Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Hearts in time ❯ Tower Attack ( Chapter 18 )

Hearts in Time Part 18: Tower attack
By
Lance the Flamesniper

While Malachite was proclaiming his intent to kill Lance Jayd, other people were thinking other things. Lance was wondering why it was that bad guys always insisted on talking before attacking. Mina and Setsuna were wondering how to find a decent place to change so to not give away who they were. Wraith on the other hand was busy watching the odds pile higher and higher against them. Currently the odds were at sixty-to-one if you didn't count the leader of this menagerie. To this Wraith had only one thing to say...

"Aw Hell!"

"Wraith," Lance began quietly. "I want you to get the girls to safety. Do so quickly while I hold these things off."

Wraith was about to comply when another voice stopped him. "I'm not leaving you to this. Not now, not ever!" He looked and saw Setsuna standing there her face set and determined.

"I'm not leaving either!" Mina agreed.

"Thanks girls," Lance replied. "I should have known better than to try to send you away."

"Lance! What the Hell are you talking about!? These girls will get hurt if they stay!" Wraith fairly screamed.

"Just trust me," Lance replied as he walked calmly toward the front of the legion on youmas.

*****
"You do realize we're likely to blow out covers now right?" Mina asked as Setsuna picked up a length of metal pipe about the right size to use as a bo.

"There's no avoiding it in this case. If you didn't notice the Youmas are between the Elevator and us. There's no way we could hide who we are," Setsuna replied as she twirled the pipe experimentally.

Mina looked at the elevator and had to admit, Setsuna had a point.

"Okay, let's do this."

*****

Malachite sneered as his army of fodder youma charged forward. He'd brought forth overwhelming force and felt comfortable that at sixty to one odds he would have an easy fight against the two before him. He expected a few casualties of course. But then again, if the Youmas did their job he may just live through this. Once more he looked out at the Sea of youma only to be surprised at what he saw.

There stood Lance Jayd calmly slashing droids, Heart Snatchers and mirror warriors, while his ally used his whip to do the same. Still unless something happened that he didn't expect, things were going perfectly.

"Pluto Planet Power!"

"Venus Star Power!"

'Oh hell no!' Malachite thought.

Wraith for his part was dumbfounded and turned just in time to see Mina transform. "What the..!?"

"Less talk, more fight!" Lance yelled as his cufflinks transformed his clothes into battle armor.

"I was going to tell you eventually," Sailor Venus said as she joined Wraith on the front lines. Sailor Pluto went to help Lance.


******

At the base of Tokyo Tower Matt and Lita looked up at the flashes of light and raining shards of glass and debris. They'd gone there right after a rather interesting lunch: interesting only in the fact that lunch had given way to heavy petting and round of tonsil hockey. All in all, this was quite a lightshow to cap off an interesting day. It wasn't until a half blasted Youma landed near then that it was clear what was going on.

"I've got to get up there!" Lita growled.

"Nothing doing Lita," Matt replied. "It's dangerous up there."

"Matt, I love you very much and I'm going to ask you to keep a secret for me," Lita said seriously.

"I love you too, Lita. What's this about a secret?" Matt asked.

Lita quickly pulled his beloved up into a nearby stairwell. Since the tower had been evacuated it was easy to find a secluded spot. "Promise me you won't tell anyone about this!"

"I promise!"

"Okay," Lita replied as she pulled out her transformation wand. "Jupiter Star Power!"

A few moments later Sailor Jupiter was standing before an open mouthed Matt. "Come on let's go!"

******

When Sailor Jupiter and Matt arrived the scene before them was total bedlam. Wraith was using his Celestial Backlash in concert with Sailor Venus's Love and beauty shock. Lance and Sailor Pluto were back to back, surrounded and outnumbered by the Youmas.

"Oak Evolution!" Sailor Jupiter Yelled taking out as many of the Youmas hampering Sailor Pluto and Lance as she entered the fray.

