Please, feel free to C&C all chapters.

Disclaimer:  Sailor Moon is the creation of Naoka Takeuchi. Guyver is the
creation of Yoshiki Takya. No Money is being made from this and no such
intent should be inffered.

Chapter 4

Magneto: "Humans Suck. And stop staring at me with your mind!"
Xavier: "You're just jealous 'cause the Trekkies already love me."
-X-Men Hand Puppet Theater

Serena was sitting on the floor by the door, knees pulled up to her 
chest when Molly came home. Serena instantly noticed that her friend's 
face was wan and pale and her hands were shaking slightly.

"Serena? What are you doing here?"

"I needed to see you. There was something on the radio that I thought 
you should hear," Serena said as she held out the tape.

"Thanks," Molly said absently as she took it. "Come on in."

Molly's loft was sparsely furnished with most of the furniture pushed 
against the walls and one wall dominated by a row of huge windows that 
offered a view of some of the shorter buildings of the Tokyo skyline.

"Be right back," Molly said as she disappeared into the bathroom, 
leaving Serena to her own devices.

Near the windows was a small desk dominated by "Morris", the powerful 
computer that Molly and Rei Asamiya, the art half of the two-woman team 
that was responsible for "Notes from the Edge," a monthly comedy/drama 
manga chronicling the adventures of a nerdy alien trapped on Earth, used 
to give the artwork it's powerful colors and photorealistic feel.

Idly, Serena drifted over to the laptop set at a right angle to Morris. 
This one, dubbed "Nine Lives", a move which had sent Mina into 
hysterical laughter, was where Molly did the writing for the Manga and 
she reached over to the notepad peeking out from under a book on killer 
viruses. She knew the pad was where Molly put her ideas down on paper 
and if she could get a look at next month's plot. . .

"And just what do you think you're doing?" The question was asked in 
jest, but guilt, startlement, and perhaps the strained friendship that 
had existed between the two since Molly found out about Serena's big 
secret, was a factor, but Serena exploded with anger.

"I was just looking! Can you blame me for being curious?"

"I. . ." Molly said, taken back, then her eyes narrowed. "Well it is my 
stuff."

"Excuse me? Who got you hooked on manga in the first place? And for that 
matter, who was willing to talk to you when you first came here?"

"Well its not like I needed anyone!"

"Oh yes, I forgot. Americans can't admit they might be wrong, world 
might blow up!"

"Yeah, well Sailor Moon could save us, if she doesn't trip over her own 
two feet first!"

Serena bristled. "What?" she asked softly, her tone of voice dangerous.

"You heard me," Molly said, striking a pose. "In the name of the Moon, 
I'll punish you-whoops!" She finished the impression by pretending to 
trip over her own feet. "It's a wonder you ever got to the fight, let 
alone achieved victory."

"Yeah, well at least my-" Serena broke off as her eyes fell on the 
picture of Melvin and Molly on the nightstand and her mind shuddered 
back from the line she had been about to cross. "My bus back home will 
be at the stop soon," she finished lamely in a more normal tone of voice.

Molly's mouth twitched as she followed Serena's gaze to the picture, her 
eyes softening momentarily, before hardening as she turned to look back 
at her friend. "You should probably go then."

"Right, "Serena agreed as she left. It wasn't until she was in the 
elevator that she allowed herself to think about what she had almost 
done. 'I. . .I nearly insulted Melvin's memory,' she thought. 'Molly 
never would have-I never would have forgiven myself if I had done that.' 
Trembling, she exited the elevator and left the building.

#--#
It was some several hours later that Molly sat on her couch, the notepad 
on her lap covered in meaningless scribbles. Try as she might, she could 
not come up with a plot. The events at the lake kept sidetracking her.

"Hey, you in there?" Molly asked, tucking the pen in her hand behind her 
ear. "Kinsune?"

Silence.

Molly sighed. The Guyver had been quiet since it had told her it's name 
after they had touched that energy sphere containing the Kami, and that 
experience had left Molly with more questions then answers. Standing, 
she tossed the notepad onto the table and started to pace.

Maybe some music. Yeah, music was good.

Flipping on the stereo to a random station, she resumed pacing. What was 
she going to do? On the stereo, the music wound down and the DJ's voice 
smoothly sueged in.

