Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Missing Crystals ❯ Hunters or Hunted? ( Chapter 6 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Missing Crystals
Part 6: Hunters or Hunted?

By: M.H. Torringjan

Okay, this should be the last part of this particular series, since
everyone will have their crystals, and they won't be missing crystals anymore.
Makes sense, doesn't it? I've got more plans for Michael, so if you like him,
then you're in luck. If you don't, then my apologies. So there. :-)
As usual, I don't own Sailor Moon. Naoko Takeuchi does. I did create the
characters of Jennifer Hino and Michael Cross/Sailor Europa. I did not create
any other random products that may be mentioned in the course of this fanfic.
They were most probably created by their respective creators. Makes sense,
doesn't it?

The next morning (or later that night, whichever is more appropriate for
5:00 a.m.), Lita awoke to the sound of Serena snoring. She sat up in her bed
and looked around at the others lying on the floor, who were still asleep. She
didn't know how they could sleep with that racket going on right beside their
ears. She was startled to hear Michael talking from where he lay.
"Hey, Lita," Michael said quietly.
"Yeah, Mike?" she replied just as quietly.
"Want to go out to a movie?" he asked.
"Well, I guess-"
"I hear there's a good one playing in Madrid right now. Let's fly there
right now!" He must have been sleep talking. Lita shook her head. She'd never
be able to get back to sleep with all that going on at the same time. She
quietly slipped out of bed and into the doorway, closing the door softly so as
not to disturb anyone. The hallway light was already on and the shower running,
indicating that Jennifer was already up and getting ready for work. Lita walked
into the kitchen and sat down at the table. She'd wait a few minutes before
starting up breakfast. Until then, she'd just lay her head down on the table
and try to get a little bit more sleep.
She felt herself being shaken awake by someone. She opened her eyes and
looked at Jennifer, who was still damp from her shower.
"Morning, Lita!" she said. "Is the table really that comfortable?"
"Well, it's more comfortable than that bedroom," Lita replied. "I can't
sleep over Serena's snoring and Michael's talking."
"Wow, two in one place? I'm surprised you slept so long!" Jennifer
replied. "Here, why don't you go and take my bed while I work on some
breakfast?"
"No, I'll be all right," Lita said. "I'll get the breakfast done. You've
got work!"
"And you've got a test," Jennifer replied sternly.
"How'd you find out about that?" Lita asked.
"Amy mentioned it to me last night before she went to bed," Jennifer said.
"Now, like I said, go and get some more rest and I'll call you when it's ready."
Lita grudgingly walked off to Jennifer's room, laid down in her bed and shut her
eyes, hoping to get some more sleep.

A little while later, Michael woke up and blinked his eyes. He grumbled
as he looked at Serena, tossing and turning on her pile of cushions. The others
had tried taking some, as well, waking him up each time they had tried and been
kicked by Serena. They had ended up using the other blankets as pillows and
cushions. Michael stood up and folded his blanket. Looking over at the clock
on the bedside table, he saw that it was almost 7:00. They'd have to be getting
out for school soon. As he walked out of the bedroom, the smell of breakfast
being cooked caught his attention. He walked into the kitchen to see what was
on.
"Morning, Jennifer!" he said.
"Good morning, Michael!" Jennifer said. "Have a nice rest?"
"Yes, but hardly long enough," Michael replied.
"Well, you'll have a nice, warm breakfast in just a couple of minutes,"
Jennifer said. "Do you think that you could get the others up? Lita's in my
room, and you know where the others are."
"Sure, I'll get them up," Michael replied, walking back out. He would
take great pleasure in waking Serena up. He might make it a bit violent, just
so as to startle her. Then again, he doubted that a Negaverse monster attacking
would wake her up. He decided to get Lita first. He quietly opened the door to
Jennifer's room, trying not to unnecessarily disturb her. He walked over to the
bed and shook her shoulder.
She opened her eyes and muttered, "Go away. I'm still tired."
"Well, good morning to you, too," Michael replied. "Come on, get up.
It's almost time for breakfast and school."
