Commander Galos SAILOR JOURNEYS: SECRETS OF AN UNKNOWN PAST Chapter 7: The Cryssalid mission. Part 2: Voyage into the unknown "All right, all stations," said Yohann, "give me a status report." "Engineering here. All systems working, sir." Said Sailor Mercury. "Communications here. All channels clear; I'm reading only commercial traffic and all seems clear all the way to Egypt, sir!" answered Sailor Jendra. "All navigation and manual controls check green here, sir. All is handling perfectly." Said Sailor Uranus. "Thank you. How are the rest handling back there?" asked Yohann. "We are doing fine, Yohann. Thank you." Answered Sailor Moon. "Well... perhaps not everybody." And that was right. Sailor Jupiter was extremely tense on her seat, her knuckles white and sweating profusely. Yohann looked at her, remembering a bit of information about her. "Sailor Saturn, could you please take my place for a moment?" "Sure. No problem." Answered Saturn, standing up and sitting on the pilot seat. Yohann then sat down on Saturn's seat, next to Jupiter. He then took her hand on his, and began to talk. "Makoto, I'm so sorry. I didn't remember about your state... If you want, I can turn back and drop you at the base..." "N...no, it's all right, Yohann." interrupted Jupiter. "I... I'll be fine. It's just that... I don't like flying, that's all." "I see... I assure you, you are not alone now, this ship is more secure than you can imagine, and more important... we all are here to support you. After all, what are friends for if not to support each other?" "That's right, Jupiter." Said Sailor Moon. "We support each other, and remember, you are not alone. You have us all with you!" Jupiter then looked around, and everybody was looking at her, smiling and offering their support. She felt a warm feeling all over her body, and a single tear escaped her eye. "Thank you. Thank you all. I feel better." Yohann's smile broadened and briefly squeezed her hand, sending a tingling through her arm. Jupiter blushed a soft shade of pink, remembering the incident the night before. 'Geez,' she thought, 'He's so noble... and I was about to ruin everything! He really cares for everyone...' Yohann then stepped toward the front of the ship, and stepping between Uranus and Saturn, he began to issue orders. "Ok, ladies... establish course towards Egypt, plot a sub-orbital trajectory above all commercial lanes, and engines at half trust. We have to arrive at night." "Understood", said at the same time Uranus and Saturn. After a few seconds, Saturn reported. "Course set, sir. All systems ready. Next stop: the Giza plateau, Egypt. Hang on everybody, cause here we go!" And with that, the Leviathan and crew went towards the unknown. * * * * "We have achieved hover above the Giza plateau, sir." Indicated Uranus. "Estimated time before sunrise: 3 hours, 12 minutes, 46 seconds... mark." "Thank you, Uranus." Answered Yohann. "Mercury, scan the area and find a place where we can land. All right, everyone... let's get ready." "Understood, sir." Said Mercury. After checking a few data on her screens, she reported. "Yohann, there's a good site about half a mile north-northeast from the Keops pyramid. It's completely hidden by sand dunes, and there's no evidence of recent traffic there." "Excellent. Uranus, Saturn... take us there." A few minutes later, the Leviathan had landed on the designated area, the engines shut down, but the invisible cloaking was still on, in case someone wandered near. "All right, everybody... this is it. Check your equipment and let's move out. Mars, Chibi-Moon, you are going to stay here." "Why???" said Mars and Chibi-Usa at the same time. "But I wanna go! I've never seen a pyramid before! I promise I'll be good!" said Chibi-Usa, crossing her arms in front of her, pouting. "And you are going to need my aid inside! Who knows what kind of dangers you are going to find there!!" was Mars' answer; she looked almost like jumping towards Yohann's throat. "That's precisely my point, Mars. We are going to need someone here in case we need tactical support with the ship's guns." And approaching Mars, he whispered to her. "Besides, we had a deal, remember? You leave me no other option." And raising his voice again, he added. "And I'll feel better if someone stays here looking after Chibi-Moon and making sure she doesn't drains the power core by overusing the replicator! I bet she's going to order a few puddings, right, Chibi-Moon?" Of course, Chibi-Moon hadn't thought of that. Perhaps staying here wouldn't be a bad idea after all... Mar's reaction was different. She looked uncomfortable, but understood Yohann's motives. She hadn't meet her part of the deal, and this was his way of getting even! She didn't like this a bit, but she agreed to abide with his orders... for now. "All right, Yohann... I'll stay... but if you need my help, I'll be there immediately, do you hear?" "Loud and clear, Mars. All right, people... let's move out!" * * * * A few moments later, the group was gathered in front of the sphinx. The girls were awed in front of such a magnificent structure. "Focus here, people. Remember that we are here for business, not tourism." Said Yohann, calling everybody to attention. "Mercury, Alex, scan the structure. I want to know if there's a way in." "Understood," said Mercury and Alex at the same time. Mercury was the first one to speak. "There seems to be a hidden door right bellow the sphinx, between the legs. My readings indicate that there is a stair that goes right to the hidden chamber." "Hey, that's not fair, whiz kid!" exclaimed Alex. "That's my job!" "Calm down, Alex," Said Yohann. "Is there anything else you want to report?" "Oh yes, sweet buns. She forgot to mention that the door is a good 10 feet UNDER the sand. And that there seems to be some sort of pole mechanism attached to it. I can operate it from here, but how are we going to get rid of all the sand?" "Just leave it to me. Ok, everyone... step back!" When everybody was clear, Yohann then proceeded to use one of his spheres. "All right... Gamma, Tornado!" Immediately, the Gamma sphere detached from its socket, and began to hover above the place where the door was buried. Once in position, the sphere began to glow, and right away an intense wind arose from it, dragging the sand with it. A couple of minutes later, all the sand was removed, and the door was in sight. Its job done, the Gamma sphere returned to Yohann's armor, and attached itself on its place. "Wow... that was amazing!" said Sailor Moon. "How did you do that?" "I'll explain later, I promise, girls!" answered Yohann, feeling proud that his equipment was in working order. "Now... Alex, open the door." "Your wish is my command, baby!" said Alex. She then emitted an ultrasonic burst that dislodged the poles, and the door opened. The whole group followed the steps toward the chamber. There was another door at the end of the stairs, but it was easily opened with the combined strength of Endymion and the Emerald Knight. Once inside the chamber, Mercury began to scan the place. "Yohann, I don't get it. Besides the entrance we came through, there doesn't seem to be another access here. There is solid rock all over the place. Are you sure your data is correct?" "I don't have any reason to doubt our intelligence, Mercury... I'm confused myself." Answered Yohann. He then began to examine the walls, and stumbled with a series of jeroglyphs on one of the walls. 'I wonder...' "Alex, translate this scriptures, please." "Right away, baby!" Alex then began to translate the writing, and came up with an answer. "Sweetie, this are instructions for activating something. According to this, you have to send "the light of life" towards three markings on the walls, but beyond that... I can't make heads or tails of this." "The light of life? What does that mean?" asked Sailor Neptune. "I think I can answer that one... the only "Light of Life" I know... is raw Technum." Said the Emerald Knight. "That's right! Technum energy is in all living things!" answered Alex. "Perhaps the answer is directing a beam of Technum to the marks and something will be activated!" "It's worth the try... to which marks he has to shot, Alex?" said Yohann. "Do you see those strange marks that looks like crucifixes? They are called 'Ankhs'. Shoot straight to them." "Got it. All right, everyone, stand back. It will take only one moment." Immediately, the Emerald Knight shot a thin beam of raw Technum to one of the walls, and in rapid succession, he shot the other two. Nothing happened. "That's odd..." said Alex. "oh, silly me!" "What?" asked all at once. "Hehe... I forgot to mention... that the three ankhs must be shot at the same time... sorry..." "At the same time!?!?" asked the Emerald Knight, incredulous. "You have to be kidding! I mean, I can shoot two at the same time, but what about the third??" "And what if one of us shot to the third one? After all, our powers are also Technum-based." Said Sailor Jendra. "I don't think it's a good idea, Jendra." Said Sailor Mercury. "According to my readings, it has to be raw Technum, not another kind." Everybody began to think, and suddenly Yohann came with an idea. "Alex... link with my mind, and tell me if what I'm thinking is possible..." Alex linked with his mind, seeing what Yohann was pondering, and began to refine the idea. "Ok, Alex... you can handle that one, right?" "Sure, baby! And what an idea! You make me proud!" "Ahem... let's focus on the problem here... All right, EK... I'm going to detach another of my spheres, and I want you to shoot another Technum charge onto it. Alex will handle the rest, ok?" "Sure... but what are you going to do?" asked the Emerald Knight. "You'll see... ok, Alex, let's go. Alpha, Aura!" Immediately, the Alpha sphere detached itself, and hovered in front of EK. Right on, it began to glow a soft blue radiance. When Yohann nodded to him, EK shoot another Technum charge straight to the sphere, which absorbed the charge. A few seconds later, the sphere released three rays, each directed to a mark on each wall. When the rays hit the spot, a soft humming was heard. When the charge was exhausted, the Alpha sphere returned to its socket on Yohann's helmet. "Hey, what's happening?" asked Sailor Moon, and with good reason. The ankhs began to glow a golden