Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Alone No More - Minako's Story ❯ Chapter 17 ( Chapter 17 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Alone No More: Minako's Story
by Jason C. Ulloa


Chapter 17

Tempest was grateful for the fact that Majutsushi was taciturn. His constant presence was
beginning to get on her nerves. As long as he was there with her, she couldn't act on any
of her plans to try and turn Ryoku to her side. It was a good thing that he wouldn't be
able to recognize him on sight.

A sudden thought went through her mind suddenly. Would she be able to recognize him? It had
been at least four years since she had seen him last. Would he have changed much? She had
certainly changed. She had grown and matured into a very beautiful young woman. Back then,
she was considered to be cute, but now.... Ryoku would probably drool over her now.

A small grin threatened to creep onto her face before she supressed it. It would do no good
to have Majutsushi see her acting like a fool.

As if the very thought of him caught his attention, Majutsushi looked over at her with an
impatient expression on his face.

"Don't complain," she snapped back. "I'll let you know when I'm ready. I want to see where
I can get the most energy without being interrupted by Sailor V and Masked Knight."

He gave her a skeptical look, but he didn't give any indication as to what he thought about
it. He never did. Majutsushi was as enigmatic as he was taciturn.

"Whatever...," she muttered under her breath. "Just try not to look to conspicuous." She
could almost imagine him rolling his eyes at her, but she knew he didn't have the
inclination to do things like that.

She had been walking the streets for at least three hours, searching. She was getting
nowhere. 'This is taking too long!' she grumbled mentally. 'I guess I have to resort to
drawing him out. I didn't want to do it this way, but I don't have much time left before
Quartzite starts to get suspicious of why I'm taking so long.'

As she turned the corner at the next street she came to, she paused and grinned to herself.
"Yes," she said in satisfaction. "I think that'll be a good place to gather energy."

**********************************************

" Wanna go again?" Minako asked as she pulled onto Ryoku's arm and tried to drag him toward
the same roller-coaster they had ridden on... for the fourth time. "Iku wa yo!"

"You've got to be kidding me...," he muttered as he let her drag him after her.

Alan and Katrina chuckled as they watched Minako drag the poor boy on a fourth trip on the
largest, fastest ride in the whole park. They had elected to forgo riding the thrill rides,
but Minako was determined to ride as many as she could. And since she didn't want to ride
alone, Ryoku had no choice but to go along for the ride.

"I feel sorry for him," Katrina said, shaking her head in amusement as she turned to Alan.

"Yeah," Alan agreed with a laugh. "I just wonder how long he'll last. Hopefully, she won't
try to make him go a fifth time."

"Ryo-kun was beginning to look a little pale back there," she added thoughtfully. "Maybe
we should get Minako-chan to try something else?"

He shrugged slightly. "I'm not worried. Ryo-kun will let Minako-chan know if he can't take
another ride. Do you want to get something to drink while we wait?"

"Sounds good to me."

Meanwhile, Minako and Ryoku were just getting strapped in for their fourth ride.
"Minako-chan, after this ride, can we please go on something else?" Ryoku implored.

"Well... I guess we have been going on this one a bit too much," Minako admitted. "I was
hoping that Alan and Katrina-oneesan would ride with us, but...."

"I wouldn't blame them," he muttered under his breath. "At any rate, maybe we should try
something a little milder next time. Something that the four of us can enjoy together."

"Good idea," she said just as they felt the cart they were riding in start to move forward.
"Ara! Here we go again!"

"Chikuso...," he muttered just before they started on the first drop of the now-familiar
ride. After that, all he could do was scream and shout along with Minako.

**********************************************

"D id you two have fun?" Alan asked as Minako and Ryoku walked over to where he and Katrina
were sitting.

"I guess you could say that," Ryoku replied as he tried to comb back the wayward hair
strands that had escaped his ponytail during the ride. "I could've sworn that the ride went
slower the first three times...."

"I'm sorry for making you two wait for me and Ryo-kun," Minako said apologetically.

"Nonsense," Katrina said with a grin. "You were enjoying yourselves. That's what was
important."

"Well, how about we all go on the next ride together?" she suggested. "I promise it will
be a mild one." She glanced around, then pointed toward a merry-go-round. "How about that?"

"That?" Ryoku asked. "I don't know...."

"Oh, come on, Ryo-kun...," Minako entreated. "Please?"

"I'll go, too, if that'll make you feel better," Alan added.

Ryoku blinked. "Uh, sure. If that's what you want, Minako-chan."

"Thank you, Ryo-kun!" she said happily.

He grinned at her enthusiasm. "All right, then. Let's go."