"Five more minutes, please," Lita said, turning over. "It's a very
comfortable bed."
Michael decided not to comment on the subject. "I'm sure it is, but you
don't have time to play around." After a few moments without her moving, he
yanked the blankets off of the bed and out of her hands.
"All right, I'm up," Lita said, moving slowly. "But you're remaking the
bed."
"I'm supposed to be getting the others up," Michael said.
"I'll take care of it," Lita said. She walked out of the room and down
the hallway to her room. She opened the door and turned on the overhead light.
Serena groaned and turned over, covering her head with the blanket. "This is
going to be fun," Lita said to herself. She walked over to the pile of blankets
and pillows where the others were laying, half-asleep and set about her task of
waking them up. "Wake up," she began half-heartedly.
"I'm awake," Amy said. "I'm just working on adjusting to the light."
"Yeah, I'm up, too," Raye said, throwing off the blankets and walking out
of the room.
"What time is it?" Mina asked from under her blanket.
"It's seven o'clock," Lita replied.
"I thought there wasn't supposed to be any jet lag when we teleported,"
Mina complained.
"There isn't," Amy replied. "We just got to sleep at almost two in the
morning." Amy sat up and blinked her eyes. She deemed herself sufficiently
adjusted and walked out.
"Yeah, that would do it," Mina said. She noted the state that her hair
was in. "Do you have a hair-brush that I can use, Lita?"
"Yeah, over there on the desk," she replied as she struggled to rouse
Serena from her semi-catatonic state. "Wake up, Serena," Lita said impatiently.
"Go 'way, Luna. I'm tired," Serena said, turning over onto her stomach.
Lita got fed up and yanked the blanket off of her, taking the idea from Michael.
"Too bad," Lita replied.
"Oh, Lita, it's you," Serena said. She sat up on the cushions and
stretched. Her hair had been let down the night before, leaving it in a worse
mess than Mina's. "What's up?"
"Your time," Lita replied. "We've got to get ready for school. And if
you don't hurry, then you won't have time to get breakfast." The thought of
missing breakfast was certainly enough to get Serena moving. She grabbed the
hairbrush that Mina had just finished with and started putting her hair back in
the usual meatball style. Lita walked out of her bedroom and into the kitchen,
where the others were already eating their breakfasts She joined them and
quickly finished off a plate of her own before getting ready to go to school.

Rubeus looked over his "perfect weapon." He had programmed this one like
those of the past, only there was no weak point on this one. He had been an
idiot to paint that symbol on his Droid Juggernaut. It had gotten the work
done, but he had completely lost it in one battle all because he had some ironic
decoration fetish. Luckily, he was over it now, and he would get on with his
life. Droid Nil would more than make up for the mistakes of the past.
"Now, Droid Nil, you know what you are to do, correct?" Rubeus asked.
"Of course, My Lord! I am to return the crystals to you quickly and
efficiently," Nil said.
"And kill the Sailor Scouts while you're at it!" Rubeus commanded. "The
best time and place to do this would be in the middle of the day, while they're
in class. Put them in a situation where they'd be hard-pressed to defend
themselves."
"That makes sense, My Lord," Nil replied.
"If you don't return successful, then don't return at all!" Rubeus said.
"Don't worry about that, my lord, I won't fail you," Nil said as it
stepped through the mirror to teleport to Earth.
"You had better not," Rubeus replied to himself. "I used that crystal as
your power source. If you can't beat them, I may have to do the job
personally."

Lita, Serena, Michael, and Amy walked down the street towards Crossroads
Junior High School a little bit later than they would have liked. Lita had
insisted on making quick lunches for everyone to make up for her not cooking
breakfast. Serena hadn't objected, and everyone else had assumed that they had
they time. Almost certainly, Raye had been late getting to school, and Mina was
probably running down the sidewalk at that very moment.
"You know, last night was fun," Lita said. "Well, other than being woken
up by Serena and Michael's big mouths, I mean."
"What big mouth?" Michael asked.
"You talk in your sleep," Lita replied.
"Man, I had hoped that I was over that by now," Michael replied, blushing.
"What did I talk about?"