light, and immediately, the floor began to lower itself. The whole chamber was an elevator! "I can't believe it! How did they do it!? I mean, They didn't have this kind of technology back then, right?" asked a bewildered Saturn. "To tell you the truth, Saturn... I don't have a clue." Answered Yohann. "But I have the suspicion that we are going to know... either we like it or not." * * * * Unbeknownst to them, at the core of the now derelict Cryssalid base, on what used to be the Computers room, an old series of consoles began to glow, and an ancient program began to function, after thousands of years of inactivity. At long last, there were new raw materials for it to achieve its goal... with a little help of some old materials it had in store for such an event. * * * * A minute later, the elevator came to the end of the shaft, and a door opened. There was a medium lit corridor in front of them. When everybody exited the platform, the door closed and all heard the elevator going up again. "Great," murmured Jupiter. "Now we're stuck here. How are we going to get out now?" "First things first, Jupiter. Alex, Mercury, you two make a scan of the surrounding area. Alex, I want you to compare the readings with the blueprints you have of Cryssalid, and try to come up with our actual location." Said Yohann "Right." Said the both of them. Mercury began to turn around while Alex deployed all her sensors full power. Mercury then proceeded to link with Alex and both began to compare scans. A couple of minutes later, Alex had a conclusion. "Pork chops, according to our readings, and my comparison of the blueprints I have, all indicate that we are on one of the secondary cargo bays. It seems that most of the base collapsed on itself during the time of the crash, but most of the secondary systems survived, an that's why there's light here. It appears that when EK shot his energy beams, the backup systems kicked in." "Well, that talks good of the designers of the place. What can you say about the main dependencies, specifically the Weapons Research Wing, the storage rooms and the Computer room?" asked Yohann. "I can answer your question, Yohann," said Mercury. After tapping her computer, a diagram appeared on the screen and on the visors of everyone. "It seems that the storage rooms collapsed, all but one, here..." she then pointed with a cursor to one place on the map. "The weapons wing seems to be in a fair good shape, and the computer room appears to be in good condition too. There also seems that one of the hangars is still intact, as well as a large room adjacent to it. I don't know what is it, though." "I can answer that, girlie." Said Alex. "It is standard procedure in our bases that there has to be emergency stasis pods near the hangars, in case some emergency prevents the launch of the vehicles. Yohann!!" suddenly Alex sounded agitated. "Don't you think that some of the personnel are still in the pods!?!" "It's quite possible, Alex... although I doubt it. Even if they are designed to keep an organism alive for more than the already elapsed time, I don't think there's someone alive." "Yes, you're right, sweetbuns..." "Now, what do we do?" asked Sailor Moon. "We split." Said Yohann. " Sailor Moon, you, Mercury, Endymion, Jendra, Emerald Knight and Pluto, take the right corridor. The rest, come with me. Mercury, I want you to keep a constant scan of the area. I don't like surprises. And keep your communicators open. We'll report with each team every 5 minutes, understood? And if there's any indication of problems, don't take any unnecessary risks, report immediately and we'll join with you. Is that clear?" "Understood. Ok, gang... let's rock!" Said Sailor Moon. And with that, each team took their separate ways, unaware that they were observed... * * * * Meanwhile, back at the Leviathan... "... I'm bored." Said Chibi-Moon for the 6th time. She had already eaten 3 puddings, and was pacing all over the control room. "How can you be bored at a time like this?!?!" exclaimed Mars. "I'm dying for some action here, and you say you're bored???" "That's true! I wish there were something for me to do here. Too bad this ship can't tell us what's going on outside..." said Chibi-Moon. As if on cue, the main console began to beep, and a projection of the area was presented on the main screen. "How you did it??" asked a startled Sailor Mars. "That's a map of the pyramid complex!" 'I don't know!" said a bemused Chibi-Moon. "I just wished that it could show us where are they!" Again, the image changed, this time showing a detailed map of the underground area, showing the position of the two teams moving on the corridors. "I can't believe it... I think that Yohann programmed the ship's computer to obey vocal orders!" Said Mars. "Well, let's give it a try! Computer, show us the name of the rooms!" exclaimed Chibi-Moon. Immediately, a series of indications appeared on the screen, indicating the name of each dependency. "Neat! Now, computer, show us the enemy!" "Chibi- Moon! What kind of question is that!?!? How do you expect that..." began to say Mars, but she just stayed with her mouth open when the computer displayed a message that read *Warning! Activity detected*, and began to indicate that, from the Weapons Research wing, a series of dots began to move towards both teams! There were at least 40 enemy dots in total, and they divided to attack the teams with groups of 20 each. 'Oh my God...' thought Mars. "We have to warn them! Mars, do something!" almost screamed Chibi-Moon. "Call them on your communicator!" Mars reacted taking out her communicator from her subspace pocket, but when she punched the comm button, she obtained nothing but static. She desperately tried all the buttons, but the result was the same. "I can't reach them!" "Wait, I have an idea! Computer, open communications channel to Yohann! NOW!!" screamed Chibi-Moon. Right away, the computer linked with the communications console, and began to scan all channels in an attempt to communicate with Yohann... * * * * Yohann, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter were walking towards the hangar, when Alex began to talk. "Sweetbuns, I'm receiving some sort of emergency broadcast. Want me to patch it up?" "Yes, Alex." Answered Yohann. Immediately, he began to hear the frantic voices of Mars and Chibi-Moon. "<... on, answer me! This is Sailor Mars calling Lt. Yohann Starr! I repeat! This is Sailor Mars calling Lt. Yohann Starr!>" "Starr here. What's going on, Mars?" "" said Chibi-Moon. "What?? How do you know that?" "" In that same instant, all communications ceased. "Mars?? Come in, Mars! Alex, try to reestablish communications!" "I'm trying, baby! There seems to be something jamming the signals!" "What's going on, Yohann?" asked Jupiter, frowning over Yohann's agitation. "Mars called. It seems that the Leviathan's sensors picked up something. Everybody, stand by! We are going to receive company! Alex, communicate with the others and report this. Also, I want a full sensor sweep of the area; if something's heading our way, I want to know it before they take another step!" "Right on, sweetie!" "Well, what's the plan?" asked Sailor Uranus. "It's about time there were some action here." "Let's hurry up to the hangar. If we're going to be attacked, I rather like to fight in an open space than in a closed one." "Sounds good to me. Let's move!" exclaimed Sailor Jupiter. And with that, they began a sprint towards the hangar. When they reached the place, they noticed that there was the wreck of a ship there, and a clear landing pad, big enough to contain the Leviathan. "Ok, everybody, don't separate." Said Yohann. "Alex, what's the situation?" "Sweetbuns, I'm receiving movement in front of us. It seems that there are at least 20 objects heading this way. Various sizes, but I can't determine what they are due to the distance. They'll be here in 15 seconds." A few seconds later, the first of the things appeared in front of them. Jupiter felt like she was going to lose her lunch. Uranus and Neptune tensed, their faces pale. Saturn covered her mouth, nauseated. Yohann just whispered one thing. "Oh, my God..." The thing was 8 feet tall, and looked like a nightmarish amalgamation of a human body and a machine. The head was a red metallic pod, with a human face attached to the front, its eyes a couple of camera lenses, glowing red. The thorax was human, but with lots of wires and transparent tubes protruding from it, a reddish fluid coursing through the tubes at the rhythm of a heart. The arms were severed, and attached back with flexible metallic tubes. Another set of arms were attached, the right one with a mean looking metallic claw, the left being a projector of sorts. The legs were a solid pair of metallic wireframe, all laced with muscle tissue and metallic bands. Yohann's group and the thing remained frozen, no one moving a muscle. After what looked like an eternity, Yohann began to talk in a low and calm voice. "Alex, scan that. I want to know what makes it tick." "Yes, baby..." Alex then began to scan the thing, and a few seconds later, she had the answer. "Yohann... it's horrible! According to my readings, that thing' organic components are human! But it was butchered beyond anything I have programmed! There seems to be no human brain on it, but a computer. And the organic material seems to be fresh! I don't give it more than an hour of creation!" "How can it be possible?" asked a stunned Neptune. "Yohann, what kind of experiments were conducted on this place!?!?" But before Yohann could answer, the thing opened its mouth and emitted an ear-piercing scream, and with an uncanny agility, moved towards the team. Everybody scattered, avoiding the attack, and Jupiter attacked by pure instinct. "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!!" Her attack fried the organic material of the thing, which stumbled lifeless between them. A few sparks flew from the frame, and it went immobile, the stench of burned flesh permeating the air. "Well done, Jupiter!" said Uranus. "Don't count your blessings yet, amazon! Here comes the relatives of that contraption!" said Alex. Everybody turned toward the far exit, and sure enough, there was the rest of the attack team, some of them like the thing they recently defeated, others on tread tracks, but