Typical Header Stuff: Even though most of these give you about as much coverage as a g-string on a stripper, I'm going to play it safe and include it anyway... Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all characters contained within this work are the copyright of Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, Kodansya, DiC, and probably lots of other big people I'm forgetting. I am using them without permission, but suing me because of it would be futile as I have nothing. Also Certain characters mentioned in the prologue are the copyrighted property of John De Chance. Any characters that are not copyrighted by other people are my own creation, and therefore copyrighted by myself... which means that if for some REALLY weird reason you decided you wanted to use them, (and why would you decide that?!?!?!?) you need to write me for permission. Comments, Criticisms, and flames welcome... Starrngr@aol.com However, due to a large amount of spam I have received in the past, I have blocked off mail from some domains. Sorry if your one of them. And don't expect me to reply to mail that's nothing but Flames! See the Character Bio for information on key people to this Fic.... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Wanderer: Wandering Moon: Episode 7: Alliances and Enemies Juuban district was held in a grip of fear. For the past two weeks, cases of the dreaded Juuban syndrome had been popping up left and right, every other day or so. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the cases either. Medical doctors hunted for a common denominator in all the cases but found none. The only thing victims had in common were being in a particular place, and that place and time changed from outbreak to outbreak. Many people began to stay at home as much as possible. Some, who could afford it, looked into moving away. Still others decided that they were not going to let fear affect their life and carried on as normal. Gathered that Friday afternoon at the Cherry Hill Temple, (As it was popularly known, for some reason. Its real name was the Hikawa Shrine) were another group who knew exactly what was going on. The purpose of the meeting was to decide what to do about it. To a casual observer, it would seem strange that such a task fell to five young teenage girls. To those who knew the whole truth (of which there were seven... the same seven present at this meeting), the item of paramount concern was that they had been unable to stop the attacks before the attackers had come and gone. "There has to be a way to counteract these latest attacks," declared Luna. "I suppose it was inevitable that our enemies would change their strategy, but its most distressing that they finally did so." "I agree that the timing is inconvenient at best", concurred Artemis, "but what did you expect? For them to just blindly attack only during times when we were able to stop them?" "Why they changed their patterns isn't important," declared Lita Kino thumping the low table with her fist, "what's important is finding a way to stop them!" "Which is why we are here," Luna reminded everyone. "About the best thing I've come up with so far is for the girls to come down with something nasty and contagious," observed Artemis. "There isn't any way we could pull that off," noted Amy. "We would have to bring our parents in on our secret. There is no way we could pretend to be sick for a week or more without the school telling our parents about it anyway." "Ugh. I don't even want to think about what my folks would say about that!" noted Serena. "Especially since I failed another test today. Dad would probably ground me for a year," she sighed. "And that would put a serious crimp in your ability to conduct sailor business," added Luna. "Another test?" questioned Mina. "I thought Thunders-sensei gave you some drills to help you with your problems." "That assumes odango-atama here remembers to do them," snorted Raye in reply. "That's not true," countered Amy. "Serena does remember to do her drills, because I help her with them. But you can't expect miracles so soon. If for no other reason, she has a bit of background to catch up on, that she learned incorrectly in the first place." "And Serena's learning disabilities are not the topic of this meeting," Luna chided primly. "We still need a way to be able to counter this new attack pattern." "Maybe if everyone took a turn at being sick?" wondered Artemis, still trying to come up with a decent plan. "It wouldn't be quite as noticeable." "It would still require parental notes for those days," Mina responded. "And it wouldn't work for very long, cause the school administrators would get curious about a student who is always absent one day a week." "I think it would be rather too dangerous, anyway," Amy noted. "They have had several successful attacks with which to gain energy. That would make the youma that much stronger and more dangerous. A lone scout trying to fight one of them could get seriously hurt, or even killed." "But it wouldn't have to be for too long," objected Raye. "Just long enough to let the rest of us know where they are so we can help out." "That's assuming we can sneak out of