"I didn't hear much, other than you asking me to go with you to a movie,"
Lita said.
"Yes, I heard it once, as well," Amy replied. "When Serena woke me up
while tossing and turning."
"Sorry, guys, I'm a heavy sleeper," Serena replied.
"I'm know," Michael replied. "I tried taking a cushion from under you."
"And you lived to tell the tale?" Lita asked.
"It was only slightly painful, really," Michael replied. "It mostly hurt
my pride. But I woke up to your tossing, turning, and snoring, too, Serena."
"Come on, it's like I don't get enough of that from Luna," Serena said.
For a few more moments, they walked in silence.
"I really like having you guys around on the walk to school," Lita
continued. "It's really lonely and quiet otherwise."
"I usually use the time to collect my bearings and think," Michael
replied. "I'm not always a ball of fun to be around. Some might even call me
boring when I'm walking around alone."
"You? Boring?" Lita asked. "That'd be the day. Why don't I believe it?"
"No, really! It's almost like an actor before he goes onto a stage,
making sure he has his lines memorized," Michael replied. "Although I don't
know exactly what I'm going to say, I'm in perfect shape to handle whatever's
thrown at me. That's when I think about others and myself. Really, I'm deeper
than you guys might think. You saw it yourself, Lita."
"Excuse me? What're you talking about?" Serena asked.
"She came over to my house yesterday to do some studying for the test
before we left," Michael said. As soon as the words had left his lips, he knew
that he had said the wrong thing.
"She went over to your house? To study? A likely story. Are you two not
telling me something?" Serena asked in her sing-song voice.
"No, Serena," Lita replied. "There's nothing between us. We're just
friends."
"That's what they all say," Serena said. "And what's your side of the
story, Mike?"
Michael paused. He wasn't sure how to respond to the question. This was
the one thing that he hadn't thought he'd be asked so soon. He decided to play
it safe. "Just like she said."
"That would be the exact response that one would give when he's hiding
something," Serena accused.
"Serena, I can assure you that nothing is happening between us, and that
if anything does happen between us, then you'll be the first to know," Lita
replied. Michael smiled at the statement; it was a good sign for him.
"All right, you're off the hook this time," Serena said. "But I'm keeping
my eyes on you two."
"All right, officer, we'll try to behave," Michael said. The school was
in sight, and there wasn't much time until the final bell would ring and they
would be late. Michael, Serena, Amy, and Lita ran the rest of the way to their
classes. Lita sat down just as the bell rang, calling her class to order. She
wasn't really ready to take this test, but she kind of had to. She hoped that
she could remember everything that Michael had gone over with her the night
before. As the teacher was passing out the tests, she thought back to what
Serena had been saying. She quickly pushed it back into the back of her mind so
that she could concentrate on her test. She'd think about Serena's weird ideas
later on.
Michael, Amy, and Serena ran in their class with a few moments to spare.
Michael wanted to ask Amy about something. "Amy, we aren't finished with our
mission, are we?"
"I doubt it," Amy said. "They've still got Mina's crystal. I'd expect
that they're going to come back and try to get ours, as well. We've got to get
the crystal out of their hands so that Mina has her power-up and so that they
don't have any leverage on us."
"And we've got to take down Rubeus himself," Michael replied.
"Well, of course," Amy said. "That's a given."
"Well, I hope that's as easily done as said," Michael said. He sat down
in his place beside Serena and got out his books.
"So, Michael, you've got a little something for Lita?" Serena said.
"Oh, for pete's sake, will you let it drop?" Michael replied.
"Not until I get a straight answer out of you," Serena said. Michael was
getting tired of this.
"I'm only going by what Lita says," Michael replied.
"Then you do," Serena replied. "I may not be the best of judges about
other things, but I do know about this."
"All right, if you must know, then I am attracted to Lita," Michael
sighed. "However, this will not leave your lips. Correct?"
"They're sealed," Serena said. "Doesn't it feel better to just tell
someone?"
"Not particularly," Michael grumbled. Ms. Haruna walked in, carrying a
pile of books.