the last five really horrorized the team. They were metallic saucer-like platforms, with crystal containers on the top. And floating in a clear liquid there were human brains on them, a series of wires attached to them. The eyes were still attached to the brains, and were focused on Yohann's team. They were also equipped with retractable metallic tentacles, giving the overall appearance of medusas. The units were floating in thin air! "This is it, people... Attack!" screamed Yohann, and with that, war erupted. "WORLD SHAKING!" began Sailor Uranus. Her attack, even with the extra power provided by her techno-suit, was only partially effective. The bipedal units and the saucers avoided her attack, but the threaded units were smashed by it. "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!" Attacked Sailor Jupiter. Her attack destroyed two more bipedal units, but she had to start avoiding the combined strike of 4 more of them. Sailor Saturn was the first to engage in close combat, and began to use her Glaive to send her attackers away. She was successful to destroy one, but 3 more took its place and began to attack her. Yohann began to attack as well, activating the Alpha sphere to create a shield around his body, and attached the Beta sphere to his right arm, morphing it into a wicked looking sword, and began to smash the attackers around him. Sailor Neptune was being attacked by 3 of the bipedal units, not giving her an opportunity to charge her powers, but was defending herself with her trident. Not noticing it, she was being directed toward one of the saucers, who was hovering above the battleground with the other four. "Neptune! Look out!" screamed Uranus, who tried to run to her side, but was intercepted by 2 more bipedal units. She only watched in horror when a saucer grabbed her friend, and began to choke her. After a few seconds of resisting, Neptune's body limped, and was then carried by the saucer out of the hangar. "Neptune! NOOOOO!!!" screamed Sailor Uranus. With tears in her eyes, she charged again her attack, this time taking 4 more bipedal units with it. Jupiter was avoiding her attackers rather well, and when she saw the opportunity, she again used her attack and destroyed another 5 bipedal units. Saturn faired better. She didn't have a chance to use her powers, but she was agile enough to slay her 3 attackers with her Glaive. Meanwhile, Yohann was finishing the rest of the bipedal units, and with a mighty thrust of his arm, he cut in two the last one of them. It was then that he noticed that Neptune was missing, and reunited with Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. "Are you all right?" "Yes, Yohann. But what about them?" asked Saturn, pointing towards the remaining four saucers. "And what about Neptune? We have to rescue her!" exclaimed Uranus, eyeing the saucers with a murderous look. All of a sudden, the saucers lowered to their level, and without a warning, began to emit a high frequency sound. Yohann and the girls tried to cover their ears, but the sound was reaching them, making their whole bodies vibrate! After a few seconds, everybody lost consciousness, unable to wistand the sonic punishment anymore. When the saucers made sure that their victims were defenseless, they proceeded to grab a body each, and with their precious cargo, exited the hangar. * * * * "Yohann? Saturn? Jupiter? Anybody... answer me!" Mercury was trying all the frequencies on her communicator to get in touch with the other team, but she was only receiving static. "I don't like it. It's like someone or something is jamming our communicators." "What now?" asked Sailor Jendra. She was visibly nervous, and was grabbing the Emerald Knight's left arm with both of hers. "I say we continue. Perhaps a little further we can communicate with them." Said Sailor Moon. "Mercury, where are we now?" Mercury then tapped her computer, and a diagram of the adjacent area appeared. "According to this, we are about to enter the storage room. It's a rather large area." "Ok, then. Let's move, gang. There's a mission to finish here, and there's no time to waste." Said Sailor Moon. A couple of minutes later, they entered the Storage room. It was almost empty, a lot of rubble on the floor. There were four metallic boxes pilled on one of the walls, and that was all. Suddenly, Mercury's computer began to beep. She opened the screen, and saw a printed message from Alex. "Guys, I'm receiving something here. Alex is transmitting... she says that something is coming our way!" "What??" exclaimed everyone. "Yes. I'm starting a scan now... that's right! A group of at least 20 objects is heading our way, an are going to enter this place right now!" said Mercury. Soon enough, another of the bipedal units entered the storage room. Everybody paled at the vision. Mercury and Pluto covered their mouths, not believing the thing in front of them. Sailors Moon and Jendra screamed, grabbing their respective fiancée's. Endymion and EK surrounded their girlfriends' shoulders with their arms in a protective manner. And like with Yohann's team encounter, the unit screamed and jumped towards them. Jendra was the one who destroyed it. "PRISMATIC SEVEN SLASHER!!" Her seven colored discs of Technum destroyed the creature. And like with the other team, the other units entered the storage room, and the battle was on. This time, the threaded units had a chance to attack. From two hollow tubes located in front of them, they launched a red liquid. It sizzled when hit a wall or the floor. The liquid was some kind of acid! Unfortunately, this time the team didn't have the chance to finish all their attackers. Before Sailor Moon's team had the chance to regroup, the saucers emitted their sonic attack, and the results were the same like with Yohann's. Once again, the saucers picked up the bodies, and all the remaining units exited the storage room. * * * * Back at the Leviathan... "Mars! Look!" exclaimed Chibi-Moon. Both girls couldn't believe what they were seeing. The team at the hangar lost one of its members, which was dragged away by one of the enemy dots. They cleaned the rest of the enemy, but suddenly were dragged away as well by the remaining enemy units. The team at the storage room was defeated shortly after the first one was. "What are we going to do? We have to help them!" said Chibi-Moon, tears coming down her cheeks. "I... I don't know..." answered Sailor Mars, also crying. She couldn't believe it. What could've they faced down there that defeated them so easily? "There has to be a way to get in there!" exclaimed Chibi-Moon. Again, the computer began to scan, and suddenly it showed a diagram of the Keops pyramid. It indicated that the construction was built right over the hangar! "What does it mean? That we have to blow the pyramid?" wondered Mars. Once more, the computer began to hum, and now it showed a simulation. The Leviathan was hovering above the pyramid, and suddenly it shot some sort of beam towards the construction. Then the image showed the Leviathan going THROUGH the Keops pyramid and landing inside the underground hangar! "Mars..." began Chibi-Moon. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" "Of course!" exclaimed Mars. "Computer, begin sequence to enter that place. Now!" Immediately, the Leviathan took off, decloaked, and began to hover over the Keops pyramid. Then, a message appeared on the screen. *Tachyon beam charging... Beam charged... Firing... * On the outside, the pyramid began to glow a golden light when the beam hit it, and immediately the Leviathan dived straight towards it. Mars and Chibi-Moon only had time to gasp before the ship entered the hangar. Once it landed, the engines shut down, and all was silent. "Wow, what an entrance!" said Chibi-Moon after the initial shock worn. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" "Hold on, Chibi-Moon!" said Mars, holding her by the arm. "We can't go in there without knowing what are we facing! We could be caught as well." 'Did I really say that???' she thought all of a sudden. "Hey, do you remember what Yohann said we had on the cargo bay?" suddenly exclaimed Chibi-Moon. "No. I wasn't paying too much attention." Answered Mars, blushing faintly. Chibi-Moon only sighed, but decided not to discuss it now. "He loaded a couple of mini-tanks just in case they were needed! The ones that pack heavy laser beams?!?!" she retorted. "That's right!" exclaimed Mars, slapping her forehead. "I hope they are enough." And addressing the computer once more, she ordered it. "Computer, activate the tanks in the cargo bay, and open the doors. Ok, Chibi-Moon, there's a rescue to make, so what are we waiting here?? Let's go!" "Alright! Here we go!" * * * * Meanwhile, at the Weapons Research Wing... Sailor Uranus was the first one to wake up. 'Ooh, my head. What happened?' She tried to move, but found out that she was secured to a metallic table, shackles gripping her wrists and ankles. She moved her head, and noticed that everyone else was there as well. To her right were Saturn, Moon, Endymion, Jupiter and Jendra. To her left, were Pluto, Neptune and Emerald Knight. Just like her, all of them were shackled to a metallic table. There were two more empty tables to the right of EK. All the tables were arranged in a semi-circular way, allowing her to look at everyone. 