It's the FFML!

Oh my!

It's time for another installment of Terrible Things,
and I am proud to say no Senshi were harmed in the
making of this story.

[Bastion cowers as mallets are waved threateningly at him] 

A few words of warning, though, this story is very intense and fast paced,
two things I have tried to tone down on.
There are a cast of original characters that are featured
in another one of my stories, Timelords.
Also I have NAed the Outers, so consider yourself warned!!

And if you haven't 'D' keyed this already, 
request for Timelords will generously be fulfilled.
Previous parts of Terrible Things can be found at 
SM Romance
http://solo.abac.com/moonromance/b.htm

As always your C&C, MST, cookie recipes, questions, etc. are welcome.

That's enough, let's go!


Terrible Things To Waste

Part 3: Who's the Bad Guy?


	Boom!

	People ran for their lives as their place of shelter was being
destroyed.  Hysteria ruled the panicked masses.

	Boom!

	Blast after continuous blast pounded the building.  Malance
glided around the crumbling structure, randomly firing his
cannon at areas still intact.  The people who survived

the attack looked for the source of the explosions, but could
find none.  Malance chuckled to himself, his cloaking device on
his power suit had worked.  Malance made a few more rounds of
the building and left to where the general waited.  Malance now
felt redeemed.     

	Phase two complete.  The general would be pleased.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



	The white puffs of vapor rolled around playfully in the blue
backdrop of the sky.  A blond woman watched them with
fascination as she ran her hand idly across the surface of the
lake.  The sounds of children playing and the breeze blowing
through the branches of trees provided the perfect mood for an
afternoon in the park.  

	She loved seeing what shapes clouds could create.  The last
time she had enjoyed doing such a past time was as a child, in
her parents' garden.  Oh, how she loved that magnificant garden
with its beautifully green plants everywhere and the odd red,
blue, or violet color of flowers and trees dotting the grounds. 
She remembered feeling the sun on her face as she looked into
the sky.  

	The memory was very vivid in her mind:

    	She smiled joyously at the shape that appeared to her.  The
clouds so marvelously rolled to create the most fasinating of
things.   

	"What are you up to Xendyte?" came a deep curious voice.

	She turned to see a lanky man with light brown hair, who bent
down to her short level.  She giggled as the man caught his
glasses that fell off his face, he stumbled to put them on as he
tried to keep some dignity.

	"So what are you doing?"  the man asked the small child once
more.

	"I'm looking at the man in the sky, Daddy."  she excitedly
pointed at a cloud in the sky, "See he's waving."

	"Dear, I don't see it.  All I see is a big white cloud of
vapor."  the man stated as he looked to the sky in vain for
figure his daughter was refering to.

	"No Dad, it is the cloud."  she explained.

	The man paused trying to keep the dignity he had left, "Oh."

	Suddenly another familar voice cut across the courtyard,
"Xavier!  Xendyte! Where are you?"

	The man quickly stood up, the girl noticed the great height
difference between them as the man walked over to a blond woman
coming towards them.

	"There you are.  I was wondering what kept you."  the woman
smiled warmly at the man and the girl, "Now hurry we're going to
be late for the Ball."

	"Teleri, the Counsule is holding a celebration for the success
of the completion of the Temporal Net above the Community,"  the
man pointed his hands in the air and came to his conclusion, "So
it really isn't a ball. . "  

	"I don't care what it really is, I'm going to a ball, and so is
Cindy,"  the woman quickly interrupted the man as she bent down
to the small girl, "Isn't that right, my sweet little child?"

	The girl beamed with excitement and nodded her head in
agreement. The woman smiled warmly at her daughter as her mate
shook his head residing back to the building, as the sound of
crying was heard from inside.

	"It must be the baby again."  the man said as he adjusted his
glasses once more.

	As the two watched the tall man disappear into the building,
the girl turned to her mother, "Mommy, why doesn't Daddy see the
man in the clouds?"

	The woman smiled thoughtfully at the question and answered,
"Well your father is just. . . different, but that's why I love
him, as I also love you."