Minako quickly climbed up on one of the horses while Ryoku chose one nearby. Alan rode a
horse beside Minako while Katrina chose one between Alan and Ryoku. As the merry-go-round
slowly spun around, Minako laughed happily. It was wonderful; especially since Alan had
chosen a horse so near her own. As her horse went up and down, she smiled at Alan, who
smiled back at her. Occasionally, she'd glance back at Katrina and Ryoku. Katrina was
having fun, as was Ryoku, but he seemed to be slightly uncomfortable as he rode. Well, at
least he was trying to have fun.

After the ride, Ryoku suggested that they all go take some pictures at a nearby photo booth
that was sitting over by the arcade. Minako cheerily began to dash over to the booth,
leaving a very chagrined Ryoku behind, along with Alan and Katrina.

Minako decided to take her first picture with Ryoku. After all, he was her best friend and
partner. They were always risking their lives for each other without even thinking about
it. As she looked over the pictures as they came out, she couldn't help but smile at how
they came out. Sure, the first two poses were of them being ridiculous, but the last two
pictures.... The third one was of both of them smiling as they flashed a pair of V-signs
together. The perfect picture of two best friends. But, the last picture was of them in a
sort of mature pose. From the way Ryoku had his right hand placed on her shoulder and the
way she seemed to almost tilt her head to rest her head on his hand, one would assume that
they were more than just friends. Perhaps even lovers.

"Can I see, Minako-chan?" Katrina asked as she glanced at the photos from over her shoulder.

"Eh?" she asked, blinking in surprise. "Oh. Here."

"Oh, how nice," she said, smiling. "You can tell that you two are the best of friends just
from these pictures."

"You think so?"

"Absolutely," Alan added as he glanced at the photos as well. "You two go well together.
It certainly shows."

"All right, who's next?" Ryoku asked as he took the photos from Katrina so that he could
look at them.

"I wanna take some photos with Alan!" Minako exclaimed as she grabbed his arm and pulled
him toward the booth.

"All right, already!" he laughed as he followed her inside.

Minako quickly looked over the photos as they came out of the machine. In each one of the
photos Alan was doing almost the same pose, while she was trying different poses. She
tried holding onto his arm, hugging him from behind as he sat, sitting while he stood
behind her, and even trying to get him to flash a V-sign with her. It was almost
disappointing.

"How about you, Katrina-san?" Ryoku suggested. "Do you want to take some pictures?"

"Well...," she began hesitantly.

"Ah, come on!" he urged. "If Alan was willing to take some with Minako-chan, then why don't
you?" A grin quickly lit his face as he got an idea. "I know! You can take your photos
with Alan."

Alan blinked at the suggestion, but nodded in encouragement. "I'm sure it'll be fun,
Katrina-san."

"Well... all right," she relented and followed Alan into the booth.

Minako glanced over the photos as they came out of the booth with Ryoku looking over her
shoulder. "He doesn't change his poses much, does he?" he asked.

"No, he doesn't," she replied. There was something different between these photos of Alan
and her photos with Alan. She couldn't put her finger on it exactly but....

A loud scream suddenly cut off her train of thought. She stared at Ryoku, who was staring
right back at her.

"Dark Agency?" he said, his expression very serious.

"It could be," she replied as she looked over to Katrina, who had just exited the photo
booth with Alan. She gave them a look that told them that she was thinking along the same
lines as they were.

"It sounds like there may be trouble," she said as she glanced toward the direction of the
scream. "You two better find somewhere safe. Alan, can you call this number for me and
request assistance for me while I investigate?" She quickly wrote down a number and handed
it to him. He nodded and ran off, but not before watching Minako and Ryoku head for
somewhere safe. Once he was out of sight, they quickly turned around and ducked into a
secluded area.

"Moon Power Transform!"

"Star Sword Power Transform!"

"Ready, Knight?"

"Iku zo, Venus!"

**********************************************

Te mpest laughed as she leaped from person to person while quickly draining them of their
energy. She didn't want to drain them of all their energy, since that would take too long.
Besides, her main goal was to lure Sailor V and Masked Knight to her. Energy was just a
bonus. She glanced behind her at Majutsushi, who was just standing there with his arms
folded. It was hard to tell normally, since he was usually wrapped up in a large gray
cloak, similar to the one she was wearing now, but he was in disguise now. He was just
another regular human just standing around inconspicuously.... Or rather, he would be
inconspicuous if it wasn't for the fact that he was standing still while everyone else was
fleeing for their lives. Maybe Jade would've been a better choice....