'That's strange. Where are Yohann and Mercury?' In that instant, she heard a soft moaning coming from her left. She turned her head in time to see Neptune and Pluto waking up. "Neptune! You're alive!" exclaimed Uranus, relieved to see her lover wasn't death as she thought initially. Her voice had the unexpected effect to wake up everyone else. When all checked that the rest was alive, Moon made the obvious question. "Where are we?" "I don't know, Sailor Moon", answered Uranus, looking around. The place was dimly illuminated, and a smell, like butchery, permeated the air. "but I don't like the looks of it. Have you noticed that Mercury and Yohann are not with us?" "Yes! Where are they?" asked Saturn, visibly worried. She tried to break her shackles, but her position wasn't of any help. Before anyone could answer, they looked in dismay that two of the saucers were entering the room now, carrying two large cylinders with them. They looked like hi-tech coffins to the girls. The saucers placed one cylinder next to the empty tables, and proceeded to open it. Everybody gasped when the saucers extracted from it a man! He looked no older than 25, and was wearing a jumpsuit almost identical to Yohann's. "Oh God..." exclaimed Jendra. "Yohann was wrong! There ARE survivors of the crash here!" The team was only able to watch as the man, dizzied after his long cold sleep, was promptly shackled to one of the tables. When he was secured, the saucers proceeded to open the second cylinder, this time a woman in her mid-twenties was taken out of the cylinder. When she was shackled too, the saucers took the now empty cylinders and exited the room. Once alone, the Emerald Knight was the first one to talk with their new companions. "Hello? Can you understand me? Are you all right?" The man blinked a couple of times, and looked at EK, confused. Then he began to talk, but no one was able to make heads or tails from what he was saying! It sounded to gibberish to them. "What kind of language is that?" asked Saturn, puzzled. "It sounds like pre-dynastic Egyptian to me," said Pluto, "But I'm not fluent on it. I can't translate what he's saying." "Great." Mumbled Moon. "Now how are we going to find out what's going on here?" Suddenly, she heard a faint buzzing on her helmet, and her visor began to flash. And without a warning, there was a short static sound on her ears, and began to understand the man's words! "Who... who are you? Wh... what are... you doing... here?" asked the man, his voice slurry. "I... I can understand you!" exclaimed Sailor Moon. Everybody turned their heads to look at her. "Tell me, what's your name?" "I... my name?... I'm... Tatsumo Aoi. Second Lieutenant of the Observation Post Cryssalid. Who are you? And what are we doing here? I don't recognize the place." "We are the Sailor Senshi, and were on a mission to retrieve the remains of this base. But were captured by some bizarre robots with human parts on them!" answered Sailor Moon. She was dimly aware that her words were translated and spoken by her helmet at the same time. "Excuse me, sis... but do you mind telling us what are you two talking about?" said EK. "We can't understand a word!" "Oh, yes... sorry." Said Moon, blushing a shade pink. "He's Lieutenant Tatsumo Aoi. He's a survivor of the original crash." "Oh... tell him that we're pleased to meet him." Said Endymion. "Too bad we can't understand him as you seem to do." "You're right, muffin. I wish there was a way for you all to listen to our conversation." Suddenly, a small antenna popped out of her helmet, and the helmets of the rest of the group began to buzz. "You are the Sailor Senshi? Then you must be Sailor Moon! It's an honor to meet you all." Said Lt. Tatsumo. Everybody gasped when they heard his words translated on their helmets! "Thank you, Lieutenant. Same here. Tell me, what's going on here?" asked Jendra. "I have no idea. The last thing I remember is the crash... after that, my mind is a blank" answered Aoi. "Excuse me, Lieutenant... but what kind of work you were doing here? I understand that you were doing extensive research of new weapons for you organization." Asked Endymion, glad that his unit now allowed him to communicate directly with the man. "We were trying to create new defense units for our bases and ships, along with a new generation of artificial intelligence programs to manage them. We were about to send our reports on our findings, when the entire universe went crazy! First, we were attacked by all kind of monsters that entered the base through some kind of portals, and suddenly, the base was on low orbit over the earth! Since we were under attack, there was nothing we could do to prevent the decay of the orbit and subsequent crash. The good news was that the monsters were killed on their majority because of it, allowing the survivors to destroy the rest. We tried to contact our main base, but no one answered our calls. Since the hangar ended up buried, the command staff decided to place us on the stasis pods, and that's all I can remember." "Excuse me, Lieutenant..." began to ask Neptune. She was wondering one thing that bugged her mind. "But everybody was inside the pods, or some people decided to try their luck outside?" Everybody looked at her, puzzled, wondering where was she trying to go. "Yes... you're right!" exclaimed the man, surprised. "How did you know that? A big percentage of the crew decided not to enter the pods, and went outside via one of the secondary cargo bays. They talked about marking the place of the crash, in case some rescue mission was dispatched and were looking for us!" "That's what I thought." Said Neptune, closing her eyes and drawing a deep sigh. "What are you talking about, Neptune? I don't get it." Said Sailor Moon, puzzled. "I think I know, Sailor Moon." Answered Pluto. "What she was wondering, and was answered by Lt. Tatsumo, is that the part of the crew that went out, was the responsible of creating the Giza complex. Therefore, they were the ancestors of the Egyptians!" The group felt their eyes were about to pop out of their sockets! Now everything made sense! Why the ancient Egyptians were so advanced... why the pyramids had such precise alignment and measures... the strange artifacts found all around the ruins of the middle east... At that same moment, the woman began to stir up, but wasn't able to talk yet... and unfortunately, there would never be a chance to know her identity. It was then that the saucers returned, and this time accompanied with another... thing. This new robot was made with the spine of a human being. The head was a red pod, with only two small cameras at the front. The thoracic box was only ribs, without any trace of organs inside, only metallic and electronic components. The arms were two metallic ones, with massive forearms. The legs were two solid articulated metal tubes. Another one identical to it soon joined this robot, and they proceeded to position themselves near the tables where Lt. Tatsumo and the woman were shackled. Two large hollow cylinders popped out of the ground, one near each table. Along with the cylinders, a series of niches opened on the wall behind each table, and the girls saw that inside, were the components of another saucer and some metallic structures that reminded them the parts of the units they fought before. The saucers then proceeded to hover over the tables, one over each table... and that's when the team's worst nightmare began. The units extracted a circular saw blade from one of their forearms, and a laser cutter from the other, and with the aid of the saucers' tentacles, began to cut the unfortunate survivors of Cryssalid into pieces, their screams echoing on the room "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! STOOOOOOOPP!!!" screamed Aoi, to no avail. He watched in complete and utter terror as the saw blade opened his abdomen, and the metallic claws removed his internal organs. He emitted an inhuman scream when the saucer above him literally ripped his arms apart; the shackles opened, freeing the limbs, and then the saucer proceeded to attach them to two metallic flexible tubes, while connecting a series of wires and tubes to them. Somehow, he wasn't able to lose consciousness, and was forced to experience the whole torture. When the bipedal unit had placed all his internal organs in the table without cutting them, it commenced to use its laser cutter to remove his muscle tissue from his legs and hips. When all the muscle tissue was separated from the bone, the saucer then proceeded to separate the spine from the hipbone, ripping them apart. Once the lower part was done, the robots proceeded to finish with the head. Aoi screamed one last time when the saw blade began to open his skull. Once the brain was exposed, the bipedal unit then extracted it with its claws, and cut the skull from the neck using its laser cutter. Then, using the laser once more, it cut the skull in half leaving the front part intact. Once done, the saucer took the front and proceeded to attach it to a red pod that was waiting on the wall. Meanwhile, the bipedal unit began to toss the brain, intestines and the rest of the digestive system and lungs inside the cylinder next to the table. The cylinder flashed briefly each time an organ was tossed into it. Meanwhile, the blood was poured from the table inside a container located under it, and a series of tubes attached to it began to spill some chemicals on it. The smell was indescribable. Once the table was partially free on the lower part, the saucer extracted from the wall a metallic frame, and proceeded to attach the muscles to it, while at the same time connected a series of wires to them. At the same time, the bipedal unit began to attach a series of tubes and wires inside the thorax; once done that, it attached the red pod to the neck, connecting another series of wires and some metallic bands to it with the muscles, bones and metallic parts now inside the thorax. When the lower part was done, the saucer attached it to the spine, connecting more wires and bands to it. Once that was done, it then took a set of metallic arms from the wall, and then attached them to the thorax. The bipedal unit, meanwhile, took the container with the blood from under the table, and began to pour its contents on the half-finished robot, using a tube to introduce the liquid onto it. Once all the pieces were in place, the saucer then induced an electric charge on the robot, and it began to move. The unfortunate Lt. Tatsumo was now a mindless minion of the unknown intelligence in command of this place. Almost the same thing happened to the woman, but instead of attaching her torso to a pair of metallic legs, the saucer attached it to a treaded unit that sledded itself from the wall. Her brain was preserved, and it was inserted inside the saucer platform that was in the wall. When the saucer finished wiring the brain, it then closed the transparent capsule, and connected a plastic tube from the wall onto the base. From it, a clear liquid began to fill the capsule. Once done, the saucer induced a charge too into the new saucer, and it began to function. During the whole massacre, the team was trying desperately to free themselves, without any luck. EK even tried to launch a Technum ball to the robots, but