	The girl lept at her mother for a caring embrace.  

	Oh, how did she enjoy life then, but it was only a memory now.

	"Cindy, are you listening?" Cindy put her hand to a small
device hidden in her ear. 

	"What is it?"  the blond whispered urgently trying not bring
any attention to herself.

	"General Halebit  wants to know your status." 

	"I'm close.  Some of them still have their doubts, but peer
pressure is correcting that."  

	"How long?"

	"A few more days."

	"The general won't wait any longer.  I will make another
attack."

	"Haven't you attacked enough homeless shelters already? 
They're rare enough around here."

	"The general wants conformation for the next phase by tonight. 
If not, I will attack again."

	"But," Cindy nearly exceded the proper volume, "There's no way
I can -"

	"Inefficiency is weakness, and the general doesn't tolerate
weakness."

	The breeze broke the momentary silence.

	"Oh, also, Cindy.  The Timelord Tracer is alive and has
followed us here."

	Cindy glared at the rippling surface of the lake, she had to
fight the urge to scream,	"Shut up."

	"He's probably watching you right now."

	"Shut up, Malance." Cindy felt her anger begin to preach their
confines.

	"He probably wants to finish the job -"  Cindy threw the small
device across the lake.  The action caused her anger to subside
for the time being.

	A sound of crackling grass indicated that someone was
approaching.  Cindy settled down her emotions before turning to
meet the Time Guardian.  The tall tanned woman was dressed in
civilain clothing, something Cindy thought looked foreign on
her. 

	"What do you want Time Guardian."  Cindy signed as she sat on
the grass near the shore.

	The tanned woman smiled courteously, "Please don't call me that
in public.  Call me Susan."

	Cindy nodded, "Okay.  What is it you want with me?"

	Susan looked into the Traveller's eyes, and noticed, for the
first time, that they matched the lake in hue.

	The tanned woman then turned her gaze further down the shore
where a green haired girl and her sandy haired partner were
looking after a small black haired child, who looked quite
anemic.

	"I see Erica and Michelle have grown fond of you.  As well as
Victoria."

	Cindy narrowed her brow in thought, "Now she is the Messiah of
Silence, right?"

	The tan woman nodded as she sat down next to the blond woman.

	"You know, I keep wanting to call Michelle, Michiru and Erica,
Haruka,"  Cindy looked over to the cheerful couple, "I'm sure
you understand."

	The breeze took up the conversation for a moment before the
tanned woman spoke, "I think we have situation."

	"The attacks on the shelters, right."  Cindy gazed out across
the lake, "They're looking for places I could hide, and I
suppose the shelters would be ideal.  There are not many left,
and there is no telling what they'll target next.  Like I said
they're going to tear the city apart looking for me." 

	Susan joined Cindy in her gaze across the reflective surface of
the lake, her eyes hinting apprehension.  She resented the
emotion.

	"I promise you, Traveller, if any of the Scouts or even the
Queen comes to harm because of them, I will hold you
responsible, and you will face prompt reciprocation."  Susan had
somehow kept a flatness to her threat.

	The blond woman felt a tinge of pain in her stomach that she
struggled not to show, "You have my word that I will do anything
in my power to prevent that."

	Oh, how she loathed the position Halebit had forced her into.



-------------------------------------------------------------------



	Amongst the busy influx of people, Tracer slowly and carefully
manuevered.  He had decided to follow the blond girl with the
pony tails, knowing she possessed the Silver Crystal.  An object
he knew Halebit wanted.  Tracer also found the girl very easy to
track with her distinct hair style, tracking her from the temple
to her home and even to her school.  He began to grow impatient
by the lack of Society members appearing, but the words of the
old prophet and friend, Briar, rung in his mind:

	'Observe before you act.'

	He still couldn't believe he heeded those words, but the
prophet had also given him the sword.  A sword that glowed with
power, and he couldn't wait to use to exact his revenge on his
old teacher, Halebit.  