class, too." noted Lita. "A few lengthy 'potty' breaks and I doubt the teachers would let us out of their sight!" "Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll close the schools," bubbled Serena. "An extended vacation would just be so cool!" "I don't know about that, Serena," noted Amy. "It could have an adverse affect on our grades." "I don't see how it could make Serena's grades any worse than they are", observed Raye. "Hey! I am trying. And those drills Thunders-sensei gave me are helping. Just not enough yet," replied Serena in a wavering tone, clearly about to burst into tears. "Its a nice thought, but we cant count on it happening," declared Luna. "We need some sort of plan to handle this in case they don't." "You know, suddenly I'm not feeling to well," commented Lita with a grin. "You don't suppose its a case of Juuban syndrome? One that might take a week or more to get over?" Amy looked up and nodded in agreement with what Lita was suggesting. "I think she has a point," she decided. "Of all of us, she would have the least trouble pulling it off. After all..." Any further comment Amy might have made was silenced by a discreet jab to the ribs by Mina. "After all," Mina picked up, to divert the conversation away from Lita's dead parents, "Lita is the strongest fighter of all of us. She would have the best chance of slowing these creeps down until the rest of us arrive and Serena can moondust em without getting hurt." "I don't really like this," Serena objected. "Amy just said it could be dangerous, and I don't think I could live with myself if Lita got hurt doing this." "If you have a better idea, lets hear it," replied Luna. Serena thought for a long moment and then hung her head, admitting defeat. "I don't like it that much either, Serena," she continued, "but for now its the only plan we have. You're going to have to accept the fact that sometimes people you care about must go in harm's way." "That doesn't mean I have to like it," grumbled Serena. Then an idea struck and her normal exuberant personality re-emerged. "Hey, why don't we go out and catch a movie together then? It would be just the thing to get our minds off this problem. I hear they have a new movie from America opening tonight." "How can you think of something like that at a time like this?" Demanded Raye. "Actually, its a very good idea." countered Amy. "It would give Lita a valid excuse for having come down with Juuban syndrome." Raye glared at Amy for a moment, and then hung her head in defeat. "GREAT!" exulted Serena. "This is going to be fun!" * * * * * * * * * Cabelite sat back in the room he used as an office and smiled. For a cripple, the Tinkerer had been amazingly perceptive. Over the past two weeks, he had been able to raid for energy almost at will. This had increased the power of his forces to an acceptable level. In fact, he would have been quite near having enough energy to awaken his queen's precious Negaforce. Not that the Negaforce had been that much use against these scouts anyway, according to Tinkerer. In that, Cabelite had no faith in his partner. How could that man know what had happened unless he was there? At any rate, Cabelite rather didn't care. The Negaverse was closed to him, an appearance there little better than a death sentence. Beryl had a long memory, after all, and he doubted even bringing her a copious amount of energy would appease her. Of course, if Tinkerer was right, Beryl didn't exist anymore. Cabelite was here, in this place, and he had a plan. This was good enough for him. Their plans were proceeding forward, with little hitches along the way. Aside from the Super Youma project, the Tinkerer was trying to train youma in the use of simple technology. The only success in that area to date had been in arming Youma, but was mixed at best. Most were capable of summoning a blast attack as it was, and so didn't care, and those who couldn't did not seem to comprehend the idea of pointing the weapon at the ENEMY. Undaunted, Tinkerer was trying something new. A number of spyders had been converted to act as remote units. These spyders were more heavily armed because most of their internal processing and sensors had been removed. Instead, they would be controlled by youma using various verbal commands and a set of strange gloves and goggles. In practice, this seemed to be working, unless the youma got excited An excited youma tended to trash the control units. Tonight they would put this new possibility to the test. Cabelite saw this test as a perfect chance to eliminate one or both of those that opposed him. He would attack tonight, out of pattern, at a place with most people he could find. This would be sure to attract either the scouts or the Star Ranger. If the Star Ranger appeared, the youma would strike from hiding and destroy him. But if the Scouts appeared instead, the spyders would be sent in to destroy them while his youma remained safe. It was, he felt, his most diabolical plan since he had arrived in this place. * * * * * * * * * * Micheal Thunders stopped for a moment in his preparations for going out and looked at the display on the screen. On one side was a picture of Serena Tsukino, and the