"No, Michael, these are not the books that I've confiscated from you,"
she began with a chuckle. "We're going to be reading different selections of
poetry for our literature class. Now, I want everyone to come up here and take
a book. I've marked a couple of selections from each for you to read."
Michael looked out of the window into the courtyard. Something looked odd
outside, and he had a bad feeling. "Ms. Haruna, may I be excused for a minute?
It's an emergency."
"Michael, you had all before class to take care of whatever it was," Ms.
Haruna replied.
"I got here just before the bell, so I didn't really," Michael replied.
"And that's probably because you got up later than you should have," Ms.
Haruna replied. "How many times must I lecture you about this? If you have
more stuff to do in the mornings, then you should get up earlier. It's not
going to do you any harm! As a matter of fact, it would probably do you some
good! I'm sure that you all have-"
"Ma'am, I'm sure that we could take your idea, but we're just not
interested to hear it," Michael said. If he wasn't getting out of that room one
way, then he'd do it in another. He'd just get a stern talking to, since it was
his first offense. Right?
"What did you just say, Michael?" Ms. Haruna asked in her quiet, angry
voice.
"I said that we should maybe get on with the lesson, since no one wants to
hear you rant," Michael replied. Amy and Serena looked shocked at him. Then
again, the whole class did.
"Michael, what are you doing?!" Serena asked quietly.
"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Michael replied just as quietly.
"Michael, do you have something to say to me?" she asked. "Something
along the lines of an apology?"
"No, not really," Michael replied. "I'm just really anxious to get on
with this literature, and I'd rather read poetry than hear you rant."
"Well, maybe I'd rather rant than have you read poetry," Ms. Haruna said.
"That's interesting," Michael said. "Do your bosses know about that? I'm
sure they'd be really interested to know about it."
Mrs. Haruna simmered for a minute. "Michael, go outside now! I will be
out there to talk to you a little bit later!" Ms. Haruna said. Michael shrugged
and walked through the doorway. He closed the door behind him and tried
listening through the door to what they were talking about. As he had expected,
Ms. Haruna had gone on with her spiel. A few moments later, someone in the
class screamed as the windows broke. He ran outside quickly to transform.
"Europa Power Transformation!"
In the classroom, Serena and Amy had been cornered by the creature.
Melvin, showing an odd moment of bravery ran at Droid Nil, wielding a chair.
"Don't hurt my friends, you monster!" he screamed just before being
flicked away by the droid.
"Now, Sailor Scouts, give me your crystals!" the droid exclaimed,
returning its attention to Amy and Serena.
"Really, you've got the wrong girls," Serena lied.
"Yeah, we're not Sailor Scouts!" Amy added.
"Oh, really? Then you probably won't mind if I beat you into a pulp
anyway, will you?" Droid Nil asked, picking Serena up above her head and
preparing to throw her through the broken windows.
"Europa Earth Spike!" Europa exclaimed, raising a large chunk of earth
from the school ground and shooting it towards the droid just as it threw
Serena. He rushed to where Serena would land and jumped in her path. The two
landed with a thud on the ground.
"You all right, Rena?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Serena replied. "You're fast, aren't you?"
"I've just got good reflexes. You may have to sit this one out, or else
they'll figure out that this guy isn't bluffing," Europa said.
"But you can't take this guy on your own!" Serena exclaimed.
"Well, I can give it the old college go," Europa replied. "Makes sense
that it'd go for the one who's attacking it. I'll see if I can lure it away
from here, and then maybe I can do something with it." He looked back at the
droid. "So, droids have taken to mistaking identities? I thought that you were
a bit smarter than that."
"Nice try, Sailor Brat, but not good enough," the droid replied. "I'll
take care of you, then I'll finish the others off!"
"I wouldn't say that," Sailor Jupiter called as she ran around the corner.
"Nice to see you, Jupiter!" Europa said.
"Man, this guy interrupted my test! And I was on a roll, too!"
"Well, we've all got bigger problems right now, Jupiter," Europa replied.
Jupiter took out her sword and took an attack stance. She ran towards the droid
and swung as hard as she could with her sword. She stumbled forward as the
sword went through the droid and struck the ground.
