Fatal Fury Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Sailor Rifts ❯ Chapter 22: A Little Hearsay, er... History ( Chapter 22 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Sailor Moon/Rifts Crossover (Revised Edition) By Simon Woodington

Chapter 22: A Little Hearsay, er... History

They sat in the main part of the shop, the door shut and a sign
reading "Closed, Try Back Later" hung upon it. Fade took occasional
sips from the drink he had been offered. Garen was very deeply
involved in an apple pie Randy had unearthed from a storage freezer in
the back.

"She's in pretty rough shape," Fade commented. "Any chance you telling
me who's after her?"

"You're no stranger to the Coalition," Randy started.

"Neither is she, I take it. Recent encounter?"

"Not unless you consider an angry Juicer to be a loyal member of the
Coalition."

"Well, recently, believe it or not, after their uprising, the
Coalition adopted some of the leftovers to beef up their armies.
Better than standard troops and pretty cheap to make. A heckuva lot
cheaper than a Grinning Demon. Power without the Price. Also
considered to be pretty expendable."

"And if they go AWOL?" Randy asked, sounding interested.

Fade pointed to his head and said, "Little MDC bomb here."

"So what's the difference between them and other Juicers?"

"Cybernetics, and CS control, which doesn't amount to much."

"That all depends on where you are."

"So wha'?" Garen snapped curtly, sounding more irritated than angry.
"We all knows th' Coals 'er freaks."

Fade donned The Expression of Tolerance.

"So what should I know about her?"

"She's not human, for as much as she may look it. She's a supernatural
being. Like yourself. Only her skin is tougher, like CS armour. Normal
weapons will just glance off. It takes vibro and other energy weapons
to hurt her."

"You're telling me a Juicer nearly pried the prosthetics off her face?
If she's as tough as that, I don't see how it's possible."

"Think about it," Randy said. "Alone, you would be right. But he
wasn't. He had three buddies helping him out. Cyber-snatchers looking
for a quick hit. The three grab her while the fourth rips out the
cybernetics."

"So why didn't they succeed?"

"She's a lot stronger than she looks."

"How much stronger?"

"Enough to kill a Juicer with a well aimed punch."

Fade blanched.

"You're kidding, right? I mean, Juicers are tough."

"But they aren't invulnerable. They wear armour just like the rest of
the CS fearing people. Why? Because a little ol' Wilks pistol can kill
them. Anim there can pull punches that will kill an unarmored person."

Fade fell silent, taking this into consideration.

"She ain't never hurt no-one she cared about."

"So, Garen? She left you to fry," Randy replied cleanly.

"Yeah, but she don' care 'bout me."

Randy sighed.

"So why did you bother coming back for her?"

"Hey, 'dis creep wanted me 't watch 'er, so I did d' best I could
wit'out bein' seen," he shrugged, glancing at Randy momentarily. "I
did it fer Usagi, 'causa her 'n' her bein' friends. I care 'bout her,
not dis chicky."

"Unfortunately for me, you took your sweet time. I agreed to let her
meet Mamoru, nothing more. I wasn't thinking she'd scoot off and start
window shopping. It's just not safe, even for someone as strong as she
is."

Garen scratched the back of his head.

"So y' gonna argue wit'er nex' time?!" he growled, angered by his
inability and the situation. He swore heavily. "Ain' much Snatcher
comin' up here, an damned if I wus prepped up boy! I did da bes' I
could!"

"It is most greatly appreciated Garen," Randy nodded, looking only
faintly irritated. "Though I don't know if it's that simple. Perhaps
I'll have Carl check her for tracers when he repairs the damage
they've done."

"Tracers?" Fade blinked. "She marked or something?"

"She shouldn't be. Hasn't made any local enemies, far as I know."

"So its just everyday worries?" Fade began, skepticism riding high as
he chanced another inquiry; "Why bring her here?"

"She's much safer here than anywhere else."

Not that Fade could vouch for the truth of that statement. He began to
wonder why 'Randy' was interested in her.

"So what about her face? She must have been very attractive before the
metalworks."

Garen threw him a glare.

"Stupid elf. Jus' cause yer a freak from the Rifts don' mean y' can
dis' the tech'."

Randy gave Fade a wry look, ignoring Garen's fruitless ire.

"What makes you think she's not attractive? You don't like
prosthetics?" He grinned widely. "Let's just say she was wounded in an
encounter with the CS."

"I think I heard something about that."

Randy arched an eyebrow at this, motioning for Garen to remain silent.

"Like what?"

"Well, you hear things when you travel." He leaned forward. "Things
like she wasn't alone when it happened."

"Correct," Randy agreed, "she wasn't alone. As it happens, that's the
first task I'm going send you on. To assist her in the rescue of her
friend."

"I see. Anything I should know about her friend? I suppose she's a
similar type of being?"

"Why don't you ask Garen here? He did, after all, save her life."

Garen smiled mildly looking vaguely proud. Fade turned to the dwarf of
a man, the Expression of Tolerance on his face.