"That was Chi Misato and the Heaven and Earth Band. Start saving ticket 
money, folks, AIC has confirmed that Chi will not only be voicing a role 
in the first Parallel Dual! Trouble Adventure movie, but that the H and 
E will be doing the entire score and soundtrack. The movie will be in 
theaters early next year. Oh, and this just in. Seems the mall is gonna 
be closed for a while. Apparently terrorists have set up shop in Tokyo 
Mall and according to reports, brought a youma along for the ride. 
Police have cordoned off the entire building to prevent further exposure 
to hallucinogenic gas. But don't lose hope, our favorite sailor-suited 
femme fatales are on the scene. Now, how about some Areosmith?"

"Shit!" Molly swore as she bolted out the door.

****************
"Supreme ACK!" Despite her reputation as a borderline psychopath, Lita 
Kino, currently in her guise as Sailor Jupiter, was actually a fairly 
well-mannered young lady. However, perhaps it was the window she broke 
when the youma threw her, or the dressing dummies that she knocked over, 
but she was inspired to invent several new four letter words, which she 
recited repeatedly as she got up.

Gathering her energies, she prepared to demonstrate why the power of 
Thunder was hers to command.

"Supreme whatda-" An orange and white clad form hurtled through the air 
and landed on her and both girls went down in a tangle of arms and legs.

"Oops," Venus said as she helped her comrade to her feet.

"Remind me. Why are we here again?"

"Stopping that," Venus said, pointing at the youma. It looked human, if 
you discounted the fact that it had four arms and that the resembalance 
to human ended at the waist. Instead, it was supported on spider legs, 
and was covered in some sort of biomechanical exoskeleton. A large gem 
was pasted to its forehead and was using it to fire some sort of 
destructo-ray.

"Oh, yeah." The sound of a battle cry attracted her attention.

"DOWN!" They hit the floor as white hot flames flared out, scorching the 
walls and ceiling. "Damnit, Mars, watch where you're aiming!" she called 
as the Senshi of Fire joined her teammates inside what had been a 
clothing store.

"Don't look at me," she protested, brushing broken glass off herself. 
"That thing moves faster then curry through the digestive track. I 
didn't even realize it hit me until I went through the window."

"YAHHHHHHH!" Sailor Moon put in as she came flying through the door, 
followed by Mercury.

Rushing to their side, they found that once again, Sailor Moon's ability 
to suffer injury without actually being injured had protected her once 
more. Mercury, however, had a hand to her side.

"Broken ribs," the blue-skirted Senshi said. "It has telekinetic 
abilities."

"Owwwwwww," Sailor Moon added.

"Peachy," Jupiter muttered. "Mars. Do what you can for them. Venus?"

"Right behind you." Jupiter stiffened. That wasn't Venus' voice. Slowly, 
she turned. The youma stood in the remains of the doorway. One of it's 
hands was closed around Venus' throat. Grinning sheepishly, the Senshi 
of Love gave Jupiter an apologetic wave.

"Why me?" Jupiter said, massaging her temples. "Why can't you guys bug 
someone else for once?"

"Excuse me?" Jupiter blinked. The youma was staring at her quizzically. 
"I'm sorry, did I break your train of thought?"

"Yes!"

"Oh my. Awfully sorry about that.  Please take all the time you need. I 
didn't mean to interrupt."

"Interrupt? Interrupt?!" Jupiter asked, wondering when she had boarded 
the eight-thirty to the Twilight Zone. "No, you didn't just interrupt, 
you dragged us from our beds. What is it with you guys? Why can't you 
attack at a decent hour?"

"I-"

"And if that's not enough," Jupiter continued as though the youma hadn't 
spoken. "You injure my friends!" She turned away dramatically to see 
Mars giving her a perplexed look. "Look at them! Lying, there, bleeding, 
perhaps broken. Their short lives perhaps seeing their end."

"Well, that is what I'm supposed to do-"

"Don't try to justify your crimes!" Jupiter shouted. She was improvising 
for all she was worth. "You came here! You committed vandalism in the 
mall! You-"

"Now hold on just a moment," the youma snapped, crossing one set of arms 
and with the other set, began to gesture, waving Venus around in the 
process. "I was created to do those things. I can hardly be held 
responsible for my actions if I am simply following an instinct that 
just happens to drive me to maim, kill, and destroy."

"Instincts can be overridden, or forgotten."

"And where did you hear a silly thing like that?"

"I just. . .I just know these things, okay?"

"And you're making claims based on unsubstantiated facts? That's very 
poor logic."

"No more poor then your refusal to take responsibility for your 
actions," Jupiter shot back as out of the corner of her eye, she saw 
Mars sneaking along the dubious cover provided by the toppled clothing 
racks, a ward in hand. 'Great Father, what did I do to deserve this?' 
She thought as she sought to keep the Youma's attention.

At that point, Mars leapt from hiding, ward in her outstretched hand. 
Whirling, the youma caught her by the neck as well and the piece of 
paper fluttered to the floor.

"What's this?" The youma asked, looking from Mars, to the ward, to 
Jupiter. "Say, you wouldn't have been trying to distract me would you?"

"No. Of course not," Jupiter protested, placing her hands behind her 
back. "That would be silly and, not to mention, completely dishonest." 
The energy for a thunderbolt gathered in her cupped palms. "Which we, 
the Senshi, are above."

"Yes," the youma's tone was dry, almost sarcastic. "Well, look, its been 
awfully fine chatting with you, but I'm afraid I really am going to have 
to kill you and your friends now. Nothing personal you understand, but I 
have to make a good impression, this being my first day on the job and 
all."

"Of course," Jupiter replied, the fine hair on her arm standing on end 
as she wrapped the thunderbolt around her fist. She was only going to 
get one chance to put it down the youma's throat and fry its guts. The 
question was when to strike.

"I'm so glad we could understand each other," the youma said, starting 
forward. "I-eh?" It looked back and then howled in accompaniment to the 
sound of something wet tearing. Dropping Mars and Venus, it whirled to 
face whatever was behind it and Jupiter had to fight a sudden bout of 
nausea. The youma's entire rear had been literally torn away and ichor 
and entrails dripped and hung from the gaping hole.

And deep inside the hole, she could see its heart.

"JUPITER THUNDERBOLT SMASH!" she cried, as she hurled the thunderbolt 
forward.

Like an arrow, the ball of energy flew forward and struck its target.

The youma roared and then exploded into dust.

As the ash fell, she saw Warrior standing there, fingers coated in the 
youma's blood.

"Thank you," Jupiter said.

Warrior turned and walked away.

"Hey! Jupiter yelled, running up to her and grabbing her arm. Warrior 
spun, one hand raised to strike, a ball of energy forming in the palm. 
"Whoa, whoa," Jupiter protested, letting go of Warrior's arm and 
stepping back. "I just want to talk."

"About?"

"Back there. That makes twice you saved our lives. We really do 
appreciate it and we thank you."

"Your thanks mean little to me. You are only slightly less responsible 
for my creation then they are."

"Us? How?" Jupiter blinked and in that split second, Warrior vanished.

****************
"We're responsible for her creation?" Amy asked as they walked along the 
street the next morning.

"That's what she said," Lita replied. "Just slightly less responsible 
then the youma are."

"Weird," Raye said. "Wonder what she meant by that?"

"Maybe she's a youma," Mina offered.

"A youma?"

"Yeah. Some kind of prototype that was made to stop us and instead went 
rogue."

"A rogue, prototype, youma," Raye said with heavy sarcasm. "Which just 
happens to look like something out of a manga by Yoshiki Takaya?"

"Well, yeah."

Without changing expression, Raye reached over and slapped Mina on the 
back of her head. "Try again."

"Actually, Mina may be right, Raye," Amy said. "Warrior's behavior 
pattern is consistent with that of someone out for revenge. In both 
cases, she's waited until we were on the verge of being killed before 
intervening. It's entirely probable that she is saving our lives for no 
other reason then to taunt whomever is sending these youma."

"Well that makes me feel better," Lita said, rolling her eyes heavenward.

"It wasn't intended to," Amy continued. "If we continue the line of 
logic that Warrior is some sort of rogue youma who is seeking revenge 
against her creators, she could very well come after us once she is done 
with her brethren. We are, at least in her view, also responsible for 
her creation."

"Then we'll just have to stop her first," Lita said grimly. "Next time 
she makes an appearance. . ." she held up her hand where the others 
could see it and clenched it into a fist.

After a moment, the others nodded agreement.

*****
Chapter 5

As Lita walked through the gym early that afternoon after her workout, 
she saw Molly whaling away on a punching bag. Dressed in sweatpants and 
a lycra top, sweat gleaming on her skin, Molly appeared to be trying to 
wear herself out.