She tossed aside another human male as she rushed toward another human to drain of energy;
a woman this time. She was gathering a great deal of energy, but no one had shown yet.
Normally, that would be considered a good thing, but for her....

"Halt!" a strong voice commanded from behind. A female voice.

Tempest scowled irritably as she turned around, but the scowl vanished as soon as she saw
who it was.

It wasn't Sailor V.

"A black robe?" Katrina said as she pointed her gun at Tempest. "So, you must've been the
one I was chasing yesterday."

A long time ago, Tempest would've been afraid at the sight of a gun. But, that was when she
was a mere human. Things were different now. The normal rules were replaced with the ones
she created herself. She was beyond human laws. She was her own law.

"You plan on stopping me by yourself?" Tempest asked as she grinned. "With that toy of
yours? Useless."

"I'm warning you. Do not make any sudden moves. Any sudden moves will be assumed to be an
act of aggression. I will not hesitate to open fire if you show any signs of...."

"Oh, spare me," Tempest said tiredly as she rushed at Katrina, who just barely escaped by
diving to the side. "Your attacks will not affect me."

"Well then, how about ours?" a pair of voices asked from behind and above.

Tempest turned to see the object of her search standing on top of a consession stand with
Sailor V standing beside him. "Finally," she muttered to herself. "Majutsushi, you take the
girl. I'll handle Masked Knight."

Majutsushi quickly shed his disguise and opened fire on Sailor V by throwing one fireball
after another at her.

"Hey! What the...?!?" she exclaimed as she barely managed to dodge each one in succession.

"Now, Masked Knight, follow me," Tempest said as she leaped away.

"Where do you think you're going?" he shouted as he gave chase. "Che! Come back here! Earth
thrust!" He flung a stone spike at her which only managed to strike a stone wall and leave
a few cracks in it.

"You're going to have to do better than that in order to catch me!" she taunted as she
leaped out of sight with Masked Knight chasing right behind her.

"Hey!" Sailor V exclaimed as she trying to follow Masked Knight and Tempest, but she was
blocked by Majutsushi. "I guess I have no choice then...," she muttered as she glared at
him.

**********************************************

"Earth thrust!" he shouted again as his attacks missed, one after the next. Tempest was
making no moves to attack as she continued to lead him away from Sailor V. She was sure
that Majutsushi could take the girl by himself, so she had Masked Knight all to herself.
Now she could take the time to find out for herself if he was really her long-lost beloved,
Kino Ryoku.

"Come now, Masked Knight. Is this the best you can do?" she taunted as she slipped past
another one of his attacks. She silently laughed to herself as she noticed that his efforts
to hit her had increased slightly. Good. As long as she kept his mind on her and off of his
partner, Majutsushi should have as much time as needed to finish off Sailor V. And once she
was taken care of, she could concentrate her efforts on Masked Knight. He just had to be
Kino Ryoku. He just had to be....

"An opening!" Masked Knight said to himself as he fired his attack again. At the same time,
he flung his Star Sword at her, but at a slight distance off to the left. She smirked as
she dodged to the right to avoid the attacks, but her smirk fell as she saw him coming
right at her with a kick to her stomach that knocked the wind out of her. "Gotcha!"

"Damn...," Tempest coughed as she knelt forward, recovering from the blow.

"Earth thrust!" he shouted again as he attacked again. Tempest recovered enough to dodge
the attack, but just barely. However, she didn't move fast enough to keep the hood of her
robe from getting caught on the stone spike. When she rolled out of the way, her hood was
ripped off of her robe, leaving her face exposed.

"Nan da...?" Knight gasped as he stared in utter shock. "Anata wa...."

She grinned at his shock. She was disguised, of course, but her disguise was of someone
whom she knew he would never expect to see again.

"Fluorite! Masaka! You're dead! We saw you die!"

Tempest grinned, but said nothing. After all, her disguise was just visual. Her voice was
unchanged. If she spoke, then he would know that she wasn't the real Fluorite. At any rate,
he had seen her disguise too soon. She was planning to use the disguise on Sailor V to kill
her herself, but it was too late now.... But, still... she could always try to disable him,
then go attack Sailor V while wearing the disguise. If Masked Knight was any indication,
Sailor V would be so surprised that she and Majutsushi would be able to kill her easily.
But first, she had to take care of Masked Knight before his shock could wear off.

She rushed at him with a flying punch to his face which easily connected due to his being
completely shocked. She then continued to rush at him, since that one punch would be enough
to bring him out of his shock and trigger his defensive instincts. She had to take him down
fast and hard.