"Well," Garen started. "Dat wus da' Usagi chick I wus talkin' about.
She got caught by th' leader o' da Bloods up in the Chi-Town 'burbs. I
don't go gettin' in der way every time, 'cause they's got connections
wit' da Blacks."

"Blacks?"

"Uh, th' Black Market. I figured maybe she was a Lofty strayin' from
her turf, and maybe there was some creds in savin' her." He shrugged
indifferently. "Turned out ta be worth't anyway. I shot the guy in th'
head, killed th' freak. Dead like th' feelin's o' a Coals grunt. Th'
rest o' dem took off like da scum dey is. Soon as I get up to her, she
takes off - a'runnin' to Chi-Town.

"Well, don't ask me why but I chased 'er. I weren't sure if she were a
Lofty er not, but I kinda figgered followin' her would get me answers.
She ran inta th' Nut-Set, an' I had ta kill another freak. Dis time
tho, it were a Dog Boy. She ran off again afta dat." He shook his
head. "I hadda run through th' sewer just ta keep up to dem. I came up
a lil' late, but killed one, an' th' other one... he tackled me good.
My pistol went flyin' an' I had trouble..."

"Garen?"

"Uh, yeah?" he paused with a dubious expression.

"Is there a point to this?"

"I dunno. Dere wus somethin' important..." he scratched his forehead
for a moment. His eyes widened.

"Oh yeah! She says somethin' and a buncha funky lights put this sailor
outfit on her... She had a really, really short skirt, white bodysuit
- and a tiara. It wus weird 'cause she threw it at me. It knocked da
Dog Boy offa me and he freaked out. Afta' that we jus' got ta know
each otha. I mean, I did some work t' get a fixer t' give 'er a new
arm."

"So now where is she?" Fade asked, patience hanging on a very thin
thread.

Garen glanced at Randy uncertainly, who nodded affirmatively.

"Usagi was dere' when we got attacked by some Nut Set freaks. Anim got
wounded, and Usagi... well..."

"She's in the Coalition State of Lone Star," Randy supplied.

"You know, you could have just said that," Fade sighed, propping his
head on his hands. "So I guess you've got this one all figured out,
right?"

He nodded. "Pretty much."

"So..." Fade began, waiting for Randy to elaborate.

"If you're going to be any good with that PA, you're going to have to
do a bit of training... it's going to take a some getting used to."

Fade let the subject drop. Apparently he was not going to be getting
any answers before "Randy" saw fit to supply them. On a point of
Randy's wording, he arched an eyebrow.

"You speak as if you know from experience."

"Feh," the man snorted. "I told you once already I can't stand the
things." He paused. "If you still want the armour, that is," he said,
leaving the entire matter open.

"Sure." The question of whether or not the job would be worth it
crossed his mind, but he figured, how bad could it be?

---

Her lip curled unpleasantly as she paced and cursed.

"It's up to you," Randy said plainly.

"Bloody hell. You couldn't just have gotten a hold of me sooner?" she
replied, the curl of her lip unfaded.

"I'm sorry, the timing was completely beyond my control..."

She frowned clearly, then abruptly turned to regard the dark faced
elf.

"Who are you?"

"Fade," he bowed.

"I'm Anim. I suppose you're going to help me rescue the other senshi."

"Senshi?" Fade looked nonplused.

She turned to Randy with a stern expression.

"You haven't told him," her hands went to her hips. "I'm not
surprised. It's just like you. What about Usagi?"

Randy's pleasant smile disappeared.

"Trust me, Dr. Silver's got her covered. He's got a hold on her, Ami,
and Rei. With any luck, you'll get there just before they decide to
dump them. You'll be meeting him in Texas. From there... you know the
rest."

She cursed.

"Why don't we get a move on, then?" Fade suggested.

Anim regarded the elf, and smiled faintly.

"I guess I'll have to tell you on the way." Her gaze shifted to the
short, uncouth fellow regarding her with a friendly eye. "And you,
what happened? I thought you fried. You were kinda sketchy the first
time 'round."

Garen grinned.

"Hey, watcha figger I got all dem imps fer? I bin doin' dis awhiles,
an' ya get good 'r y' jus' get plain vaped. I ain' one'a dose."

'Dandy,' she bit off, arching an eyebrow, but accepting his words in
place of an explanation.

"Garen, I can't have you accompanying them right yet," Randy declared.

"What th' hell!" He bolted upright from his sitting position. "Ya
can't jus' dump on me like dis! I saved her," he swore with admirable
conviction, "life!"

"You're going to have to trust me."

"I ain't really gotta choice, 'ave I," he observed, expression sour.

"As it happens, no."

Garen crossed his arms over his chest and sulked.

"If you don' rescue 'er I's gonna go in dere an nail 'em all!"

Fade had to admire the gaul of the overspoken little twerp.