other a digitally enhanced picture of Sailor Moon. While the facial features were not very clear, FRED felt it was obvious from everything else. "OK, I'll admit that they do look awful alike. That doesn't prove a darn thing FRED. There must be thousands of girls in this town who would match up." He decided, then returned his attention to getting dressed. "Maybe, but the biggest clue is her hairstyle. I've taken a sample. I've monitored every crowd shot in print and on television for the past two weeks. I've sampled over ten thousand different people. No one but Serena Tsukino and Sailor Moon wear their hair like that. No one." "A sample does not always represent the entire population FRED," Micheal retorted. "Its close enough for statistical modeling, and you know it. No one else in Tokyo wears their hair like that," FRED replied, continuing to try and drive the point home. "Oh come on FRED. Your sample must be skewed somehow. The odds of only one person in Tokyo wearing her hair that way is ridiculous. And the odds of that person also being one of the two students I work most closely with..." "Are a lot less than you think," FRED interrupted. "One of the other things I have found out while I was investigating was that odds here are much different. Its taken a while, but I think I know why. Apparently, when Queen Serenity banished the Negaverse after the destruction of the Moon Kingdom, she sealed up this planets magic sources. There is a huge one here, under Juuban, and after all these years the pressure on the seal is causing it to start to leak. And that leak has created a zone of skewed probabilities. This means that if anything weird is going to happen, its generally happen here, in Tokyo in general and in Juuban in specific," FRED claimed. Micheal looked at Fred's apartment terminal, his tolerance for acceptance clearly exceeded. "Well, congratulations FRED. You've just figured out why Godzilla always flattens Tokyo. I am going to go and pick up Patricia, and we are going to go out, and I don't want to hear a word about this for the rest of the weekend, GOT IT?" Fred's response was a silent acceptance. "Good." The way Micheal slammed the door, FRED decided this was going to take yet a bit more convincing. * * * * * * * * * * Patricia snuggled into Micheal's arm. Granted, this American movie wasn't quite up to her standards for a romantic evening, still, Micheal seemed to be enjoying a taste of his homeland. Most people clung to the myth of "Juuban Syndrome." She knew better, having been attacked herself several times in the past. Still, one didn't admit to such a thing in public if you didn't want a long stay in a room with padded walls. She had been nervous for a moment at first, because of the size of the crowds, but she told herself she was just being foolish. The creatures that were attacking Juuban now were making their attacks during the day, not at night. Micheal had waited until the end of the credits before heading for the exit. The only other people in the theater were a group of five girls, arguing loudly as they made their way out of the theater. Patricia recognized one voice in particular and winced. Micheal noticed it to, obviously, because he rolled his eyes at the ceiling and muttered something about Godzilla. "Good evening, Ms. Tsukino, ladies," he commented as they caught up with the slow moving girls. "Eep," was Serena's first comment as she realized who was behind them. "Good evening Thunders-sensei!" she stammered, sweatdropping as she worried what she was going to say when he asked about her homework. Fortunately, he turned his attention to Amy, instead. "I see Ms. Tsukino finally got you to relax a bit, Ms. Mizuno," Micheal noted. "It wasn't easy," Lita broke in. "I had to hide the book she brought with her." At this comment, Amy began blushing furiously. Micheal only noticed this peripherally, as his attention turned instead to the feeling of a steady glare, coming from the raven haired girl with a decided preference for red. It only took a moment to recognize her as well. "Ms. Hino, isn't it? I believe you answered my questions at the shrine a few weeks ago?" Raye acknowledged this with a curt nod. As Micheal began to turn his attention to the other blonde in the group, the sound of screaming began to drift in from the lobby. "Uh oh... that does NOT sound good," he declared out loud and began shepherding everyone towards a emergency exit. The five scouts looked at each other, but allowed themselves to be herded out the emergency exit rather than jeopardize their scout identities. After reaching the outside, and relative safety, Micheal pointed the direction to the bus stop to the girls, while he lead Patricia in the other direction. Once out of sight of each other, the scouts transformed and leapt to the roof of the theater. After a moment, Micheal sent Patricia ahead to his car, while he ducked back around a corner, claming to want to make sure the girls got to safety. Instead, he shimmered into his Star Ranger form and snack through the deserted theater towards the lobby. * * * * * * * * * * A roof access hatch allowed the scouts to quickly make their way down into the projection booth, and