As Masked Knight as reeling back from the punch, she quickly followed with a high kick to
the head, then to the chest, then back to the head again. She then grabbed him and threw
him against the wall, causing him to bang the back of his head against the wall very hard.
As his head bounced, she executed a flying kick into his stomach, followed by a spin kick
to the head upon landing. By now, Masked Knight should've been hit hard enough to keep him
reeling in a sea of pain for a long time, but.... Whether he was Kino Ryoku or not, she
could not take any chances.

"Ryo-chan, please forgive me," she said as Masked Knight slowly slid down the wall. Just
before he slid completely down to the ground, she delivered a powerful kick to his groin
area with as much strength as she could gather. That one attack was just enough to push him
into unconsciousness as he fell to the ground face-first.

"I'd better hurry," she said to herself as she turned to leave, but stopped and turned
back. She slowly knelt down at his side and turned him over so that he was lying face-up on
the ground. "He does look so much like Ryo-chan," she mused to himself as she carefully
examined his face. "However, I still cannot be certain yet." She gently placed a hand on
his cheek as she bent down and kissed him on the other cheek. "But, in my heart, I am
almost certain it is you.

"Will you remember me, Ryo-chan?" she said as she slowly stood and turned to leave. "Please
say that you will. When the time comes, please say that you will come back to me,
Ryo-chan...."

Just as she leaped away to go to assist Majutsushi in his attack, Masked Knight opened his
eyes and stared up into the open sky as he tried to gather his strength. Most of his
thoughts were awash in nothing but pain, but one thought seemed to stir in the midst of all
the agony.

"Ryo... chan...?"

**********************************************

"Crescent beam!" Sailor V shouted just in time to intercept another fireball sent by
Majutsushi. He just continued to silently conjure up one fireball after another and fire
them at her in rapid succession. "Crescent beam!"

She was beginning to grow tired from all the running and dodging she was doing. Majutsushi
wasn't even tired, but that was mostly due to the fact that he was doing most of the
attacking and doing very little dodging, whereas she was doing a lot of both.

"Shimatta!" Sailor V grumbled as she breathed heavily. "Where is Knight? Why did he have to
go chase after that other person while I got stuck with this one?"

"Having fun with Majutsushi, Sailor V?" Tempest asked as she appeared overhead.

"Nani yo?!?" Sailor V exclaimed as she stared up at the disguised Tempest. "Fluorite??? No
way!!!" She glared at her angrily. "What did you do to Masked Knight?"

Tempest almost blinked in surprise. She had expected her to become frozen in shock just
like Masked Knight did.... That's when she realized that it was because she came back
alone. Her worry over Masked Knight overcame her shock at seeing a revived Fluorite. Damn
it. Damn her. Well, shock or not, two against one should be more than enough to take care
of her.

"I'll be more than happy to show you, Sailor V!" she exclaimed as she rushed at her. The
surprise didn't work, so there was no need to hide her voice, since she would be dead
anyway. Besides, it seemed that she hadn't even noticed the different voice yet. "Die!!!"

Sailor V leaped straight up in order to dodge Tempest's attack, but it left her open to
Majutsushi's follow-up attack. With no way to change direction in midair and the attack to
close for her to block with a Crescent Beam, the fireball struck her hard, knocking her out
of the air. She hit the ground hard, singed and in a great deal of pain.

"All right!" Tempest said triumphantly. "Majutsushi, finish her off!"

He quickly complied by conjuring up the biggest fireball he could muster and flung it at
Sailor V. With her as injured as she was, there was no way for her to escape. She would
die. At last, the Dark Agency would be rid of Sailor V!

Sailor V opened her eyes in time to see the fireball coming. It was the biggest one she had
seen him throw at her. There was no way for her to gather the energy in order to counter
this attack in time. She was going to die and her partner was nowhere to be seen. Had he
already met the same fate she was going to meet? Was he already dead? It was hard to
believe, but that seemed to be the only explanation. She knew Ryoku; he would never abandon
her when she needed him. He had to be dead already. Sadly, she closed her eyes and waited
for death to take her as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Venus!!!" she heard a voice cry out suddenly before the fireball struck.

"Knight?" she gasped in shock as she opened her eyes again, just as the fireball struck.

As the tremendous heat washed over her, she saw her partner, Masked Knight, kneeling down
in front of her with his back to her, protecting her with his own battered body. She could
almost imagine his face; a picture of grim determination.

"Ryo-kun...," she whispered faintly. "You would sacrifice yourself... for me? Please...
promise me that you won't die...."

"I won't... die...," he struggled to say as the fireball passed over them. As the attack
dissipated, he collapsed face-forward onto the ground.

