(Version 1.2) SailorsPathfinder : Love and Without By : Erin Flynn - fanfic@mjade.com Episode 10 : Discoveries Mercury let her hand holding her computer fall to her knee with a sigh. Mars looked up at her, "Well? Where are we? Give me the bad news." "Well, if I told you the distance in feet, the number would be astronomical, too big for comprehension; and speaking of astronomical, I could tell you the distance in AU's but I don't think you-" "AMI!! In Japanese if you don't mind..." Mercury looked up and sighed, "On the other side of the galaxy." Mars groaned and rolled over onto her back to stare up at the stars again. "Well, I guess I couldn't have hoped we'd be on Earth, not with these people, and not with this kind of plant life..." She gazed around at the purple grass which surrounded her. The green flowers swayed in a slight breeze. "I've never seen anything like this... anyplace like this. I guess I already knew we weren't on Earth..." She looked back at Mercury, "Have any of your scans located Mamoru?" Her friend's head shook in the negative, "No, but then my range isn't that great in the first place. He'd have to be within a five mile radius and so far... he's not." Mars sighed and looked back up into the sky. The rest of the girls still hovered around near the side of the enclosure. Many slept, many did not; but all seemed confused and unsettled. she thought, * * * Sage sprinted down the corridor and Leeota groaned as she strained to keep up with her, "Is it a law that seventeen year-olds run so fast?" She paused to suck in another breath, "Do I run faster when I turn sixteen or do I have to wait until I'm seventeen, too -- CAN WE PLEASE SLOW DOWN!!" Sage glanced over her shoulder, "Shush!! Are you trying to wake the dead? Wanna just tell the DarkNites we're here? And you know we have to get this done fast!!" Leeota sighed, "I know, I know... Complaining just keeps the mind on it's job... no matter how unpleasant that job is. Why didn't we just teleport in, drop this thing, and jump out, huh? And why do I have to carry it!" She hefted the detonator under her arm again, "It's heavy!" Sage flashed a grin back at her and turned a corner, chuckling as Leeota had to scramble to turn after, "Well, to answer the first question, two reasons. One, this way, no DarkNites are waiting for us and we can get to the center of the castle somewhat safely, and two, it's gonna take me more than two minutes at least to take off all the protections so that it will blow up... which ties in to reason one... we could have just jumped in and dropped it, but not with a powerful enough detonator to destroy everything. "Oh, and as for your second question... Age has benefits." She laughed as Leeota growled behind her. They continued to run... * * * The DarkNite gaped at the rose sticking out of her chest and then blaster fire struck her down. Tuxedo Mask then hefted the blaster and turned once more in the direction of the orange blasts which could only be coming from Hydrazite. He had desperately been trying to move towards her for some time now, but for some reason the DarkNites were attracted to him like fish to water, bees to nectar, him to his Usako... and they wouldn't leave him alone. Another leapt out at him and he yelled at it in annoyance as he struck out with a rose. * * * Mars woke later only to find Mercury still fiddling with her computer. She yawned and sat up. Her friend looked up absently and smiled. "Ami, why don't you get some sleep? Nothing's going to happen anytime soon." "On the contrary, things are continually happening around here." Mars looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?" "Well," said Mercury as she stood up, "the simple fact that girls keep falling from the sky." As she said it, Mars looked over at the group of girls. "There are a few more now then when we got here, huh?" "Thirty-three more." "Thirty-three!!!" Mars cried. "What is going on?!?!" Mercury looked back down at her computer, "That's what I'm trying to find out." Her hands began to fly across the keys. Mars moved to look over the other Senshi's shoulder. "What are you doing?" "Looking for an old scanning program of mine." "Scanning?" Mercury nodded, "Yes. When there were just four of us scouts, and Luna told us that there would be a fifth scout joining us soon, I decided that it might be nice to find her, before she had to find us. So I started working on a program that could scan people to see if they were Senshi." "But... but how would a computer be able to tell who was a Senshi? And why didn't you ever finish the program?" "Well, because Minako showed up, and I never needed it. But the computer would be able to tell Senshi from normal people based on a few of my own theories. I believe that because we are Senshi, we have a different type of aura surrounding us; more powerful and more potent than say your typical person walking down the street." She tapped on a few more keys, frowned, and continued, "Now, computers can see heat auras. In my theory, our 'auras of power' should affect that aura around us as well." Mars shook her head. "I know about auras, but I just don't see how your computer could see them. If I had fire, I could probably meditate long enough to see what you're--" "That's it!!" Mercury jumped up. "That's what?" "I found the program... and it's almost completed... when did I... oh yes!! That one day after my Calculus exam..." she broke off and began to type even faster. Mars stood up and looked at the screen for a second as numbers flew by. Then she sighed, and decided to go over to the group of girls and try to talk to them again... when a thought occurred to her, and she turned to Mercury. "Why do you need it?" The other Senshi looked up at her, "Hm?" "Why do you need it?" "Need what?" Mars