from there into the lobby. No-one was surprised by the discovery of a group of youma surrounding a large group of people, obviously taking their time about draining them, enjoying the look of panic on the faces of their victims. So intent were they on their task, they didn't notice the scouts until they had leapt to the top of the refreshment counter. "The theater is a place to forget the real world's problems!" shouted Sailor Moon. "For denying these people that escape I will not forgive you. In the name of the Moon..." "With the fire of Mars..." "The storms of Jupiter..." "The ice of Mercury..." "And of light of Venus..." "WE Will Punish you!!!" the scouts concluded as one, to a lobby suddenly empty of youma. "HUH????" wondered a very puzzled Sailor Moon. "This is not good," declared Venus. "I have a very bad feeling about this", concurred Jupiter, unintentionally mimicking a line from the movie they had just seen. Mercury didn't bother commenting, instead activating her visor to find the trap that was surely here. A trap which closed itself even before she could begin to interpret the results of her scan. From above them came metallic skittering noises and energy blasts began raining down at the scouts. "Scatter!" urged Mars, as the scouts leapt away a split second before the blasts tore into the refreshments counter in a huge explosion of popcorn and boxed candies. "Mercury Bubbles Blast!" Mercury commanded at the top of her leap, filling the lobby with magical mist and covering the scouts landings. Energy bolts continued to blast through the mists, seeking but not finding the scouts. Something for which to be grateful, as both Sailor's Venus and Moon slipped while landing on the refreshment strewn floor. Sailor Moon appeared upset over the wanton distruction of food, while Venus was more unhappy about it getting all over her. Mercury continued to scan their opponents while the scouts gathered by her to discuss their strategy. "Trouble," she warned the gathered group. "Spyders?" Mars asked, based on a bad feeling she had. Mercury nodded in affirmation. "I'm really starting to hate those spyders", grumbled Jupiter. "They've moved to take up positions in front of all the doors," Mercury warned. "As soon as the fog gives out we'll be caught in a cross-fire." "What if we pick the door with the least defenders and hit it with everything at once?" suggested Jupiter. "It wont work," decided Mercury. "These things are designed to be able to withstand our powers." "This is definitely NOT good," grumbled Mina. Sailor Moon tried to put up a brave outer face, but inside, she worried. 'Tuxedo Mask, My love... Where are you? We need you!' * * * * * * * * * Star Ranger moved quickly thought the darkened theater, his night vision system making the dim light as clear as noon. Approaching the lobby doors, he cranked up his hearing to maximum, and noted the metallic skittering noises associated with Tinkerer's spyders. <> >>All sensors on-line. Multiple detection's.<< >>Target match: Spyders. Threat: Moderate.<< >>!!!WARNING!!! MAJOR THREAT DETECTED BEARING 210r!!!<< A barrage of roses flew at Star Ranger. He dove out of the way, but was not fast enough to avoid them all. Three of the thrown flowers struck his right arm and penetrated his armored hide, much to his amazement. Anticipating a second barrage, Star Ranger dove into the cover of the theater seats. "Star Shield Summons," he whispered, shocked at how easily Tuxedo Mask's roses could penetrate armor that easily turned aside fifty caliber machine gun shells. He plucked the roses out, even as a fresh warning blazed through his head. >>!!! Threat Axis now 160r !!!<< Star Ranger leapt again, in a turning twisting motion that brought the Star Shield between he and Tuxedo Mask. This time it was Tuxedo Mask's turn to be surprised, as the Star Shield deflected the barrage of roses with a chorus of sharp pings. "Hold, Endymiond of Earth," Star Ranger shouted, hoping desperately to startle the man enough to parlay. Tuxedo Mask was indeed startled at hearing his name from the Silver Millennium. He readied another barrage of roses, but spoke instead of attacking. "How do you know that name?" he demanded suspiciously. "Because I come as an ally, not an enemy! The one who brought me here told me about you so I could help!" "And why should I trust you?" retorted a still suspicious Tuxedo Mask. "Because I didn't kill you last time I met you for one, and I haven't attacked you yet this time for another!" Star Ranger parlayed desperately. "Dammit, we don't have time for an extended negotiation, man. Even as we speak your beloved is under attack by the forces I was brought here to stop! Another moment could mean her life!" Star made one last desperate gamble, in turning away from Tuxedo Mask and racing for the lobby doors, hoping FRED was right about longshot odds in this place. When Tuxedo Mask joined him at the doors rather than attack, Star decided that maybe FRED was on to something. "They are called Spyders," Star advised as they took up positions. "Aim for the eye like things or their leg joints. Its their weakest points." * * * * * * * * * Cabelite eyed the thinning mist and smiled. 