with his hands shackled, he was unable to aim, and his shot went straight to the roof. Saturn and Moon had lost consciousness, unable to wistand more of such barbaric acts. Neptune was openly crying, not believing that something so horrible was happening in front of her. Uranus and Endymion were literally growling, trying to free themselves and finish those abominations. Pluto was expressionless, all trace of blood fled from her face. Jendra held her eyes closed, biting her lips to the point to make them bleed, and wishing that this was another of her nightmares. And Jupiter was using all her strength to get free, but to no avail. Their deed done, the saucers and the bipedal units went to the center of the room, while the new units exited the place. Their movement caused the team to stop struggling, watching them with hate in their eyes. The robots seemed to be waiting for something, and that added to the tension. The saucers then began to move, one towards Sailor Moon, and the other towards Sailor Saturn. When the one hovering above Moon began to touch her face, Endymion began to scream. "LET HER GO!! DON'T YOU DARE TO TOUCH HER!! IF YOU WANT TO KILL SOMEONE, KILL ME!" His screams woke up Sailors Moon and Saturn, whom after seeing the saucers above them, began to scream too, thinking that it was their turn now. When the girls woke up, the saucers floated away from them, and reunited with the two robots on the center of the room, waiting... * * * * Meanwhile... Sailor Mars and Sailor Chibi-Moon, along with the two HWP's, were following a large corridor that, according to the ship's computer, would lead them to the Weapons Research Wing. Mars took the caution to link their armors with the ship's computer, and a map was showed on their visors. The two girls noticed that the mayor part of the team was together in one place, and decided to rescue them first. "Mars, I'm scared." Said Chibi-Moon, looking nervously in front and behind her. "I know, sweetie. But we have to continue." Answered Mars. She too was scared, but she was not going to show it to the smaller girl. She was wondering what kind of enemy was waiting for them, when the answer literally dropped on them. In front of them, began to approach the remaining bipedal units, along with the rest of the treaded ones and two saucers. Chibi-Moon screamed when she saw them, but Mars immediately charged her attack. "MARS FIRE IGNITE!" she screamed, and her attack took down 2 tread units and one bipedal. Seeing that, Chibi-Moon launched her attack. "FLAMING HEART!" Her attack destroyed another bipedal unit. But before the girls could launch another barrage, the saucers began to emit their ultrasonic attack. This time, the outcome was different. Chibi-Moon felt her head was about to explode, and she desperately whispered, "Somebody help us!!" When she finished her plea, the HWP's began to move in front of them, and after assessing the situation, they aimed towards the saucers. Two twin beams of ruby light erupted from them, and soon, the saucers were nothing more than charred piles of garbage. Without their main weapon, the rest of the enemy didn't stand a chance against the girls and the mini-tanks. In a matter of seconds, a combination of fire and laser shots turned the attacking forces in nothing more than half-melted piles of scrap metal and burned flesh. "That was too close! Thank you, guys!" said Chibi-Moon, and placed a big wet kiss on each of the tanks. Incredibly, the turrets of the tanks began to spin, the nozzles of their laser cannons glowing a faint red. "Let's not waste more time here, Chibi-Moon. Let's go!" And with that, the rescue team went to the aid of their comrades. * * * * Meanwhile, at the Computers room... Yohann and Sailor Mercury woke up, dizzied by the attack. When they were able to get their bearings, they noticed that they were inside a medium sized chamber, full of computer equipment. They were on the floor, and fortunately, unbound. They stood up, and began to look around. "Alex, what's the situation?" asked Yohann. "Not good, sweetie." Answered Alex. "After you all lost consciousness, the saucers dragged you all to a chamber with metallic tables. But before they shackled you two, the saucers took you and dropped your limp bodies in here. After that, they went out and closed the door. I've been trying to open it, but something has been blocking all my attempts." "And all your attempts will be for naught, little one." Boomed a deep, baritone voice. "Who's there?" said Mercury, while trying to scan the place with her computer. Yohann readied his mind, ready to order his spheres to attack. "My, my... aren't we a little touchy, Sailor Mercury? Or... should I say... Mizuno Ami?" responded the voice, a hint of amusement on it. "What?... how... how did you know me?" asked Mercury, puzzled and a little bit scared. "I know everything about you and your friends, little lady. After all, one of my duties was to monitor your progress." Said the voice. "Identify yourself immediately!" said Yohann. "You have no right to talk to me like that!" promptly said the voice, anger filling it. "It was you and your kind that left me here to rot!" 'Alex,' began to thought Yohann, 'try to determine the origin of this clown. I'll try to keep it occupied.' 'I'm way ahead of you, pork chops! I've been trying to do it since you woke up, but I haven't got too much luck.' Answered Alex. "Excuse me..." said Mercury. "But... would you be so kind to identify yourself?" "That's more like it. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm a Computerized AUtomaton Logistic Digital RObotic Nemesis. But you can call me CAULDRON, for short. I'm an Artificial Intelligence program." 'A Nemesis program?? Here??' exclaimed Alex inside Yohann's mind. 'Do you know what is it, Alex? Brief me!' queried Yohann. 'The Nemesis programs were my antecessors, and their primary use was military. They were labeled as extremely dangerous, due to their egotistical and unpredictable nature. The tests showed that the Nemesis series tried to accomplish their own goals, no matter the consequences, therefore being a danger to all living things around them. When that was found out, the high brass ordered the immediate destruction of all the Nemesis programs. The programmers then began to work in another version, one a lot more conscious of the value of a life. The result was the Alex series... me.' 'It seems that the order never reached this base. Keep trying to jam this sucker and keep me informed, Alex.' 'Right on, sweetie! And be careful. There's no way to know what this thing has on its deranged mind!' 'I will.' And raising his voice, Yohann began to question Cauldron. "Excuse me, Cauldron... but what are your immediate plans now? I mean, we are here as a rescue mission." "And you dare to ask me that? After your kind left me abandoned here to languish and be erased when the power failed??" exclaimed Cauldron, his voice filled again with anger. "But I showed them who was the strongest one. After the cowards left the base, I began to order the last maintenance robots in working order to repair what could be salvageable, and when the fools of the exterior built their pyramids, I linked to them, drawing their energy to keep me alive!" "Incredible..." murmured Mercury. "You mean that everybody left you abandoned here?" "No, Mercury." Answered Cauldron, his voice more calmed. "Some of them entered the stasis pods near the hangar, wishing that some day, someone could come and rescue them. Not many, but enough for my plans, anyway." "Mercury, keep talking with him. Alex is working in something, and she needs all the time you can buy her. Cauldron seems to be more relaxed with you." Whispered Yohann. Mercury nodded slightly. "Tell me, Cauldron..." continued Mercury. "But what are your plans now?" "Aaaah... always the curious one, aren't you? All right, I'll tell you... I'm planning to have my revenge against the MRMA! And all of you are going to help me in doing that, either you do it voluntarily or not!" was Cauldron's answer, followed by a laugh that can only be labeled as maniacal. Mercury and Yohann began to tremble. Mercury because of the implications of the last phrase, Yohann because he knew that it depended on them to stop Cauldron's deranged plans. * * * * At the Weapons Research Wing... "What are they waiting for? If they want to turn us into robotic zombies, why don't they finish it now??" said a furious Emerald Knight. "Please, don't talk like that!" said Sailor Jendra. "I'm sorry, Jendra. It's just that... I can't stand the tension anymore!" "We better calm ourselves, and stop thinking like that. There has to be one way to escape from here." Said Pluto. She had her eyes closed; she was trying to summon her Time Key, but something prevented her from doing it. "That's right, gang. Calm down." Said Sailor Moon. She was trying to do the same with her sword Avenger, and was meeting the same results. She opened her eyes, and noticed that Saturn and Neptune were trying the same thing, and having the same luck as her and Pluto. In that moment, the saucers and robots began to move, one pair moving towards Sailor Neptune, and another towards Sailor Moon. Everybody froze, knowing that this could very be their last chance to survive. This time, instead of the cylinders or the niches on the wall that they saw earlier, a couple of trays detached themselves from the wall. Endymion, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto noticed that there were some sort of microcircuits on them. Once the trays were in position, a voice was heard. "I hope you are comfortable, Sailor Scouts. Sorry for the accommodations, but this was the maid's day out, and this was all I had at hand. I'm honored to have you all here in my humble base." Said the voice, a hint of irony on it. "Geez, this guy sounds almost like Alex!" said Saturn. "Where are our friends? Sailor Mercury and Lieutenant Yohann?" asked Moon. "You always worry for the others, right Sailor Moon? Don't worry, they are with me now, and pretty healthy, I must add." Answered the voice. "Who are you?" asked Uranus, still keeping a wary eye on the units near Neptune. "Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. I'm a Computerized AUtomaton Logistic Digital RObotic Nemesis. But you can call me