sighed, "The program?" "Oh... because I think some of these girls are Senshi." "Well, of course they are," Mars pointed off at them, "Look at their outfits-" Mercury shook her head, "No, not just the ones in fukus... more of them than that." "Really?" "Yes." Mars frowned, "Then why haven't they transformed?" Mercury looked up at her, "Because like us a little while ago, they do not know they are Senshi, they were snatched from their planets before they found out. If danger never threatened their planet, they might never have found out." Mars looked off at the girls, "Good Lord... if that's true... this must be scaring some of them out of their minds." Mercury nodded absently and then smiled, "There... it's working--" She stopped, and had a look of mixed shock and horror on her face. Mars ran over to her, "What? What is it?" "All of them." "All of them what? Mercury, come on, tell me!" "All of them are Senshi." Mars gulped, "Well then... let's get to work." * * * Ann felt her lip and pulled her hand away only to gaze at blood On her hand. She blasted power angrily at another of the DarkNites. She shot at another DarkNite and then turned. "Alan?" She turned to where she thought her lover was and was met with a sight from her nightmares as she saw him bodily thrown across the field to land in a heap not far away. "AAALLLLAAANNNNN!!!!" She screamed in pain and rage as she dove at the youma and drove two charges of energy straight through it. Hurriedly, as the rage quickly subsided, she ran to where he was. Carefully she moved him on to his back, all the while screaming his name at him. He wasn't moving. She called him twice more before the blast of power hit her in the back and sent her flying across Alan. Blackness stole her away... * * * Sage stumbled a little as the part of her mind that was connected to Alan suddenly went blank and was almost immediately followed by Ann. "NO!! Something happened to the pair!" "Ann and Alan?" Leeota asked anxiously. Sage nodded and then suddenly motioned for Leeota to stop. She closed her eyes for a moment... and then opened them. "We're there," she whispered. "All right, after I set this thing up, we have about 30 seconds to teleport out of here, K?" Leeota nodded. Sage poked her head around a corner, slowly, looking into the room she was planning on entering... Then hurriedly she spun back into the corridor as shouts went up within the room. She grinned at Leeota, "Shit... I don't think Mamoru was right about all the DarkNites going outside--" A burst of energy struck out of the doorway. "SCATTER!!!!" Sage screamed and Leeota dove off into another room. Sage gulped in a breath and then jumped into the room. "Heh, heh... Um... Hi." "INFINITE FLARE BURSTS!!!!" * * * Tuxedo Mask was suddenly there. Hydrazite was not twenty five feet from him, facing him, staring at him. He leveled his blaster at her, and she mockingly laughed at him. "Pitiful human!! You show me once more how useless your race is-- and how STUPID!!" Orange energy left her hands to streak towards him... But he wasn't there. She wheeled around looking for him... to discover him behind her. She growled. "Quick, aren't you- but you can't elude me forever--" "Hydrazite, do you have any idea who I am?" "Yes!! VERMIN!!" Orange energy shot at him again, and again he moved too fast for her. She swore as she once again spun to face him. "No... I am Prince Endymion, Prince of Earth. The last ruler of Earth during the Silver Millennium, engaged to Princess Serenity... and your commander." Now she gaped at him, "WHAT!?!" His mask was suddenly gone from his face and she gaped at him. "NO!!! It's impossible!! You were killed!! Nephlite... and the others... they killed you, you traitor to Earth..." she paused as her eyes flared... "HOW?" she roared. "The Queen." "WHAT?" * * * Mars was trying to explain to one more of the girls how she could get her transformation pen, when suddenly she heard the sound of the portal opening again to drop another girl. She turned to look and gave out a cry. "MINAKO!!" She sprinted over to where her friend lay, Mercury joining her a second later. "Minako... Minako-chan..." Mars gently shook their friend. The blonde's eyes lolled open, and then grew enormous, "REI!! AMI!! You guys are okay!!" Mars hugged her and then carefully pulled her away from the spot where all of the girls kept landing. "Where are the others?" Minako groaned, "Probably around here somewhere." "Not yet, you just fell through a portal." "A portal!!" she looked incredulously at Mercury. Mercury nodded. "Well, then they should be popping through any second now." * * * "And then Princess Serenity destroyed her, just as she should have been destroyed centuries ago." Tuxedo Mask finished his story quickly, carefully watched Hydrazite for her reaction... And then dodged quickly as she blasted at him with orange energy. "LIAR!! IMPOSSIBLE!!! You are simply another human vermin sent her by the stupid Senshi to try and confuse me... oh, you look like the Prince... but you aren't. And that inane story might have worked except for one small detail." "And that would be?" he asked cautiously. She struck out at him again, and he moved, and then she finally answered, "Because, Liar, Nephlite would NEVER have turned on Beryl... he was never a traitor... the Prince was!" She continued to try and kill him and he successfully maneuvered out of the way each time, hoping, desperately, that he was giving the others more time, and maybe tiring her. He decided to continue the conversation as a memory suddenly revealed itself in his mind. "Oh, that's right!! You and Nephlite had a thing for each other didn't you! Oh, well it's good that I didn't tell you why he betrayed Beryl, then." She threw a wave of energy in his general direction and then screamed at him, "WHY?" "Well, because the reason he betrayed her was because he had fallen in love... with a human girl!" A rage took over her as she screamed, "LLIIIIAAAARRRR!!!!" and he hurriedly had to move out of her way again... and again... and again... * * * And just after Aino Minako spoke... the invisible portal opened again, and Tsukino Usagi fell from the sky... * * * Tuxedo Mask had just run out of ideas, and was rapidly running out of strength and awareness to fight off any more of Hydrazite's attack... when suddenly, life coursed through him... love and life and... power. He smiled and gasped, closing his eyes, basking in the feeling, not even wondering why it was happening, just reveling in it... and then he opened his eyes... And was Prince Endymion. Hydrazite gasped, "NO." Endymion nodded, "Yes, it is me." In a short moment he had leveled his sword in her direction. "And if I recall Hydrazite, you were almost as good as me with a sword--" "Better." From out of nowhere the general-turned-queen had produced a sword, which she now leveled at him. She grinned evilly, and then struck. He parried, and the battle began. They locked swords for a moment and he grinned evilly at her, "If you accept the fact that I am who I am, then you must realize that everything else I said to you might be true as well." He saw the rage in her eyes as a tear tracked it's way down her face, "Damn you... DAMN YOU!!!" She screamed and shoved him away and the battle continued. Almost equal power. Almost equal skill. Battle went on. They stood, swords locked once again, staring each other down... when suddenly they were thrown across the field by an explosion... * * * Leeota had hidden in the room for what felt like forever, when she heard Sage scream. Carefully she set the detonator down, stormed across the hall, and then into the room her friend had entered minutes before. Five DarkNites loomed over Sage's fallen body near the center of the room. "FLIGHT STRIKER!!" One of the DarkNites fell to the energy bird as the other four looked up at her... and then more than seventy looked up at her from the surrounding shadows. "Shit." She looked at her hands, "Here goes," and then she found the words to call upon the powers she had never had to call upon, in this life or the other. "AQUA SWIRL!!!" As green energy erupted from her body in waves as if from the ocean, thoughts of that old life returned to her. She had been a Guardian, not a normal Senshi. Senshi gained their powers by birth, Guardians were gifted with their powers by the Queen. They were specially chosen warriors, deadly machines, yet, machines with ethics, morals, good ideas, and imagination who could become advisors and friends to the rulers they were assigned to. For while normal Senshi guarded their respective planets, Guardian Senshi guarded people, mostly important rulers. Leeota had always wanted to guard the Queen and her daughter, and the prince of Earth; but that specific job had always been taken by the most powerful Guardian, and when she died just before the battle with Metallia, the Senshi of the Terren system took up the job. She had guarded the ruler of her home planet, Ziglar, a planet hovering near the edge of the galaxy... nowhere near where she had dreamed of living. Needless to say, not much happens out on the edge of the galaxy, and she had never used her most potent power against anyone or anything. After regaining her memories in this life, she had always refrained against using that power, even when her situation was desperate... she had been on the brink of death more than once, and she hadn't even let the notion of using that power enter her mind... she was afraid of it, afraid of the destruction it would cause, afraid of what it would do to her, and mostly afraid that she wouldn't be able to control it; for no one had ever trained her to use that power. There just wasn't the time, nor the need for her instruction. So she had never used it to save herself-- not ever. But now not only was her life on the line... but Sage's as well. She had promised herself, told herself, that if ever someone else ever needed her to use her power to save them, she would. And she used it now... for Sage. Green energy swirled around the room, destroying everything. Leeota panicked... Her power responded to her will and flowed over and around her friend's fallen body. DarkNites screamed as the energy ripped through them and they fell one by one. In moments, they were all gone... The green energy kept pouring from Leeota, and she desperately tried to control it... to stop it. She thought about stopping it, screamed it in her mind... but now the power was going out of control. She frantically tried anything she could think of, creating mental barriers, ripping others down; but the more and more panicked she became, the more wild the energy became. Suddenly Leeota realized that she had given up far too much energy. When this was over-- if it was over -- she might not survive, that thought raced through her mind terrifying her-- And then suddenly great pain took over her body. She screamed... And green energy exploded from her. * * * The armaments placed upon the detonator. Only Sage could decipher them, take them off, at least properly. However, if those armaments were burned away... destroyed... and the core was breached by sheer energy... * * * Suddenly the castle exploded... was suddenly ripped apart. And as Risa was thrown back, she realized that the explosion was much more powerful than it should have been. She gazed at the flames erupting from the buildings and wondered if it was only her imagination, or if they were slightly green on the edges. Her mind was torn away from the thought, though as she heard cheers go up... End Ep. 10 (Version 1.2)