"Okay, that didn't work as well as I had hoped," Jupiter said. She jumped
back to beside Europa.
"We've got to get her out of here," Europa said.
"No, this is the best place to fight her," Jupiter replied. "It's wide
open, and I can use my big attack. I assume that you can, too."
"Yeah, but I doubt that here is the right place to use my big attack,"
Europa said.
"Well, then, don't!" Jupiter exclaimed. "Jupiter Tornado twist!" she
exclaimed. A funnel of air formed around the droid, intended to pick her up
into the air and drop her. The figure of the droid stayed planted on the
ground, however. "Man! What is this guy?!"
"Let me try something," Europa said. "Europa Invisibility!" he exclaimed.
He faded from sight walking towards the droid.
"Ha, running from a battle! What a coward!" Droid Nil exclaimed, leveling
her sights on Jupiter. "Now, for you!" The droid ran towards Jupiter, ready to
attack. It threw a punch at Jupiter, who held up her sword to block the attack.
The droid's fist struck the sword on the flat side, throwing it across the
school-yard.
"Hey, no fair!" Jupiter exclaimed as she returned the punch, which went
through the droid and left her off-balance. The Droid took her chance to hit
Jupiter on the back of the head and pick her up by the neck.
"Now, show these people your true form and give me the crystal," Nil
exclaimed. "Or else I'll kill you."
"You'll probably kill me anyway," Jupiter replied in a wispy voice through
gritted teeth.
"That's a good point," Nil said. "Ah, the advantages of selective
solidity. Your friend's crystal really is a good source of energy."
"You're using Mina's crystal?!" Jupiter exclaimed.
"Yes, and it feels so good," Nil replied. "Now, give me your crystal!"
"Never!" Jupiter said. The hand around her throat began to tighten.
Jupiter opened her mouth, struggling to breathe, scream, anything. She felt a
shock delivered to the droid's arm and she fell to the ground, able to breathe.
She looked up and saw her sword seemingly floating in midair. The droid's arm
laid beside her, unmoving.
"Sorry I took so long," Europa said from where he stood with the sword in
hand. "Didn't want her noticing me." He dropped the sword and moved quickly to
get Jupiter away from the droid. "You all right?"
"Well, other than being out of breath and some bruises later, I'm fine,"
Jupiter replied.
"You!" he exclaimed, pointing at Amy. "Please take care of her for a
minute!" Amy and Serena rushed to take Jupiter from the field, only to be
stopped by the droid.
"Don't think you're getting off that easily!" it said, shooting a beam
that formed a cage around the three. "I'll deal with you later." She turned
away from the cage to look for Europa and to tend to her arm. Suddenly, she
doubled over in pain, as though she had been punched. She wrapped her arms
around Europa's arms and flipped him over. He landed with a thud on the ground.
The droid reared back to land a final blow to Europa. It was about to drop its
arms when a rose flew across its face and bounced a few inches from the ground.
"OUCH!" Europa exclaimed.
"Sorry! Can't see you to aim," Tuxedo Mask exclaimed. "I believe you
have something that belongs to us."
"It belongs to Master Rubeus," Nil replied. "And so will all of theirs in
a few moments!"
"Only if you get through me!" Tuxedo Mask said, taking out his cane and a
few more roses.
"That should be easy enough," Nil said. She ran towards Tuxedo Mask,
pulling back a fist and powering up an energy blast. While the monster was
distracted with combating Tuxedo Mask, Europa returned Jupiter's sword to her.
"Jupiter Holy Sword, please lend me the strength to defeat this enemy!"
Jupiter prayed. The sword flew silently and sliced the monster when it was
paying attention to Tuxedo Mask. A moment later, all that remained of it was a
pile of dust and a crystal, presumably Mina's.
"Thank goodness you got here when you did," Europa said to Tuxedo Mask.
"You're lucky that I wasn't too busy to get away from what I was doing,"
Tuxedo Mask replied. "Is Jupiter okay?"
"She's fine," Serena replied. "She's lucky that Michael was there to help
her out then."