---

As it turned out, the arranged transport was a CS Death's Head
Armoured Personnel Carrier. The man made behemoth towered over twenty
high, and sixty feet long. The impressive alloy hide of the beast was
shaped like a rather stubby twentieth century rocket. From its slender
arrowhead aileron, to it's foreboding skull flat nose. A marvel and a
melodramatic curse. Anim did not seem at all surprised by this. Fade,
on the other hand, had to wonder.

"Where can I get one?" he grinned.

Randy replied a sly smile.

"Don't think it was easy stealing one of these buggers," he commented.
"We have provided this at some measure of risk to ourselves."

"Not something to be taken lightly," Fade agreed.

Randy nodded gravely. Anim had already climbed into the huge craft,
and was busy inspecting the pilot's compartment. Fade stepped into the
open hatch in the side, stopped, and turned about to regard Randy.

"'Ourselves'?"

"Until I say otherwise," he replied seriously.

Fade gave him a mock salute, "Yes sir."

He then disappeared into the ship. Randy watched as the ship lifted
into the air under the power of the harrier-style jets, and flew off
into the distance.

Shaking his head, Randy returned to his shop.

---

"I don't suppose now is a good time to tell me about your 'senshi'
friends?" Fade asked from the co-pilot's seat.

She nodded.

"Now is probably the best time," she half frowned thoughtfully. "It
would help me to know what Randy's told you."

"Absolutely nothing. I know you're about as tough as I am, and that's
you're a D-Bee... but no more than that."

"Well, back were I came from, an evil force attacked our world. Not
much different than here, really, except that it was just a localized
force. Luna, a cat, sought defenders and found us."

The elf blinked.

"Was the cat black by any chance? I suppose it talked too? I
understand that happens a lot in human culture."

"Um, yes and no," she looked at him, somewhat surprised. "Are you sure
you didn't siphon it from his thoughts?"

"Moi? That was a guess."

She frowned.

"Maybe I shouldn't even bother," she snarled, pretending to focus on
flying. "Listen buster, I know how easy it is to tap other's minds.
Especially for an elf like you."

"Hey," Fade started, sounding none-too enthusiastic. "You don't have
to tell me anything, alright?"

"You asked," Anim replied, looking cross.

Fade found that he lacked a response that would not draw her ire, so
he said nothing. They flew in silence for a time, neither really
expecting much from the other.

"Maybe it would help we exchanged a little respect," she said calmly,
almost reverently. "I realize I haven't been very kind."

"No," he agreed slowly. "Let me apologize. I promise to keep my yap
shut. All right?"

She consented acceptance without gazing at him.

"Well, that cat selected us... well, five young girls to protect our
city. The leader of our group, 'Sailor Moon' was..."

"That's you, I suppose?"

She shook her head.

"No, actually. That was Usagi."

"I see. So what's this sailor thing? How does that fit into what makes
a warrior? And young girls? Not exactly ripe pickings for battlefront
material, unless they're elven."

She gazed at him and rolled her eyes.

"Beyond me. All I know is that we were Sailors. Seems silly now. But
we were stronger than most other people, tougher, faster, and
possessed some control over limited elemental powers. That, and our
outfits distinguished us as the Bishoujo Sailor Senshi. That
translates to 'Pretty Sailor Soldiers.'"

"I suppose magic would do it. Oh, from what language?"

"Japanese."

"Okay. So who was invading earth, and what was stopping them from
succeeding? Besides the five of you, I mean."

"Lack of energy. In order to actually take over anything, they had to
gather enough energy to release what they called the NegaForce." She
laughed coldly. "They could have taken a lesson or two from the Rifts
here."

Fade had to agree.

"So you managed to hold them off on your own?"

"More or less," she admitted. "If I knew then what I know now, we'd
have beat them already."

"You mean you haven't defeated them?"

"Well, we defeated Queen Beryl and her cronies. But that... really
didn't matter."

"Why? Sounds like you won. Sort of."

"Exactly. You see, someone else came along and took her place. Even
though we sacrificed everything... something else turned it all around
on us."

"Before you came here," he noted observantly.

Silence manifested drifted in a very solid, tangible form between
them. Fade gave it some thought, and came to the conclusion that there
was no reason for her to lie to him. If she was acting, indeed, she
was performing expertly, even to the point of guiding her very
feelings without the slightest miscue. He glanced at her, and noted
that she was wiping the right side of her still flesh tear laden face
as she stared on through the HUD piloting window. Guilt roared through
him. He'd been insensitive, and further, a jerk to a young woman who
only wanted his help.

"Anim? I'm sorry. Really," was all he could think to say. "I've been a
bastard. I apologize."

"Okay. Thank you," she whispered. "You're right."

He blinked at her boldness. Generally one wasn't suppose to agree, but
he supposed he deserved it. The fact that she was human did not derail
the point of her sex. Women, elven or otherwise, deserved his respect
and honour. This one without question, as she was asking nothing more.

"We'll rescue your friends, whatever it takes," Fade vowed. "I mean
it. I hate to see a pretty lady cry."

"I thought you didn't like the prosthetics?" she smirked at him past
dried tears.

Fade simply looked confounded.

:How the hell does Randy do it?: