"So... how's Setsuna doing?" Makoto asked.
It was in the early afternoon. The Inner Senshi were all sitting in Rei's room at the Hikawa Shrine, doing what Usagi was dreading the most: Studying for upcoming tests.
Hotaru was with them.
"Well, I don't know, by now she's gone for two days," the purple-haired girl explained. "She said she had really urgent business to attend. Business with the Gates of Time."
"I was wondering," Ami said. "Normally, she would have watched you in Haruka's and Michiru's absence, right?"
Hotaru nodded. "Yes, and she said she was really sorry she couldn't stay during the time Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama are on vacation." She turned around to face Rei. "I really hope I'm not a bother to you or your grandfather..."
Rei smiled. "Don't worry, we have plenty of room for you. And Haruka and Michiru have planned that vacation for such a long time, it wouldn't just feel right to disappoint them."
"But staying away for such a long time, that's not really Setsuna's style," Makoto pointed out. "And normally, after being at the Time Gates, she has always returned shortly after she had left."
"Yeah, that's one of the advantages of being the Guardian of Time," Minako chuckled. "No matter how much you have to do, you'll always have enough time."
"Even more so I'm worried," Makoto said. "She would have informed us if there were any trouble."
"Knowing Setsuna, she would have wanted to take care of it all by herself," Rei sighed.
"I think we are just worrying too much," Ami said. "She will most likely tell us in time if there is anything bad coming up." She opened her math book. "Now, shall we take a look at this Algebra?"
A couple of groans and nods followed. Her friends were not particularly thrilled about it, but they knew it was important. Even Minako submitted to the tiresome habit called studying.
Rei looked around the room. Wasn't there someone at the table missing?
She frowned when she heard a giggle coming from her drawers.
Usagi turned around her head when she heard her black-haired friend approaching. "Rei, you have to take a look at this, it's hilarious!"
Angrily, Rei snatched the corpus delicti out of Usagi's hands.
"STOP READING MY MANGAS!"
The others sighed. "Maybe we should stop having our meetings at Rei's place," Makoto muttered. "So Usagi wouldn't be distracted by her Manga collection..."
Ami was about to reply something, when her Senshi Communicator started to beep.
She activated it. "Yes?"
The furry face of Luna looked back at her. She was using Usagi's communicator, which she had left behind at home, in case of an emergency. "Ami, we have trouble! Something's going on at the shopping mall. They're telling about it on TV."
"We'll take a look at it." She asked Rei to switch on the television set, and her friend nodded.
The camera was showing a chaotic scene in the middle of the shopping mall. All kinds of wares have been thrown out onto the street, and people were running around in a panic. In the distance, police sirens could be heard. A bald commentator was speaking.
"As you can see, it's a scene of chaos. We still can't say for sure who the perpetrator or perpetrators are, but we'll inform you when we learn more. Some people claim to have seen whoever did this..."
The screen switched to the panicked face of a young woman, according to the badge on her shirt, a salesclerk at one of the shops.
"It came out of nothing, I tell you," she said in a shrill voice. "It was disgusting. Like some giant... BUG or something."
The camera switched to a burly man in his 30s, who had a grim expression on his face.
"I'm not kidding, man! That thing was at long as the Doberman pinscher of my great-aunt Mikoto. At least! I always told those guys from the government, if they keep up with those animal experiments, nature's gonna strike back one of those days."
A spindly man with a cane appeared on screen. "Bah, that was nothing but a costume. I've never seen bug feelers that looked this fake. I'm telling you, someone's pulling a big prank on all of us."
The camera switched back to the reporter. "There you have it, people. A prank or the invasion of monsters? We can't say for sure. But the police forces will take care of things around here. We'll report again when we find out more about this."
"A giant bug?" Usagi shivered. "Creepy..."
"What do you say, Luna?" Ami asked. "Do you think it's a leftover Youma from the Negaverse?"
"Might be," the cat replied. "But you should go there and look for yourself. I doubt it's someone pulling a prank, though..."
"We're on it." She switched off the communicator and the TV.
"You heard her," Rei said and stood up. "Let's go!"
"C-can't we let anyone else take care of this?" Usagi whined. "Like, an exterminator or someone like that?"
"Stop whining!" Rei snapped. "We're the Sailor Senshi, so we have to investigate. If it's a Youma, we have to destroy it."
"I don't like it either, but that's what we do," Makoto nodded.
"Yeah, so let's go BUG him!" Minako grinned.
Makoto groaned. "Minako, that was a horrible pun..."
"Hey, at least I got it right this time."
----
Shortly afterwards, the six Senshi were at the scene.