"Let's get her out of here," Europa said. Tuxedo Mask grabbed Mina's
crystal and bounded away in his usual manner. Europa walked Lita away from the
scene of the battle and watched to make sure that they weren't followed. The
two found a safe place to revert and did so.
"You all right, Lita?" Michael asked. "Can you go back to class?"
"I think that I'll be okay," Lita replied. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Michael replied.
"Good. I was afraid that something bad would have happened to you alone
out there," Lita replied. She hugged Michael out of relief.
"I wasn't exactly alone, you know," Michael replied. "You were there and
Tux-boy finally came along. Is he usually that late?"
"Yeah, it's a regular thing for him," Lita said, laughing weakly. "He
likes his dramatic entrance."
"I suppose I know where he's coming from," Michael said. "Now, we should
probably be getting back to class. I had to get in trouble to get somewhere
that I could transform, and I've got to live up to the piper, or something like
that." The two stood up to walk back to class. "So, Lita, how'd you like to go
to the arcade after school today?" he asked.
"Well, I can't really swing that this afternoon," Lita said. "Maybe a
movie this weekend."
"That's fine with me," Michael said. They returned to class, ready to
relax for a while.

Mina was walking home from school that afternoon. She was still tired
from the night before. She had been appropriately surprised by the surprise
quiz that they had taken when they got in that morning.
"Hey," called Darien from where he was leaning nonchalantly against the
wall of a building.
"Hi, Darien!" Mina exclaimed. She ran to him to see if he was interested
in talking. It was nice to see someone she knew when she needed to relax. She
had homework that night, although she really didn't feel like doing it.
"There was a battle today at Crossroads," Darien said. "Michael, Lita and
I took care of it, and they almost revealed our identities." He threw something
to her, which she bobbled before getting a hold on. "We got this from the
droid. I believe that it's yours."
Mina looked at what he had thrown at her and realized that it was a yellow
crystal set on a necklace. "My crystal! Wait, the battle! Is everyone okay?"
"Lita and Michael took a couple of good hits, but it was overall an
undamaging battle," Darien said. "Almost makes me wish that I could see Rubeus'
face. He probably sent another one of his unbeatable droids that could kill us
all without lifting a finger."
A few moments of silence passed as Mina tried to decide what to say. Not
much had gone smoothly with Darien since he had broken up with Serena. "Well,
thanks for bringing me the crystal," she said.
"I thought that it would be a good idea for you to get it, just in case.
They seem to want these crystals pretty badly, and it's better if the ones who
can use them have them," Darien replied.
"And you don't have one of your own?" Mina asked.
"Of course not," Darien replied. "After all, I'm just the Sailor Scouts'
protector. I don't have a true transformation like you do."
"Oh," Mina said. Darien began walking down the road in the opposite
direction.
"If you or the others need me," Darien said. "You know where I'll be."
He walked down the road towards his home, not looking back. He had work to do.

End of Missing Crystals Series

Well, thanks to all those who read the whole thing. I basically wrote
this on my own with no test readers or anything, which might explain the
quality, if you thought that it was bad. And if you thought it was good, then
hey, that just says something for my own talents! I found this series a bit
difficult to write, because it deals with an untraditional series of action. I
think that the results have turned out pretty well, though.
As I mentioned a chapter or two back, I'm going to go on and write a
couple of stories (one chapter long this time! I swear!) with Michael in them.
Also, I'm going to write the counter series to ACS, which will take a
considerably long time to polish up and make sure that it lives up to the
quality of its predecessor. I've had the fic "A New View" sitting around on my
computer for gods know how long and I'll finish that (I promise!). Also, I've
got quite a few MSTings that I'm working on at the moment and lined up for the
future.
Of course, this will probably get posted at a slower rate over the summer
break, since I'll be working and playing video games for the most part. I may
even take the whole thing off, depending on how I feel.
Well, that's all for this series. I hope that you enjoyed reading it, or
at least did a good job MSTing it (depending). Of course, if you were MSTing
it, I hope that I heard about it. Sure, I'm a good sport, I just want to know
this sort of thing! :-) I'm outtie!