; I'm not giving up on him. We have to do something!”

 

Darien protectively held her close and grimly wondered if they could do anything.

 

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“Where are you going, Mina!?” Erica shouted over her shoulder still running at full speed towards the old crusty bastards of the Counsule.

 

Peering over her shoulder, Erica noticed Mina had taken a detour to rummage through some remains of one of the guards. Erica snorted in frustration. She had no idea what that girl was thinking, they had to act and they had act now!

 

As swift as the wind, Erica raced towards the Counsule setting her sights on the smirking old man. He definitely was her first candidate for a delivery of pain served personally.

 

“Come closer, young Uranus.” The man beckoned, his smirk never wavering as she clenched her first and sped up.

 

“Oh I'll be there soon enough.” She countered. The old man was up to something and she knew it. She better be on guard.

 

Expecting the Counsule member to have hidden some kind of weapon in the podium, Erica decided to take a more direct attack and disarm him quickly. Leaping in the air, Erica stared down the man and in doing so she just barely caught a brief flicker of static wash over the man's face.

 

`Shit! Force field!' Instinctively, Erica curled up letting her shoulders take the brunt of the damage as she slammed against the invisible barrier. Though her years of training saved her from a broken neck, she still fell to the floor as graceful as a rock.

 

As she laid on the cool white title, Erica heard the raspy chuckles of that man. God now she understood why Tracer hated him so much. Biting back a groan and ignoring the ache in her shoulder, she ran her hand through her short sandy hair and glared at the small old man.

 

“You know you wouldn't last five minutes against me even without my transformation pen.” Erica stated coolly.

 

“My my, threatening the old and meek? Is everyone from your time stream just as barbaric and devoid of such grace as you?” The wry man chuckled joined by the twitter of very nervous laughter from the others. “It's a shame Lady Neptune isn't here. I hear she keeps you on a short lease.”

 

Erica clenched her fist. This man had some gall.

 

“Besides, we might be older but we aren't foolish. We activated the energy barrier as soon as Burlapen started his rampage.” Somehow, he'd produced her transformation in his wry hand and began wagging it at her. “Even if you had this, you wouldn't be able to get through. I'd suggest you just sit back and wait for the rest of guards to arrive to put an end to this farce. It was a valiant effort though.” Then his wistful tone evaporated as he turned to Nairb. “And have you had any luck contacting Avex? For something that was supposed to be hacker proof it sure hasn't measured-”

 

“Excuse me!” Erica blinked in surprise as Mina skipped past her and jumped towards the white podium.

 

As Erica opened her mouth to warn the blonde, it hung open as the girl sailed over the mini ivory tower with the grace of a ballerina executing a flawless grand jete. Everyone watched stunned silent as the airy blonde landed next to the stupefied Counsule Elder.

 

With a brilliant smile Mina waved at the old man. As she did so, the guard's silvery bracelet swung around her dainty wrist like a miniature hula-hoop.

 

“How-what?” The man stuttered, his eyes jerking from the bracelet to the girl and back again.

 

The girl stopped waving and wagged her finger at him. “Hey Mister Naes, you took something that didn't belong to you and that's a mean thing to do. “ She admonished sweetly. “Could you please give those things back?” She asked her brilliant smile never wavering and Erica swore she could see the girl's blue eyes sparkle. “I'm only going to ask nicely once!”

 

The old man never moved the transformation pen still in his slackened grip. He gaped at her like a fish gasping for breath.

 

Mina looked towards Erica and then shrugged. With a snap of her wrist, she swiped the pen and tossed it to Erica. “Oh well, I suppose you'd probably want me to return those things for you considering you've had a busy day. I take it running this place takes a lot out of you.”

 

Erica snatched the pen out of the air when she noticed another object sailing her way.

 

“What the?!” Erica exclaimed as she deftly ducked out of the way of Tracer's sword. Glancing back at where it imbedded itself in the floor, she bristled at Mina. “Hey watch it!”

 

“Sorry!” Mina sang cheerfully before giggling. “It's just that we're on a short schedule. Now if you'll excuse me, Mr. Naes. Venus Crystal Power!”

 

Taking the bright yellow flashes of Mina's transformation as her cue, Erica held her pen over her head. “Uranus Planet Power!”

 

Unlike Mina, however, Erica decided to be less showy about her transformation allowing her clothes to quickly morph into her Sailor Scout uniform without much fanfare. As soon as she finished she approached the dais again.

 

“Oooo, I didn't know you guys had your own karaoke machine back here!” Mina cooed.

 

“No, stay away from that!” The old man sounded very flustered. “It's not a toy!”

 

“Ah, hey, Mr. Naes what does this button do?”

 

“Don't touch that!”

 

*CRUNCH!*

 

Erica could see a flicker of light wash over the area around the dais. The sandy blonde grinned. Mina was truly a force to be reckoned with.

 

She jumped up and landed on top of one of the podiums. Erica had to keep from snickering at the sight that welcomed her. Counsule Elders cowered and trembled in fear while Mina puzzled over a sparking metal accordion that was probably at one point a machine of some sort.

 

“Oh good you're here!” Mina chirped happily. “You're good with machines and the like. You think you can fix their karaoke machine? I think I may have accidentally broken it.”

 

Erica smirked at Mina's act. Finally they now had the upper hand and they could make these conniving corrupted Counsule members answer to all of the injustices they served upon Cindy and countless others.

 

“Counsule Elder Naes,” a disembodied voice announced overhead, “I have detected interference into our communication channels which I have nearly rectified. Do you want me to activate Security Protocol Alpha?”

 

“Oh Lord, it's Avex!” An unseen Counsule Elder exclaimed.

 

Naes wasted no time however. “Avex, activate Escape Plan Sigma! Now!”

 

At his command, the smooth floor beneath each Counsule member opened up like the shutter of a camera lens. Alarmed, Erica tried to grab one of the Counsule Elders, hoping a hostage would give them leverage, but they disappeared below before she could react.

 

As the dark holes sealed themselves, she heard clattering like a tidal wave of pots and pans. Pouring out from behind each of the red tapestries hanging all around the walls were more of those bulky white automated guards.

 

“Oh poo.” Mina huffed spreading her fingers out across the field. “Time to get back to work.”

 

“Yeah.” The Sailor Scout sighed in resignation and summoned her Space Sword. “Looks like we've got our work cut out for us.”

 

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