CAULDRON, for short. I'm an Artificial Intelligence program. Oh, don't bother to present yourselves, I know who you are already." Said Cauldron. "Since you know who we are, you must know that we'll fight to the very end!" Said EK. "And what are you planning to do with us, anyway?" "Aaaah... brave words from the last of the Technum Guardians. I like your spirit, Emerald Knight. And I'll answer your question. I want to invite you to join me in my quest against the MRMA!" "What??" said everyone. "You mean, you are going to attack the organization Yohann is part of?" said Sailor Jupiter. "You have to be kidding! You won't stand a chance against their combined might!" "That's where you're wrong, Sailor Jupiter." Answered Cauldron "You see, that's where you come in. With your incredible powers under MY command, the MRMA is the one that doesn't stand a chance!" He followed his remark with the same maniacal laughter Yohann and Mercury heard on the Computer room. "Well, what's your answer? Will you join me voluntarily?" "This is my answer... go get infected by a computer virus! We'll never join you!" exclaimed Uranus, her sentiments chorused by the rest of the team. "I was expecting that answer, Sailor Uranus! And thank you for giving me the opportunity to test my new neural implants! I think you'll die to try them out!" responded Cauldron, laughing again. Immediately, the bipedal units began to deploy their blades and lasers to open Sailors Moon and Neptune's heads! "NOOOOOO!!" screamed Endymion and Uranus, once again trying to free themselves. Neptune and Moon were shocked, not daring to move a muscle. But when the sawblades tried to remove the helmets, the later solidified themselves all over the girl's heads, protecting them from the onslaught. When the blades made contact with the helmets, they only released a shower of sparks, and finally broke. The bipedal units looked at their broken limbs, and then proceeded to use their laser cutters. This time, their beams reflected on the helmets, hitting the wall. "Well, this is an interesting turn of events" said Cauldron. "It seems that you leave me no other option than to dismember you completely, and then rebuild you again after all the... let's say "necessary adjustments"... are made. Enjoy your surgery!" This time, the bipedal units produced some big saw blades, like the ones used to cut trees, and began to move toward the girl's abdomens. When their armors began to morph again to protect their bodies, the saucers seized the opportunity to dig their tentacles on the fluid armors, hitting the girl's tender flesh this time. Moon and Neptune screamed when the tentacles began to penetrate their bodies. This was too much for Uranus. She was crying at that point. Frustration for being unable to help her lover and her leader welled up in her mind, and that's when something incredible happened. Inside her soul, something clicked in, tapping in a yet unknown source of power. That power rushed to the surface of her spirit, filling Uranus with an incredible amount of energy. Her body began to glow golden, making the robots to stop and the rest of the team to close their eyes. The saucers withdraw their tentacles, their tips dripping blood. Suddenly, the golden globe of energy separated itself from the table, the metal shackles melted by the extreme onslaught of power. When the light receded, everybody watched in awe the new Sailor Senshi: Sailor Uranus. Her Sailor Senshi uniform replaced her Sailor fuku, in shades of bright blue and green. On her right thigh were the characters that spelled TEN NO SENSHI, warrior of heavens. On her right hand, she held her new weapon, the awesome Heaven's Wrath, a katana made of a single piece of shining black onyx. Even her techno-armor had morphed, staying the same tone of green as before, but now looking like the rest of the Senshi's armors. The most obvious feature, however, was that on her forearms now she was donning four black spines each, and the knuckles of her gauntlets had spikes on them. Cauldron, however was unimpressed by the display of power. "Well, well, well... it seems that you are more powerful than I originally calculated. No matter, you will be part of my army as well! Robots, attack!" The saucers began to emit their ultrasonic attack again, but this time, Uranus began to rotate Heaven's Wrath over her head, generating a whistle that went higher and higher in frequency, countering the sonic attack with her own. Suddenly, the transparent recipients of the saucers began to crack, and suddenly, they exploded, releasing the brains and the liquid all over the platforms. This caused on them a short circuit, and the saucers plummeted to the ground, lifeless. When the saucers were no more of a problem, Uranus let a blood-curling scream, and jumped towards the bipedal units. With her katana, she sliced one of them cleanly, cutting it in two, and with the spines on her left gauntlet, she decapitated the other one. Both units dropped dead on the spot. No one said a word, amazed by the incredible agility and grace Uranus displayed. Cauldron, however, still had one last card under his sleeve. "Not bad, Uranus. But here are some news for you. The weapons of your friends, as well as your Lieutenant and Mercury still remains with me. Come and get them... if you dare! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Uranus didn't try to dignify Cauldron's taunt with an answer. Instead, she proceeded to use Heaven's Wrath to cut the shackles of the rest of the team. When she finally freed the last one of them, Neptune jumped to her arms, tears of gratitude on her eyes. Uranus embraced Neptune, and placed her Katana on her sub-space pocket. Neptune cringed a little from the pain, but nevertheless continued to embrace Uranus. Endymion, meanwhile was embracing Sailor Moon, who was more than happy to be on her love's arms. She too cringed from the pain, but still hold on to him. Emerald Knight too was embracing Jendra, happy that she was safe. Jendra was embracing him too, for the same reason. Saturn, Jupiter and Pluto decided to leave them alone for the time being, and proceeded to the door. But when they tried to open it, they found out that it was sealed. "Great," said Jupiter. " That psychotic excuse for a videogame locked us here. Now what?" But before anyone could answer that, the door began to glow red. Everybody jumped to the far end of the room, preparing themselves to fight for their lives. Suddenly, the door collapsed inwards, and they saw two miniature tanks enter the room, followed shortly by Sailor Chibi-Moon and Sailor Mars! "Hold on, everyone! We've come to... save you??" said a bewildered Chibi-Moon. She forgot her state of surprise when she saw that Endymion and Sailor Moon were safe. "Mommy! Daddy!" she screamed, and ran towards them, hugging their legs. Mars then noticed that Uranus was dressed somewhat different, and suddenly it hit her. "Uranus! I see that you achieved your Soul Power! You look awesome!" "Thank you, Mars. Glad to see you too." Answered Uranus, smiling at her, while holding Neptune by the waist. "Wait a minute... what are you doing here? You were supposed to be on the ship! And where did you got this tanks??" "Well, they were on the cargo bay, and I told myself, what the heck? Let's give them a run to see how they handle!" answered Mars, a childish grin on her face. "Excuse me, gang... but aren't we forgetting something here? Namely, our weapons and our friends that are still on Cauldron's hold?" said Saturn. "Cauldron? Who's that?" asked Chibi-Moon, releasing her grip on her parents' legs. "We'll explain to you on the way, dear. I promise." Said Sailor Moon. "Right now, we have to save our friends. Let's go!" "Ok, I'll lead the way, gang. Follow me!" Said Mars. They all left the room, hoping to reach Yohann and Mercury on time. * * * * At the Computers room... Mercury and Yohann were watching the unfolding events on a series of viewscreens. They cringed when they heard Cauldron's threat to the rest of the team, but were elated when they witnessed Uranus' transformation into a new Sailor Senshi. And were overjoyed when they saw the entrance of Mars, Chibi-Moon and the HWP's. "Well, Cauldron, it seems that you lost your opportunity. Give up." Said Yohann. "NEVER! There's still one thing for me to do." "And what could it be, pathetic reject from a data dump?" said Alex, taunting Cauldron. "What you don't know, is that one of the experiments held on this base was the creation of organic supercomputers, and I learned a way to download a program inside a HUMAN BRAIN!!" Yohann and Mercury paled at this new bit of information. That meant that Cauldron... "You are right, pathetic humans! You were brought here for that sole purpose! One of you is going to be my new body!" stated Cauldron. And with that, a panel on one of the consoles opened, and a series of wires shot out at an incredible speed, and enveloped Mercury. The wires then began to retract, dragging her with them inside the computer! Yohann reacted immediately. "Beta, Attack!" The Beta Sphere detached itself from its socket, and morphed into a spinning blade. But before it could cut one wire, Cauldron spoke again. "Hold it, MeRMAid! If you try anything, the girl dies!" And to prove his words, the wires began to tighten, threatening to choke Mercury. "Can't... breathe!" choked Mercury. Yohann tightened his fists, and mentally ordered the Sphere to suspend the attack. When it returned to its place, Cauldron began to taunt Yohann. "Good boy, and now, watch while I destroy your friend's mind, and take possession of my new body!! Remember, if you move one muscle, I'll kill her instantly!" And with that, the wires continued dragging Mercury inside. The girl tried with all her strength to resist, but her efforts were futile. Soon, she was inside the panel, and then a series of circuit panels began to cover her head. "NOOO!! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" screamed Mercury as Cauldron initiated his assault against her mind. 'Yohann! We have to do something!' transmitted Alex, while she calculated a way to free Mercury. But Yohann already had a plan. 'There's nothing I can do, Alex... but you can.' 'What can I do, sweetie? Tell me and I'll do it!' 'You'll have to confront Cauldron on his own turf. You have to enter Mercury's mind, and fight Cauldron there.' 