	Tracer, for a second lost the girl, but scanning the crowd he
found her entering an arcade.  He decided to reside on the other
side of the street, and observe.  He noticed two other girls
enter into the arcade shortly after.  One girl had long black
hair dressed in a loose blue skirt and a white blouse and the
other girl had long blond hair tied in a bow dressed in similar
clothing as the first.  He immediately recognized them as the
ones who associated with the girl he was tracking.  As he waited
for them to exit the arcade, he wondered what they were up to.



------------------------------------------------------------------- 	



	The arcade buzzed with activity as sounds of synthesized
expolsions and excitement from the gaming machines tried to
attract adolecents with short attention spans.  The screens
flashed an aboundance of colors; reds, yellows, and oranges,
making the arcade frenzied with actitvity.  Yet near the front
window of the arcade, three girls quietly chatted as they
enjoyed their sweet refreshments.  

	"How did you convince your teacher to let us do this?"  Mina's
eyes were wide with curiousity.

	"I just said I thought those poor homeless people needed help
after all those attacks on the other shelters."  Serena stated
proudly, "And that's how I got us out of cleaning duties at
school."

	"So instead of scrubbing the floor, you have managed to put us
in one of the most dangerous places in Tokyo."  Raye glared at
Serena from across the table.

	"Exactly, the attacks are probably one of those stragglers left
behind from our other fights."  Mina whispered to the other two.

	"We're scouts and we can make sure that monster doesn't harm
anymore people."  Serena lower her volume to that of her blond
friend.

	Raye snorted in compliance to the idea, but added, "I'd feel a
lot better if Lita and Amy could join us."

	"Amy is out with Greg and Lita went on a date with some guy she
met named Ken."  Mina giggled, "It seems Lita finally found that
can compare to that old boyfriend of hers."

	"Hmm, interesting,"  Raye's voice dripped with sarcasm, "It
doesn't make me feel anymore at ease."

	"Then, Raye, you can go clean in the safety of the school
room."  Serena gave Raye a cunning grin.

	 Raye's face grew red with frustration, "Oh fine!  I'll come
with you two just to make sure you don't get in over your
heads."  



--------------------------------------------------------------------



	Tracer saw the girls emerge from the arcade, and tailed them
from afar.  He followed them for a few blocks to a small
building with a sign saying, "Juuban Homeless Shelter" above its
doors.  The building had a heavy traffic of various people going
in and out.  Tracer noticed the police presence around the
building, they were expecting something.  As Tracer entered the
building, a young woman grabbed him by the arm.

	"Ah hello.  I take you are looking for a room?"  Tracer ignored
the woman as the three girls disappeared from sight.

	"Sir?  We're really busy and I'd appreciate your cooperation." 
Tracer noticed the large number of people in the lobby, all just
about as dirty and ragged as himself.

	"We have a few rooms left, and since we are very busy," the
woman handed Tracer some papers, "Could you please fill out
these forms in your room?  Remember you don't have to state you
name."

	The woman took a key from the large collection in her hand,
"Your room is 34, and if you would like some direction -"

	"I can find my own way."  Tracer bluntly stated as he bolted in
the direction of the girls, fighting the urge to rip out the
woman's larynx.

	Tracer roamed the halls searching for the girls, but the
cramped hallways offered no help.  Tracer then reluctantly
decided to search the building floor by floor, a time consuming
but thorough activity.  He had reached the third floor when a
blast rocked the building's lower floors.  Tracer ran for the
nearest staircase as gun fire errupted.



------------------------------------------------------------    
    

	

	The building shook and the three girls looked at each other
knowing that trouble had found them.

	"I told you so."  Raye growled to Serena.

	"It's time for the Sailor Scouts to pay a visit to our
monster."  Mina pulled out a small orange pen and ducked into a
nearby room.

	"VENUS CRYSTAL POWER!" flashes of yellow and orange light
emitted from the room.  

	After the light dissapate, the blond girl emerged wearing a
tiara upon her head, clothed in an orange collar with a blue bow
attached to a white bodice and an orange pleaded skirt covering
the lower half of her body.  