"Molly?" Lita asked, concerned.

Molly didn't answer, she hadn't heard Lita, because her thoughts were in 
a whirl. When she was fighting as Warrior, it was like she was someone 
else. Someone cold, determined. The need to kill flowed through her 
veins whenever she activated it. Was it years of pent up rage? 
Frustration? Or was the damn thing taking her over? And if it was, why 
did it suddenly change voices after touching that stasis field?

Questions, so many questions, and they just kept piling up- "There's too 
many damn questions!" she yelled as she lashed out. The bag flew off its 
mountings and across the room where it hit the wall, breaking open.

"Holy. . ." Blinking at the sound of another voice, Molly turned to see 
Lita standing there open mouthed and further on, the other inhabitants 
of the gym gathering nearby, attracted by her yell and the sound of the 
bag hitting the wall. Beyond that, she could see the manager approaching.

"Aw hell," Molly muttered.

*****
"That was some punch," Lita said. She and Molly were in the Gym's cafe, 
bottles of juice before them.

"Yeah," Molly replied, staring at the tabletop. Even though the bag had 
been due for replacement anyways, Molly had still had to pay for the 
replacement. She hated spending money.

"What's eating you?" Lita asked. Bored with being subtle, she had fallen 
back on something she was more familiar with. Blunt directness.

"Got a lot of questions," Molly replied.

"What kind of questions?"

"No offense, Lita, but I don't want to talk about them right now."

"Fair enough." Lita glanced around and then hunched over the table, 
speaking in a near whisper. "Did Serena tell you what happened last 
night?"

"No," Molly replied mimicking the move. "We're. . .not on speaking terms 
at the moment."

"We ran into that Warrior lady-the one we told you about who beat up the 
youma at the Gardens? Anyway, we ran into her last night at the mall."

"Y-you did?"

"Yeah, and get this: she's some sort of prototype youma who's gone 
rogue." Molly had been sipping her juice when Lita had said and as a 
result, did a cinema-quality spit take.

"R-rogue youma?"

"Well, Amy says its only a theory, but it makes sense to me."

"Rogue youma?" Molly asked again.

Lita nodded. "Yep. That's the theory." With that, she repeated the 
morning's line of logic that had led to this conclusion. "So the next 
time she appears," Lita said, smacking her fist into her open palm. "We 
nail her."

"But what if she's not a youma?" Molly asked.

"What else could she be?"

Molly was saved from having to answer as her watch went off.

"What's that for?"

"Business meeting. Darien stumbled on the deal of a lifetime and we have 
to decide whether to take it."

"You are so lucky," Lita said as they started walking towards the 
changing room. "You have your own company, you set your own hours, must 
be nice."

"Nice?" Molly repeated with a derisive snort. "Lotus is a bottomless pit 
of energy and time. As for luck. . ." she trailed off. "Luck was Darien 
able to convince the Trustees of the Shields Foundation that our manga 
was worth handing over the seed money to start a publisher just to get 
it out. Luck was having him agree to be our CEO. Without him, we 
probably would have been bought out several times by the bigger houses 
in hostile takeovers. By the time we're done with operational costs and 
salaries, Lotus usually only breaks even. That's why this meeting is so 
important. With this new money, we can start branching out and hiring 
young artists who are looking for a home for their creations. Plus, Amy 
and Raye are willing to sign on as Financial VP and Editor in Chief. 
That will keep me and Rei free to work on Notes."

"Woah."

"Yeah. The plan is to eventually have many mangas filled with different 
characters all existing in the same universe." Molly grinned. "And each 
and every one will be published by Lotus Inc." She pushed open the door 
to the locker room. "But that's not the best part."

"Oh?"

"Not only does the deal include investment money, but they are saying 
the A word."

"A word?"

"Anime," Molly said, grinning maniacally. "Lita, the investor is 
Matsudai Animation!"

"Holy shit!" Lita exclaimed. M.A. was one of the oldest, and, according 
to some, the first animation house in Japan. They had been around for 
years.

"Yeah, that was my reaction," Molly replied, pulling off her top with 
one hand while opening her locker with the other. "And as much as I want 
to celebrate, it's all talk right now."

"True enough," Lita agreed. "Hey, what are those scars from?"

"Scars?"

"Yeah, two of 'em, right there below the base of your neck."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They look like little crescent moons."

