Quicksilver's Quill Offers
Strength of the Heart
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
standard disclaimers
AN: earlier parts can be found at my website (see
sig for addy), or by visiting CROSSROADS xover
fanfic archive.
Feedback is urged, craved, droolked over... well, you
get the idea.
Part Two
Makoto walked into the Crown Ice Cream Parlor,
and was surprised to see the rest of the Senshi,
with the exception of Usagi, sitting at a table.
>From the half-eaten portions that sat in front of
them, it looked like they had been there for a
while. Minako was the first to notice her
presence as she approached them.
"Mako-chan!" she cried out. "Where have you
BEEN?" she demanded.
"We finished early and decided to come here,"
Rei said. "Usagi's still busy, but I thought you
said you had no plans," Rei continued, almost
accusingly.
"I went shopping and made a new friend," Makoto
answered, sliding into the seat beside Minako.
Unazuki, Motoki's younger sister, appeared as
though by magic, taking Makoto's order with
experienced ease.
"Was he cute?" Minako teased.
"Very," Makoto admitted, unable to deny that.
Ryuuen hadn't just been handsome- he had been
beautiful.
The other Senshi looked slightly surprised.
"He must have looked like your old sempai then,"
Rei laughed.
That caused Makoto to break out into gales of
laughter herself. She laughed so hard her sides
hurt, while her friends looked on in concern.
Finally she brushed her watery eyes with her left
hand as she tried to speak. "Kami-sama, no!
Ryuuen-kun is the farthest thing from my old
sempai!"
"Ryuuen-kun?" Minako echoed. "You seemed to
have gotten very close!"
Makoto gave her a smile. "There was just
something about him- I doubt I can explain it.
It was like- like talking to one of you guys- an
instant friendship, a complete understanding of
each other."
The others smiled at Makoto's enthusiasm for her
new friend, though they were worried. Ever
since they had become Senshi, everything
eventually came back to their duty. They wished
Makoto the best, but past experience was finally
making them wary of new people. Minako hoped
that it wouldn't lead to paranoia, but the way
things usually went for them, a little more
caution wouldn't be such a terrible thing.
The four fell into easy gossip, Ami mentioning
that Taiki had just sent a message letting them
know that their planet was well on the way to
recovery. Makoto was just about to ask how
Yaten was when they heard the all-too-familiar
sound of screaming from outside the window.
They exchanged weary looks, trying to decide
whether this was an old threat or a brand new
one. Unfortunately, Usagi wasn't there, which
meant that they would have to deal with this
themselves. The four stood up and left, Ami
remembering to leave enough money to cover their
desserts. She made a mental note to collect
from her friends later, then wondered why she was
thinking such a petty thing when people were
being attacked.
The quartet ducked into a convenient ally, and
after a rather interesting light show, four
Senshi emerged, running with their magically
enhanced bodies towards the screams. Rei
skidded around a corner and came to an abrupt
halt. Of course, the rest of the Senshi, unable
to stop in time, piled on top of her, and they
ended up in a jumbled mass.
"Why did you stop?" Ami squealed from her place
in the middle of the pile.
"Look at that THING!" Rei retorted. "Looks
like we have a new enemy. And of course /Odango
Atama/ isn't around with one of those fancy wands
of hers to help us!"
The other three stopped squiggling and stared.
The creature that was wandering down the street
was a weird amalgamation of a bear, a computer
and a girl. Every few steps it would grab the
nearest person and stare at them intently.
Obviously disappointed each time, it carelessly
tossed the person aside, seeking out a new
victim.
Rei managed to get herself untangled from her
fellows and raced towards the monster. "Mars
Flame Sniper!" she called, pointing her arrow at
the creature and letting it fly.
The creature hollered angrily and spun away from
the person it had just been about to grab. "How
dare you interrupt this peaceful day! I, Sailor
Mars, shall punish you!" she announced, pointing
a graceful hand at the monstrosity.
"And so will we!" the other three announced
striking poses that look ridiculous but actually
prepared them for the attack.
They heard chuckling from behind them, and
turned around to see four people approaching,
three men in Chinese clothing and a girl who had
her hair up in odangoes. "Who are you?" Mercury
asked, worried. Were these the controllers of
the monsters?
The men were all handsome in their own unique
ways. One of them had an untamed looked about
him, and moved like a wild cat ready to spring.
His hair was a brilliant orange, and his clothes
were bright as well. Earrings dangled from his
lobes, and Minako privately thought deserved the
title bishounen.
The second man was tall; tall enough that even
Jupiter had to crane her head to see his face.
The strong jaw showed a stoic nature, and Mercury
saw the compassion in his eyes- surely these
weren't the enemy, her instincts told her.
The last was the most interesting. His face
was smiling in a most unnatural fashion, and he
was draped in a strange piece of cloth. His
hair was a soft blue, yet in spite of his smiling
face, Rei's intuition told her that he was
probably the most dangerous of the group.
The men exchanged glances before the blue haired
man spoke. "We are the Suzaku seishi, no da...
we heard some screams and decided to see if we
can help."
The carrot head laughed. "Aside from the
desperate need of fashion consultants," he
laughed. The Senshi fumed silently, but were
rewarded by the girl smacking him upside the
head.
"Tasuki! They are the Senshi- they're
superheroes- of course they have a different
style. Besides, how many men do you know have
both their ears pierced?" she asked him.
"Um, this is very nice, but that monster is
attacking, and we really need to stop it,"
Jupiter said. "For your own safety, we have to
advise you to get out of the way."