"It always looks worse if you see it for real, instead on the TV screen," Mars sighed. "So, Mercury... can your computer pick anything up?"
Amy pulled out her Mercury Computer and activated her visor. She scanned the area for any unusual readings.
"I have some odd readings in that building over there," she finally said, pointing at a European-style restaurant. "But it's not like anything we have encountered before..."
Suddenly, one of the restaurant's windows broke, as a heavy table came flying out and landed on the street.
"Well, whatever it is, no one's wrecking restaurants when Sailor Moon has anything to say about it," Usagi growled.
"What's gotten into her?" Jupiter wondered. "She's normally not so impulsive..."
Venus sighed. "She and Mamoru had planned to have a romantic dinner in that restaurant at Friday..."
Suddenly, a loud shout came out of the building. A voice that the Senshi knew to well.
"Tuxedo Mask," the gasped in unison and ran towards the entrance.
----
The inside of the restaurant was even more ravaged than the stores outside. Most of the tables and chairs were broken, and Tuxedo Mask was in the middle of the room, ducking under a barrage of dishes.
"I already told you, I want my steak WELL DONE!" a screeching voice exclaimed from the other side of the room. Behind one of the tilted tables, they could see a dark shape, which was throwing plates and saucers at the caped avenger.
"Tuxedo Mask!" Usagi shouted.
"Sailor Moon! Watch out!" Tuxedo Mask grunted. "It's much faster and trickier as it would seem..."
And as on cue, the dark shape suddenly zipped through the room, crawling over wooden splinters and under still standing tables.
"What's wrong?" the voice mocked. "Can't catch me?"
"It's playing with us," Mars realized with an angry frown.
"Well, not for long!" Jupiter growled. "SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!"
The ball of electricity headed straight for the unknown enemy, but in the last instant, it jumped straight up and sticked to the ceiling. It quickly crawled to chandelier that was hanging in the middle of the room and hid on top of it.
"Coward!" Jupiter shouted. "Come out and fight like a... a... well, whatever you are!"
The voice giggled. "Impulsive as always, Makoto! You don't know how silly you look like this."
The Senshi and Tuxedo Mask gasped. "It knows my secret identity?" Jupiter muttered.
"Doesn't matter if we take it out right now," Mars growled.
Saturn frowned. "You know... somehow, that voice sounded familiar."
"Haven't got a clue, have you?" the creature snickered. "Well, I'm gonna make it easier for you."
Without any warning, it jumped down from the chandelier and landed right in front of a startled Sailor Moon, who yelped in surprise and fell back on her behind.
Then she screamed in terror at the giant cockroach that was standing in front of her.
"Don't like my looks?" the enormous insect asked. "I can change that... Time Splitter, Terrorize!"
And in a swift movement, the creature erected its body... and turned into a robotic-human-like being with parts of her 'roach costume' attached to her outer shell.
"It's a robot?" Minako wondered. "A robot that can transform?"
The female-looking creature smirked. "I prefer the term 'Predacon'."
Ami reached for her computer again.
An extendable claw reached out and snatched it right out of her hands. "Uh uh uh..." Time Splitter wagged her index finger. "No fair cheating, Ami!"
"Blast you!" Mars screamed. "BURNING MANDALA!"
The fiery attack hit the Predacon in the middle of its chest, and for a while, she doubled over.
Only to look up at the Senshi with a grin. "Oh please," she mocked. "A cockroach can survive the impact of an atomic war... is that the best you can do?"
"Who are you and how do you know our names?" Mars shouted, pissed that her attack didn't seem to faze the robot at all.
"Rei, don't you recognize me? Well, okay, I am kinda different from before... But surely you all recognize this."
She opened a hatch on her breast plate, and a certain, red-glowing orb got visible.
"That's the Garnet Orb!" Venus gasped. "You... what have you done with Sailor Pluto?"
"I don't believe it..." Mercury gasped. "Is that... is that you, Setsuna?"
Saturn's glaive fell to the ground with a loud clatter. The young girl looked at the robotic Senshi with teary eyes.
"Setsuna-mama?" she whimpered. "But... but how?"
"I could explain it, but that would take too much time," the former Senshi sneered. "And I'm called Time Splitter now. To make it short: I'm here to take you all along for a ride."
"A ride?" Venus wondered.
"Yes." Time Splitter nodded. "A ride through time."
"Setsuna, I don't understand." Usagi stood up and looked at her in disbelief. "Why are you like this? Why did you do all this? Why do you want to take us into the past?"
The Predacon smiled. "You'll find out... soon enough!"
And she reached for the Garnet Orb that was embedded within her metal plating.
"STOP HER!" Tuxedo Mask shouted.
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(Posted Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:31)
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