"Dunno. Probably birthmarks or something."

The conversation soon turned to other things and they chatted amicably 
as Molly finished dressing and headed out to the parking lot.

As they approached her bike, Molly suddenly stiffened and sprinted 
across the parking lot to the exit. She stood there like a dog hearing a 
high pitched noise, staring at something across the street.

"What's wrong?" Lita asked as she came running up behind her. Molly 
didn't answer and Lita followed her gaze to across the street, squinting 
as the sun shone into her eyes. Standing in front of a window was a very 
familiar looking young man dressed in black. Then he was obscured by a 
rush of people. When she could see the window again, the young man was 
gone.

"Crud," Lita muttered and then turned as something hit the pavement. 
Molly lay there on the asphalt, out cold. "Double crud."

*****
Prince Diamant was brooding. Twice now the Guyver unit had interfered 
and twice had it brutally destroyed the hybrids. He could almost admire 
the ruthlessness which the host possessed.

"A shame, really," he said.

"What's a shame?" Beryl asked. His Queen looked up from her crystal ball.

"That the host of the Guyver unit is an enemy," Diamant replied. "Their 
ruthlessness would make them a powerful ally. Instead, they will have to 
be destroyed."

"And perhapss I can help with that," said a voice as something came 
bouncing out of the shadows to roll to a stop at their feet. It was 
Safiru's head. Moments later, a cloaked and hooded figure stepped 
forward.

"My name isss Emissssary," it said. "My employerssssss wish to do 
business with you." A clawed hand emerged from the cloak and indicated 
the severed head. "Conssssider my presssence here our resssume and 
that," it indicated the severed head. "Our qaulifications."

"I see," Diamant said as he leaned back in his chair. "Please, 
continue." He poured himself a glass of wine as the one called Emissary 
began to speak. 'And when our business is concluded,' Nemisis' Prince 
thought. 'I will string you and your masters up by your innards for 
laying your hands on my brother.'

*****
When Molly awoke, she found herself staring at a wooden ceiling. She was 
lying on a futon and a cold cloth was on her forehead. "Wh-where?"

"You're at Raye's temple," Lita replied. "It was the closest place to 
the gym."

"What happened?"

"You tell me," Lita said and then told her what she had done.

"I don't remember doing that," Molly said when Lita had finished. "Oh 
crap!" She sat up. "The deal!"

Lita planted her hand on Molly's chest and pushed her back down. "Relax, 
I already called Darien. You got a bunch of scripts to do, a few million 
yen in the bank and a buttload of papers to sign." She poured some tea.

"How long have I been out?"

"A few hours. Raye and I have been taking turns playing nursemaid." She 
passed Molly the tea. "It's almost midnight."

"I see, thank you," Molly replied as she took a sip. Then her eyes 
widened and she spat the tea out. "How much yen?" she asked 
incredulously.

*****
Molly sighed as she sat down on the temple steps. The others had long 
since gone to sleep, but she couldn't. The gap in her memory from 
leaving the gym to waking up in the temple bothered her more then she 
would like to admit. "What's happening to me?" she asked the dim stars 
overhead. "Why can't I remember?"

'You may not want to,' said the familar, dry voice in her head.

"Kinsune?" Molly gasped.

'No, not exactly. Kinsune was the Kami in the sphere, I'm. . .I suppose 
a copy will suffice.'

"A copy?"

'It's complicated. Touching that sphere gave me a lot to think about and 
that's why I've been quiet for so long. What did I miss?'

"Hoo boy," Molly sighed.

*****
'Interesting,' was all the Guyver said when Molly finished. 'And you 
have no memory of that?'

"Nope," Molly confirmed. "One second I'm leaving the Gym, next thing I 
know, I'm staring at Raye's ceiling."

'Troubling.'

"Yeah," Molly said. She was both pleased and upset.  Pleased that the 
Guyver was speaking to her again, and upset because in speaking to her, 
the Guyver had reminded her of just how much she had missed it. As long 
as she heard that voice, she could never be sure of herself. Ever. She 
had no doubt the Guyver was real, but it talking to her? That was 
another matter entirely. 'Maybe I am losing my mind,' she thought. 'God, 
I miss Melvin.'

-Steve "Komodo" T.
http://livejournal.com/users/pandoras_closet
http://livejournal.com/community/aberdawnknights



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