	"Let's go!"  the girl smiled and flashed the other two her
patented 'V' sign with her index and middle finger.

	"Mina wait!"  Serena shouted after the girl before she ran
towards the source of the chaos.

	Another explosion rocked the building and Raye and Serena
blinked at each other and shrugged.

	"MARS CRYSTAL POWER!"  Raye shouted as she raised a red pen
over her head.

	"MOON CRISIS POWER!" Serena shouted as she raised her brooch
above her head.

	Both girls underwent a magical transformation, with flashes of
red, blue, and yellow lights surrounding the girls.  Their
clothing changed to ribbons and solidfied into bodices and
skirts.  Once the light dissapate around them, Raye now wore
uniforms similar to Mina's except for a purple bow and red
skirt.  Serena as well wore an outfit similar to the first two
except her for the blue and yellow trim on her white skirt, blue
collar, and pink heart shaped buckle on the waist of her bodice. 

	Both girls raced after Mina.  After running down the twisting
halls, they saw Mina peering out a hole created by an explosion.
 She observed the police below firing at the sky, searching for
their aggressor.  She looked into the sky as another blast shook
the building and a part of the wall nearby began to fall away.  

	"Venus," Serena addressed the girl by her Scout name, for fear
anyone was in earshot, "Do you see anything?"

	"No, I can't see anything."  the blond girl searched the sky
desperately, "It must be hidden or something."

	"Let me take care of this," Raye took out a small strip of
paper with kanji written along its length.

	She closed her eyes, focusing her spiritaul energy searching
for the presence hiding itself.  Once the paper became rigid,
Raye threw it at the empty space near the building.  The paper
then collided with the invisible perpetrator and crackle with
spiritual energy.

	Malance noticed his cloaking device had without any warning
shut down.  He could now be seen.  He scanned his exterior armor
and found a magically charged piece of paper attached to his
back, judging from his readings.  

	"Hey creep!"  the large metallic creature rotated in the air
facing the crater in the building and slowly drift toward the
three girls.

	Serena gulped silently to herself as this mechanical monster
methotically approached, "How dare you attack the only real
homes of the poor and unfortunate citizens of this city!  I am
Sailor Moon and-"

	At the mention of Sailor Moon, the metallic figure began
attacking.  All three girls scattered from the open area of the
building being obliterated by Malance.  Malance landed in the
open crater and inspected the area for any sign of survivors.  

	Suddenly Raye jumped out from her hiding place, extending her
hands.

	'Let's see what this guy is made of.'  she thought as she
shouted:

	"MARS FIRE IGNITE!" 

	A streak of fire directed itself towards the metallic figure. 
Malance quickly charged his thrusters and narrowly dodged the
attack.  Mina appeared from her concealment, shouting:

	"CRESENT BEAM SMASH!"      	

	A concentrated beam of light shot from the blonde girls finger
aimed at its attacker.  Malance swerved once more avoiding the
cross fire of the two magical girls' attacks.  Malance activated
his targeting system, and just as he had the black haired girl
in his sights he fired.  The projectile flew towards Raye at a
high velocity that she didn't have time to react.  

	"Mars!"  Serena grabbed her tiara, "MOON TIARA MAGIC!"

	Serena's tossed her tiara, now a glowing spinning disc toward
the projectile.   The collision caused a blinding flash
disbursting the projectile.  The flash died away and a charred
rose fell to  Raye's feet.  

	"How dare you prey upon young girls!" Everyone scanned the room
for its source.

	A man dressed in a black tuxedo, top hat, and cape gracefully
landed in the mist of the battle.  Malance got a good look at
the man, and noticed three roses clutched in his fist.  In swift
motion he tossed the bundle of roses, stem first, at the
humanoid machine quickly hitting their mark.  Malance struggled
to keep his trajectory stable as he accessed the damage the
roses inflicted.  Apparently these roses had a greater density
than he had anticipated, and added to that fact the man already
had produced a few more.  Malance grudgingly decided to retreat
and fight another day.  He knew the general would not be pleased.

