Hotaru watched the arrows. Stone really shouldn’t fly as well as it did. It was a perfect parabolic arc, starting on top of the main entrance to the front of the park and ending in her chest.
The Senshi of Destruction marveled at how blue the sky looked. ‘Today was a good day.’ She thought to herself with a smile, arrows forgotten as she stared into the infinite blue of the sky and remembered what Setsuna-Mama had told her.
It hadn’t made sense at the time, but now she could see what she had meant. “The trick is to live in the present, for the past has faded and the future is a dream. Time is an illusion. In the end, all we have is the now.” It had sounded really ironic coming from the Senshi of Time.
Hotaru held onto that as she felt a sudden pressure against her chest and the deep blue was swallowed up in a velvety black, eclipsing her sight. She reached out and embraced it willingly, surrendering to the darkness.
-----
Ami’s mind floated in a zen trance, fingers blurring across the keys of the Mercury computer. Most of her consciousness ebbed and flowed with the incoming data as she hammered together a program to make sense of the readings. A small corner, however, was still stuck on thoughts she’d had earlier.
‘Hotaru is a sweet girl and we have a lot in common. Neither of us really fit with our groups, but we are loved by them all the same. Our tastes are different from theirs as well. Hotaru seems to like guys, judging by her reactions to Minako and Makoto’s ‘girl talk’, while Michiru and Haruka are really into girls. I’m not sure what Setsuna likes, but ten thousand years of boredom has probably driven her far off the beaten path in terms of sexuality.’
Her subconscious quickly engulfed that line of thought for future dream fodder.
‘The other inners seem to be attracted to pretty boys and each other to some extent. Rei and Usagi are really obvious in their attraction to each other, as well as Mamoru (and he’s not exactly a man among man). Minako has declared openly that she intends to have Makoto and Makoto... Her objections seemed off. She sounded more like she was objecting to being put on the spot then she was to the idea itself. After all, she did make the agreement with Minako in the first place.’
The tiny bit of rogue grey matter noted a comforting warmth on her back and realized Saturn was literally standing back to back with her. The pressure doubled a second later before falling away and she noted how good it felt. Sadly, though she felt a great deal of affection and trust for her teammate, she felt not the slightest hint of sexual attraction. ‘If only we were gay or at least bi, we could make each other happy. Then again, do we need to have a sexual relationship to make each other happy, or is that just my hormones seeking an outlet? Having a close friend to share hobbies and spend time with would certainly improve things. So what really I want is a best friend and a way to satisfy my growing libido before I become a Minako clone. If I make Hotaru my best friend all I need is a boyfriend. What do I want in a guy?’
“The central point of the web is in the center of the maze. There’s a control module next to it, so don’t blast indiscriminately, because if you hit it, all the energy is going to be released at once...and I’m not sure what that’ll do.” Mercury called out, coming out of her programmer’s trance.
-----
Mercury’s shout distracted Moon just as she released her tiara. The tiara soared through the air, decapitating a cherub and ricocheting off a light post to nail another one before exploding in a shower of sparks when it lodged in the back of a third that was taking aim at the bushes. It was a trick shot that Osaka Slim would have been proud of.
Of course Osaka Slim didn’t know that he’d trained Sailor Moon and not just some high school girl that had seen her boyfriend get taken by a pool shark. She'd tried hustling him back well enough that he’d taken her under his wing and taught her everything he knew about pool.
Mamoru still wasn’t sure what to think about Usagi’s mentor, but he had to admit: watching his little Bunny hustle yakuza and charm them enough to leave them happy about it was strangely satisfying (not to mention it really eased the drain on his wallet from her desert fetish).
Seeing her fall but still manage to take down several of the enemy brought a smile to his face. ‘That’s my Usako: effective, but clumsy.’
Figuring he wouldn’t get a better entry cue, he quickly took advantage of it.
Moon scrambled to her knees, before finding herself being lifted to her feet by a strong pair of arms she knew quite well.
“Even the strongest of hearts can stumble, but as long as you have true friends, they’ll always help you to your feet once more, knowing you’d do the same for them.”
Usagi took a second to bask in the warmth of his embrace and listen to the wistful sighs from the other girls. She could feel her waning strength returning, as she re-entered the fight with renewed vigor. The others joined her, drawing strength from their leader’s example.
She always felt stronger with her ‘knight’ by her side. Minako once called him ‘The ace in Usagi’s hole’. No one was sure if she mangled that phrase, considering the grin she wore.
Although she’d love to have him enter the battle by her side, she knew there was a major tactical advantage (even if she couldn’t spell tactical) to having him skulking in the shadows and making sure the enemy didn’t have any surprises waiting in the wings before joining them.
Even Haruka, for all her teasing, admitted he was always there when things got tough. Her suggestion that he was like a black cat, always bringing misfortune, hadn’t been accepted as favorably, but Haruka had stopped limping within a week. Who knew Luna would get so pissed over what she called ‘bigoted specist slander’?
Statues shattered like ducks in a shooting gallery, as the girls released a fair amount of energy. A shooting gallery occupied by high schoolers with belt-fed automatic shotguns and poor aiming skills. Collateral damage was rather impressive (and by impressive, I mean the Dirty Pair...ahem, I mean, Neptune and Uranus).
Minako turned around and looked past Moon, about to mangle yet another proverb when her face drained of all color, her smile fading as her lower lip started trembling in a way that promised tears.
Everyone hesitated to turn around for fear of what they might see. After all, if it brought tears to the ever perky Venus’ eyes, then it had to be bad, right?
See other episodes by dogbertcarroll
(Posted Sun, 03 Aug 2008 06:35)
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