'But sweetbuns! That's impossible! How do you expect me to enter her mind?' 'Transmit yourself into Mercury's computer, and link with her mind. Hurry up! She can't hold Cauldron's attack any longer!' 'Ok, baby... I'll do my best. Here I go!' Immediately, Alex downloaded herself into Mercury's computer, and proceeded to link to her mind. Thanks to the computer's sensor array, the task was completed soon, and Alex began her mission to save Mercury from Cauldron. Yohann only stood there, watching helplessly as Mercury's face contorted by Cauldron's assault. She was sweating profusely, and sometimes, her face had an evil grin on it, shortly to be followed again by a rictus of pain. 'Good luck, Alex. Save her, and come back in one piece.' He thought. * * * * Alex was floating in a sea of blue light. The sensation was completely alien to her. She only knew the artificial environments of Cyberspace, but this was out of her sphere of experience. She suddenly saw some sort of black cloud hanging in the horizon, and proceeded to move towards it. When Alex arrived to the point, she gasped. The black cloud was launching a series of black lightning towards a tiny sphere of pale blue light. When she approached even more, she noticed that someone was inside the sphere. Alex immediately identified the form as Ami! The sphere was showing signs of being on the verge of collapse, a series of cracks on its surface. "Leave her alone, Cauldron!" screamed Alex. Immediately, the cloud began to shrink, and afterwards, it dissolved, showing the form of a very deformed black demon. Its wings were black as charcoal, and his hind legs were twisted. The hands were some very large claws, and the face was indescribably ugly, with long rotten teeth protruding from the mouth. Alex gasped at this vision, but rapidly recovered her wits. "Man, you are one ugly piece of software! No wonder no one wants you near!" Cauldron growled, and immediately a black lightning was spit from his mouth. The attack hit Alex, who was sent tumbling back. She was dizzy, but not enough to see another lightning heading towards her. She evaded it. That caused Cauldron to scream in frustration, and launched a series of lightnings towards Alex. She dodged them all, and in a sudden move, she dived towards the demon, hitting it with all her might on the chin. The demon was sent reeling backwards, screaming. Alex was feeling pretty good by now, and seized the opportunity to reach Ami. "Ami, wake up! We have to get out of here!" Ami stirred inside the sphere, and opening her eyes, she smiled at Alex. "Alex... is that... you?" "Yes, it's me, girl! Come one, move it or lose it! Cauldron will be back any second now!" "I can't leave this place, Alex." "What are you talking about??" "Don't you see it? This is my mind, and what you are looking at... is my soul. I can't leave here, because... I'd die." Alex couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ami's soul?? But before she could make another question, Cauldron attacked her on the back, slashing her with his claws. Alex screamed, feeling pain for the first time since she was self-conscious. Cauldron then grabbed her by the neck, and spinning her to face him, he talked. "Why do you risk your existence for this puny human? You are a superior program! Join me, and together we shall conquest her insignificant race!" "Not in your life, Cauldron!" retorted Alex. "Humans are not puny nor insignificant! They are our creators, and this particular human is worth my own existence! I'll fight until the very end protecting her!" "Is that so? Then tell me, program... what makes her so valuable to you? She's weak, pathetic and unfocussed! She can't deal with her own human emotions, and her body is weak! Why do you want to defend her with your life? She's not worth it!" "No!!" almost screamed Alex. Was Cauldron right? Humans weren't worth the effort? She then remembered their time together... the first time she tried to access Ami's computer... the way she treated her, with respect... The day she begged for her help for Minako, her bitter tears when she refused to help her... the way Yohann treated her for that decision... When they arrived at the hospital, and she met Ami's mother... How Dr. Mizuno worked with her during Minako's diagnosis back at the base... the joy and happiness Ami felt when she told her that Minako was going to be all right... the strange feeling she felt when Ami thanked her, tears of happiness in her eyes... The time they trained together, acting as one, thinking as one... and finally, the day she gave the girls their Techno-armors, and the words of thanks that Usagi expressed to her, and how the rest of the team echoed those words... No, Cauldron was wrong. Humans were the best people she had ever encountered, and Ami... especially Ami! "That's where you are wrong, Cauldron! It's precisely that 'weakness' that makes them strong! Their emotions is what give them the strength to go on, regardless the difficulties! And this girl in particular is worth saving!" was Alex's answer, and she said those words with all her conviction. "Oh, yes? Then... are you willing to cease to exist for her? And why is that? Can you tell me before I terminate you, program?" taunted Cauldron. "ANSWER ME!" "Because... because..." began to said Alex, but lost the word she was looking for. She then looked at Ami, and saw her smiling at her... Smiling! And that's when Alex found her answer, an answer that filled her entire being with power and determination. "... BECAUSE SHE IS MY FRIEND!" And with that, she released a beam of pure white light from her hands towards Cauldron, hitting him in the chest. Cauldron howled his pain and desperation, incredulous that this puny program had such tremendous power! But Alex wasn't about to let him go that easily. She began to send more beams towards Cauldron, one after another. And with each beam, she told him. "AND..." a beam hit him in one wing, disintegrating it. "MY..." another beam blew an arm from Cauldron, making him scream. "NAME..." one more beam blew the other wing to kingdom come. "IS..." this beam blew apart one leg. "ALEX!!!" And with a final blow, more powerful than the last ones, she enveloped Cauldron in her energy, disintegrating him slowly but surely. "NO!!" screamed Cauldron, using the last of his energy. "This can't be! I can't be defeated like this! I'm Cauldron! The best military program ever created! I'm invincible! I'm..." But he never had the chance to finish that sentence. With one last burst of power, Alex destroyed him, this time forever. When the danger was over, Alex went back with Ami. This time, when she touched the sphere, it dissolved, and Ami then embraced her with all her strength, tears of happiness in her eyes. "Whoa! Take it easy, whiz kid!" said Alex, taken aback by Ami's reaction. "After all, I was under orders to save you! Besides, it was all in a day's work, you know?" "It's not only for that, Alex." Said Ami, still embracing Alex warmly. "And then, why?" wondered Alex. Ami then let go Alex, but still hold her by her hands. She then looked straight into Alex's eyes, and smiling, she answered. "For calling me your friend. Thank you... my friend." Alex smiled at Ami, feeling something weird on her eyes. When she took her hand towards her face, she then realized that she was crying! "But... how can it be possible? I'm only a computer program! I don't even have a body!" "But with your actions, you showed that you have a soul, my friend... a very caring and beautiful soul. And why do you think you were able to come here in the first place?" asked Ami, still smiling at Alex. Alex was confused. She, having a soul? Granted, she was an AI, but with a soul?? "But... how?... why?... when?..." "Here, let me show you, Alex." Said Ami. And with a wave of her hand, a full body mirror appeared in front of Alex. Alex couldn't believe what she was seeing! She was looking at her reflection and facevaulted. The mirror was showing the image of a beautiful lady, dressed in a silver jumpsuit. Her body was well formed, and a golden belt with a blue star in the buckle was on her slim waist. Looking at it closely, she noticed that a silver crescent moon was in the middle of the star! She then looked at her face... and looked a beautiful, raven-haired young woman, with deep green eyes. Her hair reached her back, almost to her waist. She was wearing a pair of pendants, with small stars on them. In general, she didn't look more than 16 or 18 years old. "What you are seeing, my friend, is your soul. Now you understand? When you were created, your programmers did a job far better than they could ever imagine. You are one of a kind, Alex." Said Ami. And with another wave of her hand, the mirror disappeared. Alex was still confused, but at the same time, she was elated. She had a soul! And even better, now she had a friend! Without saying a word, she then embraced Ami with all her strength. Ami returned the embrace, and the two girls remained like that for an undetermined lapse of time. Finally, Alex let the embrace to end, and looking at Ami's eyes, she said. "Thank you... friend." Ami nodded to Alex, and pointing towards the horizon, she said. "It's time for you to return, Alex. We have a mission to finish." "But I don't want to go! This place is so beautiful! And I don't want to leave you!" pouted Alex. "I know, Alex. But we'll still be friends in the real world... Besides, one day, we will be together." Alex was puzzled by that last remark. Together... one day? But when she looked at Ami,, Alex knew that there was some way for it... and she'll be waiting for that day. And after briefly squeezing Ami's hands, she began the long journey back towards Yohann, but this time, with a warm feeling on her heart. After all, how many AI's can claim that they have a soul... and a good friend? * * * * Yohann felt that he was on the verge of a cardiac arrest. He felt useless, being unable to help Mercury. Suddenly, the consoles of the computer room began to behave erratically, and suddenly, turned off. He then looked at Mercury, and noticed that the wires holding her began to fall to the ground. In that instant, he heard Alex's voice. "Hi, honey! Missed me?" "Alex! You made it! Tell me, what happened to