	Once the metallic monstrosity disappeared from site, Serena ran
over to the mysteriously masked man and hugged him,
"Dari-er-Tuxedo Mask!  I thought were still in Osaka!"

	  The dark haired man smiled, "Luna called and convinced me
otherwise.  She felt that Sailor Moon was in need of all our
help."

	Serena smiled and hugged him tighter, for once her cat's
cynicism had proved fruitful.  

	Raye ignored the couple, peering out over the edge to see the
police and paramedics storming inside, more than likely looking
for injured.  

	"Hey guys.  I think we better book it."  Raye strongly urged.

	Mina looked down, noticing the great disorder below, "Uh, maybe
we should take the stairs."

	Everyone nodded in approval and cautiously reverted back to
their civilian clothing.  They quickly made their way down the
stairs as other panicked people joined them .  Once reaching the
ground floor, the authorities had ushered them out.  Outside the
group maneuvered through the crowd.  Serena clung to her dark
haired fiance as he squeezed her gently.

	"You know, Serena, I feel terrible about leaving town like
that,"  the young man's voice rung with sincerity, "So I
reserved us a spot at one of the best restaurants in town
tomorrow night."

	"What!?" Raye stopped dead in her tracks.

	"Oh my!  How romantic!"  Mina gushed.

	"Really Darien!?" Serena perked up and her eyes glazed over
from the surprise anouncement.

	The anouncement shocked her so, that she did not notice the
black haired man staring at the sky who nearly knocked her down.
   

	"Oh, I'm so sorry, uh sir."  Serena studdered.

	The black haired man had been too late for the battle and now
tried to figure out the trajectory Malance had flown.  Tracer
nonchantly brought his head down, and lazily looked at her face.
 Once looking at her face, he immediately gazed into her eyes,
as did she.  The man's dark brown eyes drew her in.  They drew
her so far in, she thought she could observe his very soul.  She
felt something odd from him.  Pain.  A pain similar to that of
Cindy.  And longing.  A longing for something, something he
wants desperately.

	The man broke the gaze.  He tightened his trench coat around
his body as he quickly went about his business.

	"How rude." Raye put her hands on her hips disapprovingly as
the man walked away.    

	"Yeah."  Serena seemed dazed.

	Darien turned her so he could face her, "Are you alright?"

	Serena shook her head and looked at her partner, "I guess, I
mean. . ."

	She looked down and noticed the crystal in her brooch glowing
brightly, "What!?"

	She covered the crystal with both her hands, perplexed as to
its strange behavior, "What is causing this?"



--------------------------------------------------------



	Tracer chatised himself for being so careless.  Now they would
be able to recognize him in public. 	  Tracer ducked into a dark
alley near the building and sorted out his emotions.  He needed
to recover from his high.  He leaned back and closed his eyes. 
The girl's eyes still were imprinted on Tracer's memory.  He
felt he could get lost in their blue hue, and let the calmness
engulf him.  It nearly subdued him, it comforted him that much. 
 He had loved the color blue, ever since he set his eyes upon
the blue eyes of . . . of. . .

	Tracer's mind immediately clicked back to his mission at hand,
revenge against the Society.  His eyes flashed open and noticed
the dark alley was now lit.  He tracked down the source of the
luminescence to the sword underneath his trench coat.  Tracer
stared in wonder at the sword's intensity, an intensity it did
not have before.  The spectacle caused Tracer to mumble:  

	"What is causing this?"  



End of Part 3

A few thank you's are in order:

Patrick Vera with supplying with plenty of
information about Japanese schools.

Lord Talon for being a devoted fan since day one.

Lady Jupiter for appreciating my work.

Kitiara for making my story look pretty.

Paul and LeVar Bouyer for being critical.

Auston and Todd for letting me know that yes people actually
read those stories archived at SM Romance.

And finally Rosie & Jeff because if it wasn't for them, this story would
really suck (or more than it already does, atleast).

All original characters are owned and copyrighted Bastion (c)1998 
And Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi and in America by DIC.

Thanks for reading, and please come again.

Bastion
bastion@ix.netcom.com