"Jupiter Thunder Strike!" Came Matt's response.

During all the explosions Malachite lost sight of Lance Jayd. Lance for his part had not lost sight of Malachite. He'd charged his enemy in a low crouching charge then leapt up bringing his blade down in a violent downward slash. Malachite's blade met the slash and the several other slashes that came after as Lance pushed his attack. Malachite was so focused of countering each strike that e failed to notice when his opponent seemingly disappeared, at least until he felt his feet kicked out from under him.

"You are quite the gutter fighter Jayd!" Malachite hissed as he glared at the blade pointed to his throat.

"This ends now you over bleached piece of trash!" Lance growled.

"Then I will leave this place knowing that your lost to time twin sister is in the hands of my master Necros!" With that Malachite batted the blade away with his broadsword and pressed his own attack with a series of slashes and thrusts that Lance parried, blocked and countered with a fire that could only come of fury. Here was the man who'd killed him. Here was the man who'd almost killed him again and worse still had almost killed his beloved. And now he had the nerve to taunt him with something Setsuna had only recently told him about: his long lost twin. Lance could only sum things up in three words....

"You're. Going. Down!"

******
The battle was pitched for the others but between the three Senshi and the two past princes the fodder was rapidly diminishing. Though most of the time they were keeping their eyes on the pitched duel between Lance and his seemingly hated enemy.

"Uhm Matt knows my secret identity," Jupiter mumbled, as she was now back to back with Venus.

"That's okay Wraith knows who I am and Lance knows that his wife is Sailor Pluto and I'm betting knowing his past means he knew who we are too," Mina responded.

"His wife??" Jupiter asked, her eyebrows knitting in surprise.

"Apparently they cantalouped," Venus replied.

"I think you mean Eloped," Jupiter corrected as they polished off the last of their opponents and turned their gaze to the battle still raging.

Lance back flipped over a stand of observation deck chairs. His enemy had resorted to using a style that emphasized force over form. Still Lance knew he was not going lose to him as losing was not an option. Quickly he reversed his grip on his Katana then charged swinging his blade into a deadly frenzy of slashes that cause Malachite to back up. Malachite remembered this style. This fast, powerful, deadly-yet-elegant sword form.

"What's the matter general? Do you not wish to duel with me?" Lance asked.

"I will kill you!"

"Death Comes for us all but it does not wear your face," Lance replied.

"Good memory," Malachite glared as he charged into fray once more. Their blades met, then met again and then again once more. Lance knocked the blade aside with his own then backhanded Malachite with a back fist. Malachite staggered back stunned. Lance once again went to the reverse grip. When Malachite charged in next he was greeting with the burning pain of a starsteel blade slashing across his stomach. As Malachite dropped to his knees he glared weakly at Lance.

"Well played.... boy," He hissed weakly. Then he fell forward and breathed his last. As with all Youma Malachite then faded to nothing.

"You fought well, brave warrior. Rest well now, for the world will trouble you no more," Lance said solemnly as he sheathed this blade.


*********

Several hours had passed since the battle. There were many questions asked of Lance. Most of them being about why he wasn't surprised that Lita and Mina were Sailor Scouts. Then again with him having married Sailor Pluto, Lance had most likely discovered it himself. Lance however wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around him.

"What's wrong?" Setsuna asked her husband once they'd got a moment alone.

"Remember telling me I had a Twin?" Lance asked. When Setsuna nodded Lance continued. "Malachite told me that Necros has her."

"Necros," Setsuna said. She remembered him from while Lance had been away on adventures during the Moon Kingdom. He was in her opinion an obsessive, creepy bastard. "He's a minor time Mage if I remember correctly his tower is outside time just past the area known as the Tides of Time."

"Then that's where I must go," Lance replied.

********

Chronos smiled into his scrying pool. "The End Game is coming Necros. And you will most definitely not like the results."

With that Chronos laughed as he hadn't laughed for many centuries. Yes this was most definitely going to be worth watching.

TBC

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