'Soon, I will be rid of these meddling girls. Then I can dispose of the cripple, and the world will be mine.' He turned to his waiting minions. "When I give the signal, I want half of you to fire at the scouts, and the other half to fire over their heads a second later. They will leap to avoid the first attack and the second will eliminate them." Already he could see dark shapes at the center of the mist, and forced himself to wait a few more long seconds before commanding "NOW!" Even as the word flew from his lips, things went drastically wrong. At that same moment, one of the lobby doors burst open revealing two more combatants. "StarShieldSoar!" one gushed, and a golden streak flew from his arm across the lobby, intercepting the second blast, which was right on target to seriously harm the scouts. The battle quickly devolved into a state of confusion, as several of the spyders were suddenly thrown across the lobby and exploded in a shower of sparks. "NO!" Cabelite stormed. "Keep firing," he commanded of his troops with functioning spyders. "Kill them," he ordered the warriors who had their spyders destroyed. Instantly, they obeyed, leaping snarling at their opponents who had joined forces near one end of the lobby. "Uglies at 2 o'clock," warned Star Ranger. "You handle them, I'll finish the spyders!" "Right" agreed Sailor Moon without even thinking about it. The scouts went one way and Star Ranger went another, deflecting spyder blasts with the Star Shield while his own weapons took them out one by one. To the scouts surprise, the youma attacking them were much weaker than they expected, falling to the individual attacks rather than requiring Sailor Moon's Moon Scepter Elimination attack, though a few were eliminated that way as well. Cabelite was paralyzed by shock as his carefully prepared attack was eliminated to the last man. "NO!!!!" he screamed in outrage. "You may have won this battle, but I will emerge victorious!!" "Not if I can help it, Pilgrim", Star Ranger retorted in a perfect John Wayne imitation. "Then you will be the first to die, Tin Man," Cabelite screamed, and started blasting poorly aimed energy blasts in Star Ranger's general direction. "Ray's gone bye bye. What do you have left Egon?" Star Ranger taunted Cabelite with Bill Murray's voice as he effortlessly parried the few blasts that came close with the Star Shield. "Die, Damn you!!" Cabelite sobbed, almost intelligibly, his insanity showing in his voice, not noticing the scouts preparing a combined attack off to one side. "PLANET POWER" the scouts shouted as they unleashed their joint attack on the raving General. Something deep inside Cabelite warned him of the grave danger he was in, and the General gestured and a field of dark energy appeared between he and the scouts. The Planet attack slammed into the shield and everyone was blinded for a moment. When the glare faded, Cabelite still stood. He was covered in soot and his dark hair was in total disarray, but he still stood. "Anyone for diced scouts?" Cabelite mused as a large sword appeared in his grasp. "Ahh, I don't think so," Star interjected with Jimmy Stewart's voice. "Star Shield Soar!" he commanded as he made a throwing motion with his left arm. The black and gold circular shield flew from his arm, becoming a gold streak that headed away from Cabelite at an angle. "HA!! You ..." whatever it was Cabelite was about to say was lost when the Star Shield rebounded out of the far corner of the lobby and struck the back of his head with a gonging sound. Cabelite's eyes rolled up in his head and he pitched forward. Just as he was about to hit the ground, though, a shimmering circle appeared on the floor and the unconscious general tumbled through it. "Th th the, th th the, that's all folks," Star Porky Pigged as the Star Shield bounced off the ceiling and returned to his upraised arm, leaving the scouts victorious on the field of battle. With the menace gone, the scouts turned their attention to their rescuers. "I knew you would save me!" exulted Sailor Moon as she darted into Tuxedo Mask's arms. "Where did he go?" worried a puzzled Mercury. "I think I know, but I'm not sure," Star commented dejectedly. "Who are you really and why are you helping us?" demanded an irritated Mars. "An ally, brought here to help you against those, Princess Rei of Mars," Star Ranger replied, indicating the shattered hulks of the spyders. "Why, and how do you know so much about us?" Raye responded, slightly shocked to hear the mention of her Silver Millennium name. "A long story, and one there is no time for now," Star noted. "I must return to my companion before she grows suspicious about my absence. Meet me tommorow at 11am in the grove behind the shrine where we first met, and I will tell you what I know." "And why should we trust you?" Raye snapped, irritated by Star Ranger's condescending tone. "Because," Star Ranger replied, "If I were going to betray you I would have done it by now." With that, he passed through the doors to the theater and was gone. --------------------- Ah, the joys of Writers Block. Well, lets hope things pick up writing wise. Coming when I can finish it: Episode 8: Title to be determined.