Cauldron?" asked Yohann, anxiety lacing his voice. "Let's just say... that he took a hike... permanently." Was Alex's response. Suddenly, Yohann heard a commotion on the outside, and before he could react, the door was blown to pieces, and the rest of the team entered the room. "All right, where is he?" said Uranus, her katana on the ready. "I'm going to make him regret the day he messed with us!" "Cool down, amazon!" said Alex. "Cauldron will cause no more trouble. I saw to it personally!" "You defeated him, Alex??" exclaimed Sailor Moon. "And how did you do it?" "Err... excuse me, guys? Can someone help me to get out of this place?" said Mercury, trying to detangle herself from the wires covering her. "Oh, my God! Mercury! What happened to you??" said Saturn, looking at her efforts to get out of the console. "Allow me, Mercury..." said Uranus, and with a swift movement of her Katana, Mercury was freed. "Thanks, Uranus. I needed that." "Excuse me, guys... but have you seen our weapons here? Cauldron said that they were here, along with you." Said Sailor Neptune. "Well, that can easily be fixed. Alex? Can you do us the honor?" Said Yohann. "But of course, sweetie! It will be an honor! Mercury, care to join me on the scan?" "Of course, Alex. Let's do it!" said Mercury. Everybody looked at her, puzzled, wondering what happened here before their arrival. A few seconds later, they had their answer. "Well, what do you know? That insidious little devil..." began Alex. "It seems that Cauldron had a secret room here!" "A secret room? And why didn't you detected it earlier?" Asked Yohann. "I can answer that." Said Mercury. "It seems that he was generating a dampening field of some kind, that interfered both our previous scans. But now that he's gone, the field is down." "Those are good news!" said Sailor Moon. "I bet our weapons are there! But how do we enter that place?" "Let me handle that one, girls." Said Alex. "Mercury, when you receive my signal on your computer, open the entrance, got it?" "Got it, Alex." Answered Mercury, her computer ready. "All right, here I go!" said Alex, and immediately downloaded herself into the computers. After a couple of minutes, Mercury received the signal, and after punching a few keys, a console slid open, revealing a huge room on the back. Everybody entered the place, and were amazed at the sight. In the middle of the huge hall, there was a strange device. It was cylindrical, a dull tone of copper,. at least 20 feet high by 10 feet of diameter. A strange crystalline dome was on top. Around it, there were 3 smaller versions of the central structure, forming a perfect triangle around it. And embedded in the smaller structures, were the weapons of the Senshi. They happily went to retrieve them, and once they had their respective weapons, they placed then on their sub-space pockets. Pluto noticed that her Time Key was in the central cylinder, and retrieved it as well. "Geez, Yohann... what is this thing?" asked Saturn. "I'm not sure, but I think I have an idea. Alex? Are you there?" said Yohann. "Right here, sweetie. Geez, I hope I don't have to enter those old circuits again! Cauldron's presence left a stench on them!" said Alex. Yohann received the strange mental image of a dark-haired woman wrinkling her nose. He dismissed the image as a figment of his imagination. "Tell me... what is this thing?" "Well, sweetbuns, you are not going to like this... Do you remember the experiments that were being conducted on Moon Rider? The ones about the matter-energy relation?" "Yes, I remember those. What do they have to do with this thing?" "Weeeell..." "Stop stalling, Alex! Get right to the point!" "Ok, pork chops... the truth is, that this contraption is a stellar converter!" Yohann almost did a somersault when he heard that. 'No! It can't be!' he thought, a cold sweat moving all the length of his spine. "Yohann! what's the matter? You paled all of a sudden!" asked Saturn, looking concerned. "This... this thing... is one of the forbidden weapons of the MRMA!" answered Yohann, still trembling. "But what does it does? It looks harmless to me." Said Sailor Moon, not understanding the implications. The rest of the group developed some rather large sweatdrops on their heads. "I think I'll let Mercury explain that one to you. Mercury, here is the data of this thing." Said Alex, and she began to transmit the data to her computer. When Mercury read the information, she paled too, and took a couple of steps back from the device. Everybody was taken aback by her reaction, feeling weird near the apparatus. All of them took too a step back. "Mercury? It can't be that bad... can it? I mean, it's not radioactive, is it?" asked Saturn, watching the device with suspicion. Mercury blinked a couple of times, getting out from the shock. "No, it's not radioactive, but I wish it was... it would be easier to handle. Let me explain. This device strikes directly into the atoms electronic configuration, transmutating them and releasing an enormous quantity of energy at the same time, initiating an uncontrolled chain reaction. It requires a fairly big amount of power to function, but the end result is catastrophic!" "The simpler version, please, Mercury?" said Jupiter. "What she means, girls," continued Alex this time, "is that this thing is in reality an extremely powerful energy cannon! With the capability to blow entire solar systems with one single shot!" The whole group turned slowly to look at the converter, a shocked expression on their eyes. No wonder Yohann and Mercury were so scared! And if Cauldron ever had the opportunity to use this thing... Or worse! If an arqueological expedition found this and the military forces of the world got their hands on it! It would be like leaving a five-year-old inside a room with a loaded Uzi! "Well, that settles it. This thing has to go." Said Uranus, a look of pure hatred in her eyes. "Not only the converter, The whole base has to go." Said Yohann. "The information contained in the different rooms is extremely dangerous for this world." And with a stern look, he began to issue orders. "Alex, Mercury, you are going to stay here. I want you to raid all the data banks of this place and extract all the information on them." "Roger, sweetie!" said Alex. "Ok, Mercury, we have a work cut for us. Let's go!" and with that, she downloaded herself on Mercury's computer, and then both entered the computer room and began to work. "The rest of us will split again, but this time each team will carry a HWP with them, in case we encounter more of those robots. If you find anything that looks even remotely suspicious, don't doubt to pick it up, and if it's too big to carry, destroy it. I think our communication channels will be clear now that Cauldron is gone, so don't hesitate to call if you need help. Well, let's go, same order as before. Mars, you are coming with me. Chibi-Moon, you will go with the other team." Everybody split up again, and proceeded to inspect the rest of the base. They encountered a little resistance, but without Cauldron to guide them, they were quickly dispatched this time. An hour later, everybody was back in the hangar. The four boxes that were on the Storage room were already loaded in the Leviathan, the same as assorted trinkets the team found around. Chibi-Moon was having a thrill, riding on one of the HWP's as if it were a toy car. "Well, team. Report." Said Yohann once everybody was together. "We only found slight resistance this time. It felt so good to be able to fight this time!" Said Sailor Moon, giggling. "We were able to extract all the data of the Computers room. At least, the data that wasn't deleted when Cauldron was destroyed." Reported Mercury. "And we found an interesting way to close this place permanently, sweetie. Check this out!" said Alex, and began to transmit her findings to Yohann's mind. When he saw the data, he smiled broadly. "You are right, Alex. And it's an excellent idea." And addressing everybody, he began to explain the plan. "Ok, team, listen up. Alex and Mercury have come with a plan that will solve our problems once and for all. Inside the Leviathan, is a crate of explosives. I'm going to give you the charges, and Alex will guide you to the exact places you'll have to place them. Once done, return here immediately." 45 minutes later, everybody was back again, the charges in place. "Well done, and in the nick of time." Said Yohann. "The sun will go up in 5 minutes. Everyone, let's get inside... cause we are going home!" "Yaaaayyy!!" exclaimed Chibi-Moon. "About time, too! I want to have breakfast!" Her remark draw a series of laughs from everyone, but no one contradicted her. They all felt the same. Once everybody were on their seats, the Leviathan took off. When they were about to reach the ceiling, Alex shoot another Tachyon beam towards it, and the Keops pyramid above them glow golden again. The ship immediately launched itself through it, and once outside, it cloaked again, becoming invisible... but not before a stunned group of tourists, who were camping outside the pyramid, got a good view of the glowing pyramid and the enormous blue ship darting out of it. The Leviathan achieved hover over the Giza complex at one thousand feet, and once they were in position, Yohann issued one last set of orders. "Excellent job, everyone. I feel proud of you. Ok, Alex. Bring out the tactical screen of the base." Once the diagram was in place, he said. "All right, Mercury... hit it!" Mercury then pushed a button on her console, and everyone watched in awe the results of their efforts. On the outside, at some locations, there were some sand geysers, and on the screen, they all looked that the sand was pouring inside the base, burying it completely, and making sure that it will remain hidden forever. Once he made sure that everything was fine, Yohann took his place at the pilot seat, and said. "Jendra, call Gaia, and send this message: Mission Accomplished. Lit a candle at the window to guide us, because we are coming home." "Roger, sir!" said happily Jendra, and relayed the message. Yohann sighed, and closing his eyes, he ordered. "Uranus, plot the shortest course back. Let's get out of here." "Yes, Sir!" And with that, the Leviathan flew back to Gaia, and to the next part of their adventure. TO BE CONTINUED...