The men flushed slightly, but the red headed
bounded ahead, throwing a challenging smirk back
at his compatriots. "I'm not going to listen to
a bunch of women!" he said, withdrawing what
looked like a fan from where it was tied on his
back. "Rekka Shi-EN!" he said, and the Senshi
watched in amazement as fire flared from it,
striking the monster in the face. "One cooked
monster, the Tasuki special!" he said lightly,
laughing as he struck an arrogant pose.
The Senshi stared at him for a second,
especially Mars, who was feeling a touch put out.
SHE was suppose to be the one with fire powers,
not some.... upstart! "Mars Flame Sniper!" she
called again, using her most powerful attack,
launching it at the monster with an elaborate
gesture. The monster screamed and went reeling
backwards. "Now THAT'S fire," she said.
Tasuki looked at her, contemplating the many
things he could say. Opening his mouth to
speak, he was about to throw out a viscous insult
at her, but was interrupted when the girl he had
arrived with screamed. "It's getting back up!"
she yelled urgently.
"We don't have time for this!" Venus said.
"You two can play your silly little one-upmanship
games later, but right now we need to get rid of
that thing!" she said, blowing a kiss into her
hand, and flinging it out as she named her
attack. The monster went reeling, and its eyes
focused on Venus. Racing forward, it grabbed
her around the waist, lifting her off her feet.
In the midst of combat, it stared intensely at
her, as though it was looking for something.
The blonde warrior struggled, trying to break
free.
The blue haired man mumbled an incantation,
sending out a sharp burst of energy from his
staff. It struck Venus, and the others cried
out in horror as she vanished. A second later
she reappeared beside the spell caster, dazed.
Her knees gave way beneath her, and she stared at
the man in amazement.
"What was THAT!" Venus asked.
Mercury was wondering the same thing, wishing
she could spare the time to pull her computer out
and examine their unexpected allies. Still, the
monster was closing in, and she had to help.
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" she yelled. She felt
the familiar surge of water as her harp formed,
sending out crippling waves of liquid towards the
monster.
The monster had been about to attack, but the
liquid froze it dead in its tracks.
"We're going to have to combine attacks!" Venus
said, regaining both her composure and her feet.
"We can't use the planet attack without Sailor
Moon or the Outer Senshi!" Mars said.
"Me and you, Jupiter and Mercury. That should
damage it seriously enough!"
The blue haired man nodded. "Tasuki, when they
attack, you and I should as well," he advised.
"One the count of three, then!" Venus said as
the monster started towards them again. "One,
two, THREE!"
The monster didn't stand a chance. It went
reeling backwards, assaulted by electric water,
super-heated metal, a wave of flame, and a blast
of chi. Torn to bits under the assault, it
froze for one long second before shattering into
a brilliant display of stars, screaming, "Fate!"
The two groups stared at each other.
Finally the brown-haired girl broke the silence.
"I'm so pleased to meet you!" she squealed,
clapping her hands giddily. "The Sailor Senshi!
But where's Sailor Moon- isn't she your leader?"
"Huh," Tasuki said scornfully. "Typically
woman- chickening out. Probably got lost trying
to find the place.
Mars glared at the flame-haired man who had just
dared insult her princess. It was true that
Usagi's mental facilities weren't what they
should be, but no one should point it out except
her. "And who, exactly, are you, seishi?" she
snapped in an irritated voice. "You certainly
don't look local," she declared, waving a gloved
hand at the man's outlandish clothing.
"Well, at least I'm wearing enough to actually
count as clothing," he retorted.
Jupiter bit her lip. These people had just
helped them against some kind of THING, and now
Rei was ready to get into a knockdown dragged out
fight. Mars was an excellent warrior and friend,
but that temper of hers was going to get her in
trouble. She saw Rei's purple eyes flash and
sigh mentally, bracing herself for a show. She
wasn't disappointed.
"You-you bastard!" she spat angrily.
He tsked. "Such filthy words from a women."
The other people in his group turned and looked
at him. "Are you feeling alright?" asked the
tallest of them with a strong, but strangely
quiet voice.
"Never better. Let's leave these creatures
alone." He turned and started to walk away.
Rei's eyes flared angrily. "I'm not done with
you, /baka/!"
"But I'm done with you," he retorted with a
laugh, waving the fan that had spat flames.
Suddenly Jupiter felt a touch of premonition.
She looked at Venus and Mercury and saw that they
were aware of the same situation. "Mars-"
Mercury began to say, but was too late.
Mars' arm was already moving in a circle and her
voice started to call the name of her earlier
attack, "Burning Mandala!"
The two groups watched as flaming projectiles
hit the red-haired man. Rather then cook him
entirely, it just singed him around the edges.
"Kuso!" he yelled, spinning around to confront
his attacker.
"NOW I'm done," Rei said haughtily, spinning
around, stalking away in her high heels.
The Senshi watched her for a second, then
followed.
Behind them, Jupiter heard the other men start
laughing, and the only female in their group
spoke. "I wish Taka had seen that!" a young
voice piped merrily. "Looks like you finally got
some of your own medicine, Tasuki!"
"Shut up, Miaka," the red head replied. "I
HATE WOMEN!"
END PART TWO
=====
Quicksilver
Lady of the Labyrinth
Full time student and part-time writer
"You haven't lived until you've danced the dagger's edge."
http://www.homestead.com/quicksilverslabyrinth
http://www.method.org/gundam
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