"Masaka...," Tempest breathed as she stared down at Masked Knight. "How could he recover so
quickly from that...? Majutsushi! Quickly, finish Sailor V...!" She stared in shock as she
looked over at Majutsushi. He was still standing there, but with Masked Knight's Star Sword
sticking straight through his chest. As she watched, his body disintegrated and crumbled
into so much dust.

"Fluorite!" Sailor V shouted, standing after checking over her partner. "No. You're not
Fluorite! Who are you? Show your true self!"

"Very well," Tempest said as she shed her disguise. Masked Knight was unconscious again, so
it would not matter if Sailor V saw her. She wouldn't know the face of the one who used to
be Hisakawa Keiko. "You may have defeated Majutsushi, but the Dark Agency is still not
through yet! One day soon, you will die at our hands! I look forward to that day.

"I am Tempest," she said as she began to fade from sight. "Remember my name. You will learn
to fear it." She then vanished completely, leaving Sailor V and Masked Knight by themselves.

"Tempest...," Sailor V growled as she angrily clenched a fist. "You almost killed my
partner. I cannot forgive you for that! I swear you will pay for it!"

"Don't worry, Venus," Masked Knight said weakly as he slowly pushed himself up to his
knees. "I can't die so easily. Not until we've accomplished our mission and returned home."
He smiled weakly at her. "Face it, Minako-chan, you're stuck with me."

She laughed faintly. "I'm glad, Ryo-kun."

**********************************************

Tempest reappeared back at the warehouse, only to find Quartzite waiting for her. "Well?"
he asked in the tone she knew as one where he already knew the answer, but he wanted her to
say it anyway.

"I have good news and bad news, Quartzite," she reported.

"Go on."

"The good news is that I have a large amount of energy that I have gathered from the
humans," she continued. "It should be more than enough to make Queen Beryl more than
pleased with your work here."

"But?" he asked in a flat tone.

"The bad news is that Majutsushi has been defeated by Sailor V and Masked Knight," she
admitted reluctantly.

"And so, we have lost another warrior to them," he said quietly. "We may be able to supply
the Dark Kingdom with energy taken here in London, but if we keep losing our warriors, then
we will eventually end up with only ourselves to gather energy and fight against Sailor V
and Masked Knight. Are you ready to face the two of them, should we lose our last three
warriors, Tempest?"

"I can face them at any time!" she retorted heatedly.

"Bold words," he said with a derisive smirk. "The time may come for you to prove that you
aren't just speaking empty promises. When that time comes, will you be prepared to fight to
the death?"

"Certainly, Quartzite. To the death."

"Even if Masked Knight turns out to be that boy?"

She paused as her breath caught in her throat. Could she kill him? She still wasn't sure
that it was him, but from what she had seen, she was all but convinced that he was. If she
couldn't turn him, could she actually kill him?

"Without hesitation," she lied.

"Then, prepare for that time," he told her with a stern, unyielding expression on his face.

"I will, Quartzite," she agreed. "In the meantime, I will also prepare for the next time
that I go to gather energy. I will be taking two of our warriors in order to assure Sailor
V and Masked Knight's defeat."

"And which ones would they be?" he asked amusedly.

"Kage and Jade."

"Very well," Quartzite said as he turned to leave. "I shall leave the matter to you."

"You'll see, Quartzite," Tempest said determinedly. "I will kill Sailor V and I will bring
Masked Knight over to our side... or rather, to my side. Nothing and no one will keep my
Ryo-chan from me!"

"I must make plans for our return to Japan," Quartzite said to himself as he left the
warehouse. "The time is coming for my return. I can sense it. I can only hope that it is in
triumph, rather than defeat.

"But, if we end up returning in defeat, then can I really go back to Queen Beryl? No matter
what I've done here, a defeat is a defeat to Queen Beryl." He stopped and sighed to himself
as he looked up into the slowly darkening sky. The sun would set soon. It was like his time
here in London. Soon, his sun would set and he would have to return to Japan. But that
didn't mean that his options were only success or defeat. He could still have success, even
if his plans ended up in defeat. All he had to do was begin his own plans. Even if he had
to take Tempest and work unilaterally without Queen Beryl's knowledge or consent, he could
find a way to gain her favor and become a General. He had plans to make.

"No. Defeat is not an option," he said quietly. "One way or another, I will fulfill my
ambitions. I will succeed where others have failed. The final victory will be mine."

**********************************************

Dis claimer: All original materials belong to their respective
owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch
of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This
story belongs me, so I would appreciate it very much if you
would ask for permission before posting it anywhere else.
Thank you.

The Question and all stories included are:
Copyright © July 6, 2001 Jason C. Ulloa.
All Rights Reserved.