Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Rei.Zuko ❯ Rei.Zuko ( Chapter 1 )

Sailor Mars found herself backed to a wall and facing three Phreaks. The Phreaks were the newest threat to the human race; unlike Youma, Cardigans and Daemon, the Phreaks were essentially super-powered, brain-drained humans.

About a month ago, a group of `geeks', as their school piers referred to them, had approached Umino and Ami asking if he or she was interested at getting back at those who harassed them. Since then several group assaults, lead by a Game Wizard (a geek acting like the generals of former Dark Kingdom Factions), would lead an assault on the populous.

“Don't kill her, but make sure she's hurt!” A call came from the rooftop above Sailor Mars.

She looked up, trying to make out the image of worthwhile foe. She never saw the punch coming, but the jock's fist buried to the wrist, nonetheless. Rei keeled over and forehead slammed against the concrete pavement.

Too late her breath returned and the vertigo left. Now she being pounded into a carcass by the very people she had fought and gave her life to protect…

 

* * *

 

Katara, Zuko and Azula paused their fight to look at the rip in the fabric of time. Katara took the opportunity for a surprise assault, and caught Zuko with a water tentacle, sending him through the tear.

Zuko screamed out in freight, feeling his body hurdled into an unknown phenomenon.

On the other end he found himself watching as a helpless woman was pummeled by three men. “Raaa! Hu!” He spun a full 360 degrees and sent his arms forward as though pushing the air. From the palms of his hands sprouted flames. The fires of hell would envy the effect Zuko's strike had.

 

Sailor Mars, though extremely sore with a throbbing headache, felt the blows stop. She looked up and stared in bafflement as a boy no older than her fought the three Phreaks, bright flashes of crimson dancing with his every move.

Feeling like the boy had everything under control, she succumbed to the call of Morpheus and passed out.

 

Zuko leapt over a wild haymaker thrown from behind and spun in the air, landing with a leg sweep. He skirted around a kick from the guy on his right and a double axehammer from above. Double back handspringing into a low crouch, Zuko charged forward and delivered four fierce straight punches, two to the chest of the closer two, and a savage reverse roundhouse to the third, frying the man's face while breaking his neck.

All three Phreaks fell to the ground dead.

Zuko looked over to the retreating form up on a rooftop and narrowed his eyes menacingly. With the threat now reduced to nil, Zuko took stock of his surroundings. The architecture was of a make he had never encountered in his travels before; and the ease with which he dispatched the three muggers was proof they weren't in the same league as benders, much less masters of combat.

A thrumming sound hit his ears, sounding like water feed through a drain. He turned to watch as the tear sealed and the space that once inhabited it was returned to normal.

 

* * *

 

Rei awoke to a most frightening sight. A man with a blue mask, designed like a laughing demon's face, two dao crisscrossing on his back and a black full-body ninja suit completed with thong footings, was looming over her, applying a damp cloth to her forehead.

Rei pushed away his slowly descending hand and shrank back, away from the unknown man.

The `demon' raised his hands, displaying no hostile intent. He showed her the wet rag he still held and pointed to bandages piled in a corner.

Rei let herself relax, but only slightly; her many years of conflict not allowing her to completely relax around an unknown. “Who are you?”

“The Blue Spirit.” His voice was warped by the mask, but a hint of accent she wasn't familiar with stuck out profusely.

When he made no attempt at continuing the conversation or tending to her injuries, Rei checked her body over. She had a few bruises left, but no noticeable wounds that she could detect with her school seifuku on.

“How long have I been here?” Rei asked, reminded of her studies after seeing dirty school uniform.

The Blue Spirit made no remarks, instead moving to peer out a slit in the wooden wall.

Rei looked around, squinting her eyes at some areas for the darkness. Aside from the pallet she was laid on and the pile of bandages the room had nothing but a pair of flickering flames, evenly placed, between the pallet and the wall on both sides of the bedding. The walls were old and probably rotting, the door had a thick log placed like a feudal-aged lock.

The ninja-look-alike turned from the crevice and approached Rei, bringing a constant beam of light in his wake. He knelt at her side and wiped her brow with the cloth. “You heal quickly.”

Rei could only nod dumbly.

 

* * *

 

Within the Outers' dwelling place, a magnificent and elegant sub-mansion, a group of nine girls were gathered. Well, `girls' is used quite liberally, as two were in their twenties and a third was at least ten thousand.

Usagi sat in the center of the circle; her cheeks stained with old tear tracks, eyes hollowed by many nights with no sleep and her hair disheveled from improper care. “Has anything shown up in the Gates, Setsuna?” Usagi's voice was horribly strained.

Setsuna, AKA Sailor Pluto: Guardian of Time/Guardian of the Time Gates/Senshi of Death, could not look her future queen in the eyes as she answered. “I have monitored the Gates constantly. It won't show me the future, but it does playback what has happened. From what I was able to see, Sailor Mars is alive, I just can't see where.”

Usagi's countenance, along with all the other Senshi, changed to joy and hope. “That's good! Now all we have to do is beat Master Wizard Fred, form America, and we finally find Rei!”

Setsuna smiled fondly at the optimistic attitude her princess could display at the drop of a hat. Before she could say her piece, the sound of the Inners' communicator/watches rang through the room.

All eyes bounced back and forth from one to the other. “I'll answer it!” Usagi chirped after no one volunteered for a lengthy moment. She flipped the cute heart-shaped watch cover and gasped, eventually breaking down to tears when she saw the face on the other end. “REI!!! YOU'RE ALIVE!!”

All the Senshi crowded the weeping girl's watch and began asking question after question, seeking answers for her absence.

“QUIET!” Rei's voice boomed, shocking all to silence. “I'm glad to see you all, too,” Rei informed them, tears marring her face. “How long have I been gone?”

Ami was elected the designated speaker. “It's been around two months, Rei. We've been looking everywhere for you, but every time we started to search for your location we were attacked by Phreaks.”

Rei nodded, understanding the truth behind those words. “I can't believe it's been two entire months!” She looked in a direction off screen. When she returned her attention to the group she was whispering. “I'll meet you al at the Shrine, but I'm bringing a guest with me. I'll explain when I get there,” The last forestalling a surge of questions.

 

* * *

 

Usagi paced back and forth in front of her assembly of friends, which was quite impressive as they were currently walking to Rei's Shrine. “Do you think she was brain drained?” Usagi questioned her friend's chewing, cutely, on her thumb, with worry written clearly across her face. “Or maybe she was hurt and rescued by a man in shining armor?!” Little stars danced in her eyes, as she cupped her hands against her chest, gazing longingly into the distant sky.

The group shared a massive sweatdrop.

Makoto was the first to recover. “